Sounds about right

From The Onion...

Report: 60 Million People You'd Never Talk To Voting For Other Guy

Imperial Russia

Well aware of the mistrust in state institutions, the Kremlin has attempted to draw on the support of the Orthodox church; the patriarch in effect campaigned for Mr Putin's election. When Pussy Riot, a group of young feminist punks decked out in balaclavas and fluorescent stockings, danced and sang “Virgin Mary, Redeem us of Putin!” by the altar of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, church and state responded as one. As the head of the church thundered about blasphemy, the state arrested three of the women. They face up to seven years in jail if convicted of the trumped-up charges they face. The harsh approach has led to a split within the church and set liberal Russians against the patriarch.

Closing statement by Pussy Riot’s Yekaterina Samutsevich.

Mentos Commercial in Singapore

Hilarious

steeplechase victory dance

True

"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." - John Ruskin

Did the Du

Okay, time for a little recap of the duathlon. The weather was perfect. Absolutely perfect. When I left the house at 6am the temperature was 60 degrees and there was no wind. And sunrise is a beautiful time of day. I always tell myself I should better aquaint myself with this time of day, but it never seems to happen. I biked at a leisurely pace along the river road into downtown. I found a good spot for the Brave Arrow in the transition zone: Georgia. This was the name printed on the large banner above the bikes in my section. When participants enter the transition zone, they use fifty state banners to help locate their bikes. After a short warm up I joined the first wave.

It wasn't long after the start that I found myself in the top ten. The first 5k was very relaxed. I should mention that I didn't take splits during the race, which is unusual for me. I like to go by the watch but this time I went by feel. The first 5k was probably a little too relaxed, at 18:41. Nonetheless, I came through in 5th place. My first transition was smooth and quick.

I felt good on the bike and was able to maintain a slightly faster pace than I anticipated, about 21 mph. Three people passed me right away. I wasn't passed again until a lone cyclists passed me at mile 8. Then a large group passed me at mile 10. This was enough to induce panic and despair - and rage against the chain ring. I cranked away in a vain effort to hang on. The group soon disappeared. I wasn't passed again until near the end of the ride, when three more people passed me. The second transition was going well until I realized I had identified the wrong exit. I asked a volunteer for directions and then I was on my way out of the parking lot. It was still a quick transition.

I passed nine people in the first mile of the run. After that point, the runners from the first wave were interspersed among the crowd of runners from later waves who were running their first 5k. It was difficult to pick out those I needed to chase. The mind needs targets as motivation when the body is tired. I would have prefered an open road with only those from the first wave. Then I could have squeezed out every ounce of energy. My second 5k was 17:48.

My total time was 1:28:12. I didn't know where I placed until I looked at online results later in the day: 5th place. Better than expected. It was fun to try something different. It was good to race and feel competitive. Could I have gone faster? Maybe. The first 5k could have been faster, but then it may have been detrimental to the bike.

So who does duathlons? Runners. Cyclsits. People who think triathlons sound exciting but don't like to swim. It seems like duathletes are predominantly cyclists. I have never had the impression that many runners cross over into the cycling scene - with notable exceptions of course.

On a final note, here was my brunch meal after the race: breakfast burrito, tall stack of buttermilk pancakes, one Bell's Two-Hearted Ale.

5k - 18:41 (5th)
T1 - 1:34
bike - 48:38 (61st)
T2 - 1:34
5k - 17:48 (2nd)
Total - 1:28:12 (5th)

Is there an Indian way of thinking?

I just finished reading India Calling. It led me to this.

Last few deposits

Saturday one week ago I did a 27+ mile bike ride at 19.2 mph and then hopped off the bike and ran a 17:40 5k. The legs have been a little fatigued for the past week. Yesterday I simulated the duathlon again: 18:41 5k, 1:54 T1, 18 miles at 20.0 mph, 1:37 T2, and a 18:13 5k. So that's it. Now I will let the legs recuperate and hope for a good showing next Sunday. It's a pleasure to be fit, mostly because I really enjoy the scenery of long runs. Of course, it's also nice to go at a good clip without feeling strained. Back to yesterday's workout. I just remembered that I ate Indian buffet for lunch on Friday and started my Saturday workout at 7am. Nothing bad happened. I will not try my luck again this week. As for race strategy, I would be happy with the splits above. But even with the self-awareness to know what is best, I can see myself getting caught up in the competition. I will probably run the first 5k too fast. Then lots of people will start passing me on the bike, which will enrage me. I'll attempt to dance on the pedals and the last 5k will be a crawl. It will still be fun.

Duathlon Training

I signed up for the Minneapolis Duathlon just before Memorial Day and my training started with a 10-mile run over the windswept and sun-baked rolling hills in Omaha that holiday weekend. Hot. Parched. Enervated. My fitness has since progressed. In general, I run three days per week and on the fourth day of training I run and bike. I also bike to work, which has to count for something, right. Here's a look at last week.

Sunday - long run of 14 miles
Tuesday - run over lunch, 3 mile tempo + 4 x 200, total 6 miles
Thursday - run home from work, 2 x mile tempo, 2 x 1200 interval, 4 x 200, total 10 miles
Saturday - run, bike, run duathlon simulation

This summer has been incredibly hot by Minnesota standards, with many days in the 90s. But the accompanying humidity created an overbearing, oppressive heat. MSP set a number of records: for consecutive hours with a dew point above 75 degrees (over four days), for the highest dew point (82 degrees), and for the highest heat index (118 degrees). Usually there is relief for a few days or at least at night. This summer there was no succor. For weeks runners were left slinging pinky sweat at the sunset and greeting the sunrise with gleaming thighs. Canada, why have you forsaken us! Well, at last the cool air has come. Low 80s and 60s. And what a difference it makes, especially for me because my weekend workouts are from 1:30-3:30pm while the little guy naps.

Here are the splits from my last du workout (84 degrees, 57% humidity, ahhh).

5k: 18:52
T1: 1:55
18 mile bike: 53:30 (20.19 mph)
T2: 2:05
5k: 18:27
1:34:49

My running is finally showing some improvement. For the longest time, perhaps because of the heat, my breathing felt taxed. I was working too hard for too little. My obvious weakness is on the bike. I just don't have enough strength to really crank it. I don't think I will be able to go much faster than 20.2 mph. During the race I won't have to stop at stop signs or stop lights, so that should shave off a little time. On the other hand, my transition will probably be slower on the real course. And the 7am start time will add at least 5 minutes. August 28 is fast approaching.

Ideology

"Ideology is inevitable; we all have an ideology, whether we are aware of it or not. First of all, ideology is about values, and we can't decide how we wish to solve policy issues without having a firm grasph on the values we are seeking to advance. Second, the world is too complex for us to make informed judgments about all of the issues that confront us. We need a philosophy to serve as a north star. One way I've been enriched by reading the great works of conservatism is that I've come better to appreciate how central ideology is to thiking about matters of governance and public policy."

Buckley: William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism
-by Carl T. Bogus

Conservative Books
The Unmaking of a Mayor by William F. Buckley
The Road to Serfdom by Hayek
God and Man at Yale by William F. Buckley
Witness by Whittaker Chambers
The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk
The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater
Freedom and Capitalism by Milton Friedman
Memoirs of a Superfluous Man by Albert Jay Nock
Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered by Russell Kirk

Liberal Books
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
The Other America by Michael Harrington
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader
The Vital Center by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith

Quality

There is hardly anything in the world, that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.

John Ruskin
1819-1900

Papal Encyclicals

Pope Benedict XVI recently released his third encyclical, Charity in Truth. He commented on human development, fraternity, economic development, civil society, the financial crisis, business ethics, the environment, the cooperation of the human family, technology, social justice, the common good, and more – egad, the pope is getting into it: circular, circle, with the music, the flow, all good things.

The pope’s other encyclicals include God is Love and Saved by Hope.

The "Crisis of Confidence" Speech

Jimmy Carter delivered this televised speech on July 15, 1979. It is now known as the malaise speech and a symbol of Democratic defeatism.

Here are a few excerpts...

Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem?

It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper -- deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession.

The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence.

We've always believed in something called progress. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own.

Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy.

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.

We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.

All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path as we begin to solve our energy problem.

Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.

In little more than two decades we've gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries, at prices that are going through the roof. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline. It's a cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our nation. The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts and we simply must face them.

Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense -- I tell you it is an act of patriotism.

Every gallon of oil each one of us saves is a new form of production. It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives.

ASICS

This is worth a post... I just found out what ASICS stands for. Anima sana in corpore sano, which means a sound mind in a sound body. Nice.

Defense

In general, a war must pass three tests to be justified. A country must first have exhausted all other means of defending itself. The attack should be proportionate to the objective. And it must stand a reasonable chance of achieving its goal.

New Year

We spent over a week at my parents' home in Nebraska during the Christmas holiday. It was good to see their newly constructed house, which replaced the one that I have known for the past 29 years. No work and no school meant a lot of time for eating, relaxing, and catching up on reading The Economist. Unfortunately, we were a sad bunch because everyone got sick. It was Levi's first illness. He was very congested and had trouble sleeping. A guy that little can't tell you what is wrong and he certainly can't do the farmer blow to rocket the snot out of his nose. We took Levi to the doctor to make sure the crud hadn't moved into his lungs. It hadn't, but the doctor discovered an ear infection in each ear. Anyway, he's better now.

We drove back to Minnesota in time to visit with Kofi & Kate and Soren & Emily on the eve of the new year. Kofi & Kate are moving to Accra, Ghana! Professor Anderson starts teaching econometrics at Michigan State and Emily is truly a chocolate connoisseur. Later that evening Marye & I made it to midnight in Bermuda. Happy new year old folks.

I am about to begin the spring semester at the Hamline University School of Business. The next two classes in my Master in Public Administration cohort program are Organizational Theory and Human Resource Management for Government. Cheers.

Sabbath

As the Economist said, blogging is no longer what it was, because it has entered the mainstream. This does not explain the dearth of contributions to my online oeuvre. I wonder if I have run out of vitriol. Have I become a safely dull professional with insipid opinions? I surely have not run out of curiosity. I have become a consumer – not a creator, not even a repeater. I am a gravitational singularity. What happened to posting a picture here and an article there? What happened to highlighting and synthesizing? What happened to descriptive observation?

More than neck roles

Did someone poop their pants?

Yup, over here, that was me.

The Art of Management

Staying at the top
Mao and the art of management
Dec 19th 2007
From The Economist print edition

... The disparity between Mao's performance and his reputation is instructive, for behind it are four key ingredients which all bad managers could profitably employ.

1. A powerful, mendacious slogan

2. Ruthless media manipulation

3. Sacrifice of friends and colleagues

4. Activity substituting for achievement