Fun Fact #15

your stomach must produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks to keep from digesting itself.

Answer Your Phone

I don't like it when people intentionally don't answer their ringing phone. Especially if it's because they don't recognize the phone number. You never know when somebody is having a problem/accident and may be using someone else's phone to call you. If you answer it and they just want to bullshit, then you can hang up on them.

It's different if you don't hear your phone ring or if you're in an important meeting or doing something where you cannot talk. Under normal circumstances, just answer.

Pick #82

Iron and Wine - "Bird Stealing Bread" from The Creek Drank the Cradle

I'm Hungry

I went on an 80 mile bike ride (supposed to be 100, but the weather stopped it short) followed by a 2 mile run today. After stretching, I went to Bianca Pizza & Pasta with Andrew. As soon as we left the restaurant and I got in my car, I realized that I was hungry again. I had the spinach lasagna with a half dozen garlic knots and a salad (with dressing!).

Sometimes, I wish I had some flavorless, energy-dense pill that I could take at times like these that would fill me up in a good way.

Wanted, Dexter

I'm going to recommend that you don't go see "Wanted." It will leave you thinking that you wasted 100 minutes of your life.

Furthermore, AMC @ the Tallahassee Mall no longer offers a student discount. That means I paid $9.50 for a ticket. I'm really not into that. I think I'm going to stay away from the theater for a good, long while. Especially because I just bought the first season of Dexter on DVD for about $22.00 and it's provided me (and my roommates and Sarah) with many hours of quality entertainment. I do recommend that you check out Dexter (it's a Showtime series).

FSU Triathlon Sponsors

I'm stoked after hearing back from the Rudy Project on the same day that I contacted them. They're super efficient over there. Here's a list of FSU Triathlon's sponsors. You can always check out the Sponsors tab on our webpage.

Blackwell Research (wheels & high performance aerobars)
OneTri (online store with swimming stuff)
Profile Design (wetsuits, water bottles, cheaper aerobars, some components)
Rudy Project (helmets and eyewear)
Shaw's Athletics (running store)
Sunshine Cycles (bike store)

More Free Music

Tobacco Free Florida has a webpage where they bring you "smoke-free songs" aka free music. I found the link through YouTube. I probably wouldn't have said anything except that one of the songs available for download is the title track from the Sarah Mac Band's latest album: Awakening. Go download.

Fun Fact #14

On average, 100 people choke on ballpoint pens annually.

Open Office

There is an open source software package at OpenOffice.org that's pretty interesting. I just started using it last week. It has not only the standard stuff that makes up Microsoft office, but other cool stuff like "Math" which is a program that makes mathematical expressions like complex fractions and integral signs, etc.

One of my favorite parts is the .pdf writer. It is so easy to use (just click one button and save the file). The .pdf writer is incorporated into the word processor, the spreadsheet, the database, the slideshow program, and the math program (AWESOME).

Additionally, when stuff is giving you hellacious formatting problems in Microsoft Word, it usually cooperates in Writer.

I've already given this program to a couple other people and I haven't heard any negative feedback yet.

Pick #81

Chicago - Feelin' Stronger Every Day

Chopper

This was taken with my old camera. The helicopter is hovering above the ground. Notice how much the blades move in the picture. That camera takes incredibly fast pictures when it's bright outside. I haven't had an opportunity to test out my new camera to see if it can do this.

Fun Fact #13

One year, Elvis Presley paid 91% of his annual income to the IRS.

On Anger

What is it about being pissed off that makes you want to crank up the stereo and floor the gas pedal?

Random Injuries

I hate it when I don't know how I hurt myself. On Sunday, I looked down in the middle of the day and my index finger was cut. It still hurt at night time. Sometimes I just see blood and I'm like "how did that happen? WTF?" Sometimes I just hurt without bruises or cuts or soreness. Mostly, it's cuts.

I don't mind hurting myself...I just wish I could take note of how it happens so that maybe I could avoid it in the future.

Pick #80

Freeway - "Free" from Philadelphia Freeway

Country Bumpkin Proceedings

I was exhausted after finishing the Country Bumpkin ride. It turned out to be 127 miles, according to Andrew's cyclo-computer. We rode there in 3 hours, 33 minutes and rode back in 3 hours, 39 minutes! How's that for consistency? Especially considering the added difficulties of the ride back. I was so tired that I passed out in the middle of Superbad after I had a little something to eat. I slept 11 hours straight last night.

Of course, we didn't start on time. The good news is that we added 2 more people to the group. My new equipment from Sunshine Cycles worked wonders. The bike shorts had so much more cushion than my tri shorts and the cycling jersey held: a rain jacket (Sugoi Helium), 4 gel packs, a peanut butter sandwich, my cell phone, 2 granola bars, an electrolyte tab, tears, blistex, my sunglasses at one point, sunscreen, and maybe something else that I'm forgetting.

It was a pretty ride through the country side. There was a lot of goofing off during the ride out there. "Who can reach the highest?" "Who can get the lowest?" The only time I got a little annoyed is when people went so slow up the hills. There were a couple incidents that could have caused crashes, but crashes were avoided every time! Awesome job, guys. I wish I had my camera out on the way there so I could take a picture of the antics. There are some pix on facebook.

We went (via automobile) to Madison Blue Spring State Park after we got to Jason's house. We swam a little bit. Went back and had lunch. Only Logan, Andrew, and myself decided to bike back. Logan got a flat within 10 miles. Put in a new tube and rode on it for about 10 miles before it flatted again. This time, when changing the tube, it went flat before he could even get the rim back on the bike! We went through 3 tubes the second time and they all popped upon inflation. He had to get a ride home and wasn't happy about it. That means that Andrew and I had to work a lot harder. We went from averaging 21mph before Logan's tire blew to averaging about 17mph on our own.

Coming back to Tally, we ran into some strong wind gusts. It started lightly raining, which felt good. I was so happy when I first saw the big penis in the sky (aka state capitol).

This ride made me confident in my biking abilities. I feel like one of the "big boys" now. I might not be as fast as Steve or Dan, but I think I can hold my own over the distance as long as they aren't super-duper ass hauling. In fact, Stephen said that he's never gone 120 miles before. PLUS, I don't have one of those fancy carbon fiber frames. I now want to take bike trips to nearby towns and see/do things there. It could be like mini, day-long adventures. I hear St. Marks has a beach...I might go do some recon on the bike before taking people down there in a car. I think anything within 50 miles of my house is fair game. Maybe ride somewhere, eat lunch there, tour the historic district or something, then come home. You'll be updated on that kind of stuff if/when it happens.

Kingsbury

I was at the Sarah Mac Band concert tonight and it was awesome as always. The first band ¿Phlux? was 3 hippies that had a pretty barefoot sound. Next was Kingsbury from Orlando. They know Soft Targets, the headliners. SMB played 3rd. Since I have to get up in a couple hours to go on the Country Bumpkin ride, I dipped out on Soft Targets.

Kingsbury's show was different. I was expecting all the bands to be a little folky. Kingsbury had some cool lighting that set a decent ambiance. There was a strobe that made really cool shadows of the drummer playing on the ceiling. I went to buy a CD, but they were down to the copy that's taped to the table. After they got off stage, I saw the girl band member (Alexis) at the bar and told her about the CD situation. She wanted to give me a free CD! I paid her $5 anyway since they did have to pay for gas to get back to Orlando. I was talking to her for a bit. I asked if they were in town b/c they know Soft Targets. Affirmative. I also mentioned that I was from Vero (relevant to one of their songs). She said that she knows Mike Palmer; and the other band members, who are about my age, are from Vero. One guy, Bruce Reed, came up to me while I was talking to Alexis and said he recognized me. I said my name's Austin and he's all like "I'm Colleen Connery's husband." Whoa! He gave me an update on how they're doing and it sounds pretty good.

Country Bumpkin

I'm riding 120 miles on my bike this Saturday. I just went to Sunshine Cycles today to pick up a pair of bike shorts and a cycling jersey for the trip. I figure that if I'm ever going to get them, now's a good time. They have sponsored the FSU Triathlon team and I'm hoping that we can have a great relationship.

The ride on Saturday is going to be 6-7 people biking out to Madison, eating lunch at Jason's folks' house, then biking back. I've never even done 100 miles (I think 80 is my previous max). I'm convinced that I can do it without dying. I have a couple water bottle holders and a camelbak to get me through along with gels and electrolyte tabs. I just hope the mercury stays in the double digits.

In about a month, I'm going to ride 165 miles west to Nevarre, FL. Who knows how many people will attend that? I figure that this 120 miler will be a good warm up for that main event. If these rides go down successfully, I'm toying with the idea of biking from Tally to Vero, stopping along the way to stay with friends in Gainesville and Orlando. That would be pretty insane!

Bikini Shaver

I was in the health & beauty section of Publix the other day and noticed an interesting product. It appeared to be a miniature razor, but the packaging claimed it was a "bikini shaver." Who shaves their bikinis? What does that do? Can it make you more hydrodynamic? What if you cut your bathing suit?

Fun Fact #12

George Washington had to borrow money so he could travel to his inauguration.

Pick #79

Eva Cassidy - "Wade in the Water" from Songbird

Academic Minors @ FSU v. the HC

Getting a major at the HC is difficult...probably more so than in most places due to the Thesis. Graduating might also be a little more work with the inclusion of the internship/study abroad. However, getting a minor is also relatively hard...check out the following:

I've noticed through conversing with some FSU undergrads that it takes almost nothing to get a minor in an academic field at FSU. Take chemistry for an example...
FSU chemistry minors only need: Minor Coursework: 12 semester hours in an approved minor field or 15 hours in an approved interdepartmental minor approved by the Department of Chemistry. Frequently Chemical Science majors will complete a second major, which satisfies this requirement.
HC chemistry minors need: a. 20 credit hours of work in chemistry from the course list below.
b. At least 9 of the credit hours must be upper level (3000 or above).

And you can make your own comparisons at fsu.edu and www.honorscollege.edu.

Vampyre

You probably know that I can't draw. That sucks for me because I had a funny mental image. It's a group of Draculas heaped together and aflame. 10 cool points to the first person to draw this picture for me.

Recipe #1: Quick & Easy Black Beans, Chicken, & Rice

I'm going to post some recipes of stuff I make that I think is good. Here's an easy one to start out with...

Marinate the chicken in Worcestershire and sprinkle with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and Lowry's seasoned salt. Cook (white) rice according to package instructions. Heat the black beans in a pot on the stove and stir in one package of "Sazón Goya sin achiote" for every 8oz. beans. Cook the chicken on the Foreman grill, chop up, then combine with the other ingredients.

Note: if you don't want the quick & easy version, then you can sauté green pepper, onion, and garlic in some olive oil and add that to the beans while they heat.

Emerald Coast #2

Results are up from Emerald Coast #2 this past weekend. I dropped about 3:40 off my time from the same course in the fall...actually, the run was a little shorter in the fall! The water was so perfect, it was almost blissful swimming. I had good transitions and jammed it out on the bike, averaging 21.9 mph. I'd like to get up to 23-24 mph by the end of the season. My run pace was 6:22/mile. I might be able to drop that to about 6 flat by the end of the season. I'm working on my swim with Doug coaching me.

OH, yeah...after the race, they had a drawing for a bunch of cool stuff being given out by Freedom Sports, a store that's opening soon in the Panama City Beach area. I won the grand prize of a Zoot ZPack transition bag. I'm going to try to use it and see if I can get away from my Reebok duffle-running-turned-into-tri bag. The ZPack is pretty awesome with waterproof storage for your wet stuff, headlight & tail light, lots of pockets.

If this sounds like fun, you should check out the FSU Triathlon Website. Anyone with an FSU card can join! Sign yourself up for the email list.

Silverfish

Ok, I had a great idea for a new snack cracker. It'll be called "silverfish" and modeled after the existing "goldfish" crackers, although they obviously couldn't sell for as much money.

I know what you're thinking: silverfish are gross! BUT JellyBelly is having huge success with their nasty-flavored beans. Kids eat gummy worms and other dis-gross-ting things. Maybe my snack will catch on.

Trialogue

Fab: "Did you hear about the promotion they're having at the radio station this week?"
TBW: "Ya...you get a couple of compact discs without having to pay for them."
Russian Dan: "Fade."

Pick #78

Pavement - "Unfair" from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain