It’s Split

“It’s split.”

Fair and balanced, for sure.

Thanks to Kos for the link.

On Second Thought….

Of all the things that I need to be intentional about, running is not at the top of the list these days. There are simply not enough hours in the day.

So, I’ve deferred my Marine Corps Marathon registration until October 2009, and my race calendar is clear (and will remain so) through the end of this year. I’m not sure what my next race will be. Maybe another February jaunt through the woods of Appomattox….

In the meantime, I’ll try to keep running enough to ensure that the weight that’s been lifted from my shoulders doesn’t relocate to my midsection.

Palin Post

Where did she come from?

Alaska, I know.  But you know what I mean.

I haven’t quite gotten a handle on how I feel about Sarah Palin. It’s not that there is any question in my mind about whether I support her - there’s not and I don’t - what I’m still wrestling with is the question of how seriously I should take her.

My initial reaction to McCain’s announcement was that he had attempted a Hail Mary and had thrown an interception instead.  I mean, really -  political experience consisting of less than two years as governor of a state with more reindeer than people, and being city councilor and mayor of a town of 7,000?

At the very least, I concluded that the Republicans had conceded the “experience” argument.

Silly me.  I was ignoring her tenure with the PTA.   

She does give a good speech, I’ll grant that. But, the campaign can’t keep her shielded from interviews forever. It will be fascinating to see how she deals with the press once they start asking the tough questions. And, there is the VP debate to look forward to. Foreign policy, dealing with the lower 48’s domestic issues including a humongous deficit that came about under her guy’s watch, and not appearing to be an extremist on social issues might prove to be, um, challenging for her. We’ll see.

Glad things have gotten interesting, anyway.

Thanks to Mudflats for the Wasilla City Hall photo. Check out the site to “tiptoe through the muck of Alaskan politics.” Interesting stuff.

Anchor Leg

My alarm clock is going to ring in 5 hours and hopefully I will get up (and stay up) and run. There are only 54 days left until my next running adventure, and I need to make use of every one of them.

The highlight of my running day tomorrow, however, will be my daughter’s first cross country meet of the season. She has been tapped to run the anchor leg on one of the relay teams, and I don’t know which of us is the more nervous.

Probably me.

Once in a Lifetime

The first day of school, 2008.

Kindergarten to high school, with a couple in between.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but how did I get here?

Fingers Crossed

Obama will probably have announced his VP decision by the time most people read this, but I thought this was right on and had to share.

Fingers crossed….

Running Intentionally

I have considered myself to be a runner since I was in college in the early 1980’s. Since that time I have raced in distances ranging from 5K to 50K. However, as I look back over those years of running and racing, I realize that I have never run intentionally for any significant length of time - by “run intentionally” I mean run with purpose, commitment, and consistency.

My running has been like my blogging of late - always well-intentioned, but generally sporadic and haphazard. I am not sure what to do about the blogging - either the muse and the time are there or they aren’t - but I know what I need to do about the running. The times of my life in which I have been in the best running shape have been those in which I was pushed and prodded by (1) a coach, (2) a drill instructor, or (3) a running partner. Lacking any of those at this stage in my life, I have decided to turn to the blogosphere for accountability.

So, I have set up another blog in which I will bare my running soul to anyone who is interested - times, distance, goals, results. I decided to do this in another blog because I know that many (is that too presumptuous? should I say “both”?) of you who read this blog have little or no interest in the nitty-gritty of my running progress. Likewise, if the running blog attracts any readers, they might not have any interest in the navel-gazing and pontificating that can typically be found here.

So, for those of you who might be interested - here is the link to my new running blog, Running Intentionally. For those of you who aren’t interested, that’s fine - no need to change the channel.

Social Networking 101

Sometime last year I signed on to LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking site. There are essentially two approaches that one can take with LinkedIn. Some choose to limit their “connections” to trusted contacts that they know and would feel comfortable recommending to others. Others take a more aggressive approach, and seek to add any willing warm body with an email address to their network.

(Recovering) lawyer that I am, I could argue for either approach, but I chose the former route. As a result, all of my LinkedIn connections are people with whom I share some sort of relationship - largely professional, but some social as well. Admittedly, a few of these connections are rather tenuous - I cannot vouch fully for the work ethic and ability of all of my LinkedIn connections (although I can say with some degree of certainty that none are ax murderers). But, as one of the primary goals of most people participating in LinkedIn is to expand their network, and therefore increase their potential to be able to find an employee/expert/consultant/career opportunity, I think that’s OK. I have 150-some connections and an extended network of close to 500,000, and I’ve realized some business benefit from it, so mission accomplished.

Not so with Facebook, which I joined just a few days ago. I see Facebook as a purely social utility. If I don’t know someone well enough to think that they might have some interest in what I am up to at a given point in time (and I in what they are doing), I don’t see any point in connecting as a “friend” on Facebook.

Which has led to some interesting decisions. Who should I invite? I have little reservation about sending someone a LinkedIn connection invite, as I view it as a business decision. If I have some sort of relationship with a person, and believe that networking with them might potentially have some business value (either through them or through one of their connections), I’ll send them an invitation.

It’s not as easy with Facebook. I don’t know; it may be something as simple as the semantic difference between “connection” and “friend”. A business “connection” is just that, business. You don’t want to connect, fine, your loss. A social “friend”, however, is, well, a friend. I’ve told my oldest daughter to remember that when the day comes that a boy calls her on the phone and asks her for a date, she should keep in mind the fact that his finger may have hovered over the number pad for quite a while before he finally got up the gumption to make the call. Asking someone to be your “friend”, even in the context of something as contrived as Facebook, carries a measure of risk. After all, they could say “no”!

While I’ve only been on Facebook for a few days, and really haven’t put too much time into it, I’ve already faced Facebook rejection. I sent out an invitation, to a female acquaintance who is already on Facebook, and … nothing. I know that she received the invitation, because I got an unrelated email from her the day after I sent it. So, why didn’t she accept? Was my invitation inappropriate? Did it make her uncomfortable? Does she think I’m a jerk? If it’s the latter reason, that’s OK - she should probably just take a number and get in line. I do hope, however, that it wasn’t because I made her feel uncomfortable.

Oh well. Such is the lot of a 40-something trying to adapt to the technology and social mores of a 20-something.

By the way, if you are reading this, know me, and think we should be connected on either LinkedIn or Facebook, shoot me an invite. I promise I won’t make you wonder why I didn’t respond….

Barbeque

I had every intention of posting something serious tonight - perhaps even “Law Practice Part IV”, in which I explain why I joined the ranks of “recovering” litigators, and have never (well, rarely) looked back.

Nah, not tonight. Instead, I offer this video for your entertainment and edification. Because “barbeque” is not a verb. It is not a grill. It is meat, prepared in a very special way. Preferably vinegar-based….

Back At It

I’m gradually returning to running. I had self-diagnosed a torn meniscus (a little internet knowledge can be a dangerous thing), but when I finally got in to see the orthopedist, he said he thinks it is just patellofemoral syndome, a/k/a “runner’s knee”. A competitive runner himself, he said “welcome to the club”.

So, armed with a prescription for pain meds and patellar strap, physical therapy referral, and follow-up appointment for 6 weeks hence, I’m cleared to run. After several easy 2-3 mile runs this week (I seem to be incapable of limiting it to 4 runs of 1 mile each, per the doc’s “Back to Running” schedule), I did close to 7 today.

So far, so good. Add 20 to it and I’ll be ready for the Marine Corps Marathon in October.