Well…I forgot to pass on the dual grasshopper and caterpillar alert for the trails today…the wooly bears were swarming along with a huge cadre of grasshoppers that met the generally accepted alert rate of 20 per 100 feet…so, be careful out there…I decided to ride my route in reverse yesterday and neglected to pass that on…it was so weird to not know where I was on the trail and to have to think to know what gear to be in….the terrain looked so alien going clockwise with the shadows and sun making a completely different view from the bike….places that looked like large hills turned into flats or downhills going backward and the last climb along M-6 was just a killer with dead legs after 10 miles…but it was still fun and I think I may do both weekend days that way…it may work the legs a little more and challenge the muscle memory I’ve built up over time. One last thing, I’m only 26 miles from hitting 1700…2000 still looks doable before the weather goes away….no more later….well…who, knows…I may have another topic…I really did have one but I forgot what it was…might have to go back through the newspapers to refresh my memory…
Oh…do have the normal night out with G I think…then Tom tomorrow, then out with T for HH Wed…maybe even K for HH Thurs…geez… a lot to do this week…
Well…it’s another harbinger of the coming winter here…had to put the heat on for the first time last night since it’s only 35 degrees outside. But, the cool thing is the heat is included in the rent so I can run it 75 in here if I want. I know that’s not something you care about but that’s okay…going to have to wait until after noon to go out on the bike but I don’t have anything else to do so it’s no big deal. Not a lot to do today….and not much of a SF yesterday but I still feel fuzzy this morning so if I’m not making much sense, that’s the reason. Probably should take the clubs out of the trunk and clean them up today….maybe not…more later…
Well…no big topics today…I did have a short Sunday Funday with K and V..watched the Lions lose but they played hard so maybe that’s progress? Talked to my daughter after she got back from Europe and agreed that the next time they go, I’ll go with them…I’ve always wanted to see England so I guess I’ll have to start saving some cash…and find a job…but that’s harder than it looks…and I’m still not that motivated…maybe in a couple of weeks…who knows? That’s about it for now….I promise some topics for tomorrow..but I don’t know what they’ll be yet….
Well…a really low key day yesterday….as I told you, cooked a chicken in the slow cooker that came out great and then just watched football all day…I am getting concerned that Michigan is always coming form behind (or tied) to win but I guess a win is a win. Looking forward to the Michigan Michigan State game next Sat and I am going to try getting some people together for it…I am so angry at Dish Network for their silly contract squabbles with Fox Sports that is taking away my Red Wings…have to look to see what is available on the cable system here…if I can get the channels I want, I’m going to dump the dish since it doesn’t work when it’s raining, or snowing, or sunny…
Not a lot to do today…I think I’m going to copyright that phrase…have to head over in a minute to let C’s dogs out since he is out of town for the next few days…then back here to watch the Lions lose again…there is also a race on but I am losing interest in Nascar with the cookie cutter cars and the lack of innovation…I guess that extends to all racing…way too many rules…like Clint Bowyer losing 150 points because his car was 10 thousandths of an inch out of spec….didn’t they meet the templates before the race? That kind of silly crap is going to ruin the sport…or it already has…let’s go back to the early days where you could tell a Dodge from a Ford from a Chevy….and if you weren’t cheatin’, you weren’t tryin’….I’m not sure if there will be topics for later but I do have some stuff careening around in my head…yep, that does hurt….more later…
Well…a kind of nice day yesterday…didn’t do a whole lot but did have HH with K that was fun and then a few cocktails here so I’m a little run down today…but I did get the slow cooker going at about 7 with a whole chicken this time that I browned in the oven first…made some rosemary butter with bacon to put under the skin. Starting to smell pretty good in here. Not a lot to do today but there is the Michigan game later and an 8 hour sports car race that starts at 11 so I’ll have something to do on this low key day. Not sure if there will be any other topics today but maybe…kind of cloudy in the head right now so maybe getting out on the bike in a few will help that…who knows? More later…
Well…another month starts and I had a weird thought that I talked to T about the other day and might just as well pass it along. I have started to look at my life differently than most other people I know, in really small increments that are centered on having enough money to get through a month. Kind of like buying months as I come up with the cash to pay the rent…hmmmm…yeah, that’s about what I wanted to say but it sounded much more substantial of an idea in my head. Oh, well….had a pretty good day yesterday with what I thought were a couple of pretty lucid posts and then out for a while with G for a couple of beers. Not much to do today…there it is again..but I am going to make a whole chicken in the slow cooker stuffed with smoked sausage and rosemary butter with bacon under the breast skin…everything is better with bacon!
Well..that was not a bad night of sleep…but up early again with nothing to do until I go out to the coffee shop in a couple of hours…I am doing this, so technically, I do have something to do so I guess I’m wrong. Had a nice lunch with T yesterday but that is about all for the rest of the week…maybe out to have a couple of beers with G tonight or with K not sure who yet. Geez…I’m boring…so I’ll not subject you to any more of this right now…
Well…did the Ada thing with Tom yesterday…it was okay to change up the schedule and it works out well for me since I have lunch with T today and it will be nice to not be rushed….and I think it is just too hard to get started before Tom…puts me at a disadvantage shooting pool…well…still win a lot but I just can’t go from 1 in the aft until after 6…just too much like work. Oh, I did win at pool but my Keno ticket was screwed up and I won’t know if I won until next week. Not a lot to do today, as always, but I think I have a couple of topics that I want to deal with but the ideas are still forming right now…and who knows, they may be pushed aside by something new in the newspapers…
Well….I do recognize I’ve begun to slide back to a certain stridency that I have been trying to overcome for some time now…but I think there is a place for outrage and I’m going to keep some of it since people are just not paying attention to what is going on. But, right now…let’s take it down a notch, to borrow from Jon Stewart. I was going to issue a caterpillar alert from observations on the ride today but the density was just not there yet…only 18 per hundred feet when the acceptable national standard for an alert is 20. But, stay ready for tomorrow since the trend over the past week has been upward….should I include the graphs here? Probably not….
Oh, did the math wrong and, in the interest of accuracy, need to report that I haven’t equaled last years’ record of 1700 miles on the bike….about a hundred miles short as of today…but I do get to celebrate again later this week when I really get there so that is something to look forward to…and I know you are waiting and holding your breath for the milestone to be reached…don’t worry, I’ll let you know…you can go back to work now…more later…
Well…I have really been trying to work up some outrage today but I’ve covered a lot of what is bugging me and I don’t want to be seen as a one dimensional writer..that’s not quite true….there are days when I AM one dimensional and if you’ve read any of these you’ve seen that. All I can do is try to make these interesting so you’ll come back….but I don’t write for that reason either…I really don’t know why I write other than I feel better when I do. I did submit a new one to the Washington Post today for the competition they are having to find the next great American pundit…don’t have any illusions that I’ll be selected but it did brighten my day some when I hit the submit button….
One thing that has been bouncing around in my head lately (or should I say again) is the fact that the huge world that I used to inhabit is steadily shrinking as time goes on. I used to have something to do every day; someone to hang out with every day…but lately that has been reduced to Mondays and Wednesdays and even those days are becoming intermittent. I know some of you that read this stuff are around my age…what do you do to keep the shrinkage at bay? There is a seductive component to spending more and more time alone..it allows the ultimate in freedom if you have no plans for a day, but it also makes it easier to allow yourself to fall deeper into the trap of being alone. I guess this whole bout of introspection was triggered by getting my hair cut this morning, looking into the mirror and seeing an old guy sitting there that I almost don’t recognize anymore…where did I go?