Football!

My running schedule has been messed up lately. I knew I was supposed to run 8 miles yesterday but I hadn't run in a while and I wasn't sure how that would go. But I did it. I was pretty sore last night but it felt good to get back on schedule. The iPod said I burnt 1200 calories. As I laid on the couch being sore I watched the first football games that meant anything. Preseason NFL doesn't count. But college football started last night. Two blowouts but I loved them anyways. Bring on the Notre Dame game Saturday!

Tornado

We had a tornado warning yesterday. It turns out that the tornado was about 15-20 miles away. I went running after the sun came out at our house and could hear the tornado sirens in the distance. That was a little weird. Oh and mom I ran East. Towards the storm.

Ron Paul?

I've not been interested in politics for years. I haven't had t.v. for the entire summer. So when I saw multiple bumper stickers promoting Ron Paul for president, I was confused. I'd never heard of the guy before. I then heard him on NPR's show "Wait wait...Don't tell me!". I was impressed immediately by his introduction. The guy turned down the congressional pension! So I got on the internet and read more. Here's what I've found from his site. www.ronpaul2008.com

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Plus he's Pro-Life.

Talk me out of it. What's not to like about this guy? I'll give you a week to talk me out of it and if you don't I'll probably buy one of his t-shirts.

Back from Iowa

We just got back from our mission trip to Iowa. It was hot. We did a lot of work. But it was a good trip. The kids enjoyed it and learned. I'm glad to have my bed back. And...Directv is turned back on! I watched the Colts last night.

I'm getting closer

Last night was a pretty good run for me. I was supposed to do a warmup mile a cooldown mile and 4 miles in between at a 9:50 pace. I ran with James. We started out a little fast and James started to slow down. Usually I would slow down with him but I pushed harder when he slowed down. So the first faster mile that I ran with James was 9:33. The second mile when I left him was 9:25. The third mile was 9:16. The fourth mile there was a big hill that killed me and I did it in 9:30. I felt pretty good. I cramped up a couple of times last night in bed but I'm getting faster. Now if only I can get through the fall without an injury. I could be doing decent come October. Man it still seems so slow compared to real athletes.

Huge news

This news may affect me more than anyone else in the world. It affects me more than President Bush. I'm affected more than Putin, Bin Laden, and Martha Stewart(or however you spell her name. I haven't been conquered by her kingdom yet.) Here's the big news.

Notre Dame and Michigan have extended their contract through 2031.

I think this even affects me more than the athletic directors that signed the contract. I am a Notre Dame fan surrounded by Michigan fans. All of Steph's family loves Michigan. All of my friends up here love Michigan. The whole stinking Strong family loves Michigan. I love the rivalry. This is one of those college football games that should be played every year. Number 1 and Number 2 in wins and winning percentage must play. So kudos to a couple of ADs that did something right. And quit whining about Notre Dame joining the Big Ten.

Laura is allergic to you

Laura went to the allergist yesterday. They did the scratch test on her again. She is still violently allergic to peanuts. She was upgraded to a regular epipen. They decided she was also allergic to ragweed, grass, cats, and anything else. The good news is she is allergic to cats! Woohoooo! Another reason to avoid pets.

Ahhh Crudola

Word on the street is that the FBI is about to arrest a NBA referee for fixing games. Apparently the ref had a gambling problem and ended up owing some mobsters more money than he could pay and this was his way out. 10 bucks says he ends up swimming with the fishes. The problem will be figuring if it was Stern's guys that did it or the mobsters. People are ruining the game that I loved. Sheesh I feel like a hockey fan.

A double full rainbow

Oh and Burrill, I'm not cool enough to use photoshop. These are all natural! Well, if digital can be called natural.

"I do have a day job"

I'm not a huge baseball fan. But I'm a huge sports fan. So sometimes it's spills over into baseball. I've not been a fan of Bud Selig, MLB commissioner, for a while. I think he's made some bonehead decisions. This quote is one of his more boneheaded quotes. He was asked if he would be there to see Barry Bonds break the record for home runs hit in a career and he said, "All of this will have to be played by ear. I do have a day job". What? This is the guy that's supposed to be talking me into watching baseball and he's too busy to do it? You know what Bud? I have a day job too. Thanks for reminding me that watching baseball isn't that important and that I need to have my priorities straight. I'll skip the game too.

Thank you may I have another?

Oh man. I hurt still today. Last night one of my youth group kids called me up and talked me into trying to make the wall at Pixie. Pixie is a little restaurant in Mt. Pleasant that serves burgers, coney dogs, fries, shakes, that sort of thing. They put your name on the wall if you eat 10 burgers or 6 coneys. The burgers are smaller than your normal burger. But 10 is a lot. And the problem is that I'm already on the wall. I did it a few years ago with other youth group kids. I went. I ate. I ate. I felt sick. I gave up after 7. In my defense I ate a couple of pieces of pizza right before the kid called. And there's not as much motivation if you're already on the wall. So yes, I wimped out.

nangi namaj perez

Oh man I finally found a cd that I've been looking for forever. The 77s cds are pretty rare for some reason. I found this one used for about $20 with shipping on Amazon. That's the best price I've seen it for on there before. The only one that Amazon has that's new costs $50. One of the 77s cds listed on Amazon is listed at $219.99. It's outrageous. I wish they'd either reprint these cds or sell through itunes. But I'm loving it as I listen to it. The cd is commonly known as Pray Naked. But when the album came out in 1992 they wouldn't let them name the album that. In fact that song's title is blanked out on the back of the cd! Good stuff though. I'll be spin doctoring it in the near future.

A rolling stone gathers no moss

Sorry it's been a while since I posted but it's been busy. This last weekend I was sick. A nice fever. I missed a wedding and an open house. But I've made up for it. I don't work an hourly thing but I've put in 25 hours in the last two days. Yesterday supper was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the church van. So I may be right back in the sick house. I get a couple of days off in a row though because of the holiday. I did get to stop and watch a bald eagle chase a hawk for about 5 minutes. The hawk had a fish or small animal in it's talons. The eagle wanted whatever the hawk had. For as long as I was able to watch the hawk evaded the eagle. I love creation.

Big Ticket Festival

Free tickets are always good. I hadn't planned on attending this festival but free is good. So I grabbed a youth group kid and drove 2 hours north. We saw Superchic[k], Kutless, Chris Tomlin, and the Newsboys. I'm not too proud to admit that at times I'd wished I'd had ear plugs. It was way loud. Here's some pictures.

The Newsboys were really good. I really appreciated their testimony and talks between songs.

The picture below is Kutless. It was great to watch the old people throw their fist up.

Chris Tomlin did a good job at leading some worship during his concert. I wasn't into it at first but I warmed up to it as he got to some songs that I knew.

A few pictures

I just happened onto these pictures. I thought they were good enough to share. Plus I know what you really want to see and it isn't pictures of fish.

I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night

I read an article Monday that was pretty good. The author quoted C.S. Lewis. “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home”. Yesterday I enjoyed a pleasant inn. I wasn't in a great mood. I'm tired and things at church had me a little down. The neighbor brought over a slip and slide and the girls played on it. I even went down it a few times. We had a bunch of fun. Earlier Steph took Colleen to the store so it was just me and Laura. We were sitting outside in the shade talking. I've found that I have to ask a lot of questions to keep Laura talking. She may be a little too much like me. But anyways she asked me "Why are you asking so many questions?" I told her that I wanted to know more about her. She replied, "Cool". It was a good night that totally changed my mood. Thanks for the "pleasant inn" God.

Michael Jackson and Bill Gates

What do you get when you combine the two? This guy. Steph saw some Jim Carrey there too.

LBALACUSNAIBA

Take that Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles. A team from Long Beach has changed their name, this is no joke, to "Long Beach Armada of Los Angeles of California of the United States of North America Including Barrow, Alaska". I think that pretty much includes everyone. Count me in as an Armada fan. If you don't believe me here's the site.

Say ya to da UP eh

I'm back from a week of fishing in the Upper Peninsula. Our church does a mens fishing trip every year. I go most of the time. This year was a good year. I had a good time and only got burnt once. Unfortunately that time really toasted my lips. They are very sore. I caught four 20 inch walleye, a 19 inch, some walleye that were too small, a small mouth bass, a bunch of perch, a carp, and a sheeps head. I also went running, golfing, and made a trip to the lighthouse. Here's some pictures.

Some sports thoughts

I love sports traditions. I can really get sucked into them. So I get excited every come Memorial Day Weekend. I love the traditions of the Indy 500. The row of bricks, the drink of milk, the singing of Jim Nabors... Wait a minute! Jim is sick and won't make the trip this year. For the first time since 1986 or as long as I can remember the race, Jim Nabors will not be singing "Back Home Again in Indiana". That was my favorite part of the prerace activities. Instead they are going to encourage the crowd to sing it. All I can say is get well soon Mr. Nabors I look forward to when you are back home again. You can hear Jim sing here.

The Pacers don't have a draft pick this year. They traded them all away. They also don't have a coach. I think it's the lowest they've been since I've been a fan. I don't really see things changing anytime soon either.

Nick Saban is showing his true colors at Alabama already. Looks like he's committed a recruiting violation already. It sounds like he was trying to talk a kid out of an early commitment to another university as well. That bugs me when coaches do that. Here is the story.