What's four foot tall, 20 pounds, and feathered?

Or... that free range turkey may be closer than you think...

If you missed it in the local paper, here's The Seattle Times post of Ellen Goodman's story where she confirms what I learned this year. "Wild" turkeys are becoming not so wild anymore...

An excerpt:

Now those of you who do not live in the Bay Colony where the first Thanksgiving was held may be surprised to learn that in the past few years, we have had either (1) a population explosion or (2) a plague of wild turkeys.

Every turkey has a story

Hikes and Bikes Calendar

I've added a calendar of my bicycle rides and hikes around the area. It's down at the bottom of this page. I'll update it every now and then, but it shows how I spend my free time communing with Mother Nature on the local trails.

Water

Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over. — Mark Twain.

I thought that quote was a good way to start this post on water. Drinking water: tap vs. bottled. Government controlled vs. conglomerate. Here are some great articles and websites about our water for your edification.

• I'm starting with this N.Y. Times article that was just published today that shows the pending crisis in China over their water problem. And as we are beginning to realize; when China gets the sniffles over a natural resource, we catch a cold.

Beneath Booming Cities, China’s Future Is Drying Up

• The Natural Resources Defense Council's September 2007 This Green Life:

The Future of Drinking Water, Could this be ebb tide for the bottled water craze?

• From the July 2007 issue of Fast Company:

Message in a Bottle: Americans spent more money last year on bottled water than on ipods or movie tickets: $15 Billion. A journey into the economics--and psychology--of an unlikely business boom. And what it says about our culture of indulgence.

• A PBS POV on water:

The Invisibility of Water

• A Marketwatch article on the water taste challenge:

Thomas Kostigen's Ethics Monitor
Bottle nose: Taste challenge aims to create wellspring of support for tap water

• A CNN video on bottled water:

Bottled water faces taxing time

• A Bloomberg article on a Canadian church boycotting bottled water:

Bottled-Water Boycott by Canadian Church Targets Beverage Sales

• Four organizations fighting for the Great Lakes and Michigan's water supply:
  

http://www.wearemichigan.com/environment/SaveOurWater/
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/
http://www.waterissweet.org/index.html
http://www.savemiwater.org/

And to end with another quote:

If the wars of this century were fought over oil,
the wars of the next century will be fought over water.
— Ismail Serageldin (1995 World Bank Vice-President)

"Banning DDT killed more people than Hitler!", Say What?!

The September/October 2007 edition of Extra!, the magazine of F.A.I.R. (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting), has a great article by Aaron Swartz titled: Rachel Carson, Mass Murderer? - The creation of an anti-environmental myth. It explains how history is being rewritten, pro-D.D.T./anti-Rachel Carson by conveniently overlooking the fact that mosquitoes quickly develop resistance to D.D.T. and then other pesticides, and make comebacks in the areas where D.D.T. has been used. The article is well worth reading.

Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail Mash-up

I've finished my Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail mash-up. It's in two parts. From Kings Mills, south to the Little Miami Golf Center in Hamilton county. And from Kings Mills, north to the Xenia Station. The links are over in the right column. Soon I'll complete the bike path trails from Xenia Station north to Yellow Springs-Springfield and north-east to Cedarville-South Charleston-London legs.

Metta Meditation and Yin-Yang

The Eastern philosophical mashup, notwithstanding...
May you live in safety...

The Latino Comedy Project's "300"

A great parody of the 300 movie trailer.

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time

For the motorheads.
A special report at TIME.com flames (there's a pun for the Pinto!) The 50 Worst Cars of All Time to commemorate the 5oth anniversary of the Edsel.

"To mark the 50th anniversary of the Ford Edsel, TIME and Dan Neil, automotive critic and syndicated Los Angeles Times columnist, look at the auto industry's greatest lemons."
Dan Neil does a hilariously wicked, but true, critique on these cars. We all knew people that owned some of these cars, and maybe owned one ourselves. If you've ever busted a knuckle under a hood, I highly recommend the report. The 50 Worst Cars of All Time

Wild Turkeys at Taylorsville MetroPark

After three years of hiking and biking the three mile length of the Tadmor Bike Trail through Taylorsville MetroPark, the Wild Turkeys that I'd heard about from other hikers have appeared this summer. I'm beginning to realize that "urban", non-hunted turkeys are becoming acclimatized to humans. I posted the pictures I took with my phone. This explains the lousy quality, and then iPhoto's "Enhance" made it look like it'd been raining here this summer, but, believe it or not, they look better than they did before! The birds came within twenty feet of me.

It was hotter in Nasville...

Be glad you weren't in Nashville (or even Cincinnati) this August...

It was ridiculously hot in Bowling Green, KY, too. I was there for their 106 degree day, and a string of four days over 100. They didn't have a high below 90 until the 31st!

Here are the stats:

• Nashville

• Bowling Green

• Cincinnati

• Dayton

The demarcation line was between Dayton's airport and Cincinnati's. Cincinnati hit many records, too, with the airport, and official reporting site being that much further into Kentucky. I included CVG's NWS PIS below Nashville's. For comparison, Dayton had an average August temperature of 76.9 degrees (10th
warmest on record for Dayton), a full 10 degrees lower than Nashville's average!

These are excerpts, click the link for the full text.

From the National Weather Service, for Nashville, TN...

Public Information Statement

Statement as of 11:00 am CDT on September 1, 2007

... August 2007 was the hottest month ever recorded in Nashville...

The average temperature during the month of August 2007 averaged 86.9 degrees... which was 9.0 degrees above normal. It was 3.6 degrees hotter than the hottest August on record... which was in 1995... and the hottest of any month in 137 years of record keeping.

There were 15 days of 100 degrees and above in Nashville during August 2007. This is the most ever in the month of August.

The 15 days of 100 degrees and above in Nashville is also the most ever recorded in a single month.

The 15 days of 100 degrees and above is the 3rd most recorded during any Summer on record.

The 15 days of 100 degrees and above is more than twice what was recorded over the entire 15 year period between 1991 and 2006. During those 15 years... there were only 6 days of 100 degrees or more.

A string of 7 consecutive days of 100 degrees and above began on August 12th.

There were 5 daily high temperature records set during the month of August 2007. Those include...

The 106 degrees on August 16th also set a new all time record high for the month of August. Also... the 106 degrees on August 16th was the hottest temperature in Nashville in the last 55 years... only surpassed by 107 degrees back on July 27th and July 28th in 1952.

Even the nighttime temperatures were exceptionally warm during the month of August.

There were 8 highest daily minimum temperature records either tied or broken during the month of August 2007.

There was a record shattering 24 consecutive days of 95 degrees and above in Nashville during the month of August 2007.

There was also a record setting string of 34 days of 90 degrees and above.

The Summer months of June through August 2007 was the 3rd driest on record in Nashville.

Rainfall since January 1st has totaled 18.69 inches in Nashville. This is 13.97 inches below the 30 year normal.



Public Information Statement

Statement as of 9:05 am EDT on September 1, 2007

... Cincinnati sets numerous August records...

The month of August 2007 will be remembered as very hot and dry for southwest Ohio... southeast Indiana... and northern Kentucky. Here is a collection of records from the climate site at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport.

August 2007 was the hottest August on record... with an average temperature of 81.6 degrees.

August 2007 set a record for the most days at or above 90 degrees in any month... reaching 90 degrees 25 times.

A record was also set for most days (five) at or above 100 degrees in the month of August.

The last time 100 degrees was reached in Cincinnati was July 30 of 1999.

Four daily record maximum temperatures were set.

August 2007 also included the majority of a run of 15 consecutive days with high temperatures at or above 90 degrees.

At other locations...
Columbus had an average August temperature of 77.8 degrees... tied for 4th warmest on record.
Dayton had an average August temperature of 76.9 degrees... 10th warmest on record.

Bowling Green, KY heatwave.

I've been down in south central Kentucky for the last week, checking on jobs while staying at a buddy's. This heat wave is getting old. For the month of August, according to the National Weather Service stats, we’ve had eight days over 100 degrees, and seven days of 98/99 degree temps! Not one day below 93 for a high, and that was the first day of the month. It topped out at 106 the first full day I was here, back on the 16th. And it's only the 23th! It's expected to break 100 again tomorrow, too. Amazing.

Cardinal Greenway biketrail in East Central Indiana

I just finished my map mashup for the Cardinal Greenway biketrail in East Central Indiana. It's posted on the right. I also created a directions map from Dayton, Ohio to the (new this year) southern most trailhead which is at Losantville, Indiana. It's a very nice paved bike path with a contiguous length of around 28 miles.

I did a 60 mile round trip partially due to an unintentional side trip while in Muncie (I missed a turn!). But, it turned out to be a pleasant diversion as I had found a mile long White River Greenway segment and biked past the 40 acre complex of the Minnetrista museum and cultural center and the historic, Ball estate mansion and adjacent buildings (Minnetrista history, the Ball family created this complex). The Ball brothers were the founders of Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company (Ball Corp. – canning jars) and of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. This is the official university website.

The best part of this mashup is that the satellite resolution goes down to 50 feet! If you zoom in all the way you can easily see cars and even make out people on sidewalks around Ball State. In comparison, the Wolf Creek RailTrail mashup, just west of Dayton, only goes down to 2000 feet! And my A Nice 30+ Mile Miami County, Ohio Bicycle Ride mashup goes down to 100 feet, and I thought that was great resolution.

The Vatican is back in the headlines.

Which is more absurd?

1. Catholicism is the only true church, Vatican declares
2. Vatican Apologizes For Torture, Murder Of Stephen Hawking
   

Cytomax Sport Energy Drink

I have now switched to the Cool Citrus flavor Cytomax Sport Energy Drink and like it very much. It doesn't seem as sweet or salty as Endurance Formula Gatorade (but then, I'm mixing less of it than recommended), and does have more ingredients with no artificial colors. For my first two 24 oz. bottles, I only use one scoop per bottle, where they recommend one scoop per 16 oz. Then I increase the amount on subsequent bottles. This is the Supplement Facts panel from the Cytomax website. Note that they recommend one to one and a half scoops per 16 oz. of water.

I still eat a couple of bananas and drink a 11.5 oz. can of Low Sodium V8 after every ride.

Another good article on our food supply.

The San Jose Mercury News reports on the growing problem with what is becoming our practically unregulated food supply.
Some salient excerpts:

• (Those) familiar with the Chinese economy describe it as vast, loosely regulated and often corrupt.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture visits other countries to certify that meat-packing plants and local inspectors are operating under acceptable standards, before allowing those products into this country. But the FDA doesn't have the budget or legal authority to do the same for most other types of food.

• (A) consultant, thinks the United States should require domestic manufacturers to keep records detailing where their ingredients come from, as the European Union does. The rules are intended to rein in unscrupulous distributors who might otherwise try to hide the source of suspect goods.

• The United States relies too heavily on the food industry to police itself, agreed Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit research and advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

Where does your food come from?
Food labels don't tell the whole inside story
By Brandon Bailey
Mercury News
Article Launched: 07/22/2007 01:44:16 AM PDT

That loaf of Sara Lee bread on the grocery shelf in San Jose was made with flour from U.S. wheat. But the Illinois-based food giant uses honey and vitamin supplements from China.

While Paul Newman's daughter uses California figs in cookies made by her Aptos organic food company, she turns to Mexico and Austria for other ingredients.

And even though a Procter & Gamble spokeswoman described Crest toothpaste "as a truly American product," it uses additives from China and Finland.

Recent reports of tainted imports from China have focused new attention on a little-known trend: In today's global economy, more food items are being produced in this country with some ingredients from other lands. But the FDA inspects less than 1 percent of all food imports - and that means consumers must trust food makers to guarantee the safety of their products.

"It's not just the stuff that says `Made in China.' It's the stuff in the stuff that says `Made in the USA,' " said Elisa Odabashian of Consumers Union, a non-profit consumer advocacy group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine. "We're importing more and more of our food and we're inspecting almost none of it."

(cont.)

Seems to be Sewage Sunday for posts!

It's not just developing nations that are worrisome when it comes to raw sewage in the waterways.



About Act for Healthy Rivers:
Act for Healthy Rivers is a broad-based coalition led by American Rivers that is fighting against the rising tide of sewage pollution. The coalition consists of groups representing paddlers, anglers, watershed associations, surfers and conservationists from around the country who are fighting sewage pollution in their communities. www.HealthyRivers.org.

About American Rivers:
American Rivers is the only national organization standing up for healthy rivers so our communities can thrive. Through national advocacy, innovative solutions and growing network of strategic partners, we protect and promote our rivers as valuable assets that are vital to the health, safety, and quality of life of every community in America. www.AmericanRivers.org

Bon Appétit!

Maybe Bush will establish a Sewage Food Czar. That will be cheaper than fully funding the FDA.

Some Mexican food products raise safety concerns

* Story Highlights
* FDA rejected 1,560 shipments of food, cosmetics from Mexico within last year
* Candy makers big violators, making up at least 15 percent of June FDA rejections
* U.S. official says Mexico has come a long way in protecting its food exports
* Safety issues small amid $10.3 billion in food Mexico exported to U.S. in '06

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican cantaloupe irrigated with water from sewage-tainted rivers. Candy laced with lead. Chinese toothpaste is not the only concern for U.S. consumers wary of the health risks posed by imported goods.

Producers in other developing nations are big violators of basic food safety standards, even as they woo consumers with a growing appetite for foods such as pickled mangoes from India and winter-season fruits and vegetables from Mexico.

On Wednesday, President Bush established a high-level government panel to recommend steps to guarantee the safety of food shipped into the U.S. and to improve policing of those imports.

(cont.)

Yellow Labrador goes down in Tour de France!

Poor fellow. Of course you have to blame the idiot owner not having his dog on a leash for the couple of minutes it takes for the peloton to go through a town. But, since the dog (unnamed, but we'll call him Ginger of Val d'Isere—he's French, what does he know?) and racer (Marcus Burghardt of Germany) are reported to both be o.k., you have to love the hang-dog look on his face. I've seen that same look on my past Ginger dog friend. He knows he's done something bad, but unsure as to what. Precious. Love those Labs.
Here's a link of the stills of the incident.

My map mash-ups and bike log

I have actually been spending time on my blog, but mostly it's been refining and creating new bike map mash-ups. Check them out. The links are on the right of this page. You get the most out of them by using the "Satellite" view and zooming in. So far they are all in areas that have the highest resolution on Google Maps, so if you zoom in all the way you can see cars, small building roofs and tower shadows. The Huffman Prairie Flying Field map has enough in it to be a virtual tour of the National Historic site. Enjoy!

More sport drink and salt (sodium intake) info.

Here is some more info I've found on sport drinks. There is a lot of good information on Gatorade's Endurance Formula web site and the regular Gatorade site. This is the E.F. .pdf fact sheet:

www.gatorade.com/pdf/2006EF_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Some pertinent info from the .pdf:

Gatorade Endurance Formula contains a specialized five-electrolyte blend, including nearly twice the sodium (200 mg) of Gatorade Thirst Quencher, as well as chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium, to more fully replace what endurance athletes lose in sweat when fluid and electrolyte losses become significant.

Like Gatorade Thirst Quencher, Gatorade Endurance Formula contains a scientifically balanced 6% carbohydrate blend (14 grams/8 oz) that helps speed fluid absorption in the body and fuel working muscles.

Gatorade also has a Fluid Loss Calculator which you may find interesting, although it only goes to 90 min. duration. I did a 76 mile bike ride yesterday in 91 degree temps, and was on the bike for 5:20!

http://www.gatorade.com/hydration/fluid_loss_calculator/

And from another product, Accelerade, a nice product comparison list that includes Gatorade E.F.:

http://www.accelerade.com/products/product-comparison.html

I've never tried Accelerade, but from some posts I found online, some people hate the taste and the protein settles out. Caveat Emptor.

Even though it may seem like I'm pushing the Gatorade E.F., I'm really not. It's just what I use. I think that regular Gatorade is just sugar water, and I never used sport drinks until I started bike riding and was cramping a lot at night after the ride. For normal activities, you do not need these drinks, or all those carbs or salts. For normal American lifestyles (i.e., obese couch potatoes), you are probably getting way to much sodium and carbs.

Men's Health Magazine had an article on high blood pressure: Beat High Blood Pressure. The entire article is worth reading (as is the magazine as a whole), but here's the lowdown on salt:

Salt
The white stuff causes your body to retain water, which increases blood volume and, consequently, blood pressure. The results are deadly: The more sodium you eat, the shorter your life, according to researchers at the University of Helsinki. They reviewed more than a dozen studies and found that people who reduced their sodium intake by 30 percent lived an average of 7 years longer than those whose sodium intake remained high. (The national average is over 4,000 milligrams (mg) a day--1,600 mg more than is recommended.)

Do This: Mix up a DIY salt substitute. Australian scientists determined that diluting regular salt with potassium salt and Epsom salt lowers arterial blood pressure by six points. Cooking with the concoction reduces overall sodium intake and boosts blood levels of potassium, a nutrient that naturally regulates blood pressure. Pour 65 percent table salt, 25 percent Morton Salt Substitute (potassium chloride), and 10 percent Epsom salt into a small bowl, mix well, and funnel into a saltshaker. You won't taste the difference.

Not That: Skip the saltshaker altogether. You need some sodium in your diet to survive. (One recent study revealed that too little of the mineral can actually increase your risk of death by 37 percent.) Instead, focus on eliminating supersources of salt, such as processed foods. One frozen dinner can contain as much as 2,000 mg sodium, a cup of cottage cheese packs 918 mg, and a single slice of deli ham packs 240 mg.

That "salt substitute recipe" explains why "low sodium" foods and drinks usually have so much more potassium than the regular kind. They exchange potassium chloride for sodium chloride.

So, ~ 2,400mg is the recommended amount of salt this article from Tufts University sez "new" (2004) limits of 2300mg for salt, and 4700mg for potassium

Here's what used to be (I haven't eaten like that for years) an average lunch/dinner at McDonald's for me:

salt numbers:

• ketchup packet = 110mg (I'd use at least 3 packets, if not 4)
• salt packet = 270mg
• large fries = 330mg
• quarter pounder w/cheese = 1190mg
• medium coke = 15 mg (diet is 30mg)
• = 2150mg of salt in one meal!
  

These are my stats from a recent 60 mile bike ride to London, Ohio recently. It was "only" 69 degrees that day:

Xenia to London:

• 14.3 mph average
• 60.02 mi. distance
• 4:10:32 total time
• 23.2 top speed

I drank 2X24 oz. bottles of Endurance Formula on the ride and one back at the car (along with ~3-4X24 oz. bottles of water), and one 46 oz. jug of low sodium V8 after the ride plus some bananas.

Sodium:

• 1800mg sodium from the E.F. Gatorade
• 840mg sodium from the Low Sodium V8
• 200mg sodium from a PowerBar
• plus some from a small bag of trail mix at Shoemaker's IGA
• = over 2900mg sodium to keep from cramping. I was cramping afterwards at Kroger's so I bought the V8, and it wasn't that hot out.
  

Potassium:

• 810mg--EF Gatorade
• 4920mg--Low Sodium V8
  
• 90mg--PowerBar
• 1350mg--3 bananas (1 before the ride on a peanut butter, mayo, banana sandwich and more 2 during ride)
• = 7170mg potassium
  

Carbs:

• 126g--EF Gatorade
• 60g--Low Sodium V8
• 19g--PowerBar
  
• = 205g carbs
  

Yesterday, four weeks later and in better shape, with the 76 mile ride in the heat, I only drank one 11.5 oz. can of Low Sodium V8 (see below) afterward at Kroger's, trying to find the minimum amount of sodium to keep from cramping and that was all I needed (along with the 3X24 oz. of E.F. plus 2 regular Gatorades with salt I added to them during the ride, and all the water I drank, too).

If you're just looking for some sodium and potassium thinking that might reduce or stop cramps after sports—and you like tomato juice—V8 and Low Sodium V8 are a great way to go. They are now available (at least at Kroger's) in single 11.5 oz. cans for 89 cents. These are the nutrition facts off the cans:

Low Sodium V8
(per one 11.5 oz. can)

• Calories: 70
• Total Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 0g
• Sodium: 200mg
• Potassium: 1180mg
• Total Carb: 15mg (12g from sugars)
• Protein: 3g
• Vitamin A: 60%
• Vitamn C: 180%
• Calcium: 4%
• Iron: 4%

Regular V8
(per one 11.5 oz. can):

• Calories: 70
• Total Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 0g
• Sodium: 690mg
• Potassium: 670mg
• Total Carb: 14mg (11g from sugars)
• Protein: 3g
• Vitamin A: 60%
• Vitamn C: 170%
• Calcium: 4%
• Iron: 4%

Lou Dobbs apologizes, sorta.

If you missed it last week, Lou Dobbs apologized for becoming CNN's Bill O'Reilly. Or at least as much as someone like him can apologize. This is more than we would ever get from O'Reilly. I sent an email to Dobbs and CNN's president after FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting) exposed his ridiculous claims on illegal Hispanics causing leprosy rates to skyrocket. I'm thinking that enough us did email him and CNN that he had to back-off this absurd claim.

Dobbs: An answer for my critics

I've been, over the years, because of our reporting on controversial issues and my strongly held beliefs on those issues, attacked, and usually pretty vigorously, by both the left wing and the right wing of this nation's media, both mainstream and otherwise, and of course the politicians that form the extremes of our political spectrum.

FULL STORY

‘Wild-Eyed’ Bush: ‘I Am The President!’

This is downright frightening... it adds substantially to Mark Morford's column:
Bush Declares Self 'Mega Decider'.

The president is losing it and Nixon's bunker mentality has reappeared in the White House. But, unlike Nixon, this president thinks he is being directed by God! We are in trouble, people.

From the Think Progress blog, May 31, 2007:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/31/bush-wild-eyed/

Report: In Meeting, ‘Wild-Eyed’ Bush Thumped Chest While Repeating ‘I Am The President!’

Georgie Anne Geyer writes today in the Dallas Morning News about President Bush’s strange behavior during a recent meeting with “[f]riends of his from Texas.”:

But by all reports, President Bush is more convinced than ever of his righteousness.

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated “I am the president!” He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of “our country’s destiny.”

This is the second time in recent weeks that accounts have surfaced of Bush lashing out or “ranting” in private meetings when responding to criticism of his Iraq policy. Chris Nelson of the Nelson Report offered a similar account earlier this month:

[S]ome big money players up from Texas recently paid a visit to their friend in the White House. The story goes that they got out exactly one question, and the rest of the meeting consisted of The President in an extended whine, a rant, actually, about no one understands him, the critics are all messed up, if only people would see what he’s doing things would be OK…etc., etc. This is called a “bunker mentality” and it’s not attractive when a friend does it. When the friend is the President of the United States, it can be downright dangerous. Apparently the Texas friends were suitably appalled, hence the story now in circulation.

Like the tearful House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Bush needs to channel his bottled up emotions towards a more worthy end — winding down the war in Iraq rather than defending the status quo.

********************
Are you afraid yet?

Mark Morford's Notes & Errata

I'm catching up on my emails, and I just read Morford's last weeks' column. It's well worth checking out if you want to be paranoid about what the Shrub might have up his sleeve to bypass the next election. Mark Morford's Notes & Errata is a funny, irreverent, but topical and thought provoking column on the www.SFGate.com website and in the San Francisco Chronicle. IMHO, Mr. Morford is becoming the Mark Twain of the new century. This is the email teaser:

===== Mark Morford's Notes & Errata =====

SFGate.com - Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Bush Declares Self 'Mega Decider'
New documents ensure Dubya will rule America, should calamity strike. Free balloons!
By Mark Morford

It's just one of those obscure little unreported-upon conspiracy theory-ready hunks of floating White House detritus, a couple of odd, sticky, foul-smelling documents no one really wants to touch and no one knows quite what to make of, probably means nothing, probably being misread anyway, all a bit overblown and strange and not all that important and not all that different than the way things are now.

Unless, you know, it's not. Unless the violent twinge of queasy paranoia crossed with that uncontrolled bout of colon-clenching sighing you experience is deadly accurate and your radar for all things sinister and Rovean is right on target as you read about the delightfully titled National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51 and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20, wherein it is calmly and furtively revealed that, in essence, George W. Bush owns your sorry ass.

Or, to put it another way, it looks like the Bumbling One just gave himself ever more power. Power to control and dictate the entire government, power to really spread the gospel of happy GOP incompetence, power to command the entire wobbly American universe should some sort of epic -- or not so epic, as the case may be -- calamity strike the homeland.

It goes something like this: Should any "decapitating event" occur in American that somehow incapacitates the D.C. power structure, should "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions" take place, well then, all power and decision making would devolve to the White House, which would then attempt to orchestrate our very survival and oversee all essential governmental functions with none other than the president himself as, well, Super-Mega Lord Decider. With extra crayons. ...

(click here to read the rest)

Nutritional sports drinks

Well, the Cavs won! Yee haw!

I've been wanting to post the "Nutrition Facts" for a couple of sports drinks.

First, Gatorade's Endurance Formula. It's available in a dry, powdered form in 50.2 oz tubs on many bike catalog websites. One of these tubs "makes 29 - 24 oz. servings" according to the label, so it's quite a bit cheaper than buying the premixed 24 oz. bottles at the convenience store, but good luck finding it. It no longer is available in the greater Dayton area.

These are the "facts" after you've mixed it, per 8 fl. oz.:
Total Fat: 0g
Sodium: 200mg
Potassium: 90mg
Total Carb: 14mg (all from sugars)
Protein: 0g

Now, Cytomax, made by Cytosport. Which I've only used once, recently. It was given to me at a bike shop I frequent and came highly recommended. It was edible and seemed to work. I believe it's more expensive and seemingly much more complex/high tech than Endurance Formula and I only include it here for comparison purposes since I've got the pouch in front of me. It's package lists a long list of complex carbs and electrolytes. that don't show up in the "Supplement Facts" and you can view a more comprehensive "facts" list on their website for each of their products.

These are the "facts" after you've mixed it, per 16 fl. oz.:
Total Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 140mg
Potassium: 154mg
Total Carb: 30mg (17g from sugars)
Protein: 0g

Once again, I only post these "facts" taken from the packaging, FYI. I like the Endurance Formula, but maybe the Cytomax is better. I don't know. I do know that taking in the E.F. has stopped the cramping I used to get after a long ride, regardless of how much water or bananas I was drinking and eating!

Well, enough of this, it's out for a ride. BTW, here's a Google map I constructed of one of my personal routes.

Ken's Google Map

Jacked-in: Neo, Morpheus and LeBron

For my first post, being an Ohioan, I decided to begin with basketball. Not to come off as a big fan, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the playoffs and LeBron James had a game Thursday night that firmly planted him in the pantheon of the great players of the game. If you missed it, maybe tonight's game (8:30 on TNT) will be similarly remarkable. Regardless, it will be worth watching. So, on to my first post:

Way to go LeBron James. In thursday night's game against the Detroit Pistons, he was jacked into the basketball matrix like Neo and Morpheus in the movie. Even Cavalier teammate Drew Gooden said it was like watching LeBron in a video game (see article below).

James carried the Cavs on his shoulders in a uber-human example of getting into a zone. Unfortunately, as this N.Y. Times article explains, it took Michael Jordan four playoff series to beat the Pistons. Cleveland and King James are only on series number two.

That, notwithstanding...

Go Cavs!