11 October 09; am

Workout notes Nothing yet; I should get out for a 2.5 hour walk in just a bit, after coffee has had a chance to do it’s work. I’ll probably walk on the roads today and use a “hiking” style.

Update: I got in about 5.5 miles; I wasn’t quite to the 3 mile mark when I knew that I would have to turn around. Yep; the pain was too great (upper calf is where I felt it this time). So, my lay-off starts a bit earlier than I had planned. But hey, it has been a good year, even if my performances were not great.

I have an internet friend who won the racewalking division of the Portland Marathon. You can read her story here. I also saw her photos; what I was impressed by is that her technique stayed solid the whole way. It can be done; if I want to do this I had better get to the track and practice (I plan on resting all of November)

Other stuff

Football: my picks were awful; I went 7-10 on my yahoo college football picks (vs. the spread mostly). it is a good thing that I don’t do this for money!

Yoga: this Hedge cartoon struck my funny bone:

Political:

Nobel Peace Prize committees (and others): don’t care about popular opinion.

The committee, are all professional politicians. The chairman, Jagland, has served as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of his country. In the terms of accomplishment that the pundits now give such import, he’s got them beaten by miles. (How many nations have you lead, Joe Scarborough?). Anyone who claims that they’re ignorant or politically naive in any way needs to back that up with some very solid merits, or take a slice of humble pie.

Which brings me to the main point I forgot:
The Nobel committees don’t give a flying f–k what you think.

Get the big picture: There are two reasons the Nobel prize has achieved the stature it has. The first is its rather unique nature, being essentially the first prize of its kind, and really, the only prize of its kind – given its stature.

The second is the absolute integrity and secrecy of the prize committees.

It’s their opinion that matters and their opinion only. It doesn’t matter what you say, or what the million talking heads say. The committee doesn’t care – it’s their job not to care. Their job is to make up their minds who they think the best candidate is and make that decision. With no outside influence.

When was a Nobel laureate announcement ever leaked? When did you hear that a Nobel was ‘bought’ or that they’d ‘given way to public pressure’? The answer is never, unless you count the inevitable weak rumors and sore losers.

It’s not because that pressure doesn’t exist. That pressure is massive. Businesses, universities, entire nations sometimes try to campaign for a Nobel. It doesn’t work and it’s never worked.

Gee, you mean they care neither about the opinions of those with money, those who watch Fox and those who watch MSNBC?

(yes, I am in one of those groups, and no, I don’t have money )

Here is a quick take by Gawker on those things that President Obama has made “un-American”.

Well, I am getting ready to get dressed. It is chilly out there, but not too bad…yet.

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