Self-Explanatory
When they say “Police ‘Need Criminals to Boost Numbers’” is that one of those chicken-and-egg puzzles?
29 September 2008
27 September 2008
Cutting Heads
If there's one good thing that's come from having finished training for the marathon, it'd be that I was home for the telecast of the 1st U.S. Presidential debate. I respect Jim Lehrer as a newsreader, and, in the PBS News Hour, when I catch it, as a moderator of discussion, even though I think he could stand a better set of commentators than he's got. As the moderator of the debate, let alone as the author of the questions, he was pretty weak, I thought, but be that as it may, the debate showed up a couple of points.
First, McCain often approached the point of incomprehensibility, struggling to finish a phrase, let alone a sentence, or to make a point, and always striving mightily to accomplish two things: sound like Ronald Reagan and to portray himself simultaneously as Beltway insider and "maverick" outsider. For anyone who's been paying attention, for even just the last year, neither came off.
Obama was measured and reasonable throughout, often crediting McCain when he didn't have to (and McCain certainly never saw any reason to offer any such courtesy), even when there wasn't so altogether much to hold praiseworthy. Don't forget - don't ever forget - that for all McCain's principled stand against torture as an interrogation method by U.S. troops, he rolled on the CIA and other paramilitary arms of U.S. power. I think he came off well, particularly on domestic issues, but he never stumbled on the foreign policy issues, either, even if he did let McCain slide on a few porkies.
Admittedly, I'm an Obama supporter, but that's not to say I'm blind to his faults. He doesn't have years (and years and years) of history on Capitol Hill, or any great depth in matters military, economic, or whatever. McCain certainly has more personal experience as a legislator than Obama on any matter of governance you can name. But experience doesn't translate into leadership, and that's what the Presidency is about.
Congress makes laws. The Judiciary ensures they are applied or can be. The President leads the nation. Bush has led America into a terrible economic crisis, two wars where one would have been sufficient, and a general malaise of neglect and abandonment of the needy. McCain will do nothing different. Obama will. At any rate, Obama will try. McCain is for McCain, and that's all. Obama is for America, the one we Americans are raised to believe in, the one where if you try you can succeed, where anyone can grow up to be President. That's not McCain, and he's not the President I want to see lead the country for the next four years, let alone eight.
And God help us all if his running mate ever came to power. No, let's not even mention what she could do to the Supreme Court.
If there's one good thing that's come from having finished training for the marathon, it'd be that I was home for the telecast of the 1st U.S. Presidential debate. I respect Jim Lehrer as a newsreader, and, in the PBS News Hour, when I catch it, as a moderator of discussion, even though I think he could stand a better set of commentators than he's got. As the moderator of the debate, let alone as the author of the questions, he was pretty weak, I thought, but be that as it may, the debate showed up a couple of points.
First, McCain often approached the point of incomprehensibility, struggling to finish a phrase, let alone a sentence, or to make a point, and always striving mightily to accomplish two things: sound like Ronald Reagan and to portray himself simultaneously as Beltway insider and "maverick" outsider. For anyone who's been paying attention, for even just the last year, neither came off.
Obama was measured and reasonable throughout, often crediting McCain when he didn't have to (and McCain certainly never saw any reason to offer any such courtesy), even when there wasn't so altogether much to hold praiseworthy. Don't forget - don't ever forget - that for all McCain's principled stand against torture as an interrogation method by U.S. troops, he rolled on the CIA and other paramilitary arms of U.S. power. I think he came off well, particularly on domestic issues, but he never stumbled on the foreign policy issues, either, even if he did let McCain slide on a few porkies.
Admittedly, I'm an Obama supporter, but that's not to say I'm blind to his faults. He doesn't have years (and years and years) of history on Capitol Hill, or any great depth in matters military, economic, or whatever. McCain certainly has more personal experience as a legislator than Obama on any matter of governance you can name. But experience doesn't translate into leadership, and that's what the Presidency is about.
Congress makes laws. The Judiciary ensures they are applied or can be. The President leads the nation. Bush has led America into a terrible economic crisis, two wars where one would have been sufficient, and a general malaise of neglect and abandonment of the needy. McCain will do nothing different. Obama will. At any rate, Obama will try. McCain is for McCain, and that's all. Obama is for America, the one we Americans are raised to believe in, the one where if you try you can succeed, where anyone can grow up to be President. That's not McCain, and he's not the President I want to see lead the country for the next four years, let alone eight.
And God help us all if his running mate ever came to power. No, let's not even mention what she could do to the Supreme Court.
25 September 2008
21 September 2008
A Supposedly Fun Thing to Do
That I'll probably NEVER DO AGAIN. ZOMG. 4:32, by the clock over the finish line, and pretty much by my clock, too, although maybe a little less, since it was a couple of minutes before my brain would function enough to remember to stop it. I literally hobbled to the nearest city street after picking up my finisher's shirt and silly medal, and my gear, which all took far longer than I liked. But after buying a sports drink, which I consumed walking home the last block, and then polishing off the one I bought yesterday, I discovered perhaps the most painful aspect of doing silly things like this: showering. Yes, even though this is something you'd think would be a blessed relief, in fact, removing the salt from certain sensitive areas hurts a lot. Pain was inevitable, as previously mentioned, but this was suffering. Only briefly, of course. After that it was a matter of getting the water hot enough to restore my internal body temperature to normal and then drinking lots of water.
It was, however, a really interesting course. Starting on the north side of the harbour, and crossing the Harbour Bridge on a beautiful Spring morning, was a splendid start. Even better, the race then loops through the Domain and Botanical Gardens out to Mrs. Macquarie's Point, and past the naval base at Woolloomooloo, before heading back through East Sydney and into Darlinghurst along Oxford Street (strangely deserted, for the most part, although you could hear the Saturday night gay bar discos still pumping out the jams). The best part of this stretch was the bandit who jumped in: "I've been drinking for eight hours! And I'm going to run with you!" I'll never know what happened to him, but I doubt he lasted long.
The course took a loop through Centennial Park, out to Randwick Racecourse, and doubled-back on itself a couple of times along the way. Very annoying, but oh, well. After that, it was straight through the heart of the city via Surry Hills, my old stomping ground, as it were, and off along a stretch of highway to Leichhardt. And it was a stretch. By this time, we'd passed 28k, and I was looking for that 32k marker, with the excuse that, if I can get past that, it will be the longest I have ever run continuously and maybe there'll be a water station and I can take a little break. There was, I did, and it was the first one that still had some Gu. Up until then, I'd been making do with the two I'd carried - and consumed by about the 18k mark, jelly beans and diluted sports drink. Jelly beans, I think, are not as good. Sort of reminds me of that NY'er article, where they talked about Frank Shorter shaking up Coke to remove the fizz - a stop-gap measure until technology catches up. Of course, it has, and judging by the wrappers I saw, there was Gu provided, or maybe those were just the packets people had brought of there own.
Hairpin turn at Norton Street, and back up through Ultimo to the city. Nice working-harbour views. My training run had taken me - literally - over some parts of this course. Normally the Old Glebe Bridge is closed to traffic, but I'd had a nice look at it many times, crossing the Anzac Bridge above it. The loop through the Rocks was strangely desolate, although there's not much reason for anyone but a stevedore to be there generally, so I shouldn't be surprised. Suddenly, however, we were under the south towers of the Harbour Bridge and making the loop around Circular Quay. Packed to the rafters it was (and it was the first time anyone called out, "keep going Keith Richards"). By this time, walking was long since not an option. If I walked it became harder and harder to start running again. Murakami's mantras and examples did little, but I employed them - I am here to run; I am a running machine. Helped, I suppose, as I managed a bit of a kick over the last K and crossed the line better than I had any real reason to expect.
I was done in. I've regained a little energy, and the blisters I thought I felt coming up over the last 8K never did materialize. Clearly, taking the advice from the salesperson at Rebel Sport to buy a half-size up was worthwhile.
Now if I can just make it into work tomorrow. . . .
That I'll probably NEVER DO AGAIN. ZOMG. 4:32, by the clock over the finish line, and pretty much by my clock, too, although maybe a little less, since it was a couple of minutes before my brain would function enough to remember to stop it. I literally hobbled to the nearest city street after picking up my finisher's shirt and silly medal, and my gear, which all took far longer than I liked. But after buying a sports drink, which I consumed walking home the last block, and then polishing off the one I bought yesterday, I discovered perhaps the most painful aspect of doing silly things like this: showering. Yes, even though this is something you'd think would be a blessed relief, in fact, removing the salt from certain sensitive areas hurts a lot. Pain was inevitable, as previously mentioned, but this was suffering. Only briefly, of course. After that it was a matter of getting the water hot enough to restore my internal body temperature to normal and then drinking lots of water.
It was, however, a really interesting course. Starting on the north side of the harbour, and crossing the Harbour Bridge on a beautiful Spring morning, was a splendid start. Even better, the race then loops through the Domain and Botanical Gardens out to Mrs. Macquarie's Point, and past the naval base at Woolloomooloo, before heading back through East Sydney and into Darlinghurst along Oxford Street (strangely deserted, for the most part, although you could hear the Saturday night gay bar discos still pumping out the jams). The best part of this stretch was the bandit who jumped in: "I've been drinking for eight hours! And I'm going to run with you!" I'll never know what happened to him, but I doubt he lasted long.
The course took a loop through Centennial Park, out to Randwick Racecourse, and doubled-back on itself a couple of times along the way. Very annoying, but oh, well. After that, it was straight through the heart of the city via Surry Hills, my old stomping ground, as it were, and off along a stretch of highway to Leichhardt. And it was a stretch. By this time, we'd passed 28k, and I was looking for that 32k marker, with the excuse that, if I can get past that, it will be the longest I have ever run continuously and maybe there'll be a water station and I can take a little break. There was, I did, and it was the first one that still had some Gu. Up until then, I'd been making do with the two I'd carried - and consumed by about the 18k mark, jelly beans and diluted sports drink. Jelly beans, I think, are not as good. Sort of reminds me of that NY'er article, where they talked about Frank Shorter shaking up Coke to remove the fizz - a stop-gap measure until technology catches up. Of course, it has, and judging by the wrappers I saw, there was Gu provided, or maybe those were just the packets people had brought of there own.
Hairpin turn at Norton Street, and back up through Ultimo to the city. Nice working-harbour views. My training run had taken me - literally - over some parts of this course. Normally the Old Glebe Bridge is closed to traffic, but I'd had a nice look at it many times, crossing the Anzac Bridge above it. The loop through the Rocks was strangely desolate, although there's not much reason for anyone but a stevedore to be there generally, so I shouldn't be surprised. Suddenly, however, we were under the south towers of the Harbour Bridge and making the loop around Circular Quay. Packed to the rafters it was (and it was the first time anyone called out, "keep going Keith Richards"). By this time, walking was long since not an option. If I walked it became harder and harder to start running again. Murakami's mantras and examples did little, but I employed them - I am here to run; I am a running machine. Helped, I suppose, as I managed a bit of a kick over the last K and crossed the line better than I had any real reason to expect.
I was done in. I've regained a little energy, and the blisters I thought I felt coming up over the last 8K never did materialize. Clearly, taking the advice from the salesperson at Rebel Sport to buy a half-size up was worthwhile.
Now if I can just make it into work tomorrow. . . .
19 September 2008
Last Gasp
Well, the training is over, so it's all on for Sunday. I missed a few days, unfortunately, but most here at the end, during the tapering off period, so maybe it's not so bad. I've done 93% of the training, all up, although I admit to being fairly slack about the cross-training element. I mean, if I ride my bike around town for a couple of hours doing errands, stopping here and there, does that still count? I guess I'll find out.
The race pack is seriously disappointing. Not only did I have to buy the shirt, but the stuff they hand out for free is handbills - not even discount coupons. I mean, in NYC, even if the shirt was just a cotton T, it was part of the entry. It's not like I'm in contention for any prizes, so it's all down to personal achievement, now.
The NY'er had an interesting piece on marathoning a couple of weeks ago, centered around the great hope of the nation for the Beijing games (but, my, didn't that Kenyan dude kick it?). Basically, all the big races and Western elite runners are subsidised by us hundreds and thousands of slowpokes. So why can't they hand out an advance tube of Gu?
I'm also readying Murakami's memoir, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running," which is just annoying. Blah, blah, blah, I run every day and at least one marathon in under 4 hours every year. . . ." Bastard. No, actually, although I don't think memoir is his form, there's some good stuff in it here and there. I especially like: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional (which I've since learned is Ghandi's). I may write that on my arm for Sunday.
Well, the training is over, so it's all on for Sunday. I missed a few days, unfortunately, but most here at the end, during the tapering off period, so maybe it's not so bad. I've done 93% of the training, all up, although I admit to being fairly slack about the cross-training element. I mean, if I ride my bike around town for a couple of hours doing errands, stopping here and there, does that still count? I guess I'll find out.
The race pack is seriously disappointing. Not only did I have to buy the shirt, but the stuff they hand out for free is handbills - not even discount coupons. I mean, in NYC, even if the shirt was just a cotton T, it was part of the entry. It's not like I'm in contention for any prizes, so it's all down to personal achievement, now.
The NY'er had an interesting piece on marathoning a couple of weeks ago, centered around the great hope of the nation for the Beijing games (but, my, didn't that Kenyan dude kick it?). Basically, all the big races and Western elite runners are subsidised by us hundreds and thousands of slowpokes. So why can't they hand out an advance tube of Gu?
I'm also readying Murakami's memoir, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running," which is just annoying. Blah, blah, blah, I run every day and at least one marathon in under 4 hours every year. . . ." Bastard. No, actually, although I don't think memoir is his form, there's some good stuff in it here and there. I especially like: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional (which I've since learned is Ghandi's). I may write that on my arm for Sunday.
17 September 2008
Obligatory
Saturday was local council elections across NSW, so I got to vote for Mayor - Lord Mayor, no less - and a referendum (on whether Sydney should be divided into wards, and guaranteeing 3 councillors each, theoretically making the overall body more representative. At this level of government, party politics doesn't get in the way quite so much as it does at the State and Federal level. Clover Moore, for example, is an independent, and while Labor otherwise has been dominant, the Greens have a significant influence. The independents and Greens in the bigger houses play much more of a spoiler role, when they play any role at all.
Now the NSW State government (Labor) has been getting kicked around lately, what with the Premier resigning after sacking his cabinet, the new guy making some poor picks of his own and so on. The conventional wisdom basically runs that the State would kick Labor out, if there was a decent opposition. And it's true; the Liberals have been woeful. As for the Greens, well, you might just as well not vote as vote for them. They just don't have the power base. But if the Liberals can't make a go of it at the next election, they really ought to just stay home. WA just went (barely) for the Liberals, making Labor's wall-to-wall government stranglehold a thing of the past, and probably enlivening the hopes of the party here, too. We'll see. If the new guy manages to find the money for the infrastructure spending, and doesn't run into any more ministers-without-pants scandals, Labor could still pull it off.
And it's not like the Liberals nationally are all that, although having ousted the pathetic Brendan Nelson in favor of silvertail Malcolm Turnbull, they might yet have the nous to stand up to the Rudd government and make a challenge in 3 years. I don't think Turnbull's really got the credentials or the charisma, but that's just me. Peter Costello finally turning down the leadership sort of definitively probably helped Turnbull, but for all the fun it's been to listen to the whinging about Costello's memoir and will-he-won't-he (get real; he never had the nerve) stand for leader, it'd be nicer if they'd just get on with the job.
In some ways it's been a relief to focus on the U.S. Presidential run. McCain just gets nastier all the time. How anyone could ever have believed he was a politician of a different sort - a maverick - should have been put to rest as soon as he was shown embracing Bush in a bear hug after losing the nomination in '04. You is my bestest friend, George, no matter what anybodys says (including you). Jeez. Principles, eh? And look at his running mate! I mean, Obama picking Biden was a little bit of a surprise. What? He needed a daddy? O.k., that was unfair. Biden's not bad. Every time he turns up on t.v. here, he's asking the pointed question of somebody who needs to be poked with something sharp. He's not a bad speaker, he's got the credentials for the top job, he's got the gravitas. So why Alaskan Governor Palin? What was Johnny thinking? Was it really just his infamous temper flaring up over being denied Lieberman? Screw you guys, then, if I can't have Joe, I'll pick this no-name chick? Nah. And it's not all about the oil (in ANWR), either. Don't forget, McCain is fully aware that all the crude under the tundra would have zero net effect on gas prices and wouldn't last a year, even if you could pull it all out at once, or before two years from deciding to drill there. Is it the guns? The anti-abortionism? The mommy factor? She's freaking clueless, even if she isn't afraid to open her mouth and let everyone know. She won't melt down, and she won't make (quite) as much a fool of herself as Quayle did, but she's just a stunt.
I sit next to another ex-pat at work. I knew, the instant I met him, that he was a Republican, but, since he's from Chicago, and since he's recently spent a fair amount of time laughing at Palin and McCain, I asked. Yeah, die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool GOP. Voting Obama. Wouldn't have voted McCain even before Palin. For all the talk of stealing Hillary voters off the Democrats, I reckon John'll have driven off a few others who might have stuck with their party just like he did this guy. What a maverick.
Saturday was local council elections across NSW, so I got to vote for Mayor - Lord Mayor, no less - and a referendum (on whether Sydney should be divided into wards, and guaranteeing 3 councillors each, theoretically making the overall body more representative. At this level of government, party politics doesn't get in the way quite so much as it does at the State and Federal level. Clover Moore, for example, is an independent, and while Labor otherwise has been dominant, the Greens have a significant influence. The independents and Greens in the bigger houses play much more of a spoiler role, when they play any role at all.
Now the NSW State government (Labor) has been getting kicked around lately, what with the Premier resigning after sacking his cabinet, the new guy making some poor picks of his own and so on. The conventional wisdom basically runs that the State would kick Labor out, if there was a decent opposition. And it's true; the Liberals have been woeful. As for the Greens, well, you might just as well not vote as vote for them. They just don't have the power base. But if the Liberals can't make a go of it at the next election, they really ought to just stay home. WA just went (barely) for the Liberals, making Labor's wall-to-wall government stranglehold a thing of the past, and probably enlivening the hopes of the party here, too. We'll see. If the new guy manages to find the money for the infrastructure spending, and doesn't run into any more ministers-without-pants scandals, Labor could still pull it off.
And it's not like the Liberals nationally are all that, although having ousted the pathetic Brendan Nelson in favor of silvertail Malcolm Turnbull, they might yet have the nous to stand up to the Rudd government and make a challenge in 3 years. I don't think Turnbull's really got the credentials or the charisma, but that's just me. Peter Costello finally turning down the leadership sort of definitively probably helped Turnbull, but for all the fun it's been to listen to the whinging about Costello's memoir and will-he-won't-he (get real; he never had the nerve) stand for leader, it'd be nicer if they'd just get on with the job.
In some ways it's been a relief to focus on the U.S. Presidential run. McCain just gets nastier all the time. How anyone could ever have believed he was a politician of a different sort - a maverick - should have been put to rest as soon as he was shown embracing Bush in a bear hug after losing the nomination in '04. You is my bestest friend, George, no matter what anybodys says (including you). Jeez. Principles, eh? And look at his running mate! I mean, Obama picking Biden was a little bit of a surprise. What? He needed a daddy? O.k., that was unfair. Biden's not bad. Every time he turns up on t.v. here, he's asking the pointed question of somebody who needs to be poked with something sharp. He's not a bad speaker, he's got the credentials for the top job, he's got the gravitas. So why Alaskan Governor Palin? What was Johnny thinking? Was it really just his infamous temper flaring up over being denied Lieberman? Screw you guys, then, if I can't have Joe, I'll pick this no-name chick? Nah. And it's not all about the oil (in ANWR), either. Don't forget, McCain is fully aware that all the crude under the tundra would have zero net effect on gas prices and wouldn't last a year, even if you could pull it all out at once, or before two years from deciding to drill there. Is it the guns? The anti-abortionism? The mommy factor? She's freaking clueless, even if she isn't afraid to open her mouth and let everyone know. She won't melt down, and she won't make (quite) as much a fool of herself as Quayle did, but she's just a stunt.
I sit next to another ex-pat at work. I knew, the instant I met him, that he was a Republican, but, since he's from Chicago, and since he's recently spent a fair amount of time laughing at Palin and McCain, I asked. Yeah, die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool GOP. Voting Obama. Wouldn't have voted McCain even before Palin. For all the talk of stealing Hillary voters off the Democrats, I reckon John'll have driven off a few others who might have stuck with their party just like he did this guy. What a maverick.
14 September 2008
Into the Infinite
David Foster Wallace, an author whose novels I've enjoyed immensely - including the immense "Infinite Jest" - hanged himself. I can't say how sorry I am to hear that. Other authors of his generation have pointed to him as the "smartest guy in the room", but I guess there are sometimes just demons beyond endurance even for such as Mr. Wallace.
David Foster Wallace, an author whose novels I've enjoyed immensely - including the immense "Infinite Jest" - hanged himself. I can't say how sorry I am to hear that. Other authors of his generation have pointed to him as the "smartest guy in the room", but I guess there are sometimes just demons beyond endurance even for such as Mr. Wallace.
11 September 2008
Boom
The Large Hadron Collider is up and running, and so far no black holes sucking us into another dimension. At least, not that we’re aware of. Let’s see what happens when they actually start smashing up protons.
The Large Hadron Collider is up and running, and so far no black holes sucking us into another dimension. At least, not that we’re aware of. Let’s see what happens when they actually start smashing up protons.
07 September 2008
Closing in
Today's 19k was nearly as fascinating to me as Thursday's 6k, for the latter of which I turned in a clocked time of under 5 minutes per K. Today, however, at just under 6k, even if slower, showed something remarkable: after all these weeks, 19k, which was unimaginable 16 weeks ago, doesn't even require the kind of effort it did the first time I ran it, just the motivation. And there's the rub: I'm very tired, so psyching myself up for the training runs is getting a little old. Gu does seem to help - thanks, bro, but what helps even more is knowing this will all end soon.
Although there is still to be a running cabal at the office, at least until summer hits its stride.
Today's 19k was nearly as fascinating to me as Thursday's 6k, for the latter of which I turned in a clocked time of under 5 minutes per K. Today, however, at just under 6k, even if slower, showed something remarkable: after all these weeks, 19k, which was unimaginable 16 weeks ago, doesn't even require the kind of effort it did the first time I ran it, just the motivation. And there's the rub: I'm very tired, so psyching myself up for the training runs is getting a little old. Gu does seem to help - thanks, bro, but what helps even more is knowing this will all end soon.
Although there is still to be a running cabal at the office, at least until summer hits its stride.
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