• The pet store down the street from me has a couple of good signs (and some cute puppies!) in their window.
  
  "If you think you can cross my yard in 5 seconds, don't.  My Doberman can cross it in 4."
  "I don't call 9-1-1.  I just say 'GOOD DOG!'"
• What have you done today, to make you feel proud?  It's never too late to try.  (Yes, it's a song lyric, but still...)
• Next time you're pumping gas that flirts with the $4/gallon mark remember that Exxon-Mobil is expected to report quarterly profits of $12 billion.  QUARTERLY.  That's three months.  PROFITS.  That's not total revenue, that's PROFIT.  BILLION.  If it happens that's breaks the all-time record which was $11.66 billion.  Whose record is it? Microsoft?  No.  Wal-Mart?  No.  Oh, right, it was Exxon-Mobil in the 4th quarter of 2007.  $23.66 Billion in profits over just 6 months?  Hey, I'm a capitalist so to some extent I have to say "Good for them!"  But let's not forget who is raking in money hand over fist while you count the change in your couch to see how much gasoline you can afford.

Today's Workout: O.k., I have to confess to having some motivation issues lately.  But tonight I should be doing at least a 6 mile run.  Maybe a bit longer.

Quote for the Day: "It is better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not."  -Andre Gide. Nobel Prize Winner-

-B-

• There is a Kashi Granola commercial with a woman who says she's trying to get America to eat Granola and "get off their rump".  I could be mistaken but Granola is loaded with fiber which means that if you eat a lot of it...you'll spend more time on your rump.
• I "watch" a lot of 24-Hour news.  By that I mean that I have it on in the background while I'm working at home.   What I've noticed is that about 75% of what they talk about are sensational little snippet news items: "Boy falls down a well", "Girl forced into incest", "Bus crash in Omaha."  They spend very little time on news items that really matter to the country; choosing instead to run news items that are sensational and that they have a lot of pictures of.
  
  If I were the news director of such stations I would flip the percentages.  Spend more time on real news items (election, war, education, health care) and maybe give 5 or 10 minutes an hour to doing a roundup of the "Construction Worker trapped on crane" stories.
• Today's Workout: I did a short-course run this morning and not surprisingly my legs felt heavy - but it was a couple of good miles and worth doing.  I'll do some core strength work this morning too.  I'll probably take tonight off as I have a lot of work to do - I'm teaching a class tomorrow and need to prep.

-B-

So today was the Haleiwa Metric Century Ride - the organizers emphasize that it's a ride and not a race, so it's a more casual atmosphere.  As it turns out Mo (Jill's husband) was able to make it after all and for a guy who has never ridden 100K (62.5 miles) before, he did great!

At 0730 they ushered us into the chute and the "Pacing Truck" headed out.  Since it's not a race there isn't a gun, exactly.  Just a guy who says "Hey, let's go."

And off we went - 700+ cyclists on the road.  One lap around the park and then out into Haleiwa.  Across the famous bridge and past Jamesons (where they serve a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich).  The weather was perfect except for a little more wind than I would have liked.

Off to a good start, I was still within sight of the police escort at the front at mile 5.  We passed the 25K turnaround and in short order arrived at the 50K turnaround - the first aid station we were going to stop at.  This was also a chance to rendezvous with friends.  As we were mounting up to continue on (having sampled some lovely oranges and bananas) in rode Karen, Deidre, Kanoe, Alice and a couple of our other running buddies.

She Rides Like a Girl! - Yeah, as I expected Jill is still crazy fast on the bike.  She hung on my wheel pretty much whenever she wanted to - of course I wasn't trying to drop her.

Watch That Watch - Minor equipment problem.  I couldn't find a good way to secure my GPS watch during the ride and I dropped it twice.  I don't like wearing it on my wrist while I ride and it just didn't sit in the pouch properly.  Something to consider for the future I guess.  Of course not having it properly placed meant I really couldn't use it for most of the ride - which meant sparse MPH and distance readings; which basically trashed any strategic planning I could do.

The ride from the 50K turnaround (which is 1/4 of the way into the ride) to the 100K turnaround goes surprisingly fast.  I'm not exactly sure why...but it feels short.  We reached the 100K turnaround 3 or 4 miles before I expected us to.  Just after passing Crouching Lion in fact and into Ka'a'awa.  And who showed up shortly thereafter?  Another running pal: Michelle.

Eyes Up! - On the way back I was cruising along, down on the aerobars turning around 24 MPH and I just got a little entranced by the dots on the road flashing by.  I glanced up just in time to notice that I was about to smash into a bridge.  Ooh.  A quick swerve left and I continued on but it was a heart-quickening moment.

On the way back Jill, Mo and I settled into a nice riding pack of about a dozen riders that was pacing pretty well.  We stayed with them for a while, dropping one here or there until we were down to about 7.  I have to admit that after eating wind for 35 miles it felt good to settle in behind a group for a while.  Finally we decided to make a move and pressed on ahead. 

The Rough Riders - One downside to this course is that the road is fairly inconsistent.  The surface alternates between brand new, smooth and fast and older, heavily textured - often every 50 yards or so.  It's no big deal in a car, but it's a pretty big deal on a bike.  Really affects your speed and efficiency; not to mention comfort.  Some stretches were so rough they literally rattled our fillings.

Be Prepared - My old scoutmaster would be mad at me.  I was in a bit of a rush this morning (maybe because I was out late last night and didn't get everything prepped then) and forgot to put my tire wrenches and pump on the bike.  Luckily I never had a flat, but I passed a couple of other riders that did and just as I was about to stop and lend assistance I realized that I didn't have any tools with me that would be useful.  Luckily the riders did seem to have everything in order and were well along the way of getting their tires changed.

I did pause to check on a rider who seemed to be in some pain along the side of the road, but he assured me it was just cramps and waved me to continue.

The other thing I forgot today...sunscreen.  I didn't get burned but I do have some nasty tan lines now.

Snippets

• "ON YOUR LEFT!"
• "Mmmm...gravel.  Good idea for a stopping surface!"
• Aid Station Lady: "Come get some head!" 
  <blink>  Excuse me? 
  Fellow cyclist walking next to me: "I think she meant 'HEED'" (it's a sports drink)
  Me: "Oh.  That's much different."
• "His bike's name is 'Chad'.  It's from California and we couldn't think of a girl's name from California."
  Me: "Barbie?"
  Him: "I don't want to ride 'Barbie.'"
  <blink> <blink>
  Him: "Oh, well I don't want to ride 'Chad' either."
• "I love me some downhills!"
• Accidental videos and a familiar Starbucks.

The Results

The race was a good test effort for me.  I haven't done enough long rides leading up to it but if I'm going to do Ironman 70.3 next year I'm going to have to be prepared to ride 56 miles, then run a half-marathon.  This ride helped me figure out where I am for rides of that distance.

My goal time was to try and get in around 3 hours.  Actual time (as nearly as I could tell, because it wasn't a race and there wasn't strict timing): 3 Hours and 4 minutes.  I'm fine with that.  I felt pretty strong the whole way and saw very few riders that I didn't think I could stay with.

Post-Race Notes

• On the way out of Haleiwa I stopped at McDonald's drive-thru for a cold drink.  Three comments:
• How does it take somebody 10 minutes to order at McDonald's? The menu hasn't changed that much in the last 40 years.  How many people are they ordering for?
• Pet Peeve 1: People who blast their stereo in the drive-thru.  That lady in front of me had her stereo up so loud that the bass was actually making her license plates visibly vibrate.  It was up so loud - that I could scarcely order because the woman on the other end of the loudspeaker could barely hear me.  Which probably explains why they got my order wrong.  (I ordered a Coke; she gave me a Diet Coke.  Which was probably for the best anyhow)
• Pet Peeve 2: People who don't understand that there are a couple of places in the drive-thru where you have to line up your driver's window to something like the loudspeaker or the window to pay and that you need them to pull forward to do that.  The same lady with the absurdly loud stereo left 3/4 of a car-length between her and the car in front, which meant that I had to wait until she pulled up so that I could try to order, or reach the window to pay.
  
  Folks, try to be considerate of the others in the drive-thru by keeping your stereo to a reasonable volume, when there is space in front of you and cars behind you pull forward so others can move forward too.
• From there I had to scurry off to Kahala (other side of the island) because I had a 12:30 softball game to play in.  Game went well, I hit a 2-run home run and we won 19-6.

Now...back to marathon training in earnest.  June 1st is coming up quickly.

-B-

So...on Saturday, knowing I had an early wake-up call Sunday for the ride, I had fully intended to stay home, rest, get some work done, eat and drink well, go to bed early, and be ready to get up and kick butt on the ride.

But then my phone rang.  It was Kim.  She and John and Len and Raf (and maybe others) were going to go out and grab a bite at a local eatery.  I've been missing those guys lately so I accepted the invite without hesitation. ("I'll just have some iced tea, though.  And I can't stay late."  Yeah, right.)

'

(Caught John in mid-laugh on this one)

So we met up and had a fun night out.  What did we learn?

• That you should always take the "easy way" when snowboarding unless you really want to go down the mountain face-first.
• That Trev is really good at jumping...but not so good at landing.
• That Kim's union rep is a little wishy-washy.
• That there is no Caucasian Cultural Center...unless you count Dave & Buster's.
• That Raf REALLY wants a Ducatti.
• That maybe I'm not as foolish as I thought.  Just unlucky.

I drank ice tea and ate a few of John's french fries but was otherwise good.  Oh, except for the staying out until 11:30p the night before a race thing.

-B-

So tomorrow I'm doing the Haleiwa Metric Century Ride - it's a 100K (62.5 miles) bike ride.  Technically it's not a race because there's no prize for finishing first (not that I expect to finish first) but I will be keeping an eye on the clock - this isn't a casual pedal around for me.  I have a goal time in mind.

Who's That Girl?

I have a riding partner for this one.   I've been bike training on my own and had planned to do the ride on my own too but as it turns out I'll have company.  One of the fastest woman cyclists I've ever met actually...Jill.  Yes, that Jill.  My ex-wife.  Mo (her new husband) can't make it for this ride (I assume he has to work) and she's got a new Bianchi she wants to get on the road.  So we're going to meet up in Haleiwa and do the ride together.  I only hope I can keep up with her!

Looking Ahead - San Diego Marathon

I'm trying not to look past Haleiwa, but I'm suddenly quite aware that San Diego Marathon is coming up in just 5 or 6 more weeks.  June 1st.  That means I'll only have at best 3 weeks to train for it and I don't feel like I've had a great month of training (for various reasons).  I don't think I've lost anything, but I don't think I've improved in my distance running this month either.  So I really need to crank it back up starting this coming week and get out there and start piling up the miles.

And of course a few of my training days will be in Santa Fe - where I'll definitely need to get some running done.

My other goal for May is that I want to try and drop a few more pounds.  Between the modest workouts and the comfort food I've held steady in April - haven't gained a pound or lost a pound.  Before San Diego I'd like to drop 3-5 more pounds, which should also improve my time.

I'll talk more about San Diego after tomorrow, but last year I ran 5:46.  In L.A. I ran 5:25:15.  Obviously I'd love to break 5:25 but I'm not sure how the courses compare.  At the very least I want to break 5:46 (last year's time).  I have a "fantasy" time in mind too, but I'm not going to confess that one to just anybody. :)

Other Saturday Notes

• Today is about trying to get some author review done on my Outlook book which I've fallen a bit behind on this week, resting, watching the NFL Draft and this afternoon I'll try to attend Brian's Trail Training orientation meeting.
• Saw "21" yesterday.  Good movie.  I like movies that emphasize the power and utility of math and Lawrence Fishburne is one of my favorite actors.  I think Kate Bosworth is very cute but I'm not sure she'd be the hottest girl at MIT.  I liked her in Blue Crush.
• Times Markets here in Hawaii are now running ads with "real people" talking about how much they love Times.  Times recently had a labor dispute including pickets from employees.  I can't help but notice that all of the "real people" in their ad are locals.  I notice demographics that way.
• Speaking of commercials: I don't care how frost-brewed the Coors is, or how cool the new can is, if I had a woman who looked like that on my couch there's no way I'm going to go over to Brad's to "vent" with a bunch of guys. 
• And on the subject of lovely women (I'm all about the segue today) a quick note to Maureen: Have a safe trip to Dallas today!
• Speaking of travel - it was pointed out to me last night that my Santa Fe trip is in two weeks.  TWO WEEKS!  Good grief.  I just got back from Seattle.  Feels like I spend half my life in airports.
• Today's Mood: Pensive
• Today's Workout: Some core strength work this morning and probably a short easy run this evening.

-B-

• CNN gave lots of airtime to aerial shots of three buses carrying children from the polygamist ranch.  I was wondering - are these buses on fire?  Have they been hijacked?  Have they lost their brakes?  Did Dennis Hopper wire them with explosives and they have to stay above 50MPH?

  No.  Just buses with kids in them.  But for some reason we want to stare at these ordinary buses on an ordinary road going to an ordinary destination for minutes on end.  Slow news day?

• What I learned from Dennis Hopper's Ameriprise Financial Planning ads....the secret to building your retirement is to earn millions of dollars as a movie star.

• One of the minor challenges of living in Hawaii is that we're in the GMT-10 time zone and folks on the mainland don't always realize that.  A couple of times a week I get calls or text messages or e-mails from folks who just aren't realizing how early in the A.M. it is here.  Twice this week I've gotten phone calls between 5 and 6AM from a vendor on the mainland who knows we're in Hawaii but apparently can't remember the time difference.

• Today is Movie Day at Roland Schorr & Tower.  We'll be seeing "21" with Kevin Spacey at Ward Theaters today.

• Facebook has a new chat feature that lets you instant message with your Facebook friends.  Yet ANOTHER way for people to reach me.  It's a nifty feature and seems fairly well implemented but I can envision getting pinged by friends on Facebook while trying to juggle one or more MSN Messenger windows and fighting off my e-mail.  It's a big, connected, world I guess.

• Every now and then you get to actually see somebody mature right before your eyes.  My friend "Susan" (No. not her real name) is a lovely young lady who falls madly in love with a new guy (usually a young soldier, sailor, airman or Marine) every other week.  Yesterday she was suggesting that she might be going to Tennessee.  Why?  New guy, of course, a sailor who is from Tennessee.  And as always after the third date she's considering the possibility of moving away with him.  Lasr month it was a Marine from Oregon, the month before that a sailor from Florida.  Yesterday, however, she said that then added "Of course, I'm getting WAY ahead of myself...like I always do."  A remarkable and unexpected moment of self-awareness from this young lady.

• Somebody said to me recently, in an attempt to be comforting, "If you love someone let them go.  If they don't come back they were never yours to begin with."  I don't dispute the validity of that proverb but it's really not a comforting one.  It's a litmus test for the strength of a relationship - not a reassurance. 

  It's like saying "If you're flying a plane, turn off the engines in mid-air.  If they don't restart then there's something wrong with the plane."  While it is important to fairly assess the mechanical soundness of your aircraft, it's really not comforting to somebody who is screaming towards the ground at 300 miles per hour to be told "Oh, well, your plane wasn't very good to begin with."

  When somebody loses somebody they loved it's really not comforting to say "Well, they were never yours to begin with."

  You'd never dream of telling somebody "Don't feel bad that your grandma died, she'd been sick for years" would you?

-B-

• A quote from the "Oh no he didn't!" department. 
  
  "He (President Abbas) rejects the idea of using violence to achieve objectives, which distinguishes him from other people in the room."
  -George W. Bush-
  
  Do you suppose he was referring to the guy who invaded and occupied a sovereign nation which posed no real threat?  Sort of makes me wonder...who else was in that room!?
• Tip for the ladies...please don't leave us guys hanging.  Now before you get the wrong idea let me be a little more specific.  One of the harshest things you can do to your man is call him in the mid-morning and say, with a serious tone, "We need to talk."  That's rarely good news for us because it almost always means that we need to talk about something WE'VE done wrong.  We almost never have to talk about how you want to go to the football game, want more sex or think we should buy a bigger TV.  So now that you have us dreading the conversation to follow you continue "...but I have to go now so we'll talk when you get home from work."  Great.  So now we get to sit here and stew about it all day long.
  
  Please.  Do NOT tease us with a serious conversation topic...then disappear.  Don't ask "Can I say something?" then immediately have to hang up to go into a meeting without saying what it was you needed to say.  That's just cruel.  And if you HAVE to do that then when you're done with your meeting call us, send us an e-mail, Instant Message us, text us, Western Union, smoke signals, carrier pigeon...something to let us off the hook.  With cell phones and speed dial it's almost impossible to not call.  If we care about you at all then we're probably assuming the worst.  "She hates me?"  "She wants to move out?"  "She accidentally ran over my dog?"  WHAT!?
• From the Department of New Math.  In an e-Discovery article I was reading today the author said "One in three (28.9%) administrators admitted they were not aware of the new regulations."  I realize the author is simplifying, but 28.9% is closer to one in four than one in three.  Minor infraction.

Quick Restaurant Review:  Los Garcia's on Oneawa in Kailua.  Mexican food.  Very friendly service though he had a lot of trouble getting the order right.  He insisted upon carding my companion which might have been flattering except she's a regular there and though she is quite pretty and youthful I don't really think anybody would seriously believe she's under 21.  I guess he was just doing his job.  The food was fine; Michelle really liked the Guacamole Enchiladas.  It's a nice atmosphere, except for the semi-busy street, parking is problematic and the price was fine.  I'd give it a 7 out of 10 and would eat there again given the opportunity.

Next Travel: O.K., next trip is booked.  Off to Santa Fe for another ABA meeting in mid-May.

Today's Workout: Just got back from a short course run which I modified by adding an extra long block just for the extra little bit of distance.  I'll do some core strength work today, and tonight I may do another, longer, run.  No, I haven't had a chance to try the Hotel workout yet and to be honest I'm battling time and enthusiasm constraints right at the moment.  Maybe this weekend - I've been considering an ocean swim workout for Saturday morning and I'd already be on that side of the island if I did that.

-B-

Just got back from my run...couple more Wednesday observations...

• I live in a planned community - Ocean Pointe - which employs an army of landscapers to take care of the parks, trees, hedges and grounds here.  And there is quite a bit of it - they've really done a nice job of keeping ample amounts of green space.  On my run today I got to see some of the landscapers maintaining the lawn with their string trimmers ("Weed Wackers" for you West coasters) and I have to say that those guys are lawn ARTISTS.  It's amazing how good they are, how precise and smooth.  It's like watching somebody do ice sculpture.
• Yes, I'm still trying to dress for the job I want.  I just don't know anymore where that job is, as it turns out.  And yes, I'm speaking metaphorically.  Confused?

Quote of the Day

"I'm trying to become the person my dog thinks I am."

-B-

This week is going too fast.  Never thought I'd say that.  Here are a few random thoughts...

• The bear from the movie "Semi Pro" apparently turned on his trainer and killed him this week.  On CNN the news anchor teased the story by saying the bear "snapped".  Ummm...it's a bear.  It's a grizzly bear.  They're dangerous animals.  You put an animal like that in the middle of a foreign environment and it shouldn't be all that surprising that it might be a little nervous, panicky and even unpredictable.  It's a tragedy that the trainer was killed, of course, but people...it's a bear.
• Facebook has added chat capability.  So now I have business e-mail, MSN IM, Gmail, text messaging on my phone, and how many newsgroups and forums do I participate in?  Oh, sure, and I blog occasionally.  I'm so excessively connected it's absurd.  Earlier today I had two people IM'ing me, plus two people contacting me on Facebook chat, plus e-mail coming in....  How do I keep up with all of it?
• Today's Music:  FooFighters.
• Today's Project: Finishing the author review on my Outlook 2007 book.
• Today's Workout: Heading out for a short run right now, actually.  Back soon!

-B-

Inspired by my Sheraton workout on Saturday I've decided to try something new here at home...

I usually park over at Kapiolani Park for my long runs and then run some variation of Kahala to Downtown and back to the Park (anywhere from 9 to 18 miles typically).  Well, that takes me down Kalakaua Ave in Waikiki which is the main drag full of big hotels.

So...starting tomorrow night (if I can make the schedule work) I'm going to park at Kapi'olani, run down into Waikiki, and when I reach the first tall hotel (I'll probably skip the Moana Surfrider because it's only 3 or 4 stories tall) I'll go in, find the staircase, run to the top and back down and then back out to the street.

So far so good?  It gets better...

From there I'll continue to the next hotel (probably right next door) and do it again.  And then the next hotel...and the next.  Until I reach the end of Waikiki.  That will be a LOT of stairs.

Realistically the first day I'll probably do one or two hotels then just run the street to the end of Waikiki and back.  Each time I do the workout I'll try to add one more hotel.  And I probably can't do it too often...otherwise hotel security might get unhappy. :)

Can't start tonight, though.  Planning to do a swim workout with Joe tonight.

-B-

Happy Monday, let's start the week!

• Gasoline has hit an average of $3.50 a gallon in the U.S.  and CNN is teasing the story with how these prices are going to change the way Americans drive.  Yeah, right.  That's why there are no fat smokers...because Americans always do what's good for them.  That's why poor people don't have jewelry and the average American has no credit card debt.
  
  Let's get real.  Americans will continue to drive the 2 blocks to the store and finance big SUVs that get less than 10MPG when they don't need them.  Why?  Same reason we do all sorts of things that aren't really good for us - because we want to.  Otherwise we'd all eat healthy, exercise and recycle.
  
  (By the way, I eat too much pizza and don't floss as much as I should)
  
  Here are 10 things you can do today to get better MPG:
  
  1. Check the air pressure in your tires.  Underinflated tires can seriously hurt your gas mileage.
  2. Take the golf clubs out of the trunk (unless you're on your way to the course).  The more weight you're dragging around the worse your mileage will be.
  3.  Turn off the A/C and roll down your windows on the city streets and at speeds under 40MPH or so.  Roll up the windows and use the A/C (if you have to) at freeway speeds.
  4. Use the proper kind of fuel for your car.  Using a higher (or lower) octane fuel than your car requires can cause your engine to run inefficiently and waste fuel.  Your owners manual will tell you what octane (87, 89, 91) that your car was designed to run on.
  5. Get your car serviced on a regular interval - oil change, new oil filters, air filters, etc.  Dirty filters or poor lubrication can harm your engine's efficiency.
  6. Try to avoid traffic.  See if you can adjust your schedule so that you drive less during rush hour.
  7. Carpool.  Even just occasionally.  Sharing a ride cuts your cumulative fuel usage in half and makes for less traffic which helps everybody get better mileage.
  8. Drive safely.  Accelerate at a reasonable pace rather than stomping on the gas and driving hard.  Keep your speed to 60MPH or lower; most vehicles lose efficiency above 60MPH or so.  Take your foot off the gas well in advance of a red light - if you can avoid having to come to a complete stop you can save gas.
  9.  Don't idle for long periods. If your car is going to sit in the same place for longer than a couple of minutes (like waiting to pick somebody up), turn it off.  Modern cars really don't require much more gas for startup and one of the ways hybrid cars save gas is by not wastefully running the engine at stop lights and other pauses.
  10. Combine trips.  Rather than making 3 trips to go to the bank, grocery store and pick up the kids, go to a bank near your grocery store and pick up the kids on the way home.
  
  BONUS: Walk or ride a bike on short trips.  Going to a bank half a mile from home?  You can easily walk that in 10 minutes, you'll save gas, get some great exercise and not have to find parking.
• One of the polygamists in Texas said "I've always strived to be an upright man."  Yeah, dude, you've got 8 wives.  You must have the Viagra shipped in bulk.
  
  Anybody else notice that the monotone polygamist (which is most of them, apparently) making a rambling defense of their sect on CNN this morning insists that they don't have sex with girls until they are "of age".  Of course he doesn't define what "of age" means; to him that could mean 10.
  
  It could just be that he's nervous because he's being interviewed on TV and investigated by the government but there's something about his eyes that doesn't look right.  He looks like he's searching for the truth.
• I like the Liberty Mutual "Do the right thing" ads but the one with the guy who is returning the elderly fellow's wallet doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  First of all, how does the guy know which window is the old man's?  Secondly the whole "look out the window and I can show you" thing is cute but from that distance/height I don't think I'd be able to tell what the pocket-sized thing the kid is waving at me was and I'm 30 years younger than the elderly fellow.
• Britain's Prince William is getting flack for landing his military helicopter at the home of his girlfriend's parents.  People are saying that the landing was wasteful.  Any pilot will tell you that landings are never wasteful.  TAKE-OFF's might be wasteful.  Landings are mandatory. 

-B-

(From my Mom - who many of you know is in cancer research with the State of California)

One of my friends said this weekend that she is worried that cancer is more common than it used to be – that we are experiencing a sort of cancer epidemic. It’s easy to understand why she feels this way, with cases of cancer cropping up all around us and affecting people we know. But our statistics suggest the opposite.

We are finding that cancer incidence rates (or the rates at which new cancers are diagnosed based on the size of the population) have stayed the same and, for many of the most common forms of cancer, are actually dropping.

Though cancer rates are falling in the U.S. (per percent of the population), the number of cases is increasing. This is because there are more people, those people are living longer and 75% of all cancers are diagnosed in people who are over 55.

So overall the news is good, because each person in the U.S. today has a lower risk of getting cancer during their lifetime.

But because the U.S. population is growing and aging, we will have more total cases.

-B-

O.K., I got home last night, got a decent night's sleep and I'm quickly settling into my comfortable routine.  It's nice to be home.

Here are a couple of last pictures from Seattle...

The same purple tulips from the day before (these are in John and Patricia's back yard by the way).  Notice no snow on the ground on Saturday.

A picture of John taking a picture of his food at the Jolly Roger on Saturday.  It's not that weird - I was doing the same thing.  Bloggers, go figure.

From the "Wow, that's a good CRM app" department -- did the Sheraton know something?  Stocking my mini-bar with way overpriced Hawaiian chips?  (No, I didn't eat them) (No, I didn't eat the overpriced M&Ms either).

John's houseboat.  It's for sale, by the way...

Two of "Ocean's Four" getting a workout after drinks along the waterfront on Thursday.

O.K., that's all from Seattle.  Time to move on...easier said than done in some respects.

-B-

One more photo from the Iroquois Point Triathlon...

-B-

"When my vacation is over I go to Hawaii" is what I've always said.  Well, this week had been mostly about business but I'm still glad to be going home to Hawaii today.  Seattle is a neat city and I have some great friends here but it's been an exhausting and intense week in a lot of ways and I'm just ready to go home.

Seems like I always end up feeling this way when I come to Seattle.

I'm glad Northwest Airlines has graciously provided me with a non-stop flight today.

What Have You Done Today...

I have to say that starting my morning with the theme song from "The Biggest Loser" is very inspiring! Listen to a snippet of it here!

Here are the lyrics...

The Biggest Loser Theme Song: "Proud"

by Heather Small

I look into the window of my mind
Reflections of the fears I know I've left behind
I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I am on my way
Can't stop me now
And you can do the same

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Still so many answers I don't know
Realize that to question is how we grow
So I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I am on my way
Can't stop me now
And you can do the same

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

We need a change
Do it today
I can feel my spirit rising
We need a change
So do it today
'Cause I can see a clear horizon

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
'Cause you could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
What have you done today
You could be so many people?
Just make that break for freedom
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?

Today's Workout

Got up this morning not entirely sure what I'd do for my workout.  Somehow I just didn't feel like another run through the streets of Seattle so I narrowed it down to a weight workout in the hotel gym or running the hotel stairs.  I got dressed and headed up to the gym, which is on the top floor (or at least as high as the elevator goes...as I soon discovered).

Much as I suspected the hotel gym really isn't much.  It's a small, but decent, pool; a hot tub (which was FULL at 8:00A); a bunch of treadmills and a single rack of dumbbells. 

It does have a great view (glass all the way around and a 35th floor view of Seattle) and it was surprisingly full of attractive women striding away on the treadmills but I just didn't see my workout there.

So I turned right around and made a beeline back to the foyer but went right past the elevators and hit the door to the stairs...down 35 floors to the ground with "Proud" (see above) ringing in my ears the whole way.  Got to the ground floor, out the double doors and found myself on 6th street.  Sweet.  Spur of the moment decided to take a fast lap around the hotel so I did.  The hills (up and down) felt good on my legs and when I got back around to the hotel I immediately went back to the staircase and up I went...

"So what have you done today to make you feel proud?"

Up, up, up.  I took the stairs two at a time for 10 floors, then one at a time for 10 floors, then two at a time...you get the idea.  Hit 35 and realized there was more to go...so I went all the way to the top...maybe 3 more floors to the roof.  I was hoping to get a chance to rest on the roof in the fresh air, but the door was locked. 

What to do now?  Do it again, of course.  All the way back down to the ground...

"I'm on my way, can't stop me now..."

Hit the ground floor, out the doors and off for another quick lap of the hotel.  This time a cool (heck, there's snow on the parked cars, who are we kidding?) rain has started to fall and it was invigorating as I cruised around the big block.

Back to the front door, dashed past the somewhat surprised looking bellhops, and right back onto the staircase.  Up we go...

Go to the top, smiled a bit at the private victory, then back down the stairs to 29 (where my room is) and a well-deserved shower.  Great workout!

Time to Pack...

O.K., with that I'd better wrap up.  Check-out time looms and I'm having lunch with John and Patricia before going to the airport.

A hui hou!

-B-

Hanging out at Patricia's house today and while we've both gotten a lot done (and eaten a delicious lunch) now it's time to get some blogging done.  She has 5 different blogs she writes for and she's only done one today so far.  So I implored her... "BLOG WOMAN!  BLOG LIKE THE WIND!"  I'm not actually sure that the wind blogs, but it probably at least Twitters.  For that matter, how happy are clams, really?  We'll get back to that...

Summit is over so today is just about relaxing and hanging out in town.

First...a wrap up of Thursday night...

The Outlook MVPs gathered for our annual Summit dinner.  Patricia selected Pasta Freska which was delicious and very inexpensive.  In an interesting twist we had no menu - just a seven course meal where they kept bringing out delicious thing after delicious thing.

After dinner a small group of us adjourned to the bar at the Sheraton for a little late-night chat; several were heading home today so it was something of a last hurrah.

Friday Morning...

This morning I let myself sleep in an extra hour, then headed off for a run.  Decided to cruise down past the Westin and over to the Space Needle.  I did a lap around the Space Needle, wound around a few different streets and eventually headed back to the Sheraton.  All told just shy of 3 miles I think.  As with the last run I felt strong and sort of enjoyed running in the morning chill.

Run completed I showered, got dressed and walked over to the Westin to meet Stephanie for coffee.  We wandered over to a nearby Starbucks and spent an hour or so sipping hot beverages and chatting.  Stephanie is a themes and OpenXML guru and has some really interesting things to say about the direction of these features in Microsoft Office.  It was great to see her again and hopefully it won't have to be another year before we can connect again.

By the way, if you haven't read her book - click her name in the paragraph above and get it.  Anybody who wants to create powerful and elegant documents would be well-served to read it.

After coffee Patricia came and picked me up and we ran a couple of errands on the way back to her house.  I mention that because along the way we had an interesting chat about retail anthropology inspired by the fact that she got gasoline at a Safeway gas station but drove a block away to a different grocery store to buy vinegar.  Interesting.

For lunch Patricia took me to a place in Ballard called Lunchbox Laboratory. Delicious burgers and fries, unusual sodas.  If there was any drawback it's that the place is seriously cold.  Something about their building leaves them with no control over the inside temperature - it was 47 degrees outside...might have been colder inside.  But the burger was large and delicious.  Patricia had the Mac and Cheese (which is actually Penne and Cheese) and said it was good but the texture of the cheese left a little to be desired.

Ben is Watching...

Purple tulips in the snow.  Seems somehow metaphorical but I'm a little too tired to pursue the thought right now.

"To Be Hung Up On After Speaking To A Customer Care Professional, Press 2.  If You'd Like To Press 3, Press 4..."

The cable just went out (TV and Internet) so John is calling Comcast to let them know.  He was surprised to discover that they have ads for their pay-per-view stuff on their on-hold recordings.  To Comcast's credit the lady who answered was very friendly and she pointed out that even though they already knew about the outage it's worthwhile to call and report the outage because she gave them a 1-day credit on their cable bill.

Quote of the Day

"If reality TV has taught us anything it's that you can't keep people with no shame down."
         -Tina Fey-

Dinner at Tin Hat

Tonight we enjoyed cheese fries, quesadillas and sandwiches at Tin Hat - one of my favorite little places in Ballard (and no, not just because the barmaid is hot).  I've decided that cheese fries have medicinal properties.  Seems like no matter how down I'm feeling they always seem to raise my spirits.

So, now we're back at John and Patricia's - their cable TV and Internet has come back on and I think I'll be returning to the Sheraton shortly...

-B-

• "You have a blog?!"
• "Our product SUCKS!" (exclaimed a frustrated PM in jest upon discovering that their product had just corrupted two large data files; and actually it might not have been his product's fault)
• "I love that hat!" (Thanks M!)
• "He's only pretending to cheat."
• "What's the schedule on this?  End of the year?  Next year?  Sometime in the future?"  "Sometime in the future?  Yes.  Definitely."
• "I think I just saw CS singing 'I Touch Myself' on stage." -PE-  "It would be fine if you never said that to me again." -Me-
• "How is it that you and me are the only two who keep getting better looking every year?" -CS-  "Because we had nowhere to go but up!" -Me-
• "I give those two guys 4-1/2 minutes to discover that the cute bartender has a boyfriend, give up and walk away."
• "Diane is me by association!" -KJ-  "Yeah, I'm me by association."  -Me-
• "Karaoke.  From the Japanese phrase meaning 'For the love of God, don't.'" -Me-
• "Don't mind us, we're just casing the bank downstairs.  Just call us 'Oceans Four'."
• "Are you a Twit?" (Milly, asking if I use Twitter)

The Biggest Loser Phenomenon

Though a number of people have commented on how fit I'm looking these days let me give some kudos to Echo Swinford, Cheryl Wise, Patricia Eddy and John Eddy as some other attendees here who are clearly losing some pounds of their own and looking great!

A Couple of Photos from Thursday...

Sean O'Driscoll and I at today's luncheon.  I was reminded that I need to have a discussion with him about Web 2.0, pervasive computing, infrastructure and the dangers of overbuilding a site. (I'm starting that e-mail in another window right now, actually...)

Before I left I ran into Exchange MVP lead Melissa Travers - honestly she ranks right up there with April Spence, Abdias Ruiz and John Eddy as among my favorite MVP leads in the program.

Always good to see Tablet PC MVP Chris Hassler (even though he's a Broncos fan).  And here's a nicer photo of Echo...flagging down a friend on the opposite side of the cavernous venue.

After the luncheon a few of the Outlook MVPs took off for a stroll down to Pike's Place and the waterfront.

We were going to go shopping, but honestly we just ended up sitting in a bar with a view of the lake enjoying hot chocolate, Irish Coffee, chips and salsa.

O.K., time to get dressed for dinner...

-B-

O.k., another day at the MVP Summit in Seattle.

My day started off a little rough, but luckily Patricia, Maureen, Echo and some of my other friends were able to get me back on track.

I did start the day with a lovely run, however.  I didn't track the distance; it wasn't really all that far anyhow.  I started from the Sheraton and headed down Pike & Union (depending upon traffic lights) to the waterfront, then along the waterfront for a little ways and back up the hill in the other direction.  I wound back and forth along different streets until I found myself back at the hotel.  I'd guess it was maybe 2 miles and mildly hilly.  It was a nice run, I felt pretty strong, and I enjoyed running in the morning chill.

I will probably repeat that run (maybe with a bit more distance) on Friday morning; since I have no time pressure on Friday - it's just a "hang out and get some work done" day.

After the run I showered, dressed, caught up on some messages from friends and then stopped downstairs for breakfast.  This year's Summit has been very well run and I have very few complaints about the accommodations or the food -- except for the breakfasts. 

The breakfasts consist of a large box containing yogurt, an apple, a granola bar and a bottle of orange juice.  Then there is a "hot" breakfast sandwich separately -- which has always been some kind of "egg on a croissant" thing.  I don't eat eggs and I can take or leave croissants so...I've been eating the yogurt and drinking the orange juice and saving the apple and granola bar for later.  Who does a guy have to know to get a waffle?  Luckily I haven't really had much of an appetite this week, so it hasn't been a problem.  Still, I'll be glad to get home to my oatmeal, yogurt and toast breakfasts.

Despite the lines the transport has actually been generally quite good at this Summit.  In past years the bus situation has been the butt of many jokes - but I think they may finally have it right.  The buses have been plentiful, timely and I don't think any have gotten lost yet.  Last year (or year before) I can recall sitting up front while Chris Scharff had to try and tell the driver how to find Building 33 on campus.  Terrifying!  ;-)

We had a full day of sessions on campus today - most of which I'm not allowed to tell you about anyhow.  In the middle of the day Patricia came over and met me for lunch in Building 36's cafeteria.  Mongolian Stir-Fry...pretty tasty.

Fortune Cookie: At lunch today I got a fortune cookie that said: "Your blessings will multiply this coming month.  Good luck!"  So...hey, at least I've got that going for me.

After the sessions were over we went back to the hotels for a change of clothes (and very quick nap) then back on the buses to go over to the Experience Music Project for our evening social event.  It was interesting, loud, busy, entertaining and the food was good.  I'll refrain from commenting on the singing. :)  A nice way to start to wrap up Summit though - hanging out with your friends.

Echo is going to kill me for this one...but she wanted to demonstrate that she always seems to have her mouth open in pictures. :)

I think I'd better hide now.

Tomorrow we're at the Convention Center to hear from Ray Ozzie and Steve Ballmer and in the evening the Outlook MVPs are gathering for our annual dinner.

Good night all.

-B-

Well...turns out my camera's SD card was corrupted and the handful or so of photos I took at today's Summit were lost.  So...I have nothing to show.

And, much of what we talked about and saw today is content that I'm not allowed to discuss.

Just as well, I'm not in a very chatty mood after what has been a sort of difficult day.

This and That

• Nice to see Ali win on The Biggest Loser.  She ended up losing a total of 112 pounds.  She and Kelly really looked terrific at the final weigh in.  Bernie won from among the contestants who had been sent home and he looked good too.
• It's still cool and rainy here.  No big surprise - it's Seattle.
• Today's Summit sessions were really good and it's been nice to see my friends (especially Kathy, Echo, Erik, Patricia and the Outlook MVPs) but I have to admit that I'm sort of longing for home already.  I go home Saturday.
• Quick extra word of thanks to Patricia, Maureen, Milly, Steve and Sonya for their kindness and friendship when I need it the most.

Time for me to go to bed.  Tomorrow is a new, and hopefully brighter, day.

-B-

So the photos are finally ready from Iroquois Point Triathlon.  I just ordered one or two and those are on the way.  In the meantime here are a couple of teaser shots...

I'm not sure why these are captioned "Youth Triathlon" but what the heck...

-B-