Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Good for Judge Moore

August 22 is the day in 2003 when Alabama chief justice Roy Moore was suspended from the bench for refusing to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from his courthouse.

It's great that there are still people out there that are not afraid to stand up for what is right.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Sweet Home Alabama


We had the opportunity to spend last week in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the Moody/Harber/Hoopes family vacation. I admit that I was a little sceptical about the spot but it was a blast.

Dr. Hoopes and I flew into Biloxi, Mississippi on Monday night and then drove about 2 hours to Gulf Shores. We were greeted with a major storm when we landed; I was praying that Katrina wasn't making a coming back. OK maybe I overreacted but we get about an inch of rain in Vegas per year and it was really coming down. We made it safe and met the rest of the crew that had been there since Saturday.

Being in the gulf of Mexico the water was super warm and clear. There were days when there would be little 2-3 foot rollers and then the next day the ocean would look like a lake. The only thing that didn't allow me to totally relax in the water were the jellyfish. Even though the burning sensation passes pretty quick these little suckers hurt. Lucky for us there weren't any stings bad enough that first aid had to be applied on the beach. I question whether or not urinating on the sting will really take away the burn. Sounds to me like a joke that someone played during spring break in Mexico and it just stuck. It would have to hurt pretty bad for me to resort to letting someone pee on me.

Besides hitting the beach we played put-put golf, ate some great seafood, and played at least a hundred hours on the Wii. The other highlight was the local water park. It reminded me of the days at Wet N Wild (with a little redneck flair). I wish I had taken a picture of the rules for the water park; one of them stated that you couldn't wear cutoff jeans on the rides. It was funny to me that enough people were doing it that they had to post it as a rule.

It ended up being a great trip; thanks to the Moodys for setting it up. The Harbers will be looking forward to next year.

New Wager

I do consider myself a betting man so when it came to the Kokopelli triathlon on St George I didn't hesitate. A friendly wager of dinner at Fleming's is on the line. Now granted the guy I made the bet with beat me by 10 minutes in the last race, but I have come a long way. I'm now closer to my fighting weight of 165, and have been training 4 to 5 days a week.

This is where it gets funny. I was telling my sweet wife about the bet and she asks if Anthony is going to give me a handicap. I looked to see if she was joking and unfortunately she was dead serious. I'm so glad to know that she has so much faith in me. OK maybe she does have a somewhat valid reason to make a comment like this...every time I come back from a ride with the sucker I talk about how I just got ruined. The guy's an animal on the bike.

All I have to say to Anthony is that you better be training hard until September 22 cause I'm gunning for you. Maybe this time I'll sink to your level and cheat with a wetsuit.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Great Quote

Nothing too exciting to write about lately but I did run across what I thought was a really great quote:

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

- Leonardo -


I found the quote to be interesting because the majority of people would think that to be sophisticated one needs to be complex and deep. Maybe this means that I have a shot at being sophisticated some day.

This also reminded me that far too often I find myself getting wrapped up in things that are not important. We could all do ourselves a big favor by stepping back at looking at what is really important overall. It's crazy how fast time goes by; one of my biggest fears it to look back and realize that I was not focused in the right direction.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Time to Fight Back


One of the joys of road riding is the constant honking by drivers. Someone please let me know if I'm misinformed but I thought bikes were allowed on the street. It seems as thought it especially bad here in Vegas. Yesterday I not only got the honk, but this idiot in an 82 La Baron tried to edge me into the gutter. He had no traffic on his left and I have no idea what caused this guy to do it. Typically I would honor this move with the bird and shout back some friendly words. Unfortunately you can't do this in Vegas anymore, not only will you get run off the road but the driver may decide to shank or shoot you.
Maybe riders in Vegas should ban together and get strapped. I wonder how a jerk driver would feel if I countered his honk with some hot lead. Here's a million dollar idea for someone out there; a jersey with a built-in holster.

I just wish we could all get along (and share the road)!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Red Rock Running Company


I am by no means a competive runner but I can say that when you're sportin the correct gear it definitly helps. The guys at Red Rock Running Company know how to get it right. When you make a fitting appointtment ask for Eric, Chris, or Mark. After running in the wrong shoes for I don't know 10 years I stopped in this shop to see if they could help with my knee problems. I ran on the treadmill (in the shop) for about 10 seconds and apparently it was obvious.


I know this may seem like a random entry but after running the other day with no pain I realized how big of a difference it has made.


Red Rock Running Company
7350 West Cheyenne
Las Vegas, NV 89129
702-870-4786


Friday, June 22, 2007

Utah Summer Games

Last weekend I cruised up to St George for a triathlon that was part of the Utah Summer Games. With it only being two weeks since the marathon I planned on just just taking it easy and having a good time (that's my excuses for being slow).

I registered for the sprint distance which is as follows:


  • 700 meter Swim
  • 14 mile Bike
  • 5K Run

The bike and the run I felt pretty comfortable with but the swim nearly killed me. Not only was I not in swimming shape but you wouldn't believe the number of cheaters in wetsuits (excuse # 2 for being slow). My main reason I did this race was that I felt like a hypocrite after pushing Anthony to do the San Diego Marathon. I blame Anthony for pushing my to do this tri.

My finish time: 1 hour 36 minutes

Anthony: 1 hour 24 minutes

Anthony, think about how bad you would have felt if I had drown.