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The Lent Project: Day 15

Today is more of an odds and ends day...

I was having an inner debate this morning about iTunes. Classic rap albums were on sale for $7.99 and two critical ones missing from my collection were both there. Run-DMC's Greatest Hits vs. Snoop Dogg's iconic Doggystyle. In the end, it came down to number of songs I like on the album coupled with influence and style. Run-DMC won the battle. Plus, I already own and am a huge fan of Snoop's Ego Trippin while my Run-DMC pickings are slim (though I did see them in concert in one of my previous incarnations).

Interesting how people change, isn't it? I used to go to concerts. I used to run a radio station. Then again, I also remember the days when you could walk into a Virgin Megastore and listen to new albums on the perimeter. Times change, too. lol

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Got into a friendly debate--though I refused to refill her wine glass for disagreeing at one point--with Kelly last night about this Yahoo work from home thing. We covered a lot of ground I won't go back over...though it touched on my post yesterday about Mommy Wars, gender, family.

But, eventually, we settled into a "yes, Yahoo has a right to have their workers come to the office" versus "this is horrible PR for them." Kelly and I have little in common sometimes--despite our sameness on many issues--and it's refreshing to still be two unique people rather than a two-headed monster.

In the end, strangely, it came down to whether or not what's bad PR for a company can ever be good for a company. I maintain good PR trumps all other good business tactics. I agree that nobody will be giving up their free Yahoo mail over this, but it doesn't exactly make me want to buy extra products from a company many perceive to be out of touch with society, family needs, personal productivity, etc..

So I offer this article from The Atlantic for more on the issue of who is right or wrong.

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A small update on IL politics...our gay marriage bill made it out of committee yesterday. It's on to the last step before becoming law. The vote in the House is probably the closest yet, but it looks like the numbers will be there. So IL will be getting full marriage equality...though it makes me wonder what happens to the current Civil Union law as it applies to hetero couples. Civil unions were an option for opposite gender couples who didn't want to get married but wanted many legal benefits. Or, for that matter, will gays have the option to marry OR get a civil union?

The other (odd) little piece of IL legal battles is over concealed carry of guns. We're the only state which currently does not have concealed carry...but we've been ordered by a federal court to do so. Now, we're in a mad scramble to figure out how to craft the law to be legal in this blue, gun control state. So the legislature is trying to lay out where you cannot take a firearm...public transit, stadiums, bars churches, etc.. It's not yet law and the fight will continue. But it's always interesting to watch.

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And, finally, a piece from Runners World about whether or not the running boom has peaked. My own case is perhaps a good example of still being involved in the sport but doing other things like tri. There's some discussion here about the popularity of half marathons and whether races will drop the full marathon. I certainly hope not even if the 13.1 is currently popular--the full 26.2 remains a benchmark of running. Sorry folks, but if you say you're a serious runner I'm not going to ask your half time. Which brings me back to that topic of people who say the half marathon should be renamed because it isn't half a race. Um, actually, it is. lol

I tend to side with the idea, btw, that running is as popular as it was but the crazy amount of races is keeping participation spread out. Just yesterday, I got an e-mail for a new 10 mile race in Chicago in July that will be run on Lake Shore Drive part of the way. Another race?!