on turtles

I thought of Tilford when I passed this little dude sitting in the middle of Pink Hill Rd. last night.




WWTD? So I stopped and relocated him to a safer spot. Hopefully someone will do the same for me one day.

It’s All About CHILI

Yeah, so Froze Toes was last weekend. I’m very disappointed I did not at least make it on the podium. I had reviewed the competition before hand and it amounted to no more than a hill of BEANS. There were some SEASONED competitors present but, if it were a tennis match, it’s not like the WILLIAMS sisters were there. Near as I can tell, the MEAT of the situation is this. Registration was a CROCK, the results were COOKED and the whole thing reeked like a pile of TOMATOES and PEPPERS. I am FUMING like a HABANERO on fire. How could I let this chili cook-off competition get away from me?!? Food is what I DO!

Okay, all kidding aside, a big thanks to the CBC for putting on the race and adding the chili cook-off this year. Registration went very smooth, the results were posted in short order (I like the timing chips) and the officiating was transparent. Hats off to all the competitors and thanks to the volunteers and officials.

Oh yeah… the race. Jeff rolled off the front in a quality break of seven barely two miles from the start. I was in my standard position (dick in hand) and didn’t even see it happen. Fish munched on KFC while patrolling the front of the pack for Nolan and Marshall. I looked for free ride to the break, but it never happened. I thought it might get pulled back for a bit, but by the time we hit the south stretch they were gone. On the east stretch of the second lap I saw Fish dig into his family-sized bucket and pull out a thigh so I jumped off the front while he was distracted by the tasty goodness. I was joined by a Gateway rider (Jim) and we bridged to his team mate (Mark) who had been hovering a minute out front for quite some time. We kept the hammer down while the St. John’s crew mucked up the chase. After 10 miles we FINALLY got some time on them and had a comfortable lead. We picked up third Gateway rider (Justin) on the frontage road who flatted out of the break (oh shit, now it’s three to one). Jeff finished 3rd. I rolled in 7th. Good team effort and a successful day. Can’t wait to do it again.

Work, home, camp, etc.

Yeah, so it’s been a while since I posted anything of substance. Work has been keeping me busy, that and my top secret training. I can’t tell you much about the training. It’s top secret. But I can tell you it includes lots of ‘recovery drinks’.

At work, I have a couple different projects. A new one for John Deere in Mexico that is hot and taking all my time and another for BMW in SC that we are trying to get wrapped up.

Bill Freeman, my HS football and track coach, just turned 78. I went to his surprise b-day party two weekends ago. It was a pleasure to talk with him again. His coaching and teaching made a positive impact on me and many other young men during our formative years. I am eternally grateful. I also got the opportunity to catch up with some of my team mates and other coaches from back in the day. Good times.

On the home front, my beagle ate a rope toy last week. Dr. Bradley to the rescue and now he has a four inch incision in his belly and is missing a little of his bounce, but should bounce back just fine. Blackjack is not the sharpest tool in the shed and will eat anything. But I guess I’ve got little room to talk.

Cycling class started the first week of January, coached by Dr. Goodpain. This is my third year in the class. It’s challenging, I enjoy it and it makes trainer hours a little more bearable.

This past weekend the team held a short training camp at the lake. Weather was remarkable for early February. Other than a bit of wind, I’d call it perfect. It was my first opportunity to meet and ride with my new team mates. Solid guys on and off the bike. We had a blast riding, hanging-out and watching cycling videos. All the standard stuff. Sean hosted us at his condo and put together a couple awesome rides. Great pavement, very little traffic and completely flat (not so much on the flat part). Cale took most of the intermediate sprints, but Hogan won day one. Day two we called a truce and played nice for most of the ride.









































Froze Toes is just around the corner. I’m looking forward kicking off the '09 road season and flying the new colors. I may even enter a pot of chili in the cook-off.

This is over the top!

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Dog Gone Snickers

Snickers adopted me just over nine years ago. We had family dogs when I was a kid and I still have two dogs of my own, but Snickers was the first dog that was all mine.

Just over a year ago she was diagnosed with thyroid carcinoma. We got her the best care and treatments available, but the disease is terminal. I never though she would live to see her ninth birthday, but she did. It was a good year.

The last few months of her life Snickers hardly made a peep and was, for the most part, a couch potato, but the house seems abruptly quiet and empty now that she is gone.

I buried her near her favorite spot in the back yard, in a quilt my mom made for her when Snickers was young and marked her grave with a pile of field stones I picked from my grandmother’s farm in Minnesota.


SNICKERS Oct. 1st, 1999 – Dec 6th, 2008

Rules to Live By...

RULES FOR A GUN, KNIFE, BASEBALL BAT OR FIST FIGHT
1. Forget about knives, bats and fists. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns. Bring four times the ammunition you think you could ever need.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammunition is cheap - life is expensive. If you shoot inside, buckshot is your friend. A new wall is cheap - funerals are expensive
3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker and go to cover. Distance is your friend. (Bulletproof cover and diagonal or lateral movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a semi or full-automatic long gun and a friend with a long gun.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running. Yell "Fire!" Why "Fire"? Cops will come with the Fire Department, sirens often scare off the bad guys, or at least cause then to lose concentration and will.... and who is going to summon help if you yell "Intruder," "Glock" or "Winchester?"
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun.
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. Have a plan.
13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work. "No battle plan ever survives 10 seconds past first contact with an enemy."
14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible, but remember, sheetrock walls and the like stop nothing but your pulse when bullets tear through them.
15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
16. Don't drop your guard.
17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees. Practice reloading one-handed and off-hand shooting. That's how you live if hit in your "good" side.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. Smiles, frowns and other facial expressions don't (In God we trust. Everyone else keep your hands where I can see them.)
19. Decide NOW to always be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet if necessary, because they may want to kill you.
22. Be courteous to everyone, overly friendly to no one.
23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than "4".
25. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket." At a practice session, throw you gun into the mud, then make sure it still works. You can clean it later.
26. Practice shooting in the dark, with someone shouting at you, when out of breath, etc.
27. Redardless of whether justified of not, you will feel sad about killing another human being. It is better to be sad than to be room temperatire.
28. The only thing you EVER say afterwards is, "He said he was going to kill me. I beleived him. I'm sorry, Officer, but I'm very upset now. I can't say anything more. Please speak with my attorney."

Back when dirt was still rocks

37 years ago today I made my mom and dad parents for the first time. Here are some cave paintings I got on loan from the museum of natural history.


My first day home.























My first birthday party. Hmmmm. Cake.