Finished

I managed to finish the Knoxville Marathon yesterday. The course was hilly but not too tough with most of the big ones in the first half. The finish in the big football stadium was fun and they had chocolate milk at the end (my favorite after a long run). There were plenty of spectators to keep you going and the traffic control was remarkable (they had a cop at every corner). The weather was very cooperative with clouds (no rain) and a temperature probably in the upper 50s.

Since I was still a bit sick, I targeted 4 hours and finished in 3:59. Definitely not blazing, but I'm happy with it. My legs are a little stiff, but otherwise, I feel pretty good.

Virus Attack

I couldn't dodge the bug that was rolling around in the family this week as I had hoped. Despite my neurotic hand washing, I started feeling pretty bad last night and went to bed early. After 10 hours of sleep, I've been on a diet of tea, chicken noodle soup and Zicam to kick this thing.

I feel better but far from 100%. My marathon on Sunday is going to be interesting if I don't kick this thing by then.

Unlucky

We just closed on a mortgage refi on Monday to pull some money out for a home improvement project (new kitchen and master bedroom). Of course, the rates just fell to near record lows. I figure we would have done at least quarter point better if we had waited to lock until this week. On our loan, that would have meant about $40 a month or $16000 in interest over the entire 360 month amortization.

We locked right at one of the local peaks in late February. At the time, there was a lot of turmoil in the banking sector so it seemed like rates would be volitile upward as the market tightened. But, the Fed threw the dollar under the bus and rates went down. Can the Fed come bail me out for placing a bet at the wrong time? Maybe if I just stop paying my mortgage they will allow me to renegotiate the rate. I guess not since I take responsibility for my own financial actions and live with the good luck and the bad. It would be nice if the powers that be in this country felt the same way.

A Smile Like A Glistening Shard

I've been listening to Okkervil River quite a bit recently. I love the off-key singing of the absolutely astounding lyrics. Stuff like: "I want a smile like a glistening shard. I want a kiss that's as sharp as a knife."

It sounds lame when I write it here, but if you hear "A Hand To Take Hold Of The Scene" on The Stage Names you will understand what I mean. In a certain way, the writing kind of reminds me of The Smiths, especially Strangeways. They are definitely worth checking out.

Ready or not

Next Sunday, I'm running the Knoxville Marathon and I did my last tune-up run yesterday. The long training runs in the past month went well and everything feels pretty good right now, so if I can just dodge the spring ick that is floating around the family, I should be OK.

This marathon has received good reviews, but the course profile looks a little hilly. The uphill at mile 24 to 25 is going to be a lot of fun. But, living in Roanoke, I get to finish every run off with that kind of climb up from the river so I know what I'm in for (pain).

I don't have any grand goals for the race - finish in 4 hours and have fun. Hopefully, I can meet both of those.

Hen chicks on easter

We went to see the Fightin' Blue Hen women's lacrosse team take on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on a blustery Easter afternoon. It was a closely fought contest with the Hens holding on to win 8-7 after amassing a 4 goal lead early in the second half.

Two things impressed me about this game. First, the tough defense that was played by both sides. Open looks were quite rare and there was a lot of back and forth action after defensive stops.

Second was the great turnout by the Blue Hen fans. There weren't many people in the stands, but it seemed like more than half of them were cheering for the blue and gold. We didn't have to come far (VT is about 45 minutes from our house) but it is a good 7 hour drive from Newark to see the battle of the birds.

Go Purple!

We had our first Roanoke Valley Ladies Lacrosse Association game of the season today against Lylburn Downing Middle School. It was a well played game on both sides and was 3-2 going into the final few minutes. Then, we tallied the last two goals to make the final 5-2.

I was very proud of our girls - they gave great effort and played well together. I didn't keep track, but I would say we got the majority of the ground balls. We even had 3 assisted goals, which I thought was pretty great for a team of elementary school kids where usually the scoring relies on individual efforts. This all from kids who were younger (some as much as three years younger) than their opponents and had only had two practice sessions.

Unfortunately, the lack of practice meant that we didn't play the girls who were new to the game this year, but they will get their chances. Go Purple!

No more Bunk

I cancelled HBO yesterday after The Wire has run its course. For a number of years there, HBO had the best and most creative television around. I think they have hit a dry spell and at $12 a month, bad movies, reruns and the occassional comedy special is not worth it. Thanks for the memories!

Beautiful day

I decided to decamp from the basement and work outside today. The birds are chirping and the sun is shining. This is one of those days that working from home is absolutely the best.

Part of my inner nerd died

I just read that Gary Gygax, the co-creator of D&D, died today. It seems like lifetimes ago, but I used to really into that stuff when I was a kid - a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. I wonder what happened to my collection of finely painted minatures and polyhedral dice?

Dismal Magazine

It seems that people have discovered The Economist and that is a good thing. The liberal viewpoint (in the classic free market and limited government sense) and global focus is refreshing compared to most of the chartjunk-riddled and simplistic media in the USA.

I judge the quality of a journalistic effort by its coverage of things I know well, mostly in the information technology area. If the coverage is solid in an area I do know, then I feel I can trust it in an area I don't (e.g. finance, politics in Africa, etc.) The Economist rates very highly in this area, followed by the national newspapers (NYT, WaPo, WSJ) and then the typical newsweeklies (Time, Newsweek, USNWR).

The Economist definitely has a point of view, but they don't hide it and try to present the facts as they see them. It would be nice if more news sources were that transparent and well researched.

Drop that butt, brother

Over the past six months, most of the places I've been in the USA have bar and restaurant smoking bans, Philadelphia included. The only one that didn't was Texas and do you really want to be in their company on anything?