As part of upgrading the speaker system for our office Mac, I ordered a set of the new Bose Companion 5 Multimedia speakers. Now, Bose is one of the most revered and hated, love-em or hate-em brands on the market today. I don’t pretend to have the “ear” of a true audiophile, but I do trust my ability to form a sound opinion. Which is why the following article made me laugh, as it gently lampoons the formulaic audiophile review found all stereo and home theatre magazines.

Technorati Tags: bose, stereo

Continue reading ‘The Idyl Audiophile’

I came, I saw, I ran.

Quick: Lance Armstrong and I share a very important milestone. What is it?

Answer: We both ran our first marathon this year. He in a couple seconds under 3 hours, and me, in a couple minutes over 4 hours. I’m sure we’d be best friends if we hung out.

Technorati Tags: fun, marathon, running

There are only 2 short weeks left before I hook up with 40,000 of my closest friends and go for a 26.2 mile scenic run of Chicago neighborhoods.

On one hand, I’m a bit nervous: after turning in Personal Bests this summer for a 5K run, sprint Tri, and Olympic Tri, I’ve let my training fall off leading up to the marathon.

That said, I’ve still managed to get in my Sunday long runs (16 this past Sunday), and am scraping by with 1-2 mid-week runs (i.e., 7 miles tonight).

So I think I’ll finish. Maybe not as fast as I initially thought or hoped (at one point, I was secretly wishing for a sub-4-hour run), but hey, it’s about the process, not the destination, right?!?

So I’ll officially go on record as hoping that I break 4:30! Besides, if I do (umm, both finish and break 4:30!), that leaves me plenty of room for my next marathon, where the goal will be to “improve” (versus my current goal of “finish” or the not-in-my-lifetime “win” categories).

Well, after pretty much taking off the month of September for training for the upcoming Chicago marathon (October 22), I started back with a vengeance yesterday.

Continue reading ‘A different approach to marathon training’

100_2803

Originally uploaded by Unsocialized1.

OK, so there’s really not point to this post (though, do any posts really have a point?!?), other than my trying out the UI for Flickr’s nifty feature to directly blog a Flickr photo.

Though I have to admit that Coach Chris does look boss on that ride!

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

What if Floyd Landis were innocent? - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/16/opinion/edeustice.php

I refuse to be drawn into the soap-opera, but somehow I can’t resist, which is why I call out this very rationale (and dare I say reputable) perspective offered by John Eudice, a “former TDF rider and sometime TV commentator.”

What if Floyd Landis were innocent?
Continue reading ‘What if Floyd Landis were innocent? - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune’

It’s been a bike-filled summer. Read on to hear about Le Tour on OLN, bad karma on craigslist, and PBs on the bike leg.

Continue reading ‘Life on 2 Wheels’

They didn’t play this song at last weekend’s Lallapalooza concert, but for some unknown reason, I can’t get this Poi Dog song — or maybe more precisely, this PDP song’s message — out of my head:

“Praise the Lord,” he said to me.
And he seemed quite happy,
He seemed quite at ease.
And I said “Yeah.”
Cause I was just down at the sea
And it occurred to me,
That I like to feel it knock me down,
Twist and throw and churn me around,
‘Cause it’s the mother ocean
And I’m just one of her sons.
And she can do just what she wants to me
And I know she does nothing purposely.
I must respect, that goes unsaid,
But it’s all just a twist of fate.
And I know about heaven’s gate
‘Cause I’ve seen it, but not up close.
And I know it ain’t no pearly white
And I know that I’ll be nothing there.
Just food for fish and twisting worms,
But that’s just fine with me,
‘Cause when I’m being tossed by the sea
I can feel a force greater than Misery,
Greater than my stupid job,
Greater than our stupid Bomb.
And a time comes to mind without complexity.
And she can do just what she wants to me
And I know she does nothing purposely.
I must respect, that goes unsaid,
But it’s all just a twist of fate.
So don’t tell me about the Land of Nod,
Where we are supposed to sit at the right hand of God,
Where the Lion will lay down the the lamb,
‘Cause you know damn well he’ll eat him if he can.
The Lion doesn’t wanna be pacified
With promises of an endless life
‘Cause he knows it’s not that way,
He’s not detached he sees it everyday -
The birth, the death and the decay,
The birth, the death and the decay.
And he accepts, and sees that it’s OK -
He would eat us for our elitist ways.

Praise the Lord
from Wishing Like the Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea
Columbia CK 45403 1990
Poi Dog Pondering

My son celebrated his 9th birthday this past weekend. To cap off a day of bowling and singing, we took him to see his favorite band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who headlined this year’s Chicago Lallapalooza festival. My, how times have changed (yes, I know, I’m sounding like an old fart here):

1) I was 14 before my parents let me even get close to a concert (OK, so it was Electric Light Orchestra playing at Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena). After a b-day bowling party with friends, Andy and a friend took in the fun at the Crown Fountain at Millenium Park followed by a day of Lollapalooza’ing with the RHCPs;

2) I was never interviewed for an article appearing in a national magazine’s online media asset (point of fact: there were no online media assets when I was his age!!!). My son, on the other hand, was quoted in Spin Magazine!!!; and

3) I was way too clueless to understand it all: my son Andy, on the other hand, is one-in-a-million. Happy Birthday Andy!!!
Anyone suitably interested (i.e., family) can view pictures from the day here.