Newfangled Dad

It's the Mystery of the Missing Furniture! Someone stole our patio furniture. It's a weird, long story that I'll condense this way: A day or two ago I thought it was odd that all 4 of our heavy, wrought iron patio chairs were gone. Ok, let me clarify, they're not "ours" but are in the common sideyard of the building for everyone to use. But they belong to our neighbors who moved out when they got married. So we assumed they'd come to take them back. Very odd that they'd want to take back their patio chairs in the middle of winter, but whatever. Well, yesterday, the matching table is gone, too. I mean, this stuff is heavy enough that I don't think I could carry more than one chair at a time and I certainly don't think your average person could lift the table without help. Apparently there has been a wave of patio furniture crime in our neighborhood...some people even take to chaining it down/together a la sidewalk cafe. The married coupl...

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 * * * 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...

Because that's why we all got into the sport, right? Triathlon is about wearing skintight, high tech, aerodynamic clothing? Dad in a wetsuit...not a pretty picture. Sadly, there will probably be photos. Hopefully you won't recognize me with the goggles, bike helmet, or swim cap.  But here I am, trying to figure out what I want to do about that essential piece of gear--the wetsuit.  The water temperature of the lake for my race is generally in the low-70's making it "wetsuit legal" (there are rules for these things) yet not necessary. Scanning the past photos of race day and asking veterans, it's a mix of wetsuit, no wetsuit, and even a mix about types of wetsuit. There are full sleeves. No sleeves.  Wetsuits are expensive gear, too. And given that I only have 2 triathlons on the horizon it seems silly to buy one for a few hundred dollars to only wear it twice. So renting seems like a better option. I could go to a store around here and try a few on....

We're a little ashamed to say it. But NASCAR has been sneaking into our lives. We blame the boy. It starts innocently enough with a movie he enjoys. Then it progresses to watching the M&Ms car on YouTube. Then you know the driver's name of said car. Pretty soon, you find yourself having a weekend discussion--even though neither of you cares at all--about rules and design updates over the last decade. Then you know phrases like Car of Tomorrow. We still don't get it. How is it fun? A sport? Interesting? Aren't the cars really all the same with minor variance? How is there skill involved beyond just random chance of winning? So we watched the first half of the Daytona 500 yesterday to get some of the curiosity out of our systems. It was cool to watch Danica Patrick become the first woman to lead a lap under green flag. But then Cole woke up from his nap, watched 15 minutes, then wanted "Cars!" The movie, sorry. Lightning McQueen is bigger than life. ...

Video: Meet Percy, the cheerful but accident-prone engine. And everybody's favorite hero, Thomas! Me: That sounds like you, Cole! You're accident-prone. Are you Percy?  Cole: No. Me: Are you James? Cole: No.  Me: Are you Thomas?  Cole: No.  Me: You don't want to be any of the engines?  Cole: I am none of them!  That gave me the biggest laugh yesterday afternoon.  * * * After a week off, I finally got back in the pool last night...and it felt great! Which was not what I expected after being sick. I had perhaps the best swim workout so far. Worked on a little speed. Found a good distance rhythm at one point. Got some sore muscles, but wasn't having any endurance issues--was reaching a nice threshold that I could maintain with minor breaks.  I'd limited myself to 20 min given my health and energy levels, but I found I wanted to go even more. I had to force myself to stop while things were going well. I d...

First of all today, RIP to a Chicago blues legend...Magic Slim. So poor picking cotton in the South that he had to make his own guitar when he was younger, he went on to become THE symbol of the 1950's classic Chicago blues style. He was 75. Take a listen. * * * Well, we've reached the quarter mark in this experiment and it hasn't been all bad. 10 days without social media like Facebook and Twitter. My free time is way up. I've kept to my resolution other than a few unfortunate "gimmies" where meeting details or news only lives online these days. So to find out some info you're forced to visit--the Chicago marathon updates are a good example. It feels like 10,000 readers just arrived not that long ago, but another 1,000 people have flown by and I'm up to 11,000 already. Congrats to me! * * * I couldn't not  comment on the Chicago Marathon fiasco. I'm not involved this year...but at the same time I don't want to see it turn into a ...

Shock! Buzz! Speculation! Want a rumor to generate a huge response in the triathlon community? Ironman may be changing the way they start the races. That's it. That's all. But triathletes will happily spend days and countless discussions unpacking that. You'd think I'd have something to say given my complaints about the Chicago Marathon switching to a corral and wave start system. I'm intrigued--that's about it. As someone attempting my first one, I'm much more concerned about preserving the 17 hour time limit. You tell me how to get in the water and that's how I'll do it though. It always amuses me to write a general audience blog that covers very specific topics because most of you come to it to read about something particular...and couldn't care less about other subjects. So I never know whether to aim for those in-the-know or take the time to explain to the uninformed. In this case, the basics may help some of you diehards keep it in pe...