Pick #362

Nick Castro - "If Your Soul Could Sing"

Tri the Rez 2013

Tri the Rez will be on October 12, 2013!  Check www.tritherez.com for more details!

Pick #361

Vittorio Monti (composer) - "Csárdás¨

Triathlon: What to Bring to a Race

Here is a list by USAT with a couple of my suggestions at the end...turn it into a check list.

General:
USAT Membership Card (or your one-day pass if printed from a website)
Photo ID
Registration confirmation
money
race uniform
race numbers and timing chip
gels/energy bars and drinks / salt tablets
sunscreen
sunglasses
water bottle(s)
anti-chafing product
extra clothes
directions to venue/course map

Swim Gear:
Westuit
swim cap
goggles

Bike Gear:
Bike
helmet
bike shoes
socks (optional)
bike gloves (optional)
tire pump
spare tube(s) and tire
CO2 cartridges
tools

Run gear:
running shoes
hat/visor
race number belt
socks

Transition gear:
towel(s)
bucket to wash sand off feet if beach swim

Other:
flip-flops
camera
flashlight or headlamp

Pick #360

Noah and the Whale - "Jocasta"

Raw Milk

There's a farmer's market within walking distance of my new place.  We went there last week when Erin's mom was in town.  I got the most delicious blue berries I've ever eaten, some other stuff, and raw milk.  This was my first raw milk experience and I wasn't sure what to expect.

Raw milk is not pasteurized and is not homogenized.  This means that there is more bacteria living in it and that you have to shake it before drinking.  I was hard pressed to tell the difference between drinking raw milk and drinking conventional milk.  If someone would have given me raw milk without warning, I would not have ever thought "hey, something's different with that milk."

I'm not sure how much of it I'll drink in the future (it was expensive).  I seem to have a great alternative of a local dairy (running distance from my house) that uses returnable glass bottles!  I don't know if the local dairy offers raw milk or not.  I've only been there once so far and got really tasty ice cream sandwiches.  Everyone says that the creamery at PSU is amazing (they do have killer ice cream but not so great milk).  I wonder just how good this local place might be.  I intend to find out what the local dairy has to offer over the next few weeks.

If you've been thinking about trying raw milk but are hesitant, then just go for it.  If nothing else, it will be a fairly unremarkable life experience.

Pick #359

Terio - "Ohh Kill Em"

it's really not my favorite song, but the Vine below is stuck in my head.  It appears that lots of people have messed with this beat, but the link above seems to be the "official" version.

Roth vs. Traditional IRA

I recently began a new position at Penn State and as a result attended a benefits orientation.  A financial consultant was talking about our retirement options and I learned something that I did not know before:  you can have both a Roth and a Traditional IRA.

Vangard offers a nice comparison between the two types of funds.  It turns out that both have their pros and cons.  If one strictly dominated the other (was better in every imaginable way), then the other would probably not exist.

If you put money in to both of them, then you can take advantage of tax savings today (traditional) and tax savings in the future (Roth).  If you plan on working into old age, then you can continue contributing to your Roth after age 70.5 but you'll have to begin taking money from the Traditional at that time.  Currently, both types of IRA have an annual contribution limit of $5,500.  That means that you should have both types of accounts if you have a great job and can afford saving more than $5,500 for retirement in a given year.

There are more differences between the two, but having both will allow you to take advantages of the upside of both of them.  I guess that means I need to get around to opening a Roth IRA in the near future.

Pick #358

We Were Promised Jetpacks - "Quiet Little Voices"