Continuing Apace

Ran 2 miles in 13:44.

Running Man

Did 2 miles in 13:40.

Sorry, Can't

Got a call from our old bank about some business. They need me to come by the branch and pick up a form. Sure! I'll drive right over. It's just 2,285 miles. See ya in a few minutes.

Dear Nth Bank of Citimerica Fargo, look into mail or parcel services. I have it on reliable authority that several alternatives exist. I'm also sure that the rate you've paid me is comfortably exceeded by the return you've made on my deposits... you can afford the stamp.

Uh-oh

Rick Warren, prominent evangelical leader, was recently injured by a plant in his yard. He has been known for his support for responsible stewardship of the environment-a sentiment not totally disconnected from that discussed in the book "Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy," by Matthew Scully (this was an interesting if occasionally irritating and obtuse book, but I gave it away after reading it several years ago).

I wonder if he'll still feel that way when he recovers?

Google Autosuggest

When I type "the world's worst" into Google's search field I get the following:

• the world's worst economies
• the world's worst oil spills
• the world's worst website
• the world's worst game
• the world's worst dictators
• the world's worst wedding dj
• the world's worst prison
• the world's worst dj
• the world's worst cars
• the world's worst hurricane

Hmm. Strangely boring, except apparently there are a lot of really terrible DJs. Who knew?

She Knows His Love's in Texas

Please watch this and tell me that monkeys shouldn't be allowed to compete at the rodeo. UPDATE: "Texas" s/b "Tulsa" yes?

Further Adventures in Dentistry

Another day, another dentist attack! Got some more fillings, and a root canal. It took a lot longer. Possibly because I complained about my jaw aching from the bite-blocker, and they gave me several breaks. Also possible because they had to use microscopic files to excavate my teeth to a depth of about 1.1 meters. Took about ninety minutes for the two fillings and the root canal. They used temporary fillings on the root canal because some time is needed to tell if the results are good, upon which they'll clean that out and permanently fill and crown that tooth.

Feels pretty weird right now, and I have a headache I'm pretty sure from the jaw-torquing and whatnot. And the numbing.

My Running Gag

2 miles, 13:54.

Future World Cups

This article discusses the state of bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. It is widely believed that the 2018 World Cup will be awarded to an European nation (following the 2010 WC in South Africa and the 2014 WC scheduled for Brazil). The leading candidates in Europe for 2018 seem to be England, Russia, and a shared bid by Benelux. Also possible are (apparently, and highly unlikely in my mind) Qatar, and, maybe, Australia.

Qatar is so unlikely. They don't really meet any of the criteria that FIFA talks about in public, and from a common sense (and good-faith) standpoint can't seem to hope to support the required infrastructure: there are only five airports in Bahrain (just three of which are paved); there are only 1.7M people in Qatar(one expects >2M visitors for a WC); there are only about 3 cities of any size in Qatar; the average summer high is nicely above 100F (going to build 8 enclosed stadia for your .75M residents?). The only point-of-view from which Qatar makes much sense is corruption: the powers that be at FIFA could line their pockets with oil money. I suppose that holding the WC in a Middle Eastern country might serve as a "regional" World Cup, but most of the countries in that region are already mad about soccer.

The "already mad about soccer" theme holds true in the old European nations like England and Benelux, too. Russia not nearly as much, and serves a large population where you can imagine increasing soccer-penetration. Russia has at least marginally sufficient infrastructure. You also have lots of opportunities for personal corruption in Russia.

My bet is Russia in 2018 and USA in 2022.

A Terrible Road, My Son

From here this outstanding beginning:

In 1820, the Hungarian noble Farkas Bolyai wrote an impassioned cautionary letter to his son Janos:

"I know this way to the very end. I have traversed this bottomless night, which extinguished all light and joy in my life… It can deprive you of your leisure, your health, your peace of mind, and your entire happiness… I turned back when I saw that no man can reach the bottom of this night. I turned back unconsoled, pitying myself and all mankind. Learn from my example…"

Bolyai wasn't warning his son off gambling, or poetry, or a poorly chosen love affair. He was trying to keep him away from non-Euclidean geometry. Staging an intervention to keep a child out of math trouble comes off as comic to the modern reader. But in the early nineteenth century, as Amir Alexander ably demonstrates in Duel at Dawn, mathematics was viewed as a passion on par with poetry—an occupation that could lift a youth like Janos Bolyai to exalted heights, and just as quickly fling him into death or dissolution.

Don't Tread On Me?

Ran 2 miles in 14:30.

Not Real, But For the Record

Ran 5k today, in 22:24.

Energy Storage

One of the interesting points I've seen for a while about Peak Oil is that one way to think of the (probably inevitable, even if not imminent) transition away from complete dependence of our economy on fossil fuels to anything except nuclear power will entail a shift in importance from stocks to flows and a need to devise much better energy storage media.

Good Riddance

Another crappy game! Boo! Another game without injury! Yay! Our season is now over, so I'm trying to catch on with a weekend league instead of this weekday stuff. I have two leads, but I don't know how well they'll pan out. The problem is that there are usually more than enough men for both the coed and men-only leagues, so it can be tough to break into a team. And I've pretty much had it with being the team organizer for a bunch of adults unable to reliably show up in time to begin (or at all).

It seemed throughout the season that the other teams had a lot of younger players and solid females. We only had a few younger men and a pair of solid females, and only a couple of people in good enough shape for the rate of play (not me, unfortunately).

I'm going to try to get back into good cv fitness and work on the recovery aspects... Sprint-jog-sprint-jog for 25 minutes over an hour is rather different from the running I'd done in prep for the season (I was up to 2-4 miles at a stretch, generally around 7-7:30/mile, a few times per week). Since clearing my injury streak I've been doing about 2 miles' worth of intervals on 1:4 ratio of 5:7.5 minutes/mile. I'm thinking I'll go to a 1:3 ratio and push up the recovery rate a little bit, maybe extend to 3 miles' worth of intervals.

Realistically I probably need to get on an actual track or field and do windsprints as my high-intensity phases are already at the treadmill max and I ought to push for the high-phases to something more like my actual maximum speed.

Hot Enough For Me

It is a steamy time of year, here. The humidity, in particular, is rough, keeping the heat in until quite late. I wonder if we've been setting records lately. I know that we've been trending up in such swings:

But it is tough to say within the last several years (as opposed to the last decade) if that's the case.

UPDATE:

Apparently the ratio is definitely increasing even within the decade.

Useful Website

Measuring Worth: lots of inflation adjustments.

Adventures in Dentistry

Had a dental appointment this morning. It was brief and uncomfortable. The drilling wasn't a problem, as the dentist jabbed me about a dozen times with his numbing needles. However, he wedged my jaw open with something that looked like a small door-stopper, which was highly unpleasant. I do not have a flip-top head. Also fun was the delightful suction/spray-thingie constantly making me feel like I was being waterboarded.

"Waterboarded" is of course an exaggeration, but I didn't like it at all.

Ship Traffic Near BP Wildish Well

Here

Frustrating!

Played like crap last night. Once again avoided injury, though, so that's good.

Pictorial

Below is an aerial view of one of the venues we've played indoor soccer this season...

View Larger Map

It is colloquially referred to as "the Gunston Bubble." Lest you think the "Bubble" designation is unearned, see this other view...

View Larger Map

It is quite like playing in a greenhouse, too. Great fun in the muggy summer weather we've had the last few games.

Google Auto Suggest

When typing in "world's best" I get the following auto suggestions:

• world's best cat litter
• world's best cat litter coupon
• world's best universities
• world's best beaches
• world's best lasagna
• world's best soccer player
• world's best airlines
• world's best cat litter reviews
• world's best cat litter rebate
• world's best beer

A few nice straightforward suggestions... a few less so. Damn this is a compelling cat litter review! Holy crap what a rebate! This coupon... is the best deal I've ever gotten on cat litter!

New Multifeed Link

Click here for oil-spewing goodness!

Forgotten How

I've more or less forgotten how to play chess. I still know the rules, and basically what is going on, but my (admittedly never razor-sharp) Spidey Sense has disappeared. I used to enjoy playing quite a bit, and even got somewhat good for a few months in college, playing with a post doc in the physics department at U of O. Now, however, I have downloaded a little chess app for the iPod, and reliably lose at just its third level of difficulty. Moreover, it is due to mortifying stupidity!

Delicious

I made a grilled pepper and beet and bacon salad as a side dish tonight. With a honey-balsalmic vinegarette. It was really good. Roughly, I julienned each, then grilled them (on the Foreman grill). Used 3 pieces of bacon, 1/2 bell pepper, and three steamed beets. This was slightly too much bacon. You'll want to make this bacon crispy, and develop a bit of char if possible, here and there.

Winning Streak Fail

We had a makeup game for our previously abandoned match (caused by a power outage at the facility) last night. It was my team's last choice of time/date. In fact, it was the worst option for which we could literally field a team, and that with just two men and four women. We had a straggler male arrive with about 20 minutes left in the second half. So I'm pretty tired; I was our team's only outfield male player (the other guy played in goal) for a full 30 minutes. That's too much for me right now, really.

Fortunately no injuries or problems other than fatigue. I guess I have a good bruise forming on my instep where a got his heel-studs in the way of my shot. Ouchie for me. I scored again, but overall was too gassed to play very well after the first 20 minutes.

Think We Have Coaching Problems?

From here:

The serious qualification is the Grade A UEFA license, at which level Spain have 750 qualified and England 150. Of those, 640 of the Spanish Grade A licensed coaches work with children and youth players, compared to none in England.

Well, I don't know, honestly, what boat we're in. Hard information about USSF operations is hard to come by.

Bad Calls

With all the bad calls in the World Cup, the head of FIFA has said that the question of "using technology" to assist in officiating will be reopened after being rejected some time ago. Some fancy-pants former player of great stature has, in response, said that "goal-line" technology and video review should not be used, but extra refs would possibly be okay.

Well, of course that's what he's going to say. He can drum up more work for his friends that way!

Google Auto Suggest

When typing in "How long i" I get the following auto suggestions:

• How long is the w&od bike trail
• How long is the great wall of China
• How long is a 5k
• How long is a marathon
• How long is iron man 2
• How long is avatar
• How long is a meter
• How long is pinkeye contagious
• How long is the SAT
• How long is a baseball game

Wow. How long is a 5k? What color was Napoleon's white horse?

Done Returned

Yester-evening I played on my indoor soccer team for the first time since in about six weeks. Between the never-ending quad injuries and then my back spasm, I've been spending a lot of frustrating time on the sidelines. Mostly organizing subs and acting as a hortator.

It went well, despite the fact that I was weak and giddy from not eating until too late and then eating too little. I hate that feeling, don't you? I could tell while warming up (something I did a lot of today) that the fitness I'd built up has decayed alarmingly, too.

We won, something like 8-5. I scored a brace (on three shots), and had a pair of assists too! Should have been three of each, but I was robbed by a brilliantly lucky deflection by a lunging defender (another goal) and then a poor control of my through-ball by one of my team-mates.

Best of all: I feel pretty good this morning. No twinges in the back, no problems in the quads. I didn't really unload on any shots or passes or anything, though. Figure I should take it easy for a while longer, maybe do some purposeful additional rehab-type exercises.

Google Auto Suggest

When typing in "What is this o" I get auto suggestions that say:

• What is this object
• What is this ominous light that threatens to engulf us
• What is this of which you speak
• What is this on my lip
• What is this old man about
• What is this on the impossible test
• What is this one rule to a flat stomach
• What is this old tool
• What is this oil spill
• What is this octopus thinking

This isn't as funny of a list as the last one. I guess herpes is just intrinsically funny.