Livewrong?
August 25, 2012
I don’t want to believe what I’m hearing. Someone who has done so much for so many found a way to cheat the system? The USADA (U.S. anti-doping agency) has stripped Lance armstrong of his 7 Tour de France titles and banned him from the sport for life after he dropped his fight against the doping charges. We may never know the truth, unless Lance actually admits to doping. That seems unlikely considering his staunch denials over the years.
So what will happen to his endorsement deals? The bottom Line NBC News says “Nike plans to continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.” Nike has helped raise over $100 million for Lance’s foundation Livestrong.
And this from the Wrap: “Our partnership with Lance remains unchanged,” Paul Chibe, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of U.S. marketing, said in a statement. “He has inspired millions with his athletic achievement and his commitment to helping cancer survivors and their families.”
So at Least for now his endorsers will stand with him. Will you?
Do Pigs Sweat?
August 7, 2011
I ask because I’ve always heard and used the phrase “Sweatin’ like a pig. I think I heard we had one of the hottest Julys on record. It’s been a miserably hot summer. So I’m wondering, do pigs sweat?
Picture from freeextras.com
Pink Dogwood Signals Spring
April 22, 2011
My pink dogwood blooms so beautifully each spring. This tree has been in the family for about 35 years. I almost lost it twice. One summer a drunk car thief, while fleeing the police, jumped the curb in a stolen truck and clipped it. And during the huge snowstorm of 2010 the weight of the snow brought some of it’s branches down. it bounced back though. Through it all my little tree continues to bloom, year after year.
Junk Out Your Trunk
March 21, 2011
No one but spammers like spam. So I’m happy that Rustock, a company responsible for almost half of the world wide spam, has been temporarily stopped. I say temporarilly because another group of dicks will probably step up to fill the void. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Microsoft, with the aid of the U.S. Marshals, went in with “a federal court order granting them permission to seize computers.”
I hate spam, truly, I get tons of them every day. But there’s something a little scary about this story. CNET News reported that seven hosting facilities across the country were raided and command-and-control machines were seized. It’s one thing to hear that a federal or state organization made a raid but Microsoft!?!
Life Goes Here.
March 19, 2011
Life goes here. Literally, I put it up here daily, in color and black and white. But, it’s been a few days since I have blogged and I feel guilty. Guilty because I have enjoyed writing, and I think a couple of you have enjoyed reading what I write. So, I’m sorry. I want to explain why, but it’s difficult. I think my strength lies in my photos doing most of the talking. And recently, I just haven’t found anything interesting to photograph. Actually, I did see something Thursday. It was a busted light under a motel six sign. Yeah I know! “We’ll leave the light on.” I grabbed my portable camera…the battery was dead. I tried with my iphone, but I couldn’t get the light to show clear. So I’ve got nothing. Friday I went out and everything seemed grey. I don’t know if I’m depressed (I am) or if I’m loosing my ability to see colors(doubtful), but as nice as the weather was, it was a damn grey day. So I got nothing. I’m gonna take my good camera and walk around the neighborhood today. Who knows, maybe I’ll find some inspiration.
The Lie
March 10, 2011
I realized last night as I was walking into CVS that I’m a liar. It’s not what you think though. I’m an honest man, but there’s one section of society that forces me to lie.
Beggars.
Allegedly homeless, jobless people who stand at the corner of intersections and outside of 711 and CVS asking me if I can spare some change. In my county there is someone on just about every major corner. They walk back and forth, with a sign and a cup, sometimes a cane, or a limp, or crutches, or even a wheelchair, taking advantage of people’s good will and guilt at the left turn lanes.
I used to give. The first few months after I first saw someone on a corner with a “work for food” sign maybe a decade ago. Then the phenomenon exploded. It seemed like I kept seeing the same people on the same corners everyday. Every time I went somewhere, someone wanted my money. Every night when I’d drive home from work, there they were. I just couldn’t give anymore.
I want to help my fellow man. I want positive Karma in my Karma bank, but there’s just no way to distinguish those who could really use my help from those who make a living taking money from strangers.
So here’s the lie. I always tell them I have don’t have any cash, only credit. I know I’m telling a lie, and I tell it anyway. So you’re thinking “no big deal”, right? But it is to me. I hate having to feel like I have to lie. I suppose I could be honest and say something like “I don’t want to give you my change because I think you actually live in a better neighborhood than me and that limp you’ve got is fabricated. ” I don’t think that would go over very well, so I lie.
I sometimes think that if there is a god, and if he wanted to test people, sitting in a wheelchair outside of CVS at 9pm asking for change might be a good way to do it. I hope he understands my predicament.
Here are some of the regulars in a 2 mile radius in Wheaton. It took me less than 15min to find and photograph them.
Flat and Ripped (with no exercise)
March 9, 2011
I was on my way to my best friends house to help him load some motorcycles for Bike Week and I kept hearing a noise from the back of the car. It kinda sounded like I’d run over a cardboard box. Then I thought maybe it was the muffler dragging. I pulled over and was surprised to see I had a flat tire. I have a 12 volt pump, so I put some air in the tire and went on the last few blocks to my friends house. I used his real jack and took off the flat and put on the ridiculously tiny, training wheel sized dumb dumb spare. I can hardly believe that little tire is safe. But my good fortune doesn’t end there. Not only do I get to buy a tire (the flat had a leak in the side wall), but sometime, in the last few hours, I ripped my pants wide open. So I’m out a pair of jeans too.
I shouldn’t complain. Things could always be worse. At least it wasn’t raining, and I was wearing underwear.
