Today's Lunch: Package vs. Reality

Lunch for 1/12/2011: Healthy Choice Portabella Marsala Pasta

The package:

The reality photographed from the approximate angle of the package. I don't keep a bottle of olive oil on my desk.

The reality photographed from above.

The general layout is similar but the noodles are different. Not bad for a microwave meal.

Today's Lunch: Package vs. Reality

Today's Lunch: Healthy Choice Lobster Cheese Ravioli.

The product on the package:

The product in reality after cooking:

To be fair, I should have photographed from the same angle but then the picture would be mostly black plastic container.

It tasted pretty much how it looks, not nasty but bland. It was a source of carbohydrates, protein and fat. I kind of feel sorry for the lobsters that were killed for this.

I also ate some yogurt and a pineapple product from Dole.

Atlas Shrugged

I could not finish Atlas Shrugged.

To rabid fans of Ayn Rand: I'm willing to admit that I'm too stupid to understand her brilliant ideas. Fine, an obnoxious Objectivist or two might think I'm ignorant. I can live with that. I think of it as an intellectual equivalent of an obese person criticizing my relatively slow running pace.

This cartoon sums up some of my feelings quite nicely.

I loved this comment about the above mentioned cartoon:

"Rand never gets credit for her single greatest accomplishment... giving assholes an intellectual framework for being assholes."

Now, what to do with my copy of Atlas Shrugged, which I bought at a garage sale for 50 cents? I've thought about this a lot. I don't want to destroy the book because I don't believe ideas should be destroyed regardless of how bad. So burning, dunking, shooting, drawing and quartering are out.

A list of uses for Atlas Shrugged (that retains the readability of the copy)

1. Obvious: door stop and paper weight

2. Violent: blunt object that inflicts pain but no real damage

3. Liberal repellent

4. Yoga prop

5. Exercise equipment

6. When all you need is an extra 3 inches to reach something

7. Bug killer

8. Flower press

9. Furniture leveler

10. Lumbar support (paperback version)

11. Pot holder

12. Action figure scenery

13. Hot Wheels track support

14. Animation

Feel free to add others in the comments. I might get around to re-enacting some of these in photos and drawings.

Herb and Jamaal

Herb and Jamaal free online comic strip library at comics.com

There is nothing else going on here.

There is nothing else going on here.

There is nothing else going on here.

Just two grown men being friends. Nothing to see here. Move along.

The hopeless gardner

To read stories of successful efforts as self-sufficiency and sustainability visit http://bigmyrtle.blogspot.com/. I admire what Mark and Shelley have done.

My efforts on the other hand have yielded a single onion. It provided some nice flavor to my morning egg. There is still hope for a cantaloupe. Three of the plants grew real well until a rain followed by heat killed them. The dog killed two when he thought my little garden would make a great place to dig and wallow. The lone onion survived this assault. Walter placed some sticks in the bed to deter the dog. It worked and I had onion to show for it. One melon plant is still growing and blooming. I cheer it on every time I take Loki out for a walk.

Harvested a pound of Muscatine grapes but those weren't grown through my own efforts. We have a wild grape vine that partially encircles our backyard. When we moved in the previous owner said that the vine wouldn't produce because it was missing a component. Apparently the vine found the needed part. I snacked on the grapes for about a week after a good washing. Some of the grapes were located within Loki's firing range. I liked the tart flavor of the grapes. Looked up some recipes but these called for more grapes than I had.

Found that gardening is not something to do casually. Takes more time than I'm willing to commit at this point. I like the idea more than the actual project. That last statement sums up most of my life.

When pros fail

Glad to see that even a professional can screw something up. Give Joe Giella points for trying. Where does Mary hide all that hair? I thought she had an Ann Richards style hairdo.

History & Quotes - Classic Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) US writer - ArcaMax Publishing

History & Quotes - Classic Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) US writer - ArcaMax Publishing

What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it... which for the majority translates as 'Bread and Circuses'.

An armed society is a polite society.

Men rarely (if ever) dream up a God superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.

History does not record anywhere a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.

Offensive speech, bad manners, and filthy toilets all seem to go together.

----------------------------------

I'll clean the bathrooms after I come home. At least scrub the toilets.

Photoshop boo boo

102 Series Leather Sectional Sofa | Modern Furniture Warehouse

It's 5:00 o'clock. I'm out of here. I'll finish removing the lamp tomorrow.

What?! You made it live!

How to recognize the signs of an imminent Mary Worth attack

How to recognize the signs of an imminent Mary Worth attack

Strange Brew

Strange Brew free online comic strip library at comics.com

Do they make salon hair dryers like that anymore?

Brevity, the soul of wit

Brevity free online comic strip library at comics.com

I tried to share this on Twitter but the Fail Whale kept appearing. All hail the Fail Whale!

Tiny Atlas Shrugged Production Finally Gets Started

Tiny Atlas Shrugged Production Finally Gets Started

Speech or no speech?

Momma free online comic strip library at comics.com

Momma free online comic strip library at comics.com

Momma tries her hand at political commentary. Time to place her in a home. She's wandering around and entering random people's homes.

I don't think I can do it.

I've completed 7 marathons, 5 half marathons and some shorter races but I cannot manage to finish reading "Atlas Shrugged"

I'm past the long John Galt speech. The only time I've yelled at a book character was while reading that speech. A guy blathers on for 3 hours and nobody thinks to cut the power.

I'm down to the last 300 or so pages. I've flipped ahead a few times. I know a bridge gets blown up, Cuffy Meigs and Dr. Statler die, Jim Taggart loses his mind, John Galt is tortured and rescued; and Hank, Francisco, Dagny, John, Ragnar and all the rest of the producers go to Galt's Gulch and live happily ever after doing their circle jerk while the rest of the world burns all around them blissfully unaware that unless they build a spaceship they too will get burned.

I could be mistaken about the above since I can only bring my self to skim at this point. Actually, I haven't picked up the book again since February, so my memory could be a bit sketchy.

In context of the BP oil gusher, I find my desire to finish decreasing ever more. I wonder in the context of this reality how any adult can take Objectivism seriously? Okay, Rand's dire vision is happening in North Korea but that is an aberration. Maybe Zimbabwe, too, with the white farmers.

Maybe I'm too old to read Atlas Shrugged. I tried to read The Fountainhead in high school but I couldn't stand it for very long. Enjoyed Anthem. Maybe "Objectivism/ Ayn Rand phase" should be incorporated into the American life cycle chart. An interesting question to study - why some people don't grow out of it?

I have a few of Rand's philosophical writings in my library. They are quaintly amusing. Stalinism sucked; thankfully no country has tried to fully implement Objectivism because that would suck just as hard. That won't happen because this world is populated by humans rather than the ideas with human-like characteristics that populate the world of Atlas Shrugged.

I should finish this book or at least get it off my nightstand. Maybe try composting it or using its pages to line the bird cage.

The idea for another project: documenting uses for a slightly worn copy of Atlas Shrugged.

Did learn that carrying a copy into a UU church will cause a greater reaction than carrying a Bible.

Clapping

Drew a cartoon today with the following dialogue:

"I must warn you that worship at this UU church is quite raucous. They start clapping before the last verse of the hymn."

Since I have limited experience with worship at other UU churches, I wonder if it's just my church that waits until the last verse to clap? This assumes that the hymn is suitable for clapping.

I've clapped by myself when appropriate but I don't clap very loudly because I end up clapping to the up beat rather than the down beat. Sometimes I clap to both.

Speaking of joyful noises, a woman ran, walked and danced on the treadmill next to mine yesterday. She clapped, too. My initial annoyance went away when I realized that exercise - even on a treadmill - should be fun. As long as she continues to make it fun for her, she will reach her fitness goals.

I bet she wouldn't be afraid to clap loudly in a UU church.

3D TV Health Risks: 7 People Warned Not To Watch 3D TV (PHOTOS)

Unless nearsightedness (I wear corrective lenses) is an eye problem, then I'm one of a few people who can actually watch 3D TV without problems. Brilliant! Manufacturing a product that can't be used safely by 75% of the US population. Maybe Samsung has given a few Americans an incentive to get in shape. Get fit so that I can sit around and watch TV in 3D!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Auspicious start of my 41st year

First, gratuitous dog photo:



Loki running in the snow. He was running toward the door to get back inside after taking care of business. I guess he wanted to catch a few snowflakes on the way. Snow is a rare treat in these parts. Texas A&M will be delayed until 10:00 am tomorrow. This is assuming I even feel like going in at all. I celebrated my 41st on Sunday; in addition to some neat gifts, birthday greetings and hearing an excellent dharma talk, I got a cold.

I have plenty of sick leave and my work is not so terribly important that its worth infecting others.

Today, I felt like getting dressed and off the couch. Even stood on the porch to film the snow. Yesterday, it was bed or couch. The oddest thing about yesterday is that I channel surfed for hours and did not catch one bit of Law & Order, not even one little donk-donk. I made up for it today by watching part of an episode of Law & Order: SVU.

I tried to watch some Olympics because I've become rather fascinated by curling but all the NBC-Universal stations that my cable provider carries were acting up.

Would it kill NBC to have a commentator explain curling or at least provide a crawl with a definition of terms & how the scoring works? I suppose I could drag my laptop to the couch and look up this stuff while watching but I don't feel like doing that and what about the viewers without wireless networking?

I become fascinated by curling every four years because of the absurdity of the sport.

This blog got a shout-out from uuworld.org: the interdependent web.

Real life & online life intersects

We had a guest speaker at church today. I figured out who she is in the middle of her sermon. Oh wow, it's Lizard Eater! That wasn't the name she used for church. I introduced myself after the service and had to use my alternate name. Now we know each other's real names, not that I make much of an effort to hide mine, but I wonder if this is how spies feel after they retire and they can reveal themselves. The nature of the relationship really doesn't change with this new knowledge but more of a fleshing out of a person or they seem more real. I don't know.

If your church is looking for a guest speaker, I would recommend Lizard Eater. She is a very engaging speaker and you don't need a sound system. She drowned out a train. To be fair, it was one of the quieter trains but still didn't need to take a train pause. I did wish that she said 'love train' instead of 'love jar' while the train rolled by but that is a comedian thinking not a minister. I can get comedy anytime, ministry (in the broadest sense of the term) is a more precious commodity.

Some of the things she has described in her blog about seminary come through in her speaking style. She has a bit of pentecostal in her. We all need a little pentecostal.

This online - real life intersection was a neat experience.

Exercise Log: February 7 - 13

I walked and ran 33.52 miles, burned 3592.1 calories and weigh 139.9 pounds. Loki walked 1.61 miles.

Monday: run - 4.43 miles in 44:50
Tuesday: elliptical - 1.22 miles in 15:00
Wednesday: run - 6.17 miles in 1:00:00
Thursday: run - 4.45 miles in 44:44
Saturday: run - 8.10 miles in 1:18:25.28

Mary Faust, Part Seventeen

Click on comic to enlarge.

That lap top is making Dawn's eyebrows shorter and making her grow old!

POET

Depart! elsewhere another servant choose
What! shall the bard his godlike power abuse?
Man's loftiest right, kind nature's high bequest,
For your mean purpose basely sport away?
Whence comes his mastery o'er the human breast,
Whence o'er the elements his sway,
But from the harmony that, gushing from his soul,
Draws back into his heart the wondrous whole?

Shout Outs!

I need to get the bit of promo for "The Word" app that airs at the end of the Colbert Report to put on my website. It's the second one where Stephen points to and says the phrase, 'A Perfect World'. Happens to be the name of my comic and the domain name: aperfectworld.org.

Why dot org? When I bought the domain name the dot com version was being used by a male enhancement company. perfectworld.com is a MMORG. aperfectworld.com has nothing on it.

I subscribe to UUpdates feed. Below a list of individual blogs on UUpdates that I always read (no particular order):

• Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show http://mskittyssaloonandroadshow.blogspot.com/
• it's all one thing http://shetterly.blogspot.com/
• CUUMBYA http://cuumbaya.blogspot.com/
• Beauty Tips for Ministers http://beautytipsforministers.com/ (odd since I'm neither a professional minister or interested in fashion)
• The Chaliceblog http://chalicechick.blogspot.com/
• Tete-a-Tete-Tete http://tete-tete-tete.com/ (Sorry, too lazy to look up the html for accented characters)
• The Journey http://uuminister.blogspot.com/
• The Wild Hunt http://wildhunt.org/blog/ (another odd one for me since I'm not a pagan. Proof that I do read word press based blogs)
• Pfarrer Streccius http://pfarrerstreccius.blogspot.com/ (I skip the Illinois politics posts)
• Yet Another Unitarian Universalist http://www.danielharper.org/blog/
• Orcinus http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/

Thank you to each of you for sharing your thoughts.

I felt like making some recommendations since we all have a limited amount of time. I feel the above blogs are a good use of my limited blog reading time.

Looking over the list I notice a majority use Blogger and hosted by Blogspot.com. I use Blogger and this blog is hosted by Blogspot.com. I wonder if my list would be different if I used WordPress or a different platform?

Why I don't read your UU blog?

• Congregation specific (nothing wrong with that.)
• Read entries that grab my attention but not a regular reader
• Location specific
• Just not interested in the topic

Lack of quality is not a reason.

Mary Faust, Part Sixteen

Click on comic to enlarge.

Giant Galapagos Island Tortoises are reading this and thinking, "Get on with it!"

Ents (the tree people from Lord of the Rings) consider themselves quite hasty compared to the pace of this storyline.

Which will come first: my 41st birthday (Feb. 21) or the conclusion of this plot?

--------------------------------

Poor fools the muses' fair regards.
Why court for such a paltry end?
I tell you, give them more, still more, 'tis all I ask,
Thus you will ne'er stray widely from the goal;
Your audience seek to mystify, cajole;--
To satisfy them--that's a harder task.
What ails thee? art enraptured or distressed?

Miracle Match Marathon

Finished the Miracle Match Marathon in Waco, Texas in 4:41:12.42 according to the time on my watch. Official results have not been posted yet.

This was the most challenging marathon I've run without an injury. Didn't set a personal record but I now know that I'm a sub-5 hour marathoner.

I would not recommend this race for a first-time marathoner but then again if you finish it as a rookie all the others in Texas will seem easy.

The challenging parts but scenic parts of the course are between miles 14 and 24. There is nothing in Bryan - College Station that could have prepared me for some of the downhill slopes. I had to walk down several.

Waco's Cameron Park is quite gorgeous and I enjoyed the running beside the Brazos River through a park. Waco should be proud of its parks. Their beauty, even in winter, made me wonder why I live in Bryan.

The race was well directed with plenty of friendly volunteers manning water stops in the freezing cold. Sponsors provided wonderful perks such as food, wine, beer and post-race massages. The finishers' medals looked incomplete but the finishers' windbreaker jacket more than made up for that.

The race packet swag bag had some good stuff in it. Surprising for a race with 1,200 total participants.

The cool thing about such a small race: the third place person in my age group (40 - 44 Female) had a time of 4 hours and 20 minutes. A slower person has a shot at placing.

The Miracle Match Marathon is a well-run smaller race that supports a great cause. If you're looking for a challenging winter race be sure to check this one out.

Exercise Log: January 24 - 30

Ran, biked, and walked 37.75 miles, burned 3422.7 calories and weigh 138.6 pounds.

Sunday: run - 8.25 miles in 1:23:50
Monday: bike - 5.19 miles in 20:54
Tuesday: run - 3.27 miles in 32:33.82
Wednesday: bike - 2.72 miles in 12:00; run - 1.37 miles in 15:00
Thursday: run - 5.40 miles in 52:50
Friday: run - 2.83 miles in 30:00

Mary Faust, Part Fifteen

Click on comic to enlarge.

Maybe time to reinstate the Mary Watch: Number of Mary Worthless days. The over-arching lesson from the 2009 stories and continuing into 2010: stay off the internet.

As to a masquerade, with absent minds, they press,
Sheer curiosity their footsteps winging;
Ladies display their persons and their dress,
Actors unpaid their service bringing.
What dreams beguile you on your poet's height?
What puts a full house in a merry mood?
More closely view your patrons of the night!
The half are cold, the half are rude.
One, the play over, craves a game of cards;
Another a wild night in wanton joy would spend.

Mary Faust Part Fourteen

Click on comic to enlarge.

I've given up trying to fit the text into the balloons. Easier to redraw balloons. I inflict my learning process upon you! Hopefully, the divisions will make more sense.

Wilbur doesn't own a cooler? I bet his condo neighbors appreciate him transporting the fish like that. Next panel: Dawn introduces her guest, Jill the Game Warden.

How it revolts the genuine artist's mind!
The sorry trash in which these coxcombs deal,
Is here approved on principle, I find.

MANAGER

Such a reproof disturbs me not a whit!
Who on efficient work is bent,
Must choose the fittest instrument.
Consider! 'tis soft wood you have to split;
Think too for whom you write, I pray!
One comes to while an hour away;
One from the festive board, a sated guest;
Others, more dreaded than the rest,
From journal-reading hurry to the play.

Exercise Log: January 17 - 23

This week I ran, walked, biked and rowed 49.01 miles, burned 4426.5 calories and weigh 139.9 pounds.

Sunday: Run - 12.35 miles in 2:02:56.07
Monday: Walk - 2.68 miles in 1:12:01.44
Tuesday: Run - 3.57 miles in 34:53
Wednesday: Row - 1.31 miles in 10:00, Elliptical - .45 mile in 10:00, Bike - 3.57 miles in 15:00
Thursday: Run - 5.05 miles in 47:29.26
Friday: Row - 1.90 miles in 15:00, Elliptical - 1.27 miles in 15:00, Bike - 3.53 miles in 15:00
Saturday: Walk - 3.32 miles in 1:20:16.36

Tomorrow, my final long run before the marathon.

Mary Faust: Part Thirteen

Click on comic to enlarge.

Wilbur and Kurt continue fishing.

Karen Moy gives the reader a feel for a real fishing trip when the fish refuse to bite. Too bad she didn't provide beer. A single keg should provide plenty of beer for everyone who actually reads Mary Worth.

Spin for their eyes abundant occupation,
SO that the multitude may wondering gaze,
You by sheer bulk have won your reputation,

By mass alone can you subdue the masses,
Each then selects in time what suits his bent.
Bring much, you something bring for various classes,
And from the house goes every one content.
You give a piece, abroad in pieces send it!
'Tis a ragout--success most needs attend it;
'Tis easy to serve up, as easy to invent.
A finish'd whole what boots it to present!
Full soon the public will in pieces rend it.

POET

How mean such handicraft as this you cannot feel!

Mary Faust: Part Twelve

Click on comic for larger image. The Sunday strip was a recap of the action from the previous week, which is to say, nothing has happened.

A sprightly fellow's presence at your play,
Methinks should also count for something too;
Whose genial wit the audience still inspires,
Knows from their changeful mood no angry feeling;
A wider circle he desires,
To their heart's depths more surely thus appealing.
To work, then! Give a master-piece, my friend;
Bring Fancy with her choral trains before us,
Sense, reason, feeling, passion, but attend!
Let folly also swell the tragic chorus.

MANAGER

In chief, of incident enough prepare!
A show they want, they come to gape and stare.

Exercise Log: January 10 - 16

This week I walked, ran, biked and rowed 58.03 miles, burned 5228.1 calories and weigh 139.1 pounds.

Sunday: Run - 20.09 miles in 3:25:19.90
Monday: Bike - 8.91 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: Run - 4.31 miles in 45:00
Wednesday: Walk - .61 mile in 15:20.45
Thursday: Run - 6.94 miles in 1:05:00
Friday: Row - 1.92 miles in 15:00; Run - 1.92 miles in 20:00; Bike - 4.32 miles in 20:00
Saturday: Walk - .70 mile in 19:57.63

There are other walking miles with Loki and during the work week not listed above that are part of the total. Loki walked a total of 3.42 miles.

Tomorrow, I start my taper for the Miracle Match Marathon. 12 miles on the agenda.

Will enjoy my 3 day weekend.

Good luck to everyone running in the Chevron Houston Marathon tomorrow. You can do it!

Mary Faust: Part Eleven

Click on comic to enlarge.

Wilbur kept the same glasses all these years.

A failure now, with words now fitly mated,
In the wild tumult of the hour is drown'd;
Full oft the poet's thought for years bath waited
Until at length with perfect form 'tis crowned;
What dazzles, for the moment born, must perish;
What genuine is posterity will cherish.

MERRYMAN

This cant about posterity I hate;
About posterity were I to prate,
Who then the living would amuse? For they
Will have diversion, ay, and 'tis their due.

Mary Faust: Part Ten

Click on comic to enlarge.

Has the boredom of Kurt and Wilbur's conversation driven everyone, including those out of earshot, from the lake?

POET

Oh of the motley throng speak not before me,
At whose aspect the Spirit wings its flight!

Conceal the surging concourse, I implore thee,
Whose vortex draws us with resistless might.
No, to some peaceful heavenly nook restore me,
Where only for the bard blooms pure delight,
Where love and friendship yield their choicest blessing,
Our heart's true bliss, with god-like hand caressing.

What in the spirit's depths was there created,
What shyly there the lip shaped forth in sound;

Mary Faust: Part Nine

Click on comic to enlarge.

Out of boredom, Kurt's legs have left the scene. A most extreme case of Restless Legs Syndrome.

Still in broad daylight, ere the clock strikes four,
With blows their way towards the box they take;
And, as for bread in famine, at the baker's door,
For tickets are content their necks to break.
Such various minds the bard alone can sway,

My friend, oh work this miracle to-day!

Mary Faust: Part Eight

Click on comic to enlarge.

Thanks and shout out to Seattle PI for making larger comics available. You can even rate each comic.

I enlarged a bit more when removing original dialogue but since I had a larger image to start quality has not degraded as much.

How make our entertainment striking, new,
And yet significant and pleasing too?
For to be plain, I love to see the throng,
As to our booth the living tide progresses;
As wave on wave successive rolls along,
And through heaven's narrow portal forceful presses;

Mary Faust: Part Seven

Click on comic to enlarge.

The posts are now erected, and the planks,
And all look forward to a festal treat.
Their places taken, they, with eyebrows rais'd,
Sit patiently, and fain would be amaz'd.
I know the art to hit the public taste,
Yet ne'er of failure felt so keen a dread;
True, they are not accustomed to the best,
But then appalling the amount they've read.

--------------------------------------------------

The tackle box does not have tackle in it.

Mary Faust Part Six

Click on comic to enlarge.

A yearning long unfelt, each impulse swaying,
To yon calm spirit-realm uplifts my soul;
In faltering cadence, as when Zephyr playing,
Fans the Aeolian harp, my numbers roll;
Tear follows tear, my steadfast heart obeying
The tender impulse, loses its control;
What I possess as from afar I see;
Those I have lost become realities to me.

Prologue in the Theatre
MANAGER. DRAMATIC POET. MERRYMAN.

MANAGER

Ye twain, in trouble and distress
True friends whom I so oft have found,
Say, for our scheme on German ground,
What prospect have we of success?
Fain would I please the public, win their thanks;
They live and let live, hence it is but meet.
-------------------------------
I'm filling balloons. Seven Sunday panels gives me lots of balloons.
I ran my final 20 mile training run - 20.09 miles in 3:25:19.90. I will set a new personal record if I can repeat that performance for the marathon on Jan. 31.

Mary Faust: Part 5

Click on cartoon to enlarge.

Sorry about the Comic Sans. I need to download Digital Strip to my home computer. I enlarge the comic strip and then paste text into balloons. I try to fit as much as I can while maintaining readability. I do cheat occasionally by slightly enlarging a balloon to add a bit of white space around the text.

Part of the third verse of Dedication:

Dispersed the throng, their severed flight now winging;
Mute are the voices that responsive rang.
For stranger crowds the Orphean lyre now stringing,
E'en their applause is to my heart a pang;
Of old who listened to my song, glad hearted,
If yet they live, now wander widely parted.

Mary Worth is the work of writer Karen Moy and artist Joe Giella and is owned by King Features Syndicate. All images from the comic strip are owned by King Features. Faust is the work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and is public domain.

Exercise Log: January 1 - 9

This year so far I walked, ran & biked 44.04 miles, burned 3782.8 calories and weigh 141.3 pounds.

Loki has walked 5.62 miles. He had a great time today walking off leash in the woods and park.

Less than a month until my marathon in Waco. Tomorrow, I run my final 20 mile training run. Then I taper. Thinking about running by time rather than distance tomorrow. Maybe run 4 hours and see how far I go.

Jan. 2: walk, 1.08 miles, 23:36.25
Jan. 3: run, 8.31 miles, 1:24:42.48
Jan. 4: bike, 9.18 miles, 35:00
Jan. 5: run, 6.20 miles, 1:05:00
Jan. 7: run, 5.38 miles, 51:52
Jan. 9: walk, 2.82 miles, 1:04:53.98

Mary Faust: More Dedication

Click on cartoon to enlarge.

Today's larger word balloons allowed me to place more text. If you wish to keep up with the storyline as written by Karen Moy visit Mary Worth & Me. Wanders & friends do an outstanding job of keeping up with the goings on in Santa Royale. You will understand the humor of Mary Worth if you spend any time over there. Be sure to enjoy the Charterstone Jukebox.

Looking forward to the Sunday comic. Lots of balloons to fill.

Sorrow revives, her wail of anguish sending
Back o'er life's devious labyrinthine way,
And names the dear ones, they whom Fate bereaving
Of life's fair hours, left me behind them grieving.

They hear me not my later cadence singing,
The souls to whom my earlier lays I sang;

Mary Faust: Dedication Verse Two, Part 1

Click on cartoon to enlarge. Picture quality degraded because of enlargement. I don't know why syndicates don't make larger versions available for online venues. Maybe to prevent miscreants from rewriting crappy comics? It takes a larger comic to truly appreciate the care Joe Giella put into rendering Wilbur's comb over.

Shades fondly loved appear, your train attending,
And visions fair of many a blissful day;
First-love and friendship their fond accents blending,
Like to some ancient, half-expiring lay;

Mary Faust: Dedication Verse One

Click on picture to enlarge. (Click here for the first part)

Dedication

Ye wavering shapes, again ye do enfold me,
As erst upon my troubled sight ye stole;
Shall I this time attempt to clasp, to hold ye?
Still for the fond illusion yearns my soul?
Ye press around! Come then, your captive hold me,
As upward from the vapoury mist ye roll;
Within my breast youth's throbbing pulse is bounding,
Fann'd by the magic breath your march surrounding.

Mary Worth: Faust

Click on cartoon to make bigger.

An insomnia induced project idea: Goethe's Faust replacing Mary Worth dialogue. A fun way for me to read all of Faust and make Mary Worth a bit more amusing.

Also something to justify the continued existence of this blog.

Exercise Log: December 8 - 12

I ran, biked and walked 27.65 miles, burned 2357 calories and weigh 141.4 pounds.

Light week in terms of exercise because of Radio MASH. Very successful - collected toys for about 5,400 children. Once again, the Brazos Valley comes through.

Received an early Christmas present in the form of a Garmin Forerunner 405. Used for my 18 mile training run this morning. Collected all kinds of interesting data. I can run quite fast in short bursts even during the latter part of a long run.

Need to set the distance units back to non-metric. Accidentally set them to metric while playing with settings last night.

Icky Female Content

This post contains icky female content. If you're squeamish go away now. Here is a nice place: http://ihasahotdog.com/

I await menopause with great anticipation. Please get here soon. I'm tired of this monthly bullshit. 27 fucking years so far. Maybe I shouldn't be so angry and bitchy about a natural process but the copious amounts of Midol I've taken so far don't seem to be working. I'm in pain and I want it to stop. Please don't justify it with Old Testament theology. Adam & Eve ate the damn fruit and I get punished with this pain.

Wonder why women get so damn bitchy once a month? Guys, imagine this: starting around age 13, every month, someone visits your home, work or school and hits your nads with a baseball bat. After a while you might get a little pissed off at this and maybe give a hearty fuck you to anyone who says that this is natural and part of God's plan or punishment. Maybe get a little peeved when medical people and others don't take your pain seriously.

The over the counter meds suck. But because of some stupid crackers that lack self control I can't access more effective medicine without visiting a doctor who will probably say it's just female problems and not that bad compared to others. I am stronger and have better self-control - give me something effective.

At the moment I don't give a shit about the magnitude of others' pain. I just want mine to stop. 1,500 milligrams of acetaminophen and I still feel like someone is slicing my abdomen from the inside. I'm just pissed off that I've endured this crap for 27 years and there is no one I can blame, punch or shout at. At least the there is an entity in the bat analogy written above.

I don't know how or why I've endured this shit for 27 years. If I person did this to me I would have done something long ago. The pain will pass and I will forget about it until next month.

In about 5 minutes the office holiday luncheon will start. I have to make nice even though I don't feel nice. The annoying part is that this crap is joked about, trivialized and women are taunted if they express a bit of irritation because of this. Men injuring their nads is considered comedy gold but no one expects a man to be nice & polite while enduring the pain.

I'm in pain and I don't want to be nice. I just want it to go away and some space to be grumpy until it does.

Santa, I want menopause this year and an Evel Knievel stunt bike set.

Lunch 9/9/09

Healthy Choice Grilled Chicken Teriyaki - the package. Nice design with the exclamation point.

The reality after microwaving:

The apple stuff always splashes into the broccoli. Piece of broccoli invaded apple stuff compartment. No pineapple. Sauce off target.

Radioactive

Neat trick. Adrian does her impression of the Virgin of Guadalupe. I wonder if that will leave a mark on the wall?

Adrian, take your fingers out of your mouth otherwise you will spread the flu virus. Should we call you "H1N1 Adrian"?

Excitement in Mary Worth!

I bet Joe Giella had a great time drawing that second panel. After weeks of drawing old people sitting around eating salmon squares he finally gets to draw some action. I hope this raid gets caught up in the Mary Worth time glacier. Days and weeks of glorious police action.

Santa Royale police could not afford a megaphone or helmets. Budget cuts.

How much protection does sitting inside the box provide?

Mary has been absent for 5 days.

Grr!

Awakened this morning while in the middle of a dream. A dream where I was yelling & throwing things in anger. I might have beat up some people, too.

My alarm went off. The dream dissipated but the emotions remained. Not a good way to start a day. Hit snooze in hopes that a few minutes would calm me down. Only led to more irritation because 5 minutes was not long enough. Hit snooze again but remained awake to try to get into a more positive frame of mind. Got out of bed at 5:40 am. Still angry.

I hate to think what these interrupted dreams are doing to my health.

Breakfast & a walk with Loki helped but still mostly irritated.

I don't get Labor Day off. Part of the building is a sauna (fortunately not my part). Got to listen to a reading of an e-mail about how Barack Obama is taking money from productive people and giving it to the poor and illegal aliens.* Pandora One refuses to work but I got around that. It's Monday. I ate over 800 calories for breakfast and was hungry again at 9:00 am. Getting these whines off my mind is helping.

*I don't mind populist anger. Populist anger led to some very good things - 40 hour work week, voting rights, workplace safety rules, minimum wage to name a few examples. Anger is the only thing that gets people in power off their butt. Fear of the people is good for those in power. Helps keep them in line and realize that their power does not give them the right to abuse people.

This current wave of anger worries me. Seems undirected. No goals or ideas other than Obama sucks, taxes suck, bailouts suck, government sucks, tan foreign people suck, liberal media sucks, I've got mine - fuck you. The tax system needs reform. The debt being left to later generations is alarming. Corporate welfare is more damaging than personal welfare. I've come to terms with the fact that my Social Security payments are for the benefit of others, some of whom I care about, and that I won't see any benefits. Well directed anger can change these things but all I see on television and on the Internet is a bunch of white people throwing temper tantrums. Anger changes the world - temper tantrums just destroy whatever is nearby. I worry because I'm nearby.

Today's Lunch

The package: Healthy Choice Honey Ginger Chicken

The reality after two minutes of microwave heating:

It tasted good.

Exercise Log: July 26 - August 1

This week I ran, biked, walked and rowed 30.09 miles, burned 3086.9 calories and weigh 141.4 pounds.

Monday: ran 3.75 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: rowed 1,976 meters in 10:00
Wednesday: ran 2.44 miles in 25:00
Friday: ran 4.87 miles in 45:00

Thinking about the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth, Texas or the 50K at the same location for my next long distance race.

Unintentionally Humorous Ad Placement

Click on image to enlarge.

Playboy of Charterstone

Original:

I bet Charterstone pool parties are quite awkward. Bare midriff in Mary Worth! I like Mary's pink pot and pearls ensemble.

Wordless:
In the first panel Mary gives a rude gesture to British readers and those who have spent many Saturday evenings watching Are You Being Served? on PBS. The gesture interrupted Delilah's blouse unbuttoning.

Liberal use of clone stamp and paintbrush.

Mary Wordless

Another installment of Mary Wordless.

Original: Yes, that is an adult woman that Mary is dragging away from an encounter with another adult.
Wordless:

Looks like a funky dance in the first panel.

Mr. Smith is too excited about getting a phone number.

Atlas Farted

I came across a funny bit of headline on The Onion: Area Man Insufferable Jerk for Two Months after Reading Atlas Shrugged.

I'm reading Atlas Shrugged and afraid the same thing is happening to me. I'm halfway through and wish to extend a pre-emptive apology for any insufferable jerkiness that results when finished. I finished the part in chapter 6, part 2 where the directives (Directive 10-289) that will attempt to stop progress are read and discussed by Wesley Mouch (a bureaucrat - I guess naming him Rob Leach would have been too obvious) and his advisers.

I'm seeing parallels everywhere. Even in beer commercials. Francisco d'Aconias is the most interesting man in the world and he drinks Dos XX.

I bought the book at a garage sale along with Anthem and The Fountainhead. I read a bit of the Fountainhead in high school but got bored with it. I read enough to participate in the discussion and have been exposed to Objectivism. Received enough exposure to be repulsed by its extremity. Have libertarian leanings but I don't fully buy the rational self-interest stuff. It assumes humans are rational and does not address conflicts between individuals with equally rational self-interests.

I decided to give Atlas Shrugged a try and to be able to say that I read the book when disagreeing with the philosophy. At this point I have several thoughts and impressions I need to sort out. I tried sharing some with Walter but he has never been exposed to Ayn Rand and I love him too much to make him read this stuff. Then I remembered that I have a blog.

Rand could have made her point in half of the pages. My God, this woman is long-winded. I read the introduction by Leonard Peikoff and he included some development notes. Four paragraphs stating the same point: using Atlas Shrugged as a concrete way to explain abstract philosophy. Each of the four paragraphs has that thesis. I got the idea after one paragraph but maybe I process things a little faster.

I'm approaching this like a marathon. I have the map and elevation profile and have even ridden part of the route but I really don't know what it's like until I actually run the race. Having a general outline of the novel has lead to some frustration. I've often flipped a few pages ahead to see if any interesting bits are ahead or a break where I can put the book down. The image of the Monty Python knights screaming "Get On With It!" often go through my head while reading some parts.

I might enjoy the book a bit more if this was my first exposure to Ayn Rand. I know where this book is going and wish it would hurry up and get there.

Rand's greatest achievement so far with this novel is making sex boring. I try not imagine just how screwed up her sex life must have been. I'm glad she never wrote the screen play for an adult film. I imagine it would have been 3 hours long: 2 hours 50 minutes worth of speeches with cheesy music playing in the background, 10 minutes of sex with 7 and 1/2 minutes of that consisting of the actors jerking off. The conversations between Hank Reardon and Francisco d'Aconias are more sexual than the actual sex. A few of the scenes with Reardon and d'Aconias would be at home in Star Trek slash fiction.

Keeping in mind that Rand is trying to convey a philosophy helps me tolerate the one-dimensional characters and the absurd extremes between the heroes (brilliant, competent, high standards of morality) and the villains (stupid, incompetent, false standards of morality). 1,200 pages and she couldn't find time to flesh characters out to at least 1-1/2 dimensions. Many comic books do a better job.

Some people build straw-men in an attempt to bolster their arguments. Rand is building a straw-world. Easy to tear down.

I will finish this book, I will read the long-winded speeches, laugh at non-normal human behavior, tolerate long descriptions of emotions that characters cannot name, enjoy the absurdity and try not to draw too many analogies between the events in the real world and the events in Atlas Shrugged.

If a John Galt managed to organize a strike in our world, we would become deprived of achievements like Sham-Wow.

Data Collection

Mary begins the data collection phase of her meddle.

No, don't go there. Not much of a challenge - a bit of paint and clone. Who is this Moy & Giella and why do they tag Mary's apartment walls?

IE can find my site but Chrome has been having trouble. What gives?

Exercise Log: June 7 - 13

Walked, rode and ran 43.01 miles, burned 3266.7 calories and weigh 140 pounds. Loki walked 4.75 miles.

Monday ran 3.60 miles in 35:00
Tuesday rode 4.83 miles in 20:00
Wednesday ran 5.18 miles in 50:00
Thursday rode 6.12 miles in 25:00
Friday ran 6.77 miles in 1:05:00

Have moved 911.77 miles so far this year.

Killer patio furniture

Another cut off head challenge. Gangs infiltrate Charterstone with their red bandanas and sky blue Sansabelt slacks. The young man on the left pouring the liquid is a member of a rival gang thus the scowl.

Both guys may be scowling because they are the bread to a Toby and Mary "oh for the love of god, please shut up" sandwich.

The roving patio furniture is more troubling.

Yes, Toby, we get it, marriage takes work. How many days will you blather on about it? Even the umbrella has become tired of your droning and is sneaking up on you to kill you. Go umbrella!

Ride the waves

Included the original below. Is someone rearranging Toby, Mary and the pool furniture during this conversation? Yesterday, they were in the middle of nowhere. Today, they are poolside. The pool has also grown in their absence. Maybe the earthquakes are very intense in Santa Royale and the residents are used to it.

Santa Royale is built on a giant electric football field build by ancient alien astronauts.

Reading the dialogue as if sitting in a massage chair makes it funny. With today's soap opera comic strips you have to make your own fun.

The perfect couple

The pool party has moved on.

Dialogue removal was easy for this strip. No foliage or background people to reconstruct. The plants and the people have become bored with Mary and Toby's conversation. Only the sniper hiding behind the rocks remains.

Pool Party sponsored by Sansabelt Slacks

The only pool party where no one wears a swimsuit. The pool has shrunk since the last party. In the original second panel, a dialogue balloon covered 2/3 of the man in the powder blue slacks' face. I decided someone at this party needed to do something that looked remotely fun, so I used a bit of artistic license. Nothing perks up a party like a man in slacks standing around wearing a clown nose. Plus, I had trouble with drawing a regular nose.

Delilah is coming.

These are not the droids you are looking for

After Delilah refuses to participate in a trust exercise, Lawrence tries the Jedi Mind Trick.

Exercise Log: May 31 - June 6

This week I ran, walked, biked and swam 37.63 miles, burned 3355.3 calories and 141.1 pounds.

Sunday: canoed about 30 minutes
Monday: ran 3.51 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: biked 4.27 miles in 20:00
Wednesday: ran 5.06 miles in 50:00
Thursday: biked 5.82 miles in 25:00
Friday: ran 6.67 miles in 1:05:00
Saturday: swam .28 miles

Thinking about doing a triathalon in April of 2010. Need to work on my swimming and road biking.

Shadows!

I had nothing to do with the odd shadows. What sort of creature casts a shadow selectively? A Mary Worth!

I want the ability to selectively cast my shadow in order to create a sense of unease. A cool but useless ability. More useful: the ability to make home accessories disappear.

Delilah ought to reconsider her stay with Mary.

Help my face has fallen and I can't get off the phone!

Mary needs to get the screws holding her face in place tightened. I expect to find circuits under her face like Yul Brynner in Westworld.

Why is Delilah glancing over her shoulder? Perhaps hoping no one sees her adjust her bra strap? Or scratching that itch in an awkward place? The horror.

Suffered from some mouse drift while cloning the curtains. That previous sentence would make a surreal tweet.

Mary Wordless

The clone tool comes in handy when removing dialogue from curtains. Original art on Mary's wall in the first panel. I call it "Be the Brand". I drew the foliage, too.

Three days on a single phone conversation.

Finally came up with a slightly clever title to this series, "Mary Wordless".

Mary Worth without dialogue

Another in a series of Mary Worth without words. I can draw better with a Wacom tablet rather than a mouse. Should have used the line tool on the stairs.

The crappy paint job does add an extra surreal element.

Maybe this will improve my Photoshop skills.

Hopefully this will become funnier as the story progresses.

Exercise Log: May 24 - May 30

I did the 100 push ups.

I walked, ran, and biked 35.28 miles, burned 2747.8 calories and weigh 142.1 pounds. I also did a lot of fishing and some canoeing.

Loki walked 2.98 miles. He enjoyed the fishing holiday.

Mary Worthless

Inspired by a comment of the week on the Comics Curmudgeon: http://joshreads.com/?p=3231 and Garfield Minus Garfield, I present Mary Worthless - Mary Worth with the dialogue removed.

So what is funnier with the dialogue removed - the facial expressions, moving backgrounds or my crappy photoshop skills?

I've been neglecting the blog lately. Maybe this will bring some focus back to it.

Exercise Log: May 10 - 16

My poor blog is getting neglected because of the attention I've been giving the new things: Facebook & Twitter.

Sunday: 46 push ups
Monday: ran 3.58 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: biked 9.41 miles in 35:00, completed 172 push ups (42 max)
Wednesday: ran 5.06 miles in 50:00
Thursday: biked 11.59 miles in 50:00, completed 186 push ups (46 max)
Friday: ran 6.58 miles in 1:05:00
Saturday: walked/ jogged with Loki 1.26 miles in 20:15.89, completed 202 push ups (52 max)

Loki walked a total of 4.5 miles this week.