Undecided
Down to the wire, and there are still people making up their minds. I know McCain isn’t Bush – it’s the best line he had in any of the debates – but I don’t believe he’s actually got a plan for being president, other than to be president. Obama, on the other hand, I think has a plan, even if it may be pretty high-level, and I’m sure he’s got the thinkers to pull it all together into the detailed agenda a president needs. What Obama has that McCain lacks, to pick one, is leadership. No, he’s not a secret Muslim, planted by the A-rabs to trap Amurica into becoming an Islamic theocracy. No, he’s not a socialist terrorist redistributionist, and I can’t believe that anyone is still making those accusations as if they’re arguments. McCain’s got nothing but anger fueling his campaign, that and wing-nut Palin hysteria. And I reckon he’s done serious damage to the future of the country by picking Palin as his running mate; certainly, he’s damaged the GOP, dealing a body-blow it’ll be reeling from for the next eight years. Well, good. They gave us Bush – two of ‘em, and one of ‘em twice. But what a shame that Palin’s been plucked from the obscurity of Alaska, where the damage she might have wrought could be curtailed. The idea of seeing her again in four-to-eight years curdles my blood. Unfortunately, Obama’s choice of Biden really only gets us eight years, instead of twelve, as Joe’ll be a little long in the tooth to take advantage of incumbency in 2016. He was a good pick, for the stability he provides, for the reassurance his experience provides, something not on offer from the Republicans, but he’ll only ever be VP, now.
Wednesday, I’ll be out at Slide Lounge, Oxford Street, Darlinghurst for the Democrats Abroad election watch party. Four years ago, the party turned into a wake, but I think this year I’ll need to have taken Thursday off, too.
27 October 2008
Outdoor Art
M. & I made the annual Bondi pilgrimage to “Sculpture by the Sea” over the weekend, although I’d say mainly on the basis that her cousin’s husband, Mark McClelland, had a piece in the show. In fact, it won the big NAB prize, something the Sydney Morning Herald was a little dismissive of, attributing the accomplishment somewhat to its position. This is more than a little unfair, since it wouldn’t have been the artist choosing the location, but the curators, in which instance they did a swell job. It’s also worth taking into account that a substantial number of the installations – and many of them amount to that more than to a more specific categorization as “sculpture” – aren’t particularly site-specific. The Andy Warhol wire mesh bust, for example, has no real place in an outdoor show, let alone one that ranges over two kilometres of dramatic shoreline. Mark’s piece suited its position, much more so than some of the others. In itself it was an accomplished work, quite a surprise, really, as we had no idea he’d taken it up.
There were other pieces in the show that I liked quite a lot as well and some – many, really – that were just “Sculpture-by-the-Sea” sculptures. A Christo-ish wrapping of a massive boulder was derivative, perhaps, but nonetheless effective for the change it wrought over how you looked at something you’ve seen so many times. The Perspex sphere floating offshore (for sale! Put it in your pool!) drew and held the gaze, bobbing in the swells. The dogs ranged in stopped motion up a hill were evocative of wildness, the sort of shock that runs through you when unexpectedly encountering animals in their natural habitat and state. The iron sea urchins were quite good, too.
M. & I made the annual Bondi pilgrimage to “Sculpture by the Sea” over the weekend, although I’d say mainly on the basis that her cousin’s husband, Mark McClelland, had a piece in the show. In fact, it won the big NAB prize, something the Sydney Morning Herald was a little dismissive of, attributing the accomplishment somewhat to its position. This is more than a little unfair, since it wouldn’t have been the artist choosing the location, but the curators, in which instance they did a swell job. It’s also worth taking into account that a substantial number of the installations – and many of them amount to that more than to a more specific categorization as “sculpture” – aren’t particularly site-specific. The Andy Warhol wire mesh bust, for example, has no real place in an outdoor show, let alone one that ranges over two kilometres of dramatic shoreline. Mark’s piece suited its position, much more so than some of the others. In itself it was an accomplished work, quite a surprise, really, as we had no idea he’d taken it up.
There were other pieces in the show that I liked quite a lot as well and some – many, really – that were just “Sculpture-by-the-Sea” sculptures. A Christo-ish wrapping of a massive boulder was derivative, perhaps, but nonetheless effective for the change it wrought over how you looked at something you’ve seen so many times. The Perspex sphere floating offshore (for sale! Put it in your pool!) drew and held the gaze, bobbing in the swells. The dogs ranged in stopped motion up a hill were evocative of wildness, the sort of shock that runs through you when unexpectedly encountering animals in their natural habitat and state. The iron sea urchins were quite good, too.
22 October 2008
The Next War President
Remember when W. called himself a “war President”? If you had any doubts about the belligerence of John McCain, you might see them cast aside with his latest remarks. He’s ready to pull the trigger, folks. He’s always been ready. Not like that namby-pamby Obama, all willing to talk and stuff.
John McCain will take this country into another war if he becomes President. That's not to say Obama won't, but with McCain, it's a guarantee. You read it here first.
Remember when W. called himself a “war President”? If you had any doubts about the belligerence of John McCain, you might see them cast aside with his latest remarks. He’s ready to pull the trigger, folks. He’s always been ready. Not like that namby-pamby Obama, all willing to talk and stuff.
John McCain will take this country into another war if he becomes President. That's not to say Obama won't, but with McCain, it's a guarantee. You read it here first.
20 October 2008
Politics, as usual
I’m sure the canteen in Canberra is as much a fine-dining experience as anywhere else, just as much as I’m sure I’d take my wife to lunch somewhere outside the office, but in a period when governmental concerns over increasing levels of obesity are making headlines week-by-week, who orders the Stroganoff, anyway, let alones worries that the portions are too small. (Reminds of me of that joke about Army food/old-age home meals/etc.: The food’s so bad here, complains one. And the portions are so small, responds the other.) Does it come with a salad? A bread roll? Maybe you’d like a wafer-thin mint after your meal?
Call a Royal Commission!
I’m sure the canteen in Canberra is as much a fine-dining experience as anywhere else, just as much as I’m sure I’d take my wife to lunch somewhere outside the office, but in a period when governmental concerns over increasing levels of obesity are making headlines week-by-week, who orders the Stroganoff, anyway, let alones worries that the portions are too small. (Reminds of me of that joke about Army food/old-age home meals/etc.: The food’s so bad here, complains one. And the portions are so small, responds the other.) Does it come with a salad? A bread roll? Maybe you’d like a wafer-thin mint after your meal?
Call a Royal Commission!
Biopic
Patti Smith’s first album, “Horses”, was one of the few from that period that I instantly “got” when I first heard it, and I’ve been a thorough fan ever since. Somehow, in her later career, she kind of fell off the radar for me, maybe because she wasn’t touring, focussed instead on her life as a mom in Detroit. Her return, marked initially by a pointed anarchist anthem, “People Have the Power,” was welcome, if disappointing, but when I caught up with “Gone”, well, she really was back, a better songwriter and poet than ever before. So when Dream of Life was announced for previews at the Dendy, M. booked the tickets and we made the pilgrimage yesterday. I use “pilgrimage” quite deliberately, not because it’s some kind of trek down to Circular Quay, but because of the film itself, which at 109 minutes, is too long by half, due entirely to the long, long meditations of Patti attending the graves of Gregory Corso, Arthur Rimbaud, and her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, among other visitations. The movie has many appealing moments with Patti herself and the people in her life, including her band, but without much exposition beyond a quick recap of her life, and some old footage of her from when she first moved to NYC, an appealing gamin. One of the critiques of the film I’ve seen elsewhere is that nobody is identified, except contextually, and I did find that to be a problem. If I didn’t know her band, the introductions come rather late in the piece. Sam Shepard I knew, but which one was Tom Verlaine? Or Flea, for that matter? Was that her boyfriend with the Prada bag? Does he have a name?
I enjoyed it, mainly for the music, for those moments when Patti’s life was opened up a little for us, but I can’t say this was a stand-out documentary as such.
Patti Smith’s first album, “Horses”, was one of the few from that period that I instantly “got” when I first heard it, and I’ve been a thorough fan ever since. Somehow, in her later career, she kind of fell off the radar for me, maybe because she wasn’t touring, focussed instead on her life as a mom in Detroit. Her return, marked initially by a pointed anarchist anthem, “People Have the Power,” was welcome, if disappointing, but when I caught up with “Gone”, well, she really was back, a better songwriter and poet than ever before. So when Dream of Life was announced for previews at the Dendy, M. booked the tickets and we made the pilgrimage yesterday. I use “pilgrimage” quite deliberately, not because it’s some kind of trek down to Circular Quay, but because of the film itself, which at 109 minutes, is too long by half, due entirely to the long, long meditations of Patti attending the graves of Gregory Corso, Arthur Rimbaud, and her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, among other visitations. The movie has many appealing moments with Patti herself and the people in her life, including her band, but without much exposition beyond a quick recap of her life, and some old footage of her from when she first moved to NYC, an appealing gamin. One of the critiques of the film I’ve seen elsewhere is that nobody is identified, except contextually, and I did find that to be a problem. If I didn’t know her band, the introductions come rather late in the piece. Sam Shepard I knew, but which one was Tom Verlaine? Or Flea, for that matter? Was that her boyfriend with the Prada bag? Does he have a name?
I enjoyed it, mainly for the music, for those moments when Patti’s life was opened up a little for us, but I can’t say this was a stand-out documentary as such.
16 October 2008
Sub-prime Reasoning
I'm not great economic genius, but every day I read or hear someone say the economic crisis we're afflicted with at the moment is the fault of people taking out mortgages they couldn't afford. This is specious.
The majority of mortgages in all the history of mortgages are unaffordable, and the borrowers do everything they can to make ends meet. I don't blame anyone for wanting a home of their own, even if their reasoning, their calculations, have been flawed. Nobody much was out there explaining the positive balance to be achieved by renting over buying, certainly not to the extent that so many of these people would have had the access to the information or wouldn't still have had that other voice, the bad angel, if you will, whispering just the opposite, something we're all susceptible to, even if it's more a matter of having that extra piece of chocolate cake or not.
And I still don't blame the mortgagees, and certainly not to the tune of trillions of dollars. Sorry, that's where I have to get off this train-wreck of an argument. There are just under 300 million people in the U.S. How many of them would have to take out a mortgage-they-can't-afford to run up the debt into the trillions? Even leaving aside the fact that there aren't 300 million people eligible for a mortgage, even as subprime holders - because many already own, are smart enough to do the math, are children, own in tandem with someone else - you'd need many more than you can comfortably blame for the problem, I'd reckon, but, like I said, I'm no math genius, even if you do give me a calculator.
Not to mention it's money on paper, for one thing, which brings me to where the fault really lies: corporate greed.
It's been a long-standing problem for corporations, private and well as, although especially, publicly-traded, that their focus is not on their existence, but on providing "shareholder return." This can only be accomplished by maximizing profit. Fair enough, that corporations should be in the business of making money, but that's not quite the same as "shareholder return," something that's more about accounting tricks than actual revenue versus cost. There's only so much any company can do to maximize profit, you know. There's a minimum number of employees, after which the company can't fulfill it's commitments to its customers. There are overheads, costs paid to government, suppliers, etc. It takes money, we always hear, to make money, and it's true. But shareholder return doesn't care about that. Show a downturn, show a slow-down, and shareholder return shrinks, the market gets itchy, shareholder return shrinks more, and so on, until you're out of business and shareholder return is zero, anyway, or worse, as we're seeing today.
So Joe Plumber, to take Senator McCain's new icon, loses that home he couldn't afford the mortgage on, even if he was making his payments, because his bank sold his subprime mortgage to someone else who sold futures on it to some other cabal who leveraged whatever that was worth in some other obscene transaction, until somebody had to have some cash and it had to come from Joe Plumber or Joe Sixpack or me or you.
This isn't new, it's just snowballed. We've been headed this way for a few decades now, although things really started getting out of hand in the eighties, when the GOP decided it ought not to be too concerned with how people got along and focussed instead on ensuring they got along so long as they were incorporated. The Democrats haven't helped, frankly, and as much as I hear from back home that Obama is no less in bed with the usual corporate suspects and beholden to the lobbyists, I have to agree. My only hope is that he really will prove to be a leader. I know McCain won't. He's too old and too beholden and too bought-and-sold-out. In some ways, I wonder about Hillary Clinton, but, then again, what did Bill do? I mean other than to set in motion a lot of the regulatory changes that are killing us now.
AU$ down to US$0.65, in a decline as precipitous as it's gain, and during a period where the expectation from the analysts was that we'd be at par. Goes to show: you can't trust the experts. Makes me feel a little better about my own thinking on the topic.
I'm not great economic genius, but every day I read or hear someone say the economic crisis we're afflicted with at the moment is the fault of people taking out mortgages they couldn't afford. This is specious.
The majority of mortgages in all the history of mortgages are unaffordable, and the borrowers do everything they can to make ends meet. I don't blame anyone for wanting a home of their own, even if their reasoning, their calculations, have been flawed. Nobody much was out there explaining the positive balance to be achieved by renting over buying, certainly not to the extent that so many of these people would have had the access to the information or wouldn't still have had that other voice, the bad angel, if you will, whispering just the opposite, something we're all susceptible to, even if it's more a matter of having that extra piece of chocolate cake or not.
And I still don't blame the mortgagees, and certainly not to the tune of trillions of dollars. Sorry, that's where I have to get off this train-wreck of an argument. There are just under 300 million people in the U.S. How many of them would have to take out a mortgage-they-can't-afford to run up the debt into the trillions? Even leaving aside the fact that there aren't 300 million people eligible for a mortgage, even as subprime holders - because many already own, are smart enough to do the math, are children, own in tandem with someone else - you'd need many more than you can comfortably blame for the problem, I'd reckon, but, like I said, I'm no math genius, even if you do give me a calculator.
Not to mention it's money on paper, for one thing, which brings me to where the fault really lies: corporate greed.
It's been a long-standing problem for corporations, private and well as, although especially, publicly-traded, that their focus is not on their existence, but on providing "shareholder return." This can only be accomplished by maximizing profit. Fair enough, that corporations should be in the business of making money, but that's not quite the same as "shareholder return," something that's more about accounting tricks than actual revenue versus cost. There's only so much any company can do to maximize profit, you know. There's a minimum number of employees, after which the company can't fulfill it's commitments to its customers. There are overheads, costs paid to government, suppliers, etc. It takes money, we always hear, to make money, and it's true. But shareholder return doesn't care about that. Show a downturn, show a slow-down, and shareholder return shrinks, the market gets itchy, shareholder return shrinks more, and so on, until you're out of business and shareholder return is zero, anyway, or worse, as we're seeing today.
So Joe Plumber, to take Senator McCain's new icon, loses that home he couldn't afford the mortgage on, even if he was making his payments, because his bank sold his subprime mortgage to someone else who sold futures on it to some other cabal who leveraged whatever that was worth in some other obscene transaction, until somebody had to have some cash and it had to come from Joe Plumber or Joe Sixpack or me or you.
This isn't new, it's just snowballed. We've been headed this way for a few decades now, although things really started getting out of hand in the eighties, when the GOP decided it ought not to be too concerned with how people got along and focussed instead on ensuring they got along so long as they were incorporated. The Democrats haven't helped, frankly, and as much as I hear from back home that Obama is no less in bed with the usual corporate suspects and beholden to the lobbyists, I have to agree. My only hope is that he really will prove to be a leader. I know McCain won't. He's too old and too beholden and too bought-and-sold-out. In some ways, I wonder about Hillary Clinton, but, then again, what did Bill do? I mean other than to set in motion a lot of the regulatory changes that are killing us now.
AU$ down to US$0.65, in a decline as precipitous as it's gain, and during a period where the expectation from the analysts was that we'd be at par. Goes to show: you can't trust the experts. Makes me feel a little better about my own thinking on the topic.
11 October 2008
The Uses of Power
Of course Sarah Palin abused her power as governor of Alaska, that's what power is for, and that's what she wanted it for. Her entire history is about power and its (ab)uses. She didn't like property taxes, so when she had her chance, she got rid of them in Wasalia. It didn't matter that she replaced a progressive tax with a regressive one. She got what she wanted. And when the GOP power brokers needed someone they could put forward who wasn't implicated in any of their major corruption problems, she was a logical choice, someone who'd do what they wanted, but not so smart as to start running them. Of course, she was also not so smart as not to end up in a scandal of her own, but ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances, as the saying goes. And this is the kind of person John McCain thinks is Presidential material, the legacy he'd leave us with, once his own two terms (assuming he can take a second, let alone the first one, and assuming his health holds out) expire? Sure, why not? George H.W. would have left us with Dan Quayle if he could have, after all. The GOP is beyond cynical. They believe power is a right, their right. And look what they've done with it. Since Nixon, look at what they've done. (Skip Ford, he was pretty much a nonentity.) Reagan's "trickle-down" bankruptcy of D.C., Bush I's . . . o.k., skip him, too; all he left us with was his son. Bush II, who's Reagan lite, if only from a intellectual standpoint, which is saying something in itself, even while he tries to out-Reagan Reagan. And now McCain, the most cynical of them all. And his legacy? Unending war and Sarah Palin appointing Supreme Court Justices. I've never been happier to be an ex-pat. What my first country could come to with this crowd in power for just four more years, let alone eight, or twelve, or sixteen . . . it's beyond belief.
Of course Sarah Palin abused her power as governor of Alaska, that's what power is for, and that's what she wanted it for. Her entire history is about power and its (ab)uses. She didn't like property taxes, so when she had her chance, she got rid of them in Wasalia. It didn't matter that she replaced a progressive tax with a regressive one. She got what she wanted. And when the GOP power brokers needed someone they could put forward who wasn't implicated in any of their major corruption problems, she was a logical choice, someone who'd do what they wanted, but not so smart as to start running them. Of course, she was also not so smart as not to end up in a scandal of her own, but ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances, as the saying goes. And this is the kind of person John McCain thinks is Presidential material, the legacy he'd leave us with, once his own two terms (assuming he can take a second, let alone the first one, and assuming his health holds out) expire? Sure, why not? George H.W. would have left us with Dan Quayle if he could have, after all. The GOP is beyond cynical. They believe power is a right, their right. And look what they've done with it. Since Nixon, look at what they've done. (Skip Ford, he was pretty much a nonentity.) Reagan's "trickle-down" bankruptcy of D.C., Bush I's . . . o.k., skip him, too; all he left us with was his son. Bush II, who's Reagan lite, if only from a intellectual standpoint, which is saying something in itself, even while he tries to out-Reagan Reagan. And now McCain, the most cynical of them all. And his legacy? Unending war and Sarah Palin appointing Supreme Court Justices. I've never been happier to be an ex-pat. What my first country could come to with this crowd in power for just four more years, let alone eight, or twelve, or sixteen . . . it's beyond belief.
08 October 2008
The Election the Democrats Have to Win (But Do They Want to?)
In the run-up to the last Australian Federal election, and, in fact, well before, there was a fair amount of talk from both sides that Labor might be better off losing, so that the Liberals would take the heat on the economy. With stocks collapsing, rates going up, coming back down, and the AU$ in free-fall, we may well be looking at joining the U.S. in a recession, which is bound to hurt Labor at the next election, maybe even cost them their narrow majority.
If the U.S. doesn't pull out of its own tailspin soon, maybe the Democrats would themselves be better off not taking the White House, and it could cost some House seats. The problem with that is, whatever you think of Obama, he's better for the U.S. and the world in the medium- to long-term than McCain, who'll only give us the same as we've been getting from Bush, except worse, because it'll be for that much longer.
Meanwhile, because I moved, and my forwarding notice has long since expired, I've had to cast a write-in ballot. I'm confident I've voted for the right man and in time, but I dislike the uncertainty of this method.
In the run-up to the last Australian Federal election, and, in fact, well before, there was a fair amount of talk from both sides that Labor might be better off losing, so that the Liberals would take the heat on the economy. With stocks collapsing, rates going up, coming back down, and the AU$ in free-fall, we may well be looking at joining the U.S. in a recession, which is bound to hurt Labor at the next election, maybe even cost them their narrow majority.
If the U.S. doesn't pull out of its own tailspin soon, maybe the Democrats would themselves be better off not taking the White House, and it could cost some House seats. The problem with that is, whatever you think of Obama, he's better for the U.S. and the world in the medium- to long-term than McCain, who'll only give us the same as we've been getting from Bush, except worse, because it'll be for that much longer.
Meanwhile, because I moved, and my forwarding notice has long since expired, I've had to cast a write-in ballot. I'm confident I've voted for the right man and in time, but I dislike the uncertainty of this method.
07 October 2008
Gig Guide
It ran pretty late for a school night, but M. & Astrid & I hit the Annandale Hotel for The New Pornographers - how could we not? We came to them relatively late, but so what? The show was just "wow" all the way through. Hearing them live offered an opportunity to fully appreciate just how much precision these musicians bring with them. It's a tight, tight band, playing dense music, with unusual virtuosity. No sign of Neko Case, which was kinda too bad, but I'd almost rather just savor that experience separately anyway. The ELO cover ("Don't Bring Me Down") to close the set was inspired.
It ran pretty late for a school night, but M. & Astrid & I hit the Annandale Hotel for The New Pornographers - how could we not? We came to them relatively late, but so what? The show was just "wow" all the way through. Hearing them live offered an opportunity to fully appreciate just how much precision these musicians bring with them. It's a tight, tight band, playing dense music, with unusual virtuosity. No sign of Neko Case, which was kinda too bad, but I'd almost rather just savor that experience separately anyway. The ELO cover ("Don't Bring Me Down") to close the set was inspired.
01 October 2008
Limits of Power
So Bloomberg wants a third term as Mayor? I guess I can’t blame him, or fault him too much for trying to overturn term limits. I always thought term limits were stupid, but the legislature enacted them, and I think they ought to live with them, and that includes Mayor Mike. After all, he ran for the office knowing he could only have two terms, so it gets a bit “president-for-life” to wait until the end of your second term to reconstitute the constitution. Suck it up, Mikey, you’re through.
So Bloomberg wants a third term as Mayor? I guess I can’t blame him, or fault him too much for trying to overturn term limits. I always thought term limits were stupid, but the legislature enacted them, and I think they ought to live with them, and that includes Mayor Mike. After all, he ran for the office knowing he could only have two terms, so it gets a bit “president-for-life” to wait until the end of your second term to reconstitute the constitution. Suck it up, Mikey, you’re through.
Bailout
All this stock market volatility is distressing, at least insofar as my 401(k) is concerned, which is probably down to practically nothing by now, and, because I no longer contribute to it, unable to take advantage of diminished prices for the inevitable return to growth. So much for retirement. Speaking of which, Mom & Dad – and millions like them – are disproportionately affected by this crisis, since they were smart enough to invest for their post-working lives, but now are unfortunate enough to rely on stocks and so forth to fund daily living. Will the Bush plan help them?
There’s a reason I used the phrase “disproportionately affected” before. While banks and brokerages and insurance companies are in turmoil, and the Chapter 11 filings and mergers and takeovers will result in many employees at many levels being turned out on the street to fend for themselves, adding financial stress to the system already burdened by too many people unable to meet their mortgage or credit card repayments, pouring billions of dollars into these companies to prop them up until the good times roll again is, by and large, going to benefit the ones who always benefit, the CEO’s and others in the upper eschalons of power.
Already receiving remuneration at a vast percentage difference from their employees, the mechanisms of their pay are designed for them to ride out these perilous times and reap their reward at a later date. It’s like watching some secondary bandit troop come riding through to raid the fields after the first Mongols came through burning everything behind them and you’ve just managed to coax a few fresh shoots of grain back among the ashes. No Congressional or independent oversight is going to stay their hands. They’ll have their stock options to exercise, and they will. They’ll have their golden parachutes, and they’ll float gently down into their next cushy berth in a new corner office or boardroom. And it will all start over again.
Meanwhile, while the wealth of CEO’s is largely intact or carefully immunized from the effects of corporate greed and the foolhardy deregulation of the last twenty years, millions of us won’t see dime one out of the Bush bailout, but we’re the ones who really need it. Those retirees who can’t put gas in their cars, those marginal middle-aged middle-class mortgage-holders who have to decide which bills not to pay, nobody’s looking out for them. Why, it’s really their fault, isn’t it? Taking out a mortgage they couldn’t afford, spending up big on their credit cards, retiring before they absolutely had to . . . what were they thinking? Look what they’ve done to the economy! Personal Responsibility!
If you’re twenty-five or thirty, you’ll have a chance to rebuild. You might end up moving back in with Mom & Dad, but this, too, shall pass, and if you’re careful, you’ll get it all back eventually. But the pain you’re experiencing is suffering for many others. There is no coming back from seeing your retirement funds slashed, even wiped out. Bush, certainly, and Congress, most likely, aren’t going to help you. You’re not a market.
All this stock market volatility is distressing, at least insofar as my 401(k) is concerned, which is probably down to practically nothing by now, and, because I no longer contribute to it, unable to take advantage of diminished prices for the inevitable return to growth. So much for retirement. Speaking of which, Mom & Dad – and millions like them – are disproportionately affected by this crisis, since they were smart enough to invest for their post-working lives, but now are unfortunate enough to rely on stocks and so forth to fund daily living. Will the Bush plan help them?
There’s a reason I used the phrase “disproportionately affected” before. While banks and brokerages and insurance companies are in turmoil, and the Chapter 11 filings and mergers and takeovers will result in many employees at many levels being turned out on the street to fend for themselves, adding financial stress to the system already burdened by too many people unable to meet their mortgage or credit card repayments, pouring billions of dollars into these companies to prop them up until the good times roll again is, by and large, going to benefit the ones who always benefit, the CEO’s and others in the upper eschalons of power.
Already receiving remuneration at a vast percentage difference from their employees, the mechanisms of their pay are designed for them to ride out these perilous times and reap their reward at a later date. It’s like watching some secondary bandit troop come riding through to raid the fields after the first Mongols came through burning everything behind them and you’ve just managed to coax a few fresh shoots of grain back among the ashes. No Congressional or independent oversight is going to stay their hands. They’ll have their stock options to exercise, and they will. They’ll have their golden parachutes, and they’ll float gently down into their next cushy berth in a new corner office or boardroom. And it will all start over again.
Meanwhile, while the wealth of CEO’s is largely intact or carefully immunized from the effects of corporate greed and the foolhardy deregulation of the last twenty years, millions of us won’t see dime one out of the Bush bailout, but we’re the ones who really need it. Those retirees who can’t put gas in their cars, those marginal middle-aged middle-class mortgage-holders who have to decide which bills not to pay, nobody’s looking out for them. Why, it’s really their fault, isn’t it? Taking out a mortgage they couldn’t afford, spending up big on their credit cards, retiring before they absolutely had to . . . what were they thinking? Look what they’ve done to the economy! Personal Responsibility!
If you’re twenty-five or thirty, you’ll have a chance to rebuild. You might end up moving back in with Mom & Dad, but this, too, shall pass, and if you’re careful, you’ll get it all back eventually. But the pain you’re experiencing is suffering for many others. There is no coming back from seeing your retirement funds slashed, even wiped out. Bush, certainly, and Congress, most likely, aren’t going to help you. You’re not a market.
29 September 2008
Self-Explanatory
When they say “Police ‘Need Criminals to Boost Numbers’” is that one of those chicken-and-egg puzzles?
When they say “Police ‘Need Criminals to Boost Numbers’” is that one of those chicken-and-egg puzzles?
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
