I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make when they go flying by.

Had a bad day?

I enjoyed getting b'day messages today through my Facebook account, email and phone calls. That was fun. Thanks, folks.

The day I turned 30, one of those landmark birthdays that marks the transition into middle age - or so they say - I decided to prove to myself I was not going quietly into that dark night by running further than I'd ever gone before. So my friend Don and I (he'd done some major distances before) ran out to Moss Landing and back - 13 miles. Today wasn't one of those landmarks but I decided I needed to do the same thing. No way I was going to run, or ride further than I've ever gone, so I chose something more realistic and age-appropriate.
I had a second banana this afternoon.

I like the first draft of my sermon. Marybeth will tell you that I typically feel pretty pessimistic at this stage, so I'm not sure what to make of this.

I listened to NPR while I was working on the van this afternoon. Some scientists in St. Louis discovered that if they block the sense of smell in roundworms the little guys live substantially longer. That made me wonder who came up with the idea of messing with the hearing of roundworms, and what that says about those scientists. Weird.
But it also got me to thinking about what people would trade to live longer. Would you give up the sense of smell if it added five years to your life - assuming those years would be lived in reasonably good health? Remember, most of our sense of taste really comes from our sense of smell before the food ever hits our palate.
Hearing for an additional five years? Vision if it added ten years?

I didn't see it, but McCain was on Larry King last night right after Obama's infomercial. I stumbled across a CNN article that includes a partial transcript. I was very surprised at the section about the LA Times and the Tribune. I hadn't heard anything about it. Even McCain says it may be completely baseless, but it seems worth looking into. Hmmm.

Pam made tapioca pudding as a b'day treat. From scratch, like my mother makes. I don't thnk there's anything that looks so weird but tastes so good. So if you'll excuse me....