CAWD

Wensday was Commute Another Way Day and I decided to do something to participate. So Tuesay night I loaded the Turtle (Toyota Tercel) with my bike, put on the panniers and rear rack bag and prepared for the commute the next day. I started watching the weather closely at weatherunderground.com and saw that rain was forcasted. Damn!. But "to hell with it" I said.
"Im am MAN! A man who invented the wheel, and built the Eiffel Tower out of steel...and brawn!" So surely I could ride in the rain, plus it was going to be warm out.

I commute about 50 miles each way daily and frankly biking that far to get to work and back just isnt happening. So I drive my self to a Park n' Ride location a reasonable distacne to ride in from. I got my shit together and started in....it was a nice ride in. The weather was cloudy and rain was looming in the distance but I made it in...14.5 miles at 18.8 avg. mph. Pretty good actually.

Work was work, and it rained all day.

At 4pm, after seeing that a heavy batch of rain was comming, I decided to make a break for it while the rain was still somewhat light. No need to get caught in a downpour. I packed up, duct taped my riding shoes for some additional weather protection, donned my trusty LL Bean goretex jacket and headed out. The first 3 miles was pretty good. Feet were basically dry, and the going was good. At abour 4 miles my shoes started to fill with water. It seems the rain was comming down from my ankle and in. "There's no stopping now" I say to myself. At miles 5 I pass another group of riders but I just blow past them and keep on going....there is no time to chitchat today. The miles roll by.... I can tell im going much slower in the rain. But the ride was good. No complaints, the jacket kept the rain out, thou I got wet from sweat, the rain was warmish, so there were no numb fingers or toes and I learned that rain be damned I can ride anyday I choose. It just that the fine sand that gets EVERYWHERE could really be a problem for the bike. So CLEARLY I need another bike. Avg. speed returning was 15.5 mph.

I reached the car, changed back into my dry work clothes and drove home. What a good mini-during the week-adventure. I definately plan on doing this much more often, only Ill avoid the wet weather.

Terrorism and the Media

Watching the news today (6.1.06) the thought occured to me about how, or more accruately, theTATIC, OBL and the network of terrorism may plan on winning for their cause. If I'm remembering correctly, and I have little intention here to research all this info but, didn't OBL basically state that we would never see it comming? or some words to that effect?

Anyway, could the plan be to defeat the USA by using our own freedoms against us? Use the media to create and inflate the scandls that ultimately occur during war. The two I'm thinking of are AubGrab Prision and the current Marine massacare scandal in Haditha. Kind of a like propaganda messages, but masking it into OUR news. the world news. the Iraqi news.

But dont let me miss lead you, if they (Marines ex.) broke our laws they they should do the time. But lets assume the benefit of doubt for a moment.

One other thing that still bothers me is I still dont have a sense that the general Iraqi people are standing up to the 'insurgents'. Dont they...in the famous words of Rodney King...want to all just get along?

I understand the religion aspect of this to some point but...shit, its 2006! Im starting to rant here but what if Jesus were to come back and say "yeah, i just saw god and it turns out Mohamad was just some carzy guy." Would they be pissed, or what? Ha.

And the same could happen I suppose if Mohamad came back from where ever her went to. "Yeah, that Jesus guy...turns out he was a preacher hippie with a good eye for a curve ball."

To bad the solution cant be to just put them under glass to live there own existance without the intrusion of the rest of the modern world.

done.

but as i have said before in this blog. if it comes down to religion, I side with the pope. ooo-another rant... Where is Pope Beneditict in all of this? Wouldnt have the old school popes from the middle ages have dispatched soldiers to wipe out all extremist muslims. Right now, he's just hanin' with the homies inside the Vatican...what does he do anymore? Its not the position it once was, that for sure.

ok now im done.