Donate December

What's up for December's Challenge?  Blood, sweat, and cash money.  This month, we will all strive to be more like Angelina.  Better humanitarians through selfless giving.  In this pic, she is rescuing these poor, helpless children from starvation. (or this may be the photo where she is taking the kids to Barney's New York for back to school shopping.  I get them mixed up)...

Get a point by donating either your time, money, or blood to any cause that is important to you.  I'm serious about the blood.  We all probably know someone that has needed medical care or treatment, and blood donations are under appreciated in my opinion. Besides, the way most of the people from this blog drink, smoke, and eat, we'd better make some donations now.  Get an extra half point if you donate all three.

The Traditional Giving of Thanks

Its that day again. For those of us who like to cook its like Super Bowl Sunday. Only Lawrence Taylor didn't send any blow or escorts to my room last night to tire me out. I was up at 6, pies and bread are done, turkeys in the oven and all the prep work for the rest is complete. The calm before the storm. So I thought I'd take a moment to say thanks to everyone on the site for the making it Fun.
Anyway, the die is cast, the hard work is done, and the feast is pretty much going to turn out well at this point regardless of any diminished mental capacity caused by intake of alchohol, so its time to crack a cold one and relax. Happy Turkey Day Yall!
For the record, the Turkey will be served with a 2007 Domaine de la Becassonne White from the Cote Du Rhone.

From the hip: some things shot on Sunday

On Sunday Spiz and I got out for a very chilly ride through the Snohomish and Snoqualmie River basins. We travelled down some new roads and saw some interesting things.We passed by this thicket of sticks that had been completely overrun with cobwebs. The morning fog stuck to the gossamer and made it really stick out. Later in the afternoon we passed a similar thicket just South of Snohomish, the wind and sun had both increased and you could see the strands stretching all the way out across the road. Soon enough my handlebars and brake lines were silly with the stuff.

Some scenic aspens, always pretty in the fog.

Cattails in a marsh, also always pretty in the fog.


What's going on here? Is there a Garage Sale where everything is Free? Or did they have a Garage Sale already and no longer need the sign, so the sign is free? If it's the later, wouldn't there be the same confusion about the sign when using it for your own garage sale? Either nobody would want to pay for anything or someone steals your sign.

The bow-legged cow.Bah! Flat tire. It was a slow leak so we found some nice sunny benches in Snohomish to warm ourselves on during repairs.
Shard of glass, will get ya every time.

Found a scale model of the Statue of Liberty in East Everett, it was kinda jacked up though. I guess you can't expect any better in a random strip mall.

The principled opposition to my voting for your individual Magnum Points

"From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs" - Karl Marx
First, let me say that I am proud that my fellow citizens are showing so much initiative and enthusiasm for getting out there and doing stuff. Its that kind of attitude that brought us colonialism and the rape of the developing world so that our coffers might be filled and our god might be ascendant. It has its roots in the Protestant work ethic, without which this country might have never had child and immigrant labor working in sweat houses or meat packing plants in order to build the foundation (on the back of African slaves - natch) of one of the most successful economic engines this world has seen. I speak of course of this great nation, The United States of America. God bless it, and no one else.

Without this kind of attitude we would no doubt be a country of lazy, cheese eating, wine swilling, union members given to regular strikes and riots, month long vacations, and universal health care. Not unlike the French.

All this being said, I have come to the opinion, if you want a gold star, go ahead and take a sticker when I'm not looking. I hereby vote "Yea" in perpetuity to all proposals for individual magnum points. It troubles me to think that such a group of individuals, born from the same stock that gave us such great achievers as Carrot Top, George The Animal Steele, and George W. Bush would allow their bliss to be dependent on my vote. It sounds like socialism to me. And Joe the plumber tells me that's a bad thing. He also tells me he is the product of a failed public school system stripped of funds by the anti-tax zealotry of Grover Norquist's down syndrome afflicted adherents and that he, like many rank and file Republicans despises intellectual curiosity. So he may not be the best judge of 19th century European Political and Social theories. He also tells me he prefers Pex pipe to copper for its longevity. So he may not be the best plumber either.

Do not think of this as a rebuke, rather think of it as an exhortation to double down on the dream that is America (L.L.C.). Did Evil Knievel ask anyone for validation to jump the Snake River Canyon (Of course not, he had a diamond encrusted skull cane/flask filled with Jim Beam to validate himself - Thus insulating him from the vagaries of the voting public). You are my brothers and sisters, and I support you in all you're endeavors (except for you Crash. I don't care how you explain it, your hobby of dressing your member up as a miniature "Dick" Cheney and exposing it to coeds on the UW campus is not a "socio-political statement" and it frightens me). Ask not whether you can beat a Dentist and his Serotta (please tell me he's at least under 40) up a hill or if you can run 25 miles less than the distance of the Bataan Death March. Ask instead, "Ventoux, how you doin with that beer, ready for another?"

another nominee

I mentioned this to Crash ages ago, and I think it was even an empty slot reserved for it on the Magnum Points series chart awhile back: for my last chance at an individual point this year I want to race my dentist up the Goat Loop Trail.

You see, he has this challenge, if you are the fastest climber of all his patients you get your name on his ad in the Mukilteo Beacon, and a little free dental work I think.

But he's fast, ooo, he's fast. I've already beaten his patients (there's only two other guys that have turned in times I think), but I haven't touched his own PR yet.

The route is very similar to the second stage of the TdM, except you have to start down at the ferry dock, almost another half mile of UP. And I have to do it faster than I did the stage in the TdM. My previous best time, logged the week before the TdM, and I thought it to be good enough to beat him, was 11:05. But when I stopped by the office to turn it in (it's basically at the finish line) it turns out he did it two years ago in 10:26. Holyshit!, I was at the vomit/coughing blood stage to get what I got and he did it 40 seconds faster, and I won't even tell you what bike/tire combo he had (it wasn't a Serotta). I don't have the results handy anymore, but being chased up the hill at the TdM I don't think I beat that time and that will be basically starting with an almost two minute headstart.

But I've been continuing to train, hitting the gym, and I'm going to give it another shot. Tomorrow. Wednesday. and Crash will chase me up.

Will you endorse the point if I can do it?

BRS Point Request

On behalf of my friend, Crash, please, please vote for his request for an individual BRS point. By December, he will attempt to run a 30 mile run. Not an official race, but just an informal Ultra-marathon. Vote for Crash!