Thursday, August 30, 2012

didn't know...

Ok, I saw this nice watch in Clean Snipe and it looked big enough for me to see it when my eyes get tired on the bike or anywhere else. the yellow band also made me think of the cancer bands. I figured, 1 shot, two birds.
Yeah, it looks like Big Bird should wear it.
Anyways, the UPS guy shows up at the door and my wife inmediately asks him if he has our address as an automatic delivery!!
I'm all exited opening the box to get my  new watch out and when I do the wife says, "what in the world is that thing" My feelings where hurt until I put it next to the one I wear now.

It is that big. I'm going to be the guy they all point at on the trail and laugh.
Even the Zen Man was making fun of it.

Speaking of the trail, after a good two weeks of riding upping my mileage and intensity i went for an "easy" ride last night and had absolutely "nothing" in the tank. The legs finally said "i've had enough.
A fat man on a rigid fork huffy would have passed me and laugh at me while passing. I think a fat woman on a hybrid would have kicked my butt last night. since tha trail opened I have never used the small ring on my 2 x 10 because the trail doesn't call for it on amy section. Last night was the first time, my legs could not turn the pedals. I rod efor 41 minutes and went home with my tail between my legs.
Hopefully my legs are recovered for marking the race course for Manatoc tonight.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

last two weeks

Finally, I've had a couple of good weeks of riding. I was able to push myself without much discomfort from my ribs. yes, they still bother me because I never gave them a chance to fully heal and snapped them twice more after I broke them back in February. At this time  I think I'm done with racing for the year. I want to build my sttrenght slowly.
A couple of weeks ago Ken asked me to go with him to Peoria, Illinois for an xterra and I quickly said yes. He suffered a separated shoulder 6 weeks ago and had not been swimming much and wanted to see how the shoulder would respond under pressure before Nationals in Utah. After 8 hrs of driving we made it to the race venue to check it out and first thoughts were" Oh boy". Is either going to be an organized event or the opposite. The swim was to be in a "small lake' theat looked more like a moat around a castle. Surprisingly it was very clean and clam. The bike was on a very tight twisty course with very little room to pass. The run was interesting, it was through an animal preserve were they have bisons, water bufaloes and other exotic animals. in all it turned out to be a very well organized event. Ken finished 13th overall winning his age group by plenty of time, we were actually walking to the car when the second place 55-59 was just coming in from the run. His shoulder was sore but he was happy to be able to do one last race before nationals. Nice job Ken. watching this race almost made me want to start doing tri's again.



Thursday, August 16, 2012

Election Thoughts

I don't do posts on poolitics, but since this is a neutral article, I'm posting it.

A very interesting column.. COMPLETELY NEUTRAL

Be sure to Read the Poem at the end.



Charley Reese's final column for the Orlando Sentinel...

He has been a journalist for 49 years.

He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.



Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.



This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat. Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It's a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!



545 vs. 300,000,000 People

-By Charlie Reese



Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.



Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?



Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?



You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.



You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.



You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.



You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.



You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.



One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.



I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.



I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.



Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.



What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.



The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.



It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.



If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.



If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.



If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...



If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.



There are no insoluble government problems.



Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.



Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.



They, and they alone, have the power.



They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.



Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...



We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!



Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.



What you do with this article now that you have read it... is up to you.

This might be funny if it weren't so true.

Be sure to read all the way to the end:



Tax his land,

Tax his bed,

Tax the table,

At which he's fed.



Tax his tractor,

Tax his mule,

Teach him taxes

Are the rule.



Tax his work,

Tax his pay,

He works for

peanuts anyway!



Tax his cow,

Tax his goat,

Tax his pants,

Tax his coat.



Tax his ties,

Tax his shirt,

Tax his work,

Tax his dirt.



Tax his tobacco,

Tax his drink,

Tax him if he

Tries to think.



Tax his cigars,

Tax his beers,

If he cries

Tax his tears.



Tax his car,

Tax his gas,

Find other ways

To tax his ass.



Tax all he has

Then let him know

That you won't be done

Till he has no dough.



When he screams and hollers;

Then tax him some more,

Tax him till

He's good and sore.



Then tax his coffin,

Tax his grave,

Tax the sod in

Which he's laid...



Put these words

Upon his tomb,

'Taxes drove me

to my doom...'



When he's gone,

Do not relax,

Its time to apply

The inheritance tax.



Accounts Receivable Tax

Building Permit Tax

CDL license Tax

Cigarette Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Dog License Tax

Excise Taxes

Federal Income Tax

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Fishing License Tax

Food License Tax

Fuel Permit Tax

Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)

Gross Receipts Tax

Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax

Inventory Tax

IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

Liquor Tax

Luxury Taxes

Marriage License Tax

Medicare Tax

Personal Property Tax

Property Tax

Real Estate Tax

Service Charge Tax

Social Security Tax

Road Usage Tax

Recreational Vehicle Tax

Sales Tax

School Tax

State Income Tax

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)

Telephone Federal Excise Tax

Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax

Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax

Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax

Telephone State and Local Tax

Telephone Usage Charge Tax

Utility Taxes

Vehicle License Registration Tax

Vehicle Sales Tax

Watercraft Registration Tax

Well Permit Tax

Workers Compensation Tax





STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.



What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'



I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!



GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN



Monday, August 13, 2012

long overdue

Of course we always say "long overdue post" when we don't blog for a long time.
Is like looking for an excuse why we haven't blog. Does anybody really care?
We've been busy is the first excuse. well what is my excuse, I've been busy, riding, painting, riding, visiting my parents in PR which was a whole adventure.
It started with a taxi ride at 4:30am for a 6:10 flight to Atlanta, "delayed". Finally around 7:30 we boarded just to sit for another hour and a half while they kept telling us that we would be in the air soon. Finally we "de-planed" because we were going nowhere. It so happens that "Pinnacle" a Delta subsidiary was supposed to load the flight plans two weeks before our trip but never did. So they decided to load 100 flight plans all at once and guess what, the computers crash, a ten year old would have known that. 100 flights were cancelled. Then Delta told us that the earliest they could get us a flight was on Friday, it was Wednesday. Before I go on you may think I was mad and unhappy, no, I was quite calm reading my bike magazine while my wife was  about to hurt somebody. She was beside herself pouting like a little kid, but I understood her frustration so I didn't say anything, I didn't want to get hit with a flying purse. A couple next to us missed their flight and connection to Punta Cana.
Anyway, Friday flight, NO way when we were coming back on Monday. We told them, (well, my wife really) to give us our money and sky miles back that we were going home. While on the phone, our flight finally was cancelled and they said that now that the flight was cancelled they could help us get on another flight. It just so happened that we could board in 30 minutes next to the gate we were at.
Our flight back was also moved one day. We were supposed to have been at my parents around 5pm. we finally made it at 10:30pm the same day. Not bad but it was a very long day. We were eating oatmeal at midnight that day, both my wife and I had a taste for it. The rest of the trip was spent at my parents or visiting and as usual the last night was spent in Old San Juan. I love that place, blue cobblestones, 400 year old buildings, great restaurants, a Coach and Dooney purse stores to keep the wife happy and simply a great place to just lose yourself walking around.
Here's some pics.

Lunch

Fresh, right of the boat.

The view from the restaurant.

A visitor at the restaurant.

While walking down a small alley to get to a reataurant my wife says, I recognize that voice. it so happens it was Sabrina Soto from HGTV. And of course my wife had to have her picture taken with her.


The entrance to the walled city back in the days. Very steep climb and at the very end is the Cathedral where they would go in kiss the floor and give thanks for a safe passage across the ocean

The Governors mansion

Pigeon square

What a 400 year old chain looks like.
The cobblestones are actually the ballast that the ships used to cross the ocean. they didn't need it on the way back since thay were full after plundering the new world.
I'm thinking about going back soon and maybe do La Vuelta again.