Jumpin' At The Woodside

Rob Monkey sent me this photo from his workplace. I think the copier is eating him!

Since my last post about running, I managed to crack the 4 mile distance without stopping last Monday. I was congratulated again by Joan Benoit Samuelson on my iPod. I had another run on Wednesday, but only got a 3.5 mile run in after work. My legs were feeling a bit sore so I decided to lay off until Saturday, today. Before I started my run, I updated the Run Mix on my iPod and I also decided to have a go at four laps around the neighborhood loop which would give me a 4.75 mile run. That's exactly what I did. I had a long walk afterward to cool down and my total distance for the day was 5.53 miles! This time I was congratulated by Lance Armstrong on my longest run to date. In case you're wondering what's on my Run Mix playlist to keep me going, here it is: Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul Back To Life - Soul II Soul Big Ol' Game - Josh Stone Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne You Want This - Janet Jackson If - Janet Jackson Eminence Front - The Who All Down The Line - Th...

Now before you start thinking we got all "northeast" down here, let me explain that this photo is courtesy of Rob Monkey who ventured out into the elements this morning and sent me a memento of his very chilly trek to work up there in what they call "Jersey." Anyway, just a rainy day for us here in the south -- chilly though especially with the dampness in the air. Good night for staying in and keeping warm no matter your location. As the mind does this time of year, I started to think of planning summer concert travels and as Ol' Lazy Acres mentioned, summer mixes. I don't have any summer mix plans yet, but I may start this weekend. As for summer concerts, I got to thinking of this more this week as the photo below (click to view larger) brought back recollections of summer months from days gone by. I ran across these old concert ticket stubs while doing some cleaning last weekend. Yes sir, this was back when they actually tore your ticket and gave you the ...

In case you missed the lunar eclipse last night, here it is from The Woodside accompanied by Paul Chambers, Phineas Newborn and Roy Haynes on their track "After Hours." Salud!

This afternoon I pounded out my longest distance to date, a total of 4.15 miles! I ran a full three laps around the neighborhood, which is 3.5 miles. Then to cool down walked another .65 miles for the grand total of 4.15 miles. Immediately after I heard the breakdown of my run through my Nike+iPod, I was then congratulated by the voice of Joan Benoit Samuelson on my longest run to date. Various sports figures will pop up on the Nike+iPod to congratulate you upon reaching certain milestones, but today was the first one I received. I realize this is no great feat in the whole scheme of things, but remember it's been a long time since I ran regularly not to mention I turn 42 in April. Back in the day -- that would be the 1980s day -- I could run five miles and bike 40, but that was a long time ago. I normally run two laps around the neighborhood and have been extending it lately. It usually comes to about 2.5 miles running and then another .5 miles or so walking. I had been pacing at...

Ah, it's a Friday evening once again and a three-day weekend to boot! As you may be able to see from the photo, I'm enjoying a Smithwick's Irish Ale. Yes sir, I'm a motorboatin' SOB or perhaps I should amend that to once and future motorboatin' SOB! "You old sailor, you!" If you don't already know the meaning of the phrase, I won't say except watch for it the next time you catch the movie "Wedding Crashers" with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Cracks me up every time! Seems like we refer to "Wedding Crashers" frequently at work and when this T-shirt popped up on ShirtADay.com I had to buy it. Everyday this site offers up a new T-shirt similar to Woot.com offering up a single product a day. I just checked their "Warehouse" link at ShirtADay.com and they still have some motorboatin' shirts left along with a very cool "I am McLovin" shirt -- from the movie "Superbad" of course. Speaking of Woot....

So there I was walking back to the car after returning my shopping cart to the ol' cart corral at the Harris Teeter, purveyors of dry goods, meats and vegetables. Not sure why I looked up while opening the car door, but I did and good thing too. Three renegade carts were on the loose from the corral rolling faster than Kentucky thoroughbreds headed straight for a posse of parked cars. Without hesitation or any thought to my own bodily harm, I made a beeline for the rebel carts. I wrangled them up before any damage was done -- quicker than you can say "Hoo-doggie!" This time when I returned the carts to the corral, I made sure those carts were in there tighter than a Texas hoosegow. There you have it boys and girls... The Legend of the Grocery Store Cart Wrangler. Yee Haw and Yippy Kay Yay Cow Pokes!

I had a few visitors this morning in the backyard. Click on the photos to view larger. Three deer took a short slumber here. They woke not long after the sun rose before they headed on their way (only two are visible in the photos). At first, I only saw one deer after it stood up. Then as it walked through the trees, I saw two more deer stand and follow. Not sure of their plans for the day, but at least it was warm again like yesterday. Sorry to my northern friends and fam, but I ran yesterday in shorts and a T-shirt! A storm moved through late today, mild though, luckily nothing like the storms that went through the midwest. Happy Wednesday to y'all! Don't forget Ghost Hunters International is on SciFi Channel tonight, and the regular Ghost Hunters series returns in March. - Salud!

Listening to the jukebox tonight and enjoying a Beck's Light. Wanted to give it a try since I really like the regular Beck's and they advertise it as only 64 calories. It tastes like a Beck's Light -- well duh, but you know it tastes just like a Beck's, only slightly watered down or "light." Not bad, but when it's cold on a winter's night I want something with a little more "meat" so to speak. I could see myself drinking Beck's Light in the summer when you want something lighter. I was just treated to a "double shot" of Three Dog Night on the jukebox, "Never Been To Spain" and "Joy To The World." I may not have mentioned before, the "jukebox" is now simply my 8GB iPod Nano and not the bulky old computer where it formerly resided. I picked up a base unit for the iPod which keeps it charged and plugs into my stereo system. The base unit comes with an iPod remote, which is the white rectangle in th...