Some days it's not worth chewing through the leather straps

Sunday the 28th we ran in one of our favorite races, the Fans on the Field. Last year we did the 5K, and this year we signed up for the 10K because we wanted to go into all 3 venues. The race is called Fans on the Field because you get to run through the places where the professional teams play here in the Denver area. The 5K goes through Pepsi center where the Nuggets and Avalanche play, and through the new Mile High stadium. The 10K goes further towards lower downtown and through Coors Field where the Rockies play. It is a well supported race, in it's 3rd year and already has about 7000 runners! It is for a great cause, the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) where Skyler goes to ski in a sit-ski. Skyler is getting tough to run with! He outgrew the big, modified jogging stroller we had for him, so we push him in his wheelchair. Between him and the chair, it's about 170 pounds or so. You feel every stinking little hill, let me tell you... We carried along ou...

Everyone else out here has done a much better job of talking about Paul Newman, his great career, and his passing. But I wanted to make you all aware of what he did for kids all during his life, and what a difference he made. He didn't just lend his name to a cause, he was there. Enjoy this great article by Dahlia Lithwick: Posted Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, at 10:20 AM ET The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp opened in Connecticut in 1988 to provide a summer camping experience---fishing, tie-dye, ghost stories, s'mores---for seriously ill children. By 1989, when I started working there as a counselor, virtually everyone on staff would tell some version of the same story: Paul Newman, who had founded the camp when it became clear his little salad-dressing lark was accidentally going to earn him millions, stops by for one of his not-infrequent visits. He plops down at a table in the dining hall next to some kid with leukemia, or HIV, or sickle cell anemia, and starts to eat lunch. On...

Town Meeting, Wasilla, Alaska A dramatic reading of a 1996 Wasilla, Alaska, town meeting, performed by the actor Chris Schneider. A tour de force by Chris, well done sir... See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Dear Walter: I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor lady. I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore. Can you please help? Sincerely, Sheila --------------------------------------------------- Dea...

I was just reading over at Bubs place about clutter, refrigerator items, and general family stuff. I thought I would invite you all over to our place. First comes the item everyone is talking about, the refrigerator. At least I think there is a refrigerator under all those magnets and pictures... One item of note, we are proud owners of the original set of Starbucks magnets where you can pull them all apart and spell out cute little phrases. Remember these? At the front of the house is our "living room" where we don't really live. It is consumed by a computer center that has Skyler's iMac on the left with a larger external monitor so he can see better, and the family computer in the center. On the right is a flatbed scanner that I will gladly scan in my ass for a nominal fee... Moving to the left is a couch and bookcase, mostly with junk. Couches are always covered because of 4-legged family members. The picture on the wall is the 20th Anniversary Boulder Bol...

Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell, the voices of Ace and Gary do a running commentary on their characters from the SNL cartoon skit Ambiguously Gay Duo. This is just laugh out loud funny people, check it out! Ambiguously Gay Duo Commentary by sporkythespaz

Back at the end of April I started on a project for my wife to tear out a bunch of old bushes that were dieing in front of our house, and replace them with a planting area she could put flowers and whatever in. The project started off wonderfully, when I found that the bushes were in such bad shape that the root systems were dead, and I could tear them out pretty easy. I had all of the bushes torn out, and the rock that they grew out of all shoveled and raked out of the way, and then in an unrelated event, I tore the rotator cuff in my left shoulder . This left my project unfinished, and in just about the worst possible place for it to be, with all the rock piled up and no way for me to start laying in blocks to build up the area. But Kathy was pretty understanding about the whole thing, and as the summer moved on with no flowers, I finally had rehabbed enough to finish things up. I moved in a whole bunch of decorative blocks, found a place that had some fill dirt to build up the leve...

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My old work-mate and friend Dan, from up in Minn. sent this to me last night. It is quite an article, and I found myself being a little put off by some of the overtones. But there are a lot of great points in here and I wanted to share it with you in it's entirety. Where do you all weigh in? This is Your Nation on White Privilege By Tim Wise 9/13/08 Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. , and has been called, "One of the most brilliant, articulate and courageous critics of white privilege in the nation" by best-selling author and professor Michael Eric Dyson, of Georgetown University For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help. White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and tha...

Just got the senior photo back for Skyler and had to share. Cause, I'm like way proud and all that... You can really see the difference in his neck now that his back has been straightened, because he always used to have to hold his head up sideways, the muscles had to compensate to hold his head level. Now, the spine goes straight up and down, and the muscles need to relearn how to hold his head level in the other direction.

While in my funk I had no sense of humor. Many of you will say I still don't have one, read on! A young soldier was learning to parachute. He was given the following instructions: Jump when you are told; count to ten and pull the rip cord. In the event that it doesn't open, pull the second chute open. When you get down, a truck will take you back to the base. When the plane had reached the proper altitude, the men started jumping out. The soldier jumped when told. He counted to ten and pulled the cord, but the chute failed to open. He proceeded to the backup plan, pulling the cord of the second chute. It, too, failed to open. "This is just great," he complained. "And I bet the truck won't be there either."

You have got to check out this pooch breaking out of a kennel. He is like a little 4 legged Harry Houdini! Amazing Dog Escapes from Kennel - Watch more free videos

Catching up with lots of stuff I have found and that my friends have sent me. Enjoy!!!

Because I love Le Miserables, here is just a little bit of wonderful... See more funny videos at Funny or Die

I made a short thank you video, which sucks, but wanted to say it to you all instead of just writing the words. There is so much support out there and I think you are all just wonderful!

Kathy left this morning at 3:30 to be in Georgetown to start the Colorado Relay. What is the Colorado Relay? Well, it is relay teams of 10 competing against each other over 174 miles of running. Kathy's team is a "masters team" (read old) and they ran the Wild West Relay last year from Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs and got hooked on it. Running as a team sport? What's the deal with that?! The relay differs from other races because there is a huge team dynamic at play. Everyone must work together and support each other the whole time, not to mention share mobile living space for 24-plus hours! As the first of their team took off this morning, the rain was coming down heavy and steady. Snow is down to 9000 foot level for the first 24 hour period of the race, so everyone has to be prepared for inclimate running weather. Part of the run is on bike trails, part is on high mountain passes with dirt road, and some of it is even single track! It's all for a good...

In the running world, the wall is a term used to describe a barrier that you come up against where you find yourself without anymore energy, the legs suddenly turn to mush, the wind isn't there, and things just start to seem like they are all falling apart at the same time. Generally, the wall is at mile 20 of a marathon. I have hit it sooner, sometimes not hitting it all all when running. It depends on what race I was doing, and how hard I was pushing myself. For me, the wall I have just hit hasn't been running, it is Senior year for Skyler. For quite a long time now there hasn't been a whole lot that has been going right. There are a lot of little things that contribute to the overall collapse. I left my old company of Sun Micro because of the constant fear of layoffs, now it has found me at my new place. We just let go a bunch of writers to send their jobs overseas. I have been fighting back pain for years, the result of an old injury and the constant pounding of r...

Quick joke Friday is here, and I blew past Bad Tat Tuesday, and there are so many more things to laugh at that it all has to roll into one today. So sit back in the car, keep your hands and feet inside at all times, and hang on. Quick Joke: Two elderly ladies are sitting on the front porch, doing nothing. One lady turns and asks, 'Do you still get horny?' The other replies, 'Oh sure I do.' The first old lady asks, 'What do you do about it?' The second old lady replies, 'I suck a lifesaver.' After a few moments, the first old lady asks, 'Who drives you to the beach?' Bad Tat: "Why can't everyone just leave Britney alone!" And speaking of Brit-brit (that's why the call me the king of segues...) From the wonderful folks over at Betty Bowers , check this great shit out!

Almost a year ago I saw a trailor for a movie that I really hoped was going to be brilliant. I posted about it here . It was in theaters in a very limited release, and then went to DVD without much publicity, which is really a shame. The movie is called Music Within. This is a synopsis of the film: Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston) begins his life as a fighter, and his life's work becomes a process of fighting for the rights of others. Rising up from a childhood in a dysfunctional family, armed with a talent for public speaking and a winning personality, the young man makes his way to a Northwestern college, confident that he will ace his try-out for his idol Dr. Ben Padrow (Hector Elizondo), the coach of the winningest team in the history of the College Bowl. But Dr. Padrow shatters his dream when he rejects him. Richard's immediate reaction is to enlist in the army for a tour of duty in Vietnam. During combat, the young recruit loses his hearing to a bomb blast, an...

This is just wonderful, enjoy! You are in the middle of some kind of project around the house. Mowing the lawn, putting a new fence in, painting the living room, or whatever. You are hot and sweaty. Covered in dirt or paint. You have your old work clothes on. You know the outfit, shorts with the hole in crotch, old t-shirt with a stain from who knows what, and an old pair of tennis shoes. Right in the middle of this great home improvement project you realize you need to run to Wal-Mart to get something to help complete the job. Depending on your age you might do the following: In your 20's: Stop what you are doing. Sha...

Not only my favorite beer, but some of my favorite commercials! Make sure nobody is looking over your shoulder when checking this one out!

This was interesting. When you click on the link, a series of about 15 pictures will come up. Click on a photo in that category that appeals to you. At the end it will give you a profile of yourself. It's called a visual DNA. Your choices dictate your profile. Click here for quiz I tag nobody, but expect you all to do it. Are you listening? Do it!!!

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