Wasted life

There sure is a lot of wasted life going on. A casual observance of most newscasts will spotlight murders and other crimes. Political fighting and any number of social problems and angry people fill the half hour.

The gossip press concerns itself with important topics that will enrich our lives and the people they report about. Thank God someone is keeping up with George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton.

I am just dying to know the latest about Terrell Owens or basketball's latest bad boy.

Maybe people feel better about themselves if they see a rich famous person having problems or breaking rules.

The point is this. If you focus on problems and other people's problems, then you are wasting your daily allotment of consciousness. You are injecting "crap" (for lack of a better word) into your mind and soul instead of "good stuff."

Good stuff is what gives you hope and makes you feel better - legitimately. A good example of what I am talking about is the Liberty Mutual television commercial.

When I watch that commercial, it makes me feel good and it makes me want to do good.

Media has a great power to influence people, but then so do we. I think that commercial is an example of our power at work.

There is a subtle difference in the power of good and the power of evil or bad. The bad stuff seems to be more flashy. It captures the eye and appeals to something in us that likes to rebel. The good is quieter and does not always bring us public praise. Sometimes we are the only ones that know we did it - the good.

The bad stuff does not satisfy for long and we need more. We want bigger and better - soon an addiction is set in motion that is never quenched. That is if we pursue glitz, glamour, fortune, fame, gossip, and surface kinds of things.

On the other hand, the good stuff is quite satisfying and relaxing. It makes you feel that you belong in the world and that you are doing what should be done. Your attitude improves about yourself and others. You can sleep at night and look yourself in the mirror.

I am not talking about ending famines or rebuilding New Orleans on your own. I am talking about smiling at someone, letting someone in in traffic, holding the door for someone at a restaurant and letting them get to the hostess before you, or any number of things that puts someone else first.

The good stuff makes you aware that treasure is a clear starry night or an orange sunset. You know the riches that lie in the wonder of a child or the nuzzling of a puppy.

To do this, we need to slow down and resist getting caught up in the whirlwind and the artificial excitement created in the media and fickle public trends.

Live by principles and not by your feeling of the moment.

Are you driven by winds or guided by a rudder?

I'll leave you with that thought and one more.

Have a great weekend.

Until the next time
John Strain

Freaks

Runners are freaks when it comes to statistics. They may meet the freak description for other reasons, but I will let someone else describe those finer points.

I write down how far I run, my time, my pace, my weight, and the weather at the time for each run I do. I have all of my races linked in the "About Me" section of this blog, complete with photos of the race if available.

I remember many runs. I remember the hills, the cracks in the road, and how I felt. Most runners are that way. They can tell you about a 5K they ran in 1993. They will remember what kind of beer they drank after the race and whether or not the National Anthem was played to start the run. They can tell you how they ran and what mistakes they made.

Runners keep commit their medical history as it relates to injuries in the forefront of their brain and are always ready to dole out medical advice.

When runners get together at races, pre race pasta dinners, or packet pick ups, they regale each other with these and other exploits how I imagine soldiers might talk about past campaigns when they get together.

It is just something we do. I am not sure if runners become statistics hounds or if statistics junkies naturally gravitate to running, but it is a fact.

So you can imagine how happy I was when I ran across a study about marathons. It gave me a lot of statistics I wanted to know, but had not before.

The study is at a site called Marathon Guide and the link to the study is here. USA Marathoning 2005 Report.

I don't expect most of you will click the link and read the report so let me hit a few of the highlights.

First of all, in 2005 there were 382,000 marathon finishing times recorded. That does not mean 382,000 people finished a marathon, because in 2005 I ran 5 marathons. You can probably figure that at least 300,000 people in the USA ran a marathon in 2005. This figures out to be less than 1% of our total population.

So far so good, I am in an exclusive group.

The next bit of information has to do with finishing times. I tend to run 26.2 miles in about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Of all marathoners, only 8.1% finished in less than 3:30:00. The average finishing time for all runners was 4:41:32. So I am an hour faster than the average.

Age groups and gender were interesting. Of all marathon finishers, 60% are men and 40% are women. The largest male age group was 40-44 while the largest female age group was 25-29. I hadn’t noticed, hehehe.

The biggest marathon of course, is the New York City Marathon, 36,872 finishers. I ran Boston in 2005 and it ranked 6th with 17,549 finishers.

Most people run marathons in the fall. October is the biggest month with some 57 marathons and 105,000 finishers. In all, there are about 300 marathons in the USA annually.

Time to go out and create more statistics. Today’s run is 5 miles. It should be nice since the temperature is in the low 50’s.

See you at the races.

Until the next time
John Strain

It's only time and money

We had a good time in New Orleans. Saturday we drove in from the Northshore to attend a wedding. Barb and I stayed at a hotel in the French Quarter. Bear had to go to dog jail.

Little did I know our stay was about to be extended.

I could tell it like a Visa commercial.

Cab ride to get a battery because your car won't start $15.
Battery $60.
Another cab ride to get a battery because they gave you the wrong one $15.
Battery another $25 because they only had the expensive one.
Shop towels, battery terminal cleaner, and hand cleaner $15.
Cokes, chips, and other items consumed while waiting for taxi cabs and tow trucks $15.
Tow truck ride 42 miles home because it was more than a battery $200.
Car repair, new starter, $395. (I know, but Infiniti starters are expensive.)
Spending all day in the parking lot of a convenience store with your wife wishing you hadn't made that one last stop - That's the breaks.

So the cap on a fun weekend wasn't so fun. We got home at 11 PM instead of 3 PM. What's 8 hours?

The car wouldn't start after we got out to get a drink for the drive across the bridge. Jumping it wouldn't work and since the battery was corroded and old it seemed logical. Getting the new battery was an ordeal and in the end, wasn't the problem.

The store closed at 8 PM so we were stuck sitting in a dark parking lot. We felt like sitting ducks waiting for muggers to show up. We called some friends and they sat around with us until the tow truck came.

In the end, it all worked out. All you need is a credit card and you can get just about anything done these days.

On a much brighter note, I took Monday off to catch up on the yard work that I didn't do on he weekend because of the wedding.

The weather was beautiful and it was a joy to be out in it. Earlier, I ran my 12 miles I should have run on Sunday.

Then the evening was capped off by watching the Saints return to the Superdome. It was emotional and the outcome followed a Hollywood script.

The Saints mean a lot to this region. Now that they are playing well, they are giving folks a real boost. It is just football, but it has a way of easing tension and giving people hope.

Enjoy your Tuesday and I hope things are going well where you are.

Until the next time
John Strain

Autumn?

It is the first day of autumn. The temperature is 78 and the humidity is 93%. Fish are able to walk around the streets and breathe just fine. It feels more like July than it does September.

We did have two cool mornings, but they are distant memories when you walk out into the thick sticky air here. I take solace in the fact the days like this are numbered and the cool crisp days are soon to be the norm.

Anyway, on Friday, it is hard to let anything get you down. I have a wedding to go to this weekend. Barbara and I are staying in the French Quarter Saturday night. The Superdome reopens to the glitz of Monday Night Football. So there is lots of fun brewing down here on the bayou.

Katrina who?

Have a nice weekend folks.

Until the next time
John Strain

Un-United Nations

The United Nations has become nothing more than a soapbox for people who hate America. Hugo Chavez the dictator of Venezuela voiced his disagreements with America by personally insulting the President of the United States.

In his address to the UN he exercised a freedom of speech that he does not allow in his own country.

Ahmadinejad of Iran gave a speech laced with apocalyptic imagery and he prayed for the end of the world.

How can serious discussion occur when these leaders say one thing while they do another? President Bush may be criticized for his policy, but he is doing what he proclaims. These other folks perform evil while they preach good. I don't think I need to elaborate any details to support that point.

What is even more unsettling is the applause Chavaz received and the chuckles he got when he was calling President Bush the devil.

My blood is boiling. Our President was called the devil on our own soil by a dictator. Dictators are not nice people you know. Yet we stand by with our hands in our pockets. When the Pope’s words were misunderstood, Muslims rioted, protested, burned down churches, and shot a 75 year old nun.

Maybe what bothers me even more is there seems to be no outcry from America. I don't think it is because everyone knows what happened and just writes it off as the ravings of lunatic minds. I fear it is because Americans are too busy living their lives that they don't notice the wolves at the door.

The world is getting more and more dangerous for us. There are regimes who are actively seeking our demise. Our policies should address these threats. I am convinced talk will do nothing. Our freedom and way of life will have to be defended and it may be soon.

I hope I am wrong. I hope we all hold hands some day and share cookie recipes. However, since these individuals basically require us to drop our pants and grab our ankles, I think there is going to be a fight somewhere in that process.

Maybe, if these men keep threatening us, Americans will wake up and take it seriously. A united United States is a bad mofo to tangle with, so I have hope.

It just gripes my rear end to see little pip squeaks talking big in our house. Macho or not, you don't do that unless you are spoiling for a fight. I say give it to them.

Just some thoughts of mine stirred by some threats of those who want us all dead.

Until the next time
John Strain