Josh discovered this morning that his battery had died, so this afternoon's ride has been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon - when the forecast calls for a high of 82. Low 80's and twisties out in the hills. Does it get any better.
I took advantage of the postponement to finish up the electrical work at the condo complex. Having the necessary parts made today's work go much more efficiently.
After finishing that I went to the driving range. I think at this point in my life I'm not going to hit any more 280 yard drives or 150 yard 7-irons. (If you think I ever did, are you interested in some lake-side property in Sun City?) The priority now is accuracy, not distance. The good news is that the 5-iron, while not flying like it used to, is pretty consistently within an acceptable spread of the centerline. That I can live with.
The next step in my rehab is the fairway woods.
That sound in the background is humility knocking at the door.
This is worth about 15 seconds of diversion. Move your mouse at:
Flaming Cursor
Eat early, eat often. That's my philosophy. But it's a lot easier to live out if someone else does the food prep. I think living as a bachelor may be the world's most effective diet.
Senator Robt. Byrd, the senior senator from West Virginia and the longest serving senator currently holding office, has been hospitalized after a fall at his home. He's 90 years old and has served WV in the Senate since 1958. He's famous for his long and often stinging speeches on the floor of the Senate which are known for a condescending and harsh tone. But when I think of Sen. Byrd it isn't his speeches that come to mind.
For several years I took an annual cross-country solo motorcycle trip, a tradition I hope to renew this year. Michigan is farm country, which means long stretches of straight roads laid out between fields. So I'd strap my sleeping bag and one-man tent (a bivy), a change of clothes and a flashlight on the back of my 1980 Yamaha XS 1100 Special and head for someplace with interesting riding. A couple of times that meant West Virginia. I'd ride to Parkersburg the first day and then get out the map the next morning in search of the thinest, squiggliest line I could find. Sometimes I'd ride into the middle of the state if I saw something promising extending from the freeway.
The thing that always struck me about these trips into WV was the Senator's name on everything. The Robt. Byrd Parkway, the Robt. Byrd Bridge, the Robt. Byrd Dam...and on and on. A total of 40 sites bear his name, so many that they are referred to collectively as "Byrd Droppings." The Robt. Byrd Freeway is a beautiful 6-lane stretch that heads through the middle of the state and could handle thousands of cars an hour, if there were thousands of cars in WV. (OK, I'm not counting the cars on cinder blocks in the front yard of the single-wide.)
Ooooh, was that very NOT P.C.?
The thing that really bothers me is that you and I paid for all of that Robt. Byrd Whatever. Besides being a bitter foe of his enemies in the Senate he is the undisputed KING of earmarks. He has surpassed $3 billion in earmarks for his state. For example, you and I gave $35.6 million to the Robt. Byrd Biotech Research Center. In West Virginia.
I don't find any of the presidential candidates in this year's presidential elections especially promising, but if any one of them could end earmarks, a rip-off of the American tax payer epitomized by Senator Byrd, he/she would go a long way to getting my vote!
So there!
Time for another encounter with chocolate cake! Lots of it!
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