Batter Up

Yesterday, Mike T. and I buzzed down to Anaheim to catch the Angels-Red Sox game. The Angels came from behind to win 4-2, so Mike and I left satisfied that our afternoon of baking in the sun was well worth it.

Double Props

Double amputee Oscar Pistorius failed to make the South African Olympic team by just missing the qualifying standard for the 400 meters earlier this week. Undeterred, Oscar vowed to continue his training and try again for London 2012.

I took this picture of Sarah Reinertsen at the 2005 Honu Half Ironman. In 2004, Sarah attempted to be the first woman amputee to finish the Hawaii Ironman but failed to meet the bike cut off time. Undettered, Sarah continued her training and returned to Kona in 05 and successfully completed the Hawaii Ironman in 15 hours 5 minutes.

Props to both Oscar and Sarah, and next time my plantar faciitis acts up, remind me not to grumble so much.

Exercise and Shrinkage

Shrinkage is never a good thing and now there is a study that exercise may prevent it. Read about it here.

Going Green

Yet another way to go green. While this may seem like a crazy idea, using the kinetic energy of the movement of fabric to generate electricity is already being researched.

R U Crazy?

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Apparently my buddy Fred misunderstood California's new hands free cell phone law.

W is the new V

Viagra has recently become the latest drug to be used to enhance athletic performance, but scientists have discovered watermelon acts much in the same way. Watermelon Gu, anyone?

6 mile Swim

Here is my swim buddy Chip and Jane at yesterday's 6 mile swim. Chip finished the swim in a tad over 2 hours and finished 5th overall, a fantastic swim. The 6 mile swim was probably one of the most physically challenging events I have ever done. To do the 6 mile you have to be big and fast, skinny and fast, or just big. For skinny and mediocre guys like me it is a recipe for hypothermia. Hence, these days I stand on the beach, cheer the finishers and drink coffee.

Darwin at Work

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Along with Florida, Texas is another one of my favorite states. Fortunately for us they tend to do their own population control.

No Dog food for me

Here is my 17 year old dog Tux and in the background Morgan is busily digging to China. Both Tux and Morgan were totally excited that after reading this, they would be able to jet over to Beijing and catch the Olympics without ending up on someones dinner plate.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Delia and Brian Cook!!

Braeden Douglas Cook. (Brian was pushing for the name "Achilles", I guess that didn't fly)

Born July 8th, 2008. 12:29 PM.

7 lbs. 10 oz.

19 in.

Black wavy/curly hair.

Birth mark on his left hip.

Delia is doing great.

Too Much Information

Can you ever have too much information? I find it fascinating how different people race. Two of the most successful age group ironmen I know, Duncan Thomas and Vic Birtalan, wear neither a heart rate monitor nor even a watch when they toe the line. Vic's discription of Ironman CDA: "I woke up, swam, biked, ran, won my age group, took the spot to Kona." On the other hand, if you want a minute by minute, watt by watt recount of an ironman race, read this.

Road Rage

Roadies are far from being angels. Mix that with LA drivers who are trying to squeeze by on a narrow windy road and something bad is bound to happen. Read about it here. Everybody please mellow out.

A Real Nail Biter

(Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

It was a real nail biter. Eating legend Kobayashi was 2 hot dogs behind Joey Chestnut with seconds remaining in this years Nathan's Famous Hot dog eating contest. In a desperation move, the wiley Kobayashi employed the controversial "cannonball technique". The strategy worked and when time expired, Kobayashi and Chestnut were tied, 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes. That led to overtime- speed eating 5 more dogs. Chestnut dug deep and nipped Kobayashi in OT to claim the $10,000 prize. Wow, that was intense.

Semana Nautica

Semana Nautica has to be my favorite time of the summer. For 3 weeks in July, Santa Barbara hosts an eclectic assortment of athletic events ranging from the more traditional running and swimming to lawn bowling and cardboard kayak races. I try and participate in as many as possible. The 15k run was postponed due to the fire, but Saturday I geared up for the 1 mile ocean swim then jumped into the 3 mile ocean swim on Sunday. Just over do it, I say.

Tour de Google

The Tour starts today. You can check out the course using Google Maps. The street view gives the rider perspective and it's pretty cool.

The Left Coast is Alright

Hot Times

I was helping my friend Jane pack up for a possible evacuation last night. You can see the fire just peaking over the next ridge. It was crazy smoky up there.

This Buds for you

Budweiser has been working diligently with their famous Clydesdale horses to help provide support for the Tour de France riders. Hopefully they'll have the kinks worked out before the start of the race.

Sad, but true

Nice Catch

This is what I love about sports. Out of nowhere, a ball girl makes an unbelievable Bo Jackson-like catch.

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