Florida Day 4--Dramatic Skies on Sanibel

Shane had to fly home this morning, but after we dropped him off at the airport, my sister, Kathleen, and I drove to Sanibel and Captiva. We had lunch at the Mucky Duck on Captiva Island (we both had the seafood platter) and then went to the beach on Sanibel Island.  The weather was unstable.  We had heavy showers in the morning, but it cleared up after lunch.  There were dark clouds off shore most of the afternoon.  There were also a passing shower or two. The surf was wild too.  The usual flat Gulf was very wavy.  The water temperature was perfect for some body surfing.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #306

I see you are all set for the Hee-Haw marathon.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #306.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too

Florida Day 3--Punta Gorda Sunset

The weather has taken a turn for the better. We had a beautful day.  This is the sunset view out the back of our house.

Florida Day 2--We See the Sun Again Briefly

Bridge to Punta Gorda. 

Though it was quite rainy most of Saturday after we arrived in Florida, it was clear, but cloudy on today.  I went for a run early--11 miles.  I ran across the bridge above.

When I got back, we got ready to head south to Naples for the beach.  Shane studied the weather and thought it would be clearer longer south.  Naples is about 60 miles south of Punta Gorda.

Shane was right.  Though it was mostly cloudy, there were periods of sunshine and we ended up with about 3 hours of beach time before it started to shower.  We got to swim a little and walk along the beach.  As we drove north, the rain came down like crazy.  We saw three wrecks before we got back.

Kathleen and Shane at the beach in Naples, FL.  Notice the blue sky!

A pelican glides along the water. The water wasn't actually brown.

I'm tired after running 11 miles.

Back In the Sunshine State?

Shane, my sister Kathleen, and I flew down to our second home in Florida this morning.  We left from sunny and clear Baltimore and landed in cloudy Fort Myers.  It has been raining all afternoon.  While the forecast in the DC area was for a beautiful weekend, the forecast for Florida... it's not so great.  Shane has to go back home on Tuesday, but Kathleen and I have a week in the "Sunshine State."  We plan to make the best of it!

Music to Run to--The Beloved's "I Love You More"

This is an awesome song to run to.  Blast it and race away! WOOO!

Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs Dead at 56

I am posting this from my Macbook.  I also have an iPhone, iPad, and several iPods. Steve Jobs has had a huge impact on our lives and made a lot of money off of me personally.  Amazingly, although he was a billionaire, it couldn't buy him his health.  At least he lived his life and made the most of it.

The Biggest Loser Week #3 Results

This is week #3 of the Biggest Loser competition at work. Ten of us are competing to lose the most weight for a 1st prize of $140, 2nd prize of $40, and 3rd prize of $20. My photoshopped results are above.  I am currently in first place (barely) with a total of about 3.44 percent weight loss. 

I was a little disappointed with only losing 2 pounds this week considering how much I ran this week. I ran 8 miles on the treadmill at the gym last Thursday, 7 miles outside on Friday, 18 miles on Sunday (from my house to Montgomery County, MD, and back) and 5 miles on the treadmill on Tuesday.  That is 38 miles in less than a week.  I also have been trying to limit my intake and avoiding most sweets. 2 pounds? That sucks. After losing 4.5 pounds last week, it was a bit of a disappointment. I want to be in the 170s again. 

I'm on vacation next week, so losing weight may be a challenge. I like to go out to eat on vacation. I'm going to need to keep up the running while down in Florida.

Though Not the 5, I'm Buying the iPhone 4S

My current iPhone 3 will be 3 years old this month.  It is slow, doesn't hold a charge, and the case is cracked.  I think it is about time for me to upgrade.  

Apple had its big unveil today for what everyone thought would be the iPhone 5, but it turned out only to be the iPhone 4S.  Everyone in Twitterland was beside themselves with disappointment.  Obviously, Apple is waiting to distribute its iPhone 5 (the one with the app that turns water into wine) 10 minutes after I buy the iPhone 4S.  

The new version of the iPhone looks pretty great compared to my iPhone 3.  It will be like going from radio to HDTV.  Though the phone looks pretty much the same, the innards magically make miracles happen. The battery lasts longer, the apps work faster, and the camera is much better.  It will have a voice-recognition feature that allows you to ask your phone questions. Your phone can recommend a good restaurant or remind you to pick up your Aunt Gert at the airport. Amazing.  I can't wait to get one. 

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #305

Run for your life!  The giant mouse is gassy!

Run for your life!  The giant mouse is horny!

Run for your life!  The giant mouse just ate Human Resources!

These are my ideas for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #305.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #304

Don't let those TSA agents give you any guff.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #304.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Training Update for the Philadelphia Marathon

I am still on track (no pun intended) for my training of the Philadelphia Marathon in November. Today, I ran 18 miles in just over 3 hours.  I went from my house near Eastern Market on Capitol Hill across the National Mall to the Potomac River to the Georgetown waterfront and then up the Capitol Crescent Trail to the Montgomery County, MD, line.  It was about 9 miles one way.  I ran it up and back.

Today's weather was very cool (high 40s and low 50s).  This was a much better run for me than last week.  Last Sunday was warm and humid.  I ran about 3 miles less than today, but much slower than today's time.  I actually walked a good bit of the way back last week.  I felt so much better today.  I hardly walked at all today.  It made me feel much more confident that I'll be ready for the marathon the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Another thing that made the run go better was that I actually ran with my blue sponge.  I love that sponge.  We had some rain showers this morning, and my sponge came in handy to wipe the water off my glasses.  It also helps keep the sweat out of my eyes.  I highly recommend running with a sponge.

Top 10 Bad Ideas for Your Personal Blog

I was surfing for ideas to spice up by blog on the Internets and decided to come up with a list of bad ideas for other bloggers looking for something to do for their own blogs.  Do not do these things.  They are bad ideas.

TOP 10 BAD IDEAS FOR YOUR PERSONAL BLOG

10. Transcribe that college term paper on the history of thimbles you got the C on.

9. Write a suicide note as a funny joke.

8. Post pictures of how you torture your cat.

7. List things you don’t like about your spouse in bed.

6. Take pictures of the food you eat and what it looks like when it comes out.

5. Rate your friends from most to least attractive and smartest to dumbest.

4. Explain why your boss is a jerk and why you should be running things. 

3. Do a photo essay of your vacation to Omaha.

2. Write a summary of interesting facts about yourself like your Social Security number, mother’s maiden name, birth date, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords to all your accounts.

And the #1 Bad Idea for Personal Blog, 

Post the photos from the hidden camera in your guest bathroom.

Congrats to New Gay Dad Congressman Jared Polis

Gay Congressman Jared Polis (on the right above) and his partner, Marlon Reis (left), announced today the birth of their son Caspian Julius.  The birth announcement reported Caspian weighed 8 pounds and 12 ounces.  Democratic Congressman Polis of Colorado is one of four out members of the the U.S. Congress.  Congratulations!

Debit Card Fee Means Goodbye Bank of America

Bank of America has been my bank for many years, but the newly announced debit card fees are the last straw.  It is going to be a pain in the butt to change banks, however.  I have a lot of automatic payments and online bills paid through Bank of America.  Even though the new fee amounts to about $5 a month, I've had enough of this bank.  We got a BofA loan when we bought our foreclosure in Florida, and they were horrible to deal with.  There are plenty of other banks out there that have free debit cards.  I don't need to be nickel and dimed by these bastards anymore.

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant-Lavagna

Tonight, Shane and I had dinner at one of the newest restaurants on 8th Street (Barracks Row) near Eastern Market on Capitol Hill.  It is Lavagna, which in Italian apparently means chalkboard.  They use chalk slates for their menus.

This was actually the third time we've eaten there.  They have very delicious home-made pastas.  The first two times I had the spaghetti and meatballs, but tonight I had the Fettuccine Bolognese (pictured below).  It looked a little Hamburger Helper, but it was good.  I do think I liked the spaghetti better though.  Shane had what he has had each time we have gone to Lavagna, the Rigatoni with Italian Sausage in Vodka Sauce.  We are liking this place.

As far as the calorie count for this meal, I have no idea.  As you can see from yesterday's post, I am dieting as part of my Biggest Loser competition at work.  However, I will say that I did run 8 miles on the treadmill today and am planning on a 16 mile run this weekend, so I can afford to load up on a few carbs.

Just in case you were looking for the Billy Joel video while searching on the Internet, it is below. I like that song too.

Trying to Become the Biggest Loser

They recently started a Biggest Loser contest at work, so I thought it might motivate me to lose those 20 pounds I've been trying to get rid of for years.  We had our first weigh-in last Wednesday and this is Week #2.  There are about 10 contestants.  We each put in $20 and after 10 weeks, the person who has lost the most percentage of weight wins $140.  Second place gets $40 and third place gets $20. 

Thanks to a little quick and dirty photoshopping, here is what my weigh-in might look like if I was actually on the TV show.  Though that is my head, I wish it were actually my body.  The numbers below are correct.  I lost 4.5 pounds from my first week. I was pretty happy about that. 



DNC Campaign Video: "Not One Candidate"

This makes Republicans out as horrible, heartless people.  Oh... right... Never mind.

Taunting the Talking Dog with Food Stories

Talking Dog Loves to Talk - watch more funny videos

Another Possible Government Shutdown Looms

As Ronald Reagan once said, "There you go again."  For the third time this year, there is another possibility that the Congress will not be able to fund the U.S. Government. If there is no compromise by October 1, Federal employees like myself are unemployed.

The latest is that the House GOP has passed a bill that is guaranteed not to pass the Senate. Democrats want a larger disaster relief with no offsetting spending cuts. Teabag Republicans (and they seem to be the only ones with any power) want smaller disaster relief spending with spending offset by cuts to programs, such as job-creating programs.

Dems say linking spending cuts to disaster aid is unprecedented and unfair. The result is gridlock and a big dramatic showdown where everyone is sick of all the crap going on.  Last time, it looked pretty certain that a shutdown was going to happen only to be avoided at the very last minute.  Who knows this time?  It is REALLY getting old. Really.