When Bush is talking about running, he doesn't sound like the jerk I know he is. I bet he got in trouble from his advisors over his "Tobacco, bad food and lack of exercise" comment. Maybe he knows Big Tobacco isn't likely to read a running magazine.

The most interesting running article of the month isn't online, it's in the October issue of Running Times. "The Talent of Moving Feet: Kenyan Women Having it All" covers the new group of Kenyan women who are currently dominating the long distance races, and the conflicts they each needed to resolve between their desire to run and their desire to be Kenyan.
8:28 PM


I've turned into such a food puritan that I even annoy myself when I'm eating.

It's been a long time developing. Maybe it's been five years or so since I started thinking about trying to eat more nutritionally sound meals, something like that. But it kicked into high gear when Dad has his heart attack in February, right? No, before that. I gave up Coke in November, and had been making a good effort at eating more vegetables before February. But sitting in the cardiac ICU definitely motivated me to really think about what I eat.

And just when I was starting to relax a little, and thinking about adding french fries back into my diet occasionally, Mark died. I've been a complete freak since then. No question.

Well, I guess I shouldn't be upset about the fact that all I eat anymore is healthy food, that's not such a bad habit. But really, sometimes I think enough is enough. I often go out to lunch and think, "Oh, today I will eat potato chips with my veggie sandwich," or "Yup, I'm gonna have those fries," but something always gets in the way. Usually it's the people ahead of me in line that keep me from eating junk food. I can't even count how many times I've had to watch the food prep guy make a pepperoni-salami-cold cut w/bacon sandwich with cheese, mayo and vinegar and oil. Even if I wasn't a vegetarian, I couldn't eat that without thinking about my arteries hardening. Last week it was a guy who ordered a foot long meatball sandwich w/extra cheese and mayo that kept me from breaking my no potato chip rule.

Today, I made a conscious decision to go eat french fries, because that's what I wanted to eat. But on the way, I had to pull over and let an ambulance go by, and that got me thinking that I should call Dad and see how he was doing, and that got me thinking about heart disease, and pretty soon I was skipping the fries and going for the same old boring veggie sandwich.

And I felt bad about it! That's what I don't get. I feel completely guilty about eating right, like somehow I'm passing judgement on what everyone else is eating. I'm really not, I'm only obsessing about what I myself eat. I do care what my friends eat, because I don't want anyone else to die on me, but I would never actually say that out loud (except to Catherine because I have a particularly strong interest in her longevity).

I know there was a point to this entry, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was besides telling myself it's okay to not eat that garlic bread and almond rice that's going to come with my dinner this evening.
4:11 PM


This week my students get to learn about platform framing, starting with the mudsill and floor joists. This means they also have to start learning about hardwood, softwood and fasteners. Some interesting things I picked up while I was out today:

1 1x3x4 - Southern Yellow Pine
1 1x3x4 - Douglas Fir
1 1/4x2x2 - Red Oak
1 1/4x2x2 - Poplar

1 joist hanger
25 7/16" steel plywood clips

1 box 8d 1-1/2" bright common nails
1 box 4d 1-1/2" bright finish nails
1 box 6d 2" electro galvanized finish nails
1 box 1 1/2" electro galvanized roofing nails

What I'm ever going to do with one pound of roofing nails, I don't know.
3:43 PM


Smart, for a change. I think laying low yesterday helped.