Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!  

I kind of semi-called back in May when the National released First Two Pages of Frankenstein. They had mentioned recording over two dozen songs and I lamented that maybe what they left off was better than the disk they released. And it kind of is. 

Actually, Laugh Track was released back in September 2023, but I'm just getting around to the review now.  Yes, two albums in less than five months. 

While mostly recorded around the same time, Laugh Track isn't solely produced by the band, there are others who put their $0.02 into this product and I think it helped. 

Don't get me wrong, while this disk is better than Frankenstein and even their last two records, it doesn't meet the expectations of their first four albums. But that's more on me than them. 

Frankenstein relied heavily on programmed drums, but that's not the case here. And their drummer is actually the base for their sound. The disk is also heavily piano driven. That's fine here and there, but show a little restraint. 

There are highlights for sure:  "Weird Goodbyes" which I featured on My Music Monday maybe two years ago has finally found a home, as opposed one-off single that most people missed. Bon Iver does well sharing vocals with Matt Berrninger. 

"Deep End (Paul's in Pieces)" is probably the most accessible track. It is actually better when heard live. "Coat on a Hook" is the low-key, but familiar National that we've come to know.  And in their last few disks where they are BIG on female guest vocalists, I'm not sure they do better than Rosanne Cash collaborating on "Crumble".  Her voice works well with Berninger, especially in the last section of the song. 

And whether you like it or not, "Smoke Detector" is at least ambitious. Clocking in at almost eight minutes and recorded live at a sound check. It's part manic, part stream of consciousness, all very sonic. They get points for originality. 

Some songs I come back to more than others. It's a decent disk. I'm glad I've stuck with them. 

Shoes

You know, if they weren't $400, they'd be someone's Secret Santa for 2024. 

As it turns out, I'm not sure they're even manufactured......yet at least. As it is a BLOTUS product, the chances of it ever coming to fruition are slim and the chance of getting a refund are nil. 

Of course they are tacky as hell. I'm guessing this is what is happening to all the unsold Kanye West Adidas shoes that they can't unload. 

The "joke" is, the rich folks who do support him won't buy them and wouldn't be caught dead in them.  His true base can't afford them, but somehow will still get them. 

The biggest users of social programs that the GOP wants to cut and defund are the red states. I do love how they have manipulated their own base against the voter's best interest.

I don't think one could even wear these ironically. 

The problem is, they'll sell.  When I was doing yoga, every Saturday morning Foot Locker - or something like them - had a line waiting to get in the store for whatever new collectible shoe was being released that week. Teens would come out with 2-3 of them at $200 a pop. I could never quite figure it out. 

An old college friend told me her son did that and would do resell on eBay and made tons of money. He was 14 at the time. 

It should be easy to pick out the enemy.  Yes. I debated for like 12 seconds whether to use that word or not, but that's what it is. What they are. The ones who hate Antifa, which they don't understand that it is anti-fascist. Or maybe they just ARE fascists, 

It's all very depressing. 

Allegedly, the shoes are supposed to be swaying the Black vote to BLOTUS.  Really? Is that all it takes? If so, that is even more depressing - should it work. 

Ok. I'm stopping now. 

Song by: Patsy Cline

Free

You know, now and then I get to put out good news here too. 

An NYT notification popped up on my phone yesterday about a billion dollar donation to a medical school in the Bronx. I was intrigued of course, so I clicked the link. 

A professor of disabilities and literacy programs made the donation. The money - mostly unknown to her - came from her husband's estate, as he had done well in his career. 

As having worked in healthcare and been on the business end of administering donor requests, almost all donations come with some kind of parameters on what the givers want it to go towards. Some are extremely specific and I've seen some funds never touched, as sometimes they are tough to spend, believe it or not. 

Ruth Gottesman had only one request:  use the money so medical students do not have to pay for medical school. 

Boom. Period. That's it. 

The money is enough to have this go on in perpetuity. 

The money is enough that the medical school could have been renamed for her. Most donations have levels ($1.5 million to have a Chair named for you, etc). As this is Albert Einstein Medical School, Ms. Gottesman figured that they can't do better than Albert Einstein and declined the offer. 

It is horribly generous - though maybe her kids think differently? - and will be a huge help to those who come out riddled with debt. 

Personally, I would have attached a few caveats to this gift. For instance, the forseeable future, fewer and fewer students are selecting certain specialties - neurology, for one. Even fewer (read: almost none) are going into brain health and memory. That is going to be a HUGE issue and very soon, as the population ages and dementia and Alzheimers cases continues to rise. There will be even fewer people to care of these patients. 

I'm sure there are others too that need bolstering. Along with nursing programs. 

I say keep the tuition free, IF someone chooses a certain speciality path. As the needs of medical circumstances changes over time, so can the need on how those funds get dispersed.  Just my $0.02. 

Either way, it might get people into medicine who wanted that career but couldn't take on the debt. 

Good for Ms. Gottesman. Good for Albert Einstein.  The college......not the man. 

Song by: Florence + the Machine

My Music Monday

Another brand new tune for my My Music Monday. 

This is a new release (from about two weeks ago) from the Decemberists joined by James Mercer, the lead vocalist from the Shins. 

It's basically a hipsters auditory nocturnal emission. 

I like both bands, and I believe the only time I'll ever be a hipster is when I get a new one........which......well......tick tick tick. 

Even better, "Burial Ground" is a good song. 

I think the Decemberists have morphed quite a bit from their earlier days. I liked them back then, but some of their "newer" stuff has really been good and possibly more accessible. 

Hurt

Again, I was hoping to have a movie review for today, but a big long nap kind of put a big stop to a big long movie.  The nap was needed more. 

As marathon training continues, I went back to it today. I skipped Tuesday's group due to Covid.  .....and my knee. 

I am finding it's not training season without an injury. Almost exactly a year ago it was my other knee (and hip) and last October it was tendinitis This time, it's the left knee. 

Behind the knees was bothering me before my 11 mile run last weekend. By Monday it just intensified. By Wednesday, I was seeing my orthopod. 

Somewhere between Saturday and Tuesday (when I called for an appointment) the pain had morphed from back to side / front.  ....and then back to the back again. As I am big into self-diagnosis (every doctor hates me for that), I had no idea what was going on. 

As it turns out, more than one thing. 

I'll start with the front, which I did guess (probably) correctly. It's a bursa issue brought on by my super-tight hamstrings. I literally LOL'd at my doc as he examined me and told me to relax the leg. I said, if I could relax those hamstrings ever, I wouldn't be here. He chuckled himself at that, as did the resident who was observing. 

That is what the brace is for. Should it not help, in three weeks I'll be getting a cortisone injection. Truth be told - I kind of love those. The one on my right knee is still holding up 11 months later. 

The behind the knee pain is just insult to injury:  Arthritis. 

Fucking 60 years old. 

Bad enough to be old, let alone feel it. I already have been making old-man noises when I do certain things, I certainly don't need to add to those, yet I am.

I should Gooooooogle it. I completely blanked on asking the doc if there was anything I could do about the arthritic pain. 

That said, doc said I could run in my brace - and I have, but with mixed results. Oddly, it doesn't feel that bad when I run. I feel the brace digging in certain places more than I feel the original pain(s).  And ick - it gets sweat covered. 

Yesterday, I rejoined the training group. I was supposed to run 10, but I knew I wouldn't. Or shouldn't. Couldn't is another issue. I probably could have. 

Temps were low - 14°F, with the wind - but roads and trails were dry. I went 7 miles, and I equaled my 10k race time. So I felt pretty good about that actually.  Almost a mile longer than 6.2 , on big-ass hills with a knee brace and still had a decent time. 

Between the doc visit and yesterday, I also did a 3 mile and 4 mile day with no negative consequences. I'm not stupid (up for debate, actually), as I don't want a worse injury. Still, the Cleveland Marathon is less than three months away and I don't want to get behind in training. 

I'm also hoping this last weekend was the last frigid run of the season.  .....but it's Cleveland, so who knows. I honestly don't mind running in the cold. My lungs are not fans of it, or my hands. The rest of me is fine with it all. 

That said, one more injury and I suspect I'll be on the mailing list for this faux magazine 

It made me laugh. 

Oh - this is my 7,000th post !!!!!!!!!

Song by: Johnny Cash

We Don't Get Along

Covid is going well.  I guess. I

'm almost completely asymptomatic. I can't say for that for the rest of the household. Since we are at home all week, Shep got a reprieve from daycare, so he's been home all week. He's had LOTS of long walks, but no car rides, of which is not amused.  

He's had a few singular barks, which tells us that "someone" (psssst. Simon) has invaded his personal space. 

Things I'm finding are weird. When Sophie was the one here first, Shep never snapped at her. Now that he's the oldest, he's exerting that discipline. It's kind of fun to watch and figure out the dynamics.  And 90% of them time, there is no fighting. 

But......on with the pics. 

Usually a safe distance. Simon has been spending more and more time with the pack. 

Shep overlooking Horseshoe Lake. 

.....yes, that used to be a lake. Lots of politics behind whether it should be again. 

"Are YOU the keymaster.......?"

Bailey and her detritus. 

Walk with no one around. 

Simon's and my relationship in one image. 

Co-existing.  Kind of. 

Song by: the Go-Go's 

the Beat Goes On

Just to pile on to the hypocrisy of the life of children, when it comes to the GOP and the religious right, we have to look no farther than a few states over from Alabama. 

A few weeks back, though only recently reported, three girls (no, they're not women) in Oklahoma attacked and beat a non-binary student - enough so that she died the following day. 

So concerned was the school on the beating, that they never called an ambulance for the child. 

Let that sink in. 

The grandmother of Nex Benedict took the child to the hospital. Twice. Once where they released them, and then a return visit upon where the student died. 

Not only did the school not call for medical care, they didn't report the incident to police. 

To be clear, it isn't unknown if Benedict died of the injuries put upon them in that school bathroom. Let me rephrase - the physical injuries. There had been multiple reports of bullying of Benedict. It wouldn't be unheard of - or even a surprise - if they took their own life due to the school circumstances. It is a scenario played out far too often for trans, gay and non-binary youth. 

It doesn't help when the head of Oklahoma education is a vocal opponent of what he describes as “radical gender theory.” 

I know I should do more research on some group called Libs of Tik Tok, but it sounds like a hate-filled group led by someone who was appointed by the Oklahoma education lead. Trans advocates note taht Libs of Tik Tok have an outspoken stance against transgender rights. Critics argue that the head of Oklahoma education's rhetoric and policies have contributed to an environment that enables hate crimes. 

While I don't know this for sure, I would say they're also "pro-life".  That, of course, comes with one big fucking asterisk. Pro-birth, yes.  Pro-life: no!

At this point (read: two weeks after the fact) no charges have been brought against the three girls - even for assault. 

I hate this fucking country. I'm sorry that Nex didn't have the life they deserved. 

Song by: Sonny & Cher

On Ice

My word!  Alabama's Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos are children. 

Alabama, being the bastion of the purity and sanctity of life - unless their is rope, a tree and a person of colour nearby - has paved the way for some very unprecedented  ground, I would think. 

Maybe it's been contemplated, but most likely not - actual issues regarding children and the laws that go along with them. 

Let's start with:  is putting a child in a freezer for years an ok thing?  And if so, up to what age can one do that? I'm guessing doing it to an 8 week old it's murder, so why it is ok for an egg to be frozen? 

I'll move on to an easier one: they're children. Period.  They are deductions on your taxes, no? If not, why aren't frozen embryos who the state Supreme Court ruled as children not included in this? I want to hear it directly from the IRS and the Alabama Department of Revenue.  No......go ahead, I'll wait for the answer. 

If they are already children and you try to put them into a human body, that has to be some kind of felony. Ask anyone from NAMBLA. 

For those embryos not implanted, is that considered child abandonment? Will there be trials and jail time? 

When those would-be parents die (wait! nope, they ARE parents - the Supreme Court already deemed that), do the "children" get cared for by the state for eternity and at the taxpayer's expense? 

If the freezer goes out, it is considered mass murder? 

Would these be anchor children for immigrants and refugees? 

What about Truancy laws?  None of these "kids" are showing up to school or having sex with their cousin-brother.  (I mean, it IS Alabama!)

I get you think my questions are quasi-humourous, and I wrote them that way - in a way. But these are actual ethical and legal issues, are they not?  How can these embryos be considered children in one regard and not in others?  

I honestly want answers. 

Song by: Chris Thile

Black Hole Sun

Sorry, except that I'm not, that today is another astronomy post. And honestly, it's way better than yesterday's. 

Astronomers have found possibly the brightest object in the universe!  Even more luminous than my sunny disposition !!!!

It is a quasar and it is 500 TRILLION times more intense than our stupid old sun!

This quasar is fast moving and produced by a giant black hole (also not me!) that is devouring the equivalent of one sun per day. It is the fastest growing black hole known to astronomers. Or as one explained it: "the biggest gates to hell we have found anywhere in the universe."  It sounds like a Buffy / Sunnydale problem. 

Said one astronomer: “We need to assume that this quasar is the most violent place that we know in the Universe because: the visible accretion disc is 7 light years across. This means you could expect burning hot temperatures, strong magnetic fields and wind speeds ranging from thousands of miles per second blasting across the outer edge, and “lightning bolts of cosmic size discharging everywhere.”

I mean, how is this NOT a movie?  It's got John Cusak's name all over it. 

The light emitted by this quasar is 20,000 times as intense as that of the Milky Way galaxy, So intense, that if the object was placed in the center of the Milky Way, it would never again turn night on Earth. While it is a bright object, light from J0529-4351 still took 12 billions (with a B) years to reach us. 

So, the 2024 presidential election still holds more concern than three paragraphs up. 

Honestly, I'd rather deal with lightning, wind, hot temperatures and magnetic fields than have to listen to a campaign season of BLOTUS and Pappy Joe. 

Song by: Soundgarden

Site of Month

I've been seeing images of Jupiter (to your left) from the Juno spacecraft that is flying by the big-assed planet. 

They are quite amazing and impressive. 

Jupiter is one of those planets that is easy to see in the night and very early morning sky. You'd almost think it is Venus due to its brightness. 

But this SotM isn't about Jupiter, per se. Or any specific planet. Or maybe not a planet at all. 

NASA has an Astronomy Picture of the Day site. 

I'm a big fan of the stars, planets, comets and such. I think it's vital that Elon Musk colonizes Mars, and is the first person to go - and stay - there. 

Love seeing images of things from space and the cosmos. I'll be looking forward to see what they post. 

My Music Monday

I'm about 99.7% sure none of you "liked" my selections of 2023 when it came to the German group Milky Chance. I get it, but the more I listen to them, the more I like. 

They have a new song out. Well, it's about a month old, but other posts kept getting in the way. 

"Reckless Child" won't probably won't change your mind on the group. I'm liking the song more with each play. It's not radically different than some of their other selections.

If anything, the lyrics are difficult to understand. The lead singer has a vocal affect that pronounces words slightly different. It might be the German to English kind of thing, but the words can be hard to decipher. 

I don't know if a new disk is on the horizon or not, but the song is ok. 

The video freaks me out. I'm assuming it's not green screened, and maybe (hopefully?) they cgi'd any harness gear out, because while I don't think I have a fear of heights, I see enough daredevil videos that tell me differently. 

The sculpted eyebrows at the beginning are unnerving to me too. 

Suburbia

You know, while we live in a suburb of downtown Cleveland, it's not suburbia. 

I'd say the majority of homes in our 'hood are century homes. Farther out there is the plethora of single story houses, ranch houses, Brady Bunch looking houses from the 50s to early 70s. 

Months ago, while looking for a place to walk Shep, I told 710 about a place I had run that had trails etc. While I knew - or thought I knew - the route, each residential street I ran to get to said trails looked familiar, because there were no distinguishing features. We never found the place.  I never found it. 

Fast forward like 8 months (from running, not the aborted hike), and yesterday here we were back at this place to put in 6 or 8 miles. I was going 8. I thought we were supposed to go 10, but I was wrong. 

I should mention, overnight we got 2-3" of snow and it was bitter cold. 21° without the wind, which was easily 15-20 mph. As the run started at 08:00, None of the streets, or highways were touched.  Yayyyy. I still got there with 15 minutes to spare. 

"Are those going to keep you warm?" said a women pointing to my knit gloves?  "No, but neither do the pair I have that I paid $70, and I don't care if I lose these or not".  And it's true, the expensive REI, Dicks, NorthFace stuff still leaves my hands not just cold, but PAINFUL. So a pack of 8 sets of knit gloves for $12 is fine with me.  .....and I can peel them off and throw them away during a race when it warms up, if needed. I have found no glove that works effectively under 40°F. 

So off we went. 

I was doing really well......considering the sloppiness and slipperiness of the roads and trail. My shoes and socks were soaked before the first mile completed. No bother.  The good runners were out ahead of me, but not by much. The 6 milers and a few 8 milers trailed me. 

But to get to those trails, the labyrinth of streets is confounding. But I was running with folks who seemed to know the way. Great for the way out. 

However, at the turn, I was a mile ahead of the people behind me, and a half mile behind the folks ahead. Once off the trail and back in the neighborhood every street looked the same. I honestly couldn't tell which ones we had come in on. Or exactly how to get back. This is when a Garmin probably comes in handy, or having cell service on your Apple Watch. I had neither. 

How bad could it be? I pondered, as I selected a route / road.  Pretty bad, it turns out.

I ran two miles OUT of my way to somewhat get back. At the 10 mile mark, I ran into another from our group. He's not just handsome, but a great great runner, but he slowed down to run with me. He seemed to know the way. 

Seemed to. 

He didn't. Quentin took us another half-mile out of our way, which meant another mile total. The last mile was pure sleet right in our faces with a very steady headwind. He was asking me questions I could not answer, not because I didn't have answers, because my faces was frozen. It was like I had a stroke and barely able to form words. My beard was all ice.  Yayy. 

So my 8 mile run became an 11 mile run. Fudge. 

Oddly - or not - the most treacherous part of the outing was walking from the stopping place to my car. 200 yards, in which I slipped and almost fell four times!

I stopped to get a warm beverage and pulled out my phone to see that 710 had texted he had tested positive for Covid. He felt crappy Friday (and before I left yesterday). I had had nasal drainage down the right side of my throat earlier in the week but had a random cough, which was not inconsistent with allergies, or even asthma (for the cough part). But I had a Covid test laid out for me once I got home. 

Four years into Covid and this is the first time either of us had tested positive. Even though I took three negative tests last summer, I still think I had it then. But now it's "official".  I tested positive along with 710.

I don't feel bad. Not Covid horror story bad. Not 710 bad. 

I ran 11 miles in the freezing cold on snow, slush and ice with Covid. I think I can "officially" call myself a "runner" now. 

But I still loathe suburbia. 

Song by: Pet Shop Boys

Asleep

Super Bowl.  Valentine's Day. It was a big week. But still had time for a few snaps of some furry friends. 

Big Boy.

Shep was really into the Puppy Bowl. 

We had to turn it, afraid he'd do something to / at the tv. 

I took a post-run nap and found out someone joined me sometime during. 

I loved that. 

Madison.  Such a love, she is. 

Big LAZY boy.  He found the sun. 

My precious Valentine. 

Let's just say there was some preemptive growling going on here. 

Simon does not know the first dog rule: let sleeping dogs lie. 

Song by: the Smiths

My Cleveland Heart

Today is February 16th.  Or 2/16. Or 2.16. 

Cleveland's mainstay area code is also 216. 

For fun (?) a number of running groups get together do a run - untimed.....I think - on this day. 

Last year, I had just joined my training group and wasn't really feeling comfortable doing a pub run, per se. Not comfortable with them. Not comfortable enough with myself to consider any run 'fun'.  But I'm probably going this evening. 

At least that is seemingly the plan.

Evening runs are fine, though I think 710 is fine with me going, it's different on a Friday night. My weekends are already filled with me running and not being home. Maybe he loves that I'm not. 

There are a few routes to take in this race - a one-miler and a six miler. And yes, a 2.16 miler. I'm opting for the third choice. I mean, it's 2.16 on 2.16. 

The bigger reality is: I have to run 10 miles tomorrow, so I'm not doing 6 the evening before. 

Friday is technically my "rest day". I mean, I'll do 15 miles on a bike, but it's not quite the same. So a two+ mile run isn't much of a commitment. And there is beer afterwards. 

....though drinking still seems unlikely. 

There are raffle prizes, but those don't start until 19:30, which really means 20:15. At some point 710 and I have to eat dinner, so I don't want to hang at a bar all night.  A raffle is the only way I'd be winning something. As I think the run is untimed, there is nothing to be won, and even if, even in my age category I wouldn't win..............unless every other old running geyser is at home in their pjs and slippers. 

Happy 216. 

Song by: Jackson Browne

First Down

It seems weird to have little (read: nothing) to say. 

Politics?  Meh. 

Super Bowl?  Double Meh.  

Post Super Bowl Shooting?  Fuck. 

I mean, it was a painful game to watch for sure. Teams that good shouldn't have so many turnovers. For your sports adverse folks, turnovers in football are not pastry desserts. 

Usher looked good, but either the sound was totally fucked up, or......maybe he just really can't sing. To be fair, it's tough to screw up his song "Yeah".  I think, like the title, the tune has one word.  One!

BLOTUS had the balls to say it would be"disloyal" for Taylor Swift to endorsed Pappy Joe. 

WTF.  He's claiming he passed (read: signed....did nothing to craft) a bill for musical artists and she owes all her fortunes because of him. 

Yeahhhhhhhh. 

Of course, he's not so silently blowing the whistle to his comrades to turn on her. I mentioned weeks ago (or less), that the GOP is truly afraid of this woman. It's bad enough one person could topple a political party, but a GIRL???????

The timing isn't right yet, but yeah, she's gonna have to come out not for Biden but against BLOTUS. It will be a timing issue, I believe. 

I also need BLOTUS to die.  

I've said before it can't be anything but natural causes so he's not made a martyr. We are past that now. It no longer matters - conspiracies will take over no matter what, but if it keeps him from office again, faux-martyrdom is a price I'm willing to accept. 

As for the shooting - it's all very new, but since they "caught the guys" and didn't "kill the guys", I'm guessing they're white. 

200 officers on site and multiple folks shot in broad daylight. Many (most? all?) were kids. Hell, these guys don't even have to seek out schools anymore. The kids are coming to them to get shot. 

But here's the sad sad fact. Had Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce been shot or killed, Kansas City - MO and KS - would be pushing for stricter gun laws.  .......but since it's just kids.......they'll let it slide. 

America. 

Song by: Fatboy Slim

With Love From Me to You

 Happy Valentine's Day

Song by: the Beatles

12 of 12

 So I'm doing my 166th 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore.

06:12. Last out makes the bed. It seems it was my turn. 

06:25. B'fast awaits.  The basil is coming in nicely. 

07:13.  Applying for a mail-in ballot awaits. 

Signed. Dated. Sent in. 

07:44. 5 miles. 47 minutes.  ...then a bunch of stretching. 

16:26.  Bringing in the trash and recycling containers.

16:33. Yay. Presents. Well, singular. For myself. From myself. 

16:45. Small grocery run unpacking. 

17:17. Snack. 

I'd rather have chocolate, but.....I'm trying. 

17:42.  Time to take the dolls. 

They keep me happy-ish. 

18:09. Sunset on a dog walk. 

With a crescent moon in the upper left corner

19:31.  Table is set for dinner!

20:32.  Time to put away the laundry. 

Well, that was an exciting day, wasn't it? 

My Music Monday

I can't (probably) get more current than this. Crowded House dropped a new single three days ago. 

Je have done no research on this, but assumes it is a precursor for a new disk. 

The band has been around for 39 (!) years in one iteration or another. Starting as a trio, to a quartet, back to a trio and then untold numbers have filtered through to where they are now a quintet. The only two mainstays have been Neil Finn and Nick Seymour. 

I had the great pleasure of seeing them live - just once - during the Woodface tour (when they were a quartet). Loved it.

I am that guy who buys all their stuff, even when I might not like it. In my opinion, they've had one dud-ish disk and close second, but most of their stuff is solid. 

"Oh Hi" is their new one. A lyric video, but you get what you get. 

As it is new, you only have first impressions by me. I like it. It's not love - not yet anyway. I like it more than most things off their last disk (the close second one mentioned above).  I'm hopeful for a new good disk. 

Fast As You Can

Blobby is not joining a third running group. And while I know there is a third running group, I opt not to partake. 

As I've mentioned, I belong to a running group and a training one. There is a second training one - at no cost, I might add - of which I'm intimidated. Greatly.  

Everyone I've seen from that group during my Old Man Running Group runs, is an excellent athlete. 

It's weird. They run in packs. I mean, I think we all start out that way and then natural abilities start to separate us during our run. Not these guys.  Yes, guys. 99%.  

If you've ever seen a bike race like the Tour de France, how dozens of bikes ride together in some kind of draft - this is how these guys run. Never separated by more than 3" each, and about a dozen per group. Yes, groups. They run in heats, basically, based on your ability. 

I saw the other training group, man-buns / shirtless and all, pass by me (opposite direction) after my turn-around. At about my mile 7, a man with an incredible body and an even better stride, blows by me with a speed and gait unseen on these paths. It was amazing to see, honestly. 

"Looking Good", he yells to me, as he passes with the speed of the Amtrak Acela. 

My immediate reaction in my head?  "is he fucking mocking me?".   

What came out was - "you too", but I think he was too far past me to even hear. 

I get back to the starting point where some runners were hanging out (I went out farther than the rest, but wasn't the last one in......and yes, I felt the need to say that!) and mentioned this guy. The convo shifted into how a perceived compliment can make someone feel, and I ad-libed, "I should have just yelled, 'DICK!'".   Oh, we all laughed. 

But it's true. The person you see lagging and you want to be supportive, so you say, "you got this!", or the likes, and they're mentally flipping you off. Their perception can be they notice you going slow(er)  

I will say to them, "let's run this in, together."  And I mean it. I'll go slower just to help motivate. Or hopefully motivate. 

Yesterday I passed someone not in either group and just said, "only 1 more mile to go, let's do this".  I assumed he was stopping near where I was. But I hope it gave him motivation. 

Honestly, I know the runner meant nothing by his comment. It's a pat response amongst runners, maybe even a sincere one. And I really didn't feel "less than". I've worked hard and I'm so much more improved from a year ago. Stud runner didn't know that, but if he wants to go out for a beer, I can tell him about it. 

Song by: Fiona Apple

Bad to the Bone

Decent weather. Decent outings - well, with Shep. Simon is secure inside, but he is very observant of Shep coming and going as he almost always pleases. He might be planning an escape. I'm kind of half serious on that. 

But enjoy this week's offerings. 

Shhhh. Don't tell Shep that Simon is using his nighttime bed during the daytime. 

Penny Loves Shep. 

Shep usually ignores here completely, but ran up to her fence the other day to greet her. I was happy. 

Hike down by the Chagrin River. 

Shhhh. Don't tell Dad #1 that Simon stole his chair during the day too. 

Bailey and Shep went on a 2.5 mile hike last weekend. 

Short legs will travel. 

When someone went to get the mail, Simon snuck in behind and got closed into the vestibule. 

I heard and heard and heard him meowing, but was looking in all the wrong places. 

Daycare pick-up with Bad Ass Dad #2

Song by: George Thorogood