Just because I thought you might be interested

In an attempt to keep my home as clutter free as possible, I try to throw away all the crap I possibly can. (It's really a fight between my sentimentality and the part of me that needs to have everything neat and orderly.) As you can imagine, the computer is my best weapon in said war-on-clutter because it can hold tons and tons of information in an amazaingly small space.

In the lattest battle I had to decide what to do with my very first racing memento, my number from the Milk Run. My options were to either stick the sucker in a scrap book or throw it away and move on. In the end, I opted for surpirse option C: to scan the thing into my computer, post the image on my blog, and then throw away the original.

Where have I heard this before?

This story sounds like something someone else I know has been or will be asked at one point in her life.

walking back something I said earlier

In an earlier post I think I pretty properly dissed Kentucky. Then I was poking around on the internet today and found this funny story which also took place in Louisville, KY. If you haven't had a chance to check this site out before, it's called Overheard in the Office and it's really funny. Seriously, who hasn't worked in an office that had something to contribute to this site?

in the long run

In honor of choosing the next race I run to be a 5 mile race, I decided this morning I should run at least that far. In fact I repeated the route I took on my Tour of Parks and ran just over 6 miles. (6.0359 miles or 9.7159K to be exact.) Now I'm hungry and I badly want a shower and coffee.

Also, Kelly has been away for the weekend and someone who shall remain nameless doesn't write in her blog, so I'm cruising for something to read. Right now I'm finishing up The Second Summer of the Sisterhood which is the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I was inspired to start reading the second book after watching the movie made from the first book. I actually want to re-read the first book becuase I think the movie director took a few liberties with the plot.

And for my next race

After this morning's fun I started looking into races I can run in the fall. I've sort of decided, not sort of, I've actually decided that I'd like to keep running and the thing most likely to keep me running is another race. I found a 5k around Lake Harriet for cancer and a 5k in Minneapolis that starts on Boom Island but the one I'm most intrigued by is the Run for the Apples which is a 5 mile (not 5k) run in White Bear Lake at the end of October.

This morning Amanda let me know she had to take a break from running to deal with the real life issue of simultaneously working and attending school (oh, how I feel her pain). I'm hoping I can convince her and Kelly and Eric (Side note: Would Eric ever run a 5 mile race?) to come and be my cheering squad.

I'm not the slowest person on the earth

This morning I ran in the 2006 Minnesota State Fair Milk Run. I'm pleased to report (even though my normal running pace is such that if I moved any slower I'd be going backwards) that I'm not the slowest person on Earth. I ran an 11:45 mile. Of 720 women, I finished 556 (right behind an old lady in her 60's). Of 93 women in my age bracket, I finished 73rd. The competitor in me wants to do way better in whatever event I run in next, like go much faster. The calmer side of me is totally excited I ran a road race, happy that I went faster than I thought I would, and grateful to Amanda for getting me back into running.

I ran with Amanda and a friend, Amy. I actually wound up running pretty much the whole race with Amy. Having other people to talk to made the up hill portions of the race not so bad.

Check out all the results of the 2006 Milk Run at Apple Raceberry Jam's site.

How fun is this?

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. Yes, they do. I hold Kelly's comments about me and the hair dying incident as proof. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. Oh yeah! You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else. You bet I do. Now, ask me what they are...

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Perhaps I shouldn't run this far every day

I ran a little over 5 miles in 60-70 minutes this morning. I'm begining to think that I shouldn't be running 5 miles every morning. Maybe I should wait until I'm a little stronger to do it every day. As it is my knees and lower back start to protest somewhere along the run. Also, with this route, it's much flatter than my neighborhood running route except at the end when there's a giant hill. All of my run I'm thinking I just need to save enough juice to get up this last hill. It wears my mind out thinking about that hill for the entire run.

Last week I decided that I would take tomorrow off of running in order to save some love for Sunday. A day with no excercise just makes me feel fat and lazy so perhaps I'll take a little walk tomorrow instead. (Not my regular 5-6 mile hike. I like to excercise but let's not go too nuts here.)

More things you should know

More things you should know about me and why we all can't wait for school to start and me not to have so much free time on my hands.

First:

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

25% Yankee

15% Dixie The only reason there's any "Dixie" in there at all is becuase I use the word "y'all" in my sentences.

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern This is only funny becuase I grew up in the Midwest. (Yes, Ohio really is part of the Midwest for those of y'all that don't know.

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Anything called "The Underwear Oracle has got to be good.

What Your Underwear Says About You

You like your underwear to make you feel girlish and pretty. Let's hope you're a chick. You're comfortable in your own skin - and don't care to impress anyone.

The Underwear Oracle

This one is specifically for Kelly and Amanda. I can't wait to hear who your Mom is even though I already know what I call her.

Your Mommy Is Madonna

What You Call Her: Ma What people say about yo momma: Yo momma so hairy Bigfoot is taking her picture!

Who's Your Mommy?

While eating my lunch

While eating my lunch and surfing the internet, I've discovered some things I'd like to share with you.

First, Kelly if you're still looking for that perfect aniversary gift for Eric, I think this page should give you some ideas.

Second, this story makes me feel old and I only graduated college 4 years ago. Wow, four years. What the hell have I been doing all this time? Seriously, I'm only a few years older than these kids and I remember both Germanys and the Soviet Union. Check out number 46. I remember part of that drama at my high school. Let me just say lawyers were called. Number 71 is hillarious and has the added bonus of looking like a headline from The Onion. Also, what's this thing about headphones in the back seat and "Boogers" candy?

Third, all I have to say is that with the amount of Chipotle I eat and Diet Pepsi I drink, there's no way that this can be correct.

You Are 72% Healthy

Your diet is quite healthy, but you don't too crazy with what you eat. You know how to eat what's good for you, but you're also careful not to deprive yourself.

How Healthy Is Your Diet?

I didn't know I could get any slower

I ran 5.6 miles today in lets say 70-80 minutes. I went slower than I do on my usual neighborhood run which means I do have a pace slower than the 12:30 mile I usually run because I wasn't sure how long my new route was going to be. Turns out, not as long as I thought. This morning I got up (late, but how is that different from any other day?) and ran down to Minnehaha Parkway and around Lake Nokomis. It was raining almost the whole time I was running but I did manage to get back home before the thunder started.

Well clearly I need sleep

Here's how I've been entertaining myself the past few minutes.

You Were an Eagle

You are able to rise above the details of life and see the big picture. A spiritual being, you tend to go beyond material concerns.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

This one was a bit of a surprise.

Your Travel Profile:

You Are Extremely Well Traveled in the Midwestern United States (100%)Could be because that's where I live. You Are Very Well Traveled in the Northeastern United States (71%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Canada (40%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Southern United States (38%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Africa (25%)I think this question is inaccurate. I'm really fairly well traveled in Africa, just not the places they ask about. You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Asia (21%)Again, I've been to several places in Asia, just not the ones they're asking about. Does Kobe coun't for nothing? You Are Mostly Untraveled in Southern Europe (13%)Can I just express my frustation that Europe gets broken into "Southern", "Eastern", "the United Kingdom", "Western" and freaking "Scandanavia" while Africa is only one category. More importantly, Asia where a bajillion people live is also only one category. You Are Mostly Untraveled in the Western United States (11%) You Are Untraveled in Australia (0%)My missing continent. We're not counting Antartica right now. I'm not sure how I'd ever get there. You Are Untraveled in Eastern Europe (0%) You Are Untraveled in Latin America (0%)This is flatly untrue. Who can say "Brazil"? Who can say, "Cuba?" You Are Untraveled in New Zealand (0%) You Are Untraveled in Scandinavia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Western Europe (0%) You Are Untraveled in the Middle East (0%) You Are Untraveled in the United Kingdom (0%)

How Well Traveled Are You?

Your Brain is 80% Female, 20% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Now, everyone remember this one.

Your Power Level is: 64%

You're a very powerful person, and you know that all of your power comes from within. Keep on doing what you're doing, and you'll reach your goals.

How Powerful Are You?

Going along with the theme of world domination:

You Should Rule Jupiter

Huge and hot, Jupiter is a quickly turning planet with short days and intense gravity. You are perfect to rule Jupiter, because you are both dominant and kind. You have great strength and confidence, but you never abuse your power. You are always right. Even if you make mistakes, you compensate for them... before anyone knows it. Headstrong and ambitious, you always have a goal in mind. You are optimistic and believe thing things will always work out.

What Planet Should You Rule?

A couple quick things

Here's a couple quick things since I didn't run today (and therefore feel fat and useless) and also because Kelly was at a staff meeting all day and so unable to post to her blog.

This headline was at the top of My Yahoo fitness tips yesterday. Hee hee.

Also, I don't think this comes as a great shock to anyone, but I thought you'd like to know anyways.

You Are 72% Pure

Well, you're not exactly an angel - but you're pretty darn close. But chances are, you have a couple juicy secrets deep in your closet.

How Pure Are You?

A couple pictures I meant to post earlier

These are from the other day at work. (I know you all want to know where you can get one of those fancy orange shirts.)






That Moolate was the biggest thing I've ever eaten.

Fun blog things

A couple of fun blog things happened to me today.

First of all, I have discovered that the readership of my blog has gone above two although given the nature of the comment I'm not sure how long that will last. Welcome to everyone else out there who is reading but too shy to comment.

Second, anyone know why the RSS feed on Kelly's blog never works.

There was going to be a third thing. I have no idea what it was. Perhaps it's time for me to sleep.

For Amanda

I'm posting this for Amanda who asked if I knew the difference between running and jogging. I looked it up, and there are a couple of ideas. Here's one. Here's another. It sounds like semantics to me, but the kinds of semantics that some people take very seriously. We've never had the caving/spelunking or boat/ship debates on this blog, but I assure you, there's a difference. Also, I'm posting this because it's seems relevant to the topic.

I love the stuff that happens in Kentucky

Let me just open by saying, I've literally travelled around the world and Kentucky is the most beautiful place I've ever been. However, Mark Twain once said that Cincinnati is twenty years behind the times. I like to think Kentucky caused the drag.

So, in Louisville, Kentucky (where students are in school in August in an effort to store up snow days because in Kentucky if a cow pees on the road and it freezes the kids will get the day off of school) a history teacher burned two american flags, one in each of two history classes. He did it as an excercise to get kids to think about free speech. The more interesting thing is how it's being reported in the news. Check out story 1, story 2, and story 3. There's also a story with video at CNN available but the link is to a java script command to open a video player and I don't know how to transfer that onto my blog yet maybe one day Kelly will help me.

I'm interested in two things:

1. The first news story was filed before a parent complained. Who told the news?
2. The school board now seems to be all hot and bothered (I wonder if they're up for re-election this year) and is saying the teacher could illustrate his point to students any other way.
   

Now let's just sit for a moment and reflect on the fact that this assigment that was designed to get students to consider free speech and the school board is telling the teacher he shouldn't use a currently legal act of free speech as a teaching tool. Then, for performing said act of free speech, the school board censures the teacher in the news, re-assigns him, starts an investigation, and notifies fire officials who are able to start their own investigation.

If I was a seventh grader in Louisville, Kentucky I would assume that it's really not legal (or smart) to burn an American flag.

Since I don't knit

Since I don't knit, I was thinking maybe I could do this instead. At least if it doesn't work out for me, surely Kellyor Amanda could make one. I'm sure one of them carries a purse more than I do anyways.

The tour of parks

Since I have the day off and was able to sleep in, I went for a really long run this morning. When I say long, I mean I toured a couple parks I don't usually see along my normal route. I ran through Powderhorn Park which I haven't done since I left for the Peace Corps, and two tiny parks on either side of Park Ave between 43rd street and 44th street. They're really cute little parks. All in all, I ran just over 6 miles this morning in about 75-80 minutes (which still makes me the slowest runner on the planet). My knees were kind of hurting by the end. Is that bad?

Also, random question: Does a cat in heat sound roughly the same as a baby crying?

Just a few other things...

Just a few other things you should know about me because I didn't get home from work (no, not that job, the other one) until 11pm and I'm not quite ready to sleep yet.

Your Aura is Blue

Spiritual and calm, you tend to live a quiet but enriching life. You are very giving of yourself. And it's hard for you to let go of relationships. The purpose of your life: showing love to other people Famous blues include: Angelina Jolie, the Dali Lama, Oprah Careers for you to try: Psychic, Peace Corps Volunteer, Counselor

What Color Is Your Aura?

You Communicate With Your Ears

You love conversations, both as a listener and a talker. What people say is important to you, and you're often most affected by words, not actions. You love to hear complements from others. And when you're upset, you often talk to yourself. Music is very important to you. It's difficult to find you without your iPod.

How Do You Communicate?

This one seems a little low to me. As I said before, I doubt the accuracy of some of these tests.

You Are 44% Obsessive

You're somewhat obsessive, especially when it comes to a couple things (like horrifying thoughts or cleanliness). As long as your quirks aren't interrupting your life, it's all good.

How Obsessive Are You?

On Average, You Would Sell Out For

$1,118,111

At What Price Would You Sell Out?

I did actually know this one.

You Are 90% Psychic

You are so very psychic. But you already predicted that, didn't you? You have "the gift" - and you use it daily to connect with others. You're very tapped into the world around you... Just make sure to use your powers for good!

Are You Psychic?

You Are Periwinkle

You're very intuitive and sensitive. You often know other people better than they know themselves. You're also quite optimistic, and you think well of yourself and others. You know your dreams will come true.

What Color Blue Are You?

You Are a White Flower

A white flower tends to represent purity, simple beauty, and modesty. At times, you are dignified like a magnolia. And at other times, you represent great ecstasy, like a white orchid. And more than you wish, you're a little boastful, like a white hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

And my personal favorite although I knew this as well

Your Lucky Underwear is Purple

Dreamy and idealistic, you envision great things for your life. Your lucky purple underwear can make those dreams come true! You're a busy little butterfly. You have the most projects, interests, and friends of anyone you know. You also have a flair for the dramatic. Sometimes too much drama comes in to your life and brings things to a stop. If you want to focus more, and flutter less, put on your purple underpants. They'll help you get the important things done.

What Color Is Your Lucky Underwear?

Now I'm entertained

After taking this quiz and these two quizzes this morning, I'm quite entertained with the quizzes at Blogthings. Here's a couple more:

I don't think this is a suprise to anyone who knows me:

You Are 30% Extrovert, 70% Introvert

You are quite reserved You aren't afraid of social situations... But you very much prefer to go it alone And why not? You're your own best friend!

Are You An Extrovert or An Introvert?

This one was just entertaining.

Your Career Personality: Idealistic, Service-Oriented, and Future-Oriented

Your Ideal Careers: Alternative health practitioner Architect Environmental lawyer Librarian Magazine editor Museum curator Novelist Nutritionist Photo journalist Playwright

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

Against my better judgement

I'm posting this one against my better judgement, only because I think it's a flawed test. I just had to giggle at the first line. The second line made me giggle too.

Your IQ Is 115

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

I was playing at Kelly's blog. She had taken these tests so it seemed like the thing to do.

You Are 45% Left Brained, 55% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

I just don't even know what to think about this one.

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts. You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary. But you sure can beat a good drum. "Kill! Kill!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Well now it's even more annoying

Ok. That stupid pedometer is even more annoying now. I re-mapped my route. I ran 4.33 miles or 6.975K this morning, thank you very much. And then I tried, once again to save the picture of the elevation changes in my route. As you can see from my previous post, all 4.3 miles are not in the picture even though when I right-clicked and selected "save image as" I could see the whole thing. When I tried to save the elevation picture the second time, once again it didn't even show three of the four miles even though the entire picture was displayed on my screen as it was saving. Anyone who knows what's up with this, let me know.

The Long Run

... and why Google Maps Pedometer is goofy.

I ran, well, I'm not sure but over 4.3 miles today. Maybe 4.4, maybe not quite. I was on G-Maps clicking out my route and suddenly it wouldn't click anymore. I blame Google. They are, afterall, the source of all my problems in life.






This is a picture of this mornings run. Minus the last block. It's ok. That block was downhill anyways.

Some funny pictures

These are two photos I saw on Bald Guy Greetings. Is it wrong they both remind me of Kelly?













This is a photo to remind everyone that it's very difficult to get the perfect picture of the Taj Mahal. It always winds up being crooked.

Interesting discovery

I was on Google Pedometer and I discovered something very interesting about the elevation feature. It only measures the elevation change between the points I mark on the map. So if I don't make a new point at every block, the measures are less accurate.





On the right is just putting points on the maps where I turn corners or turn around. On the left is putting a point at every city block, no matter if I'm going straight or not.









Here are the less and more accurate elevation maps for my normal neighborhood run. See the one on the left, between miles two and three it looks like I run basically straight up a hill. I do. Remember all the times I complained about the big hill in my run?

I still feel like crap

My my, I'm quite whiny these days. I'm blame biology. I felt in a bind this morning about running. On the one hand, I need to run because I work tonight which means running tomorrow morning is unlikely and I work tomorrow night which means running Sunday morning is unlikely. I didn't want to not run 3 or 4 days in a row. Who can predict the likelihood of running on a Monday?

As a compromise, I decided I would run hills. I still ran 3 miles, almost a whole 5K, just with many more hills. There's one in particular that's an absolute beast. I've circled it in blue.

In honor of Jenny

In honor of Jenny, who doubted that pictures of people jumping would look cool, here are a couple of my own. Yes, I know I've written a lot of posts today but I'm bored and it's too early for bed. I miss cable.

what just happened

I went to open up my blog and all I could see was a bunch of code. What the he!! just happened?

Here are a few more pictures to explain how crappy I feel

this is new

I saw this story earlier and meant to write about it. It's funny that I told Jenny a story of a couple friends who met on Geek 2 Geek and Jenny was asking me if I'd ever thought about meeting someone that way. Cause just waiting for Mr. Right, or anyone else, is working so well for me right now. The flirting in traffic thing sounds like it could be absolutely hysterical.

The sad fact is

The sad fact is I ran a really long way today and I should feel proud of such an accomplishment. Instead, I feel like crapola.

well that was sad

I had a nice post, but it didn't publish properly. I'm not sure if it was because of Blogger or because of my wireless connection. Either one is a possibility at this point. The point of the post was to ask if anyone knows how to get a .gif animation file up on my blog. No, I do not have a server.

In other news, I ran 4.28 miles today and now I'm in pain. In all fairness, it's a biologically inconvenient time for me right now and I think I'd still be in pain even if I hadn't run.

Yesterday I started running but then got the feeling that I had to use the bathroom and so only ran a mile and headed home to avoid any disasters. After I got home I decided to do sit-ups as an alternate form of excercise that wouldn't take me far. Ultimately that may be been a bad decision because the soreness from sit-ups (does sit-ups have a hyphen like that?) may be adding to other pain that I'm experiencing right now. It's hard to say.

does anybody now

Does anybody probably named Kelly, but Amanda may know too if it's possible to post things besides pictures on blogger. In all the free time I've created for myself this summer (by not going to school or working very hard) I found some photo morphing freeware that's pretty fun.

Anyways, I was playing today after running 4.28 miles and I created a cool .gif file it could also be a .swf file or an .avi file. I'd like to put it up here but I'm not really sure blogger is going to let me.

I never really realized

I never really realized how much I sit in my "I-look-so-bored-I-could-spit" pose. It's funny how similar this picture from camping is to this picture from the Twins game. (I'm in the top left corner of this one, ignore the two girls in the front.)

In an effort at adding color to my page

In an effort at adding color to me blog, there are some pictures I'd like to share. Some are penny bridges which involves impressive architec tural skills as well as many many pennies. Other pictures are from the totally fun camping trip we just took.

I'm sooo slow

I figured out this morning that I run a 5k in about 40 minutes which means I run like a 12:45 mile. I am the slowest runner on the planet. Kelly pointed out that I'm short and so have to run slower. I didn't find that advice to be encouraging.

I had a totally good day at work. It was our last day of summer working with the kids. We played an old favorite of mine and Amanda's as well. It's called "Honey if you love me" and the object of the game is to make other people laugh. Needless to say it's freaking hysterical.

my favorite quote

My new favorite quote of the day: "Cultivate the ability to see the ridiculous and retain the ability to laugh" -Edward Cayce

running

Here is a graph of the elevation changes of the Milk Run. There seem to be a lot more uphill parts than I remember.

A quick update for the morning. I ran 4 miles or 6.5K this morning. I'm not sure if I'll get to run tomorrow so I wanted to preemptively run a long way this morning. It's a little bit later than usual so Jenny and Doug are up already. I'm sure I'll have competition for the shower.

In other exciting news I got my registration packet for the Milk Run. I think I'm number 402. I read that for runners who are slower than 11:30 miles (that might be me) they will let traffic through the intersection of Cleveland and Larpentuer at some point so those runners will have to wait. I think that section is after the uphill part so a break wouldn't be so bad.

Today Jenny and Doug and I may go see the locks and dams and the mall for a second time. Last night we just went to the aquarium where we saw the new baby sting rays and the Alpaca store where Jenny and I both got sweaters on sale. Jenny's comment to me about the sweater I got was, "it makes you look skinny. (Hell yeah.)

I'm waiting 'till I get a shower to go out and see Doug who's watching TV right now. I smell like I've been running in these clothes for a few days now (which is ok since I have but still).

Exciting news

We're back from camping and I slept in my own bed last night (score). I woke up (for real) around 7:30 and ran. This morning I ran 3.3 miles or "the short loop" as I think of it in my head. When I got back I showered and cleaned my room a little (always good when there's company here) and then hung out until breakfast.

Jenny and Doug and I ate breakfast at Maria's Cafe which was totally not crowded today. Not at all what I expected. Jenny and I had corn pancakes (yum). Then we did a tour at the state capitol building which is totally fun and also involves us going up on the roof to look at the statue. (That was my favorite part. I did well considering it was the roof.)

We stopped into the Cathedral but a photographer was taking pictures of a wedding party inside so we didn't stay long. The plan is to go to Ikea, the Mall of America, and the Aquarium later today. Right now I'm going to snack and then nap.

quick update

Jenny and Doug got here late last night and even now they are asleep. I got up early and ran 3.8 miles (hell yeah). I need to take a shower so I can wake them and we can go shopping but I just wanted to write down my mileage.

running and other things

I ran today. I actually had a really good run this morning and I'm planning on having another good run tomorrow morning. I ran just over 5k today.

I'm still taking the advice about "pushing off with every step" and "lifting my knees" when I run up hill. I think running hills over the weekend helped me figure out how to swing my arms more efficiently more than anything it did for my legs.

The advice about running down hill is basically that my legs can take a beating going down hill (and running up hill is actually easier on joints and muscles). Basically I'm supposed to lean forward as far as I can. I tried it this morning. All hunched over with my arms dragging low I may have looked like a gorilla.

Who's on a roll now

Ok, so Kelly got me on a roll with the whole "Las-Vegas-hates-the-homeless" thing. I was reading some things that others posted on her comments section, some in support of the ordinance and others against it. The solution enacted by city council in effect states that parks are for the people who live around them and not the homeless. There aren't enough parks to share or we shouldn't have to share with these people. This is known as the Scarcity Mentality.

I am reminded of something my Mom (yes, I just lobbed that one up there for you) said to me as a child, still says to me in fact. She's always and forever telling me, "there is enough to go around", "there is enough time", "we have enough of that". That is called an abundance mentality.

Basically, it states that there are enough resources in the world. We as a people just need to decided how to share those resources. There is enough money for everyone. There are enough doctors in the world. There is enough medicine in the world. There is enough time in the world. There is enough water in the world. There is enough oil in the world.

There is enough food to feed the world. The problem is that the food is not in the right place, spoils too quickly, or being fed to livestock. So once we know there is right now enough food in the world, what do we do with that information? (I'd like to point out that the BBC article is hard for me to look at because the pictures remind me of Malawi where I lived.)

Now apply that to the United States. The United States has the highest GDP in the world and the fifth highest GDP per capita in the world. So, there's a lot of money here. We have a lot of resources. We have enough.

Now apply that to Las Vegas. The median income of Las Vegas is $44,069 which is about average for the United States.

The United States is the world's bank, the world's bread basket, and the world's police force. Do you really think we don't have enough to share with 12,000 homeless people in Las Vegas?

So, assume that there are enough resources to fix this problem. Assume that there is enough space, enough parks and enough money to fix this probelm. Now what do you want to do?

feeling fat and lazy

I'm feeling fat and lazy today because I didn't run. I had alarm clock issues and not enough time. Anyways, while talking with Kelly she told me to check out her blog and specifically look at a post from Friday with all the comments and one from today with even more research.

At issue is a City Ordinance passed in Las Vegas that makes it a misdemeanor to hand out food to homeless people in city parks. It's Las Vegas' way of combatting large groups of people who are homeless gathering in public parks. The homeless population of Las Vegas has doubled in the past decade. I'm assuming these people had been in Las Vegas and had homes at some point. It's not like all the homeless people in a bunch of cities got together and said, "Hey, let's all go be homeless in Las Vegas. That looks like a nice place."

So there's a limited pool of resources to address this issue. Some people including the Mayor of Las Vegas think the best way to use those resources is the employ police to arrest people for being in the parks before dawn or passing out food in the parks at all. This keeps the homeless out of parks so families who live in the neighborhood can use them with their children. In this scenario some homeless and some charity workers wind up in jail, others receive a summons. (A summons means the person has to appear in court at a certain date and time or a warrant for their arrest will be issued. They still have to go to court, they just don't spend the night in jail.) This scenario puts the responsibility for fixing this problem on the police and the criminal justice system (because that's worked well in the past) and burdens those institutions. This scenario also provides some relief to the families living around the park.

The other way to use limited resources to address the homeless population is to divert money into outreach programs that provide food and shelter and social service programs that can provide addiction and mental health treatment and employment services. This use of resources places the burden on social service institutions to provide services and public and private institutions to fund those services. (Because charities, social service organizations and government social programs sometimes have more luck affecting change with few resources.) This scenario provides relief to the families living around the park, and relief to the people who are receiving free food in the park.

It's very sad that people think it's ok to choose option one and punish people for being homeless. This is a community where everyone has to live together and look out for each other. The better option is the option that helps everyone, not just the ones with phones to call the police and money to donate to political campaigns.

running up hill

Today I decided I was too tired to run. I get to be lazy from time to time. (I am feeling bad since I didn't run yesterday either.)

Instead I ran hills. Oh yeah, that uses less energy than regular running. There's a hill close to my house that's .25 miles long and I ran up it 8 times. I figure that counts as running two miles. I actually walked back down the hills because I read that running down hills is much harder on legs than running up them. Then I took a walk from my house to Lake Nokomis, around the Lake, across a tiny part of Minnehaha parkway and back home. I took a similar but longer route yesterday instead of running. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow...

I can't believe

I can't believe Kelly hasn't blogged about the new Ikea catalog yet. I actually haven't finished looking through it either. It's like a million pages long.

I just had a thought though. I've been in the market for an ottoman (in Cincinnati where Kelly should live, they're called "foot stools"). I have this funky couch where the pattern was discontinued or was a test pattern and never got going or something but it doesn't exist anymore. Now I just need an ottoman of the same height, preferrable in all black since that would still match the decor. I was going to go back to slumberland, but it occurs to me that Ikea would be cheaper. I wonder if I'll get to the ottoman section of the catalog before next June.

I love it when web sites get translated into English

I'm back on the open mic band wagon. A friend of mine gave me a list of songs she likes to sing including one of my new favorite songs, Water Runs Dry by Boyz II Men. One of the other songs she listed was another one I like, Killing Me Softly. There is one part of this song that puzzles me. After the first chorus there is a nine or ten bar break and there are chords played in the background but I have no idea what chords they are. They don't seem to go with either the verse or the chorus. There is the same break in the Roberta Flack version and while the chords are easier to hear in this version, they're no easier to identify. Which brings me to my point. I've been searching the internet for a more complete guitar tab/guitar pro than I have currently. All of the tabs I have leave out the mystery bars. This search lead me to this page and one of the funnier error messages I've ever received:

In the waiting for a regularization with the copyright owner of this score, its download is no more possible.

Hee hee. I think this site is usually in French and while the translation into English is funny, I could do no better from English to French so I will try not to cast stones.

fending off boredom

Yesterday after running in an attempt to fend off boredom I went on something of a wild goose chase to find shampoo. Apparently no stores in the Twin Cities sell the kind of shampoo I like. I'm currently in denial about it. Seriously, if anyone knows a place that sells the regular Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner, none of this collections nonsense, but the kind of shampoo I have always used, email me.

Well that little shopping trip to Southdale Target, Walgreens by my house, and Snyder's led me to the Dollar store where I decided I needed a few things. Sadly, the dollar store did not have a new shower curtain liner that I need becuase mine is a year old and I have company coming next week.

The need for a shower curtain lead me to Linen's N Things. I got a new bath mat, and shower curtain liner. I also saw a Faux Suede Shower Curtain that might go with my bathroom but will require matching it to the blue paint and Kelly's approval before I buy it.

Hey, some girls need a friend to go to the bathroom. I think it's ok if I need a friend to approve decorating decisions.