An excellent race...not on a bike this time.

I've got a crush on Nancy Pelosi. Why not? Anyone who slows down the Prez rules in my book.

I cannot wait for the Democratic Primary race to really get going over the course of 2007 and into 2008. Seems as though we have some huge names in the hopper especially if Give 'em Hellary Clinton and Barack Obama face off.

Every pundit has already chimed in with the opinion that Hillary, while immensely popular with liberal Dems, would get crushed in an Electoral College vote - essentially making her a questionable at best choice for the Dem ticket because she may be 'unelectable'. This is aside from, AND because of the fact that she is a woman. Then we also have Obama who is getting tagged as "inexperienced", and questions about his supposed 'Muslim shaping' are already hitting the press.

I think all of that means squat because......... the bottom line is that Hillary and Barack are not white males. Nobody needs a histpry lesson to know that or the past 200+ years we have had white males serving in the Prez and VP roles, and if you think that will change in 2008 then you are in the minority.

Personally, I am really very torn on what I feel is the real issue..... That is: Do we (the Dems) nominate an "electable" candidate who by the very definition of the term "electable" is a white male moderate democrat with just another pretty face (read: John Edwards-type), or do we nominate a candidate that really fulfills our expectations - yet he/she is deemed unelectable. I don't know the answer to this yet, despite having spent a lot of time in politically-riddled situations via work and volunteer organizations.

I am also very curious to see how the efforts of this guy pan out. I don't know much about him, but the more I read, the more I want to read.

In the meantime, let the chessplay begin, and I hope that at least on the Dem side of the ticket, the campaigning is clean, and for the party's progress - not for individual agendas (yeah, right?!).

Painting....another room! With l'artiste Lyza B joining in!

The Gym

After a 1-year absence, I have decided to hit the weights for my upper body again. Why? Because I'm weak. My arms have shriveled into cyclist arms. Muscle tone? Zero. Strength? OK - but not good. So I ambled on over to the gym last week twice. The first day I took it reaaaaally easy, and was rewarded with little soreness. The second time, I let 'er rip, feeling strong the first time back. I totally overdid it, and have had to take a 2-day break. I can barely get my dress shirt on due to shredding what is left of my pectorals and triceps. But ya know what? I feel pretty psyched to get back into this. One aspect that I like about this is that I go around 9pm - after I put Lyza to bed - so the place is quiet and I can get a lot done in around an hour. I have realistic goals, and its also some solid "quiet time" for myself. I'm like most Gen -X gym rats, I don't talk to anyone unless I have to, I wear headphones, and I'm selfishly into my routine. Hey - that's what works for me.

The biggest reason I'm back in the gym is because I don't feel as self-confident when I'm feeling physically weak. Also, turning 39 didn't mean much to me mentally, but after playing in the snow a couple of weeks ago, using muscles I haven't used in a while - I was like a gimpy old man.

So, my ultimate goal is to stay at the same weight of 190 so I don't lose any speed on the bike this summer, and to just feel better about the fact that if I'm in better overall shape I can play any sport any day and feel OK. The Men's A-level racquetball league starts in 3 weeks, and I WILL be ready to tear those punk b*tches up....

What a weekend... First, it snowed about a foot 'round here, and we took most of Saturday off to go x-country skiing at the Flagstaff Nordic Center just up the road from our house. It was a great day, with cold conditions, fast snow, and few people. I ended up doing as much skate-skiing (OK - that's not me, but you get the style, right?) as my legs would allow, and D, in true D fashion, plugged away relentlessly in the classic format. We ended up doing about 10K, and we were ready for a hot tub and a relaxing evening.

Sunday involved putting a second coat of paint in our bedroom, and scraping more wall-paper off of the guest bedroom. I am determined to have this finished by mid-February as we have some guests rolling into town. Lord knows how long Uncle Stevie will stay....could be a few days, could be a few years. We would like it to be years of course. Seriously, wouldn't it be fun to have Stevie out here? Lyza could crawl all over him, Jamocha could steal his vitamins, and we'd probably have a great time. We'll see - he's gonna' check out some land west of Flagstaff, so - you never know. Maybe we can find him a 5-acre plot with a Buddhist shrine on it, a well, and a small shanty with a twin mattress. That's all he needs.

More pictures later....

CB

The Blue Ninja

Halloween, 2006 - Squirty B starring as the Blue Ninja. I had to publish this pic because all of her girl friends were dressed in some shade of pink - not this girl.

I love this kid - she's a riot. Rough and tumble, all boy, but as sensitive as they come. She's at her Mom's this week, and of course I miss her. BUT - it gives me time to recharge the batteries because when she comes back, there isn't a moment of rest. I would consider myself an older parent - having had Lyza when I was 34. My hat goes off to anyone who gets started on this path in their late 30's and beyond.

Mr Bush -

OK, so 20,000 new troops are on order from Amazon.com (it must seem that easy to get them), and you're standing there telling me that the additional troops will help solve this massive problem that you created? The only success that US troops have had with regards to actually controlling an Iraqi city involved a) a much smaller and less militant northern Iraq city and b) having one soldier for every 4 residents in that city. That would mean 150,000 more troops to mathematically control Baghdad - not counting the escalated level of resistance and fortified enemies there. Now that's impossible, unless you want to re-instate a draft.

To think that Clinton got more heat for "I did not have sexual relations with Miss Lewinski".