Renewable Energy

One of my former co-workers...

Michigan

Michigan Cheats.

Side effects of watching Notre Dame.

So I've been sick since the Notre Dame game. Only Charlie Weis' pathetic offense could make me physically ill.

The Worst Showing I've Ever Seen.

If you've ever pay attention to Joe Paterno, you've probably noticed that he always talks up his opponents, even if they're tremendous underdogs. He'll find the only good player on the team, and say 'That number 12 is pretty good', or say 'Most people don't know that they came within two touchdowns of beating Middle Tennessee State'.

When asked about Notre Dame's offensive line: 'They have some problems'.

Problems, all right. I'm convinced I witnessed the worst showing in college football, ever. Notre Dame has BIG problems. High snaps, six fumbles, missed tackles, two interceptions... the only thing that was missing was a blocked kick. Check out the scoreboard above - for most of the third quarter, they had, give or take, negative 50 yards rushing.


Luckily, there was SOME signs of good football in Ann Arbor this weekend.

Race Report

So, I went to the last race of the season today. After last time, when I got harassed by the organizers for passing another category (I did) and drafting off of them (I did not), I decided not to push myself at all, instead slowing the pace for the pack whenever possible and doing as little work as possible.

Now, for those of you that know me (and who reads this that doesn't?), you probably know that I've never been a good sprinter. I'm not good at long distances, either, but compared to sprinting, I'm a regular marathon-machine-man.

So basically, the idea of a slow race where everyone just sprints at the end to the finish is more-or-less a guaranteed loss for me. On top of that, it's just plain boring. But I was still kind of pissy from the last race, and if no one wanted a fun race... then fine, slow is what they get.

So, I sat in behind people, waiting. Twice, when I was second in the pack, I sat up and soft-pedaled, letting the person in first gain time... one was a Junior (~14/15 year old), who posed no threat, and who got repeatedly shellacked last week when I killed the pace. I figured if he was going to do work, he might as well do it while in the full glory of a breakaway. The second time, I was sitting behind a possible-future-teammate who needed sprint points on a bonus lap. Same theory, same results... soft pedaled, and before anyone realized it, a big gap between him and the pack. Everyone else had to sprint, but it was for nought; they didn't have a chance.

...Now the guy who had just got the points was the same guy who won last week. Unlike the unsung author of this blog, his sprinting capabilities are top notch. So when he eased up and came back to the pack, I stuck on his wheel like I was trying to reenact the massive Krazy-glue incident of 1990. It worked. Although I couldn't pull around him at the end (I tried to pass too early, and got hung out in the wind) (did I mention my lack of sprinting?), I did manage third overall. I was in the prizes. The guy I was following won, so I didn't even feel bad about stealing the race from him.

Don't let anyone tell you I'm not a professional cyclist... but I don't know what I'm going to do with this damn Canadian money.



OK, so technically the socks are from two weeks ago.

Interview

Interviewer: "Ah, I see your resume here..."

Interviewee: "Yes, I graduated Magna Cum Laude. I have had extensive job experience, and I'm a hard worker. You won't be disappointed".

Interviewer: "Yes, yes, I can read all of that. But how would you rate you ducking skills?"

Interviewee: "Ducking, sir?"

Interviewer: "Yes, ducking, bending... general flexibility and agility."

Interviewee: "Well, I guess I'm at least average..."

Interviewer: "Good. Well, let's start by showing you an
instructional video...

It's a crazy world

...When the Detroit Lions will have a better record after today than the Michigan Wolverines. If Michigan didn't buy off the refs every year I might almost feel bad for them.

Prefontaine

Some quotes from Steve Prefontaine, indiscriminately stolen from wikipedia.

* "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift."
* "A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."
* "I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting."
* "I run best when I run free."
* "A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways as they're capable of understanding."
* "I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."
* "Someone may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."
* "The only good race pace is suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die."
* "What I want is to be number one."
* "Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off."
* "Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative."
* "How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre.' 'Give up your foolish dream Steve.' But they forgot something. I have to win."

The Big Ten

A disgusting day in the little eleven.

First with the debacle of 'The Big Ten Network', they decide to destroy the definition of 'nonprofit' by depriving their fans of coverage.

Then, as I correctly predicted (I'm psychotic), Michigan had trouble with Appalachian State. Contrary to what I predicted, Michigan lost.

And so did Notre Dame.

So now my beloved Nittany Lions are facing a wounded-with-something-to-prove team next week against ND, and again a couple of weeks later with Michigan.