Yahoo! Messenger's party emoticon bugs me

When was the last time you saw a noisemaker do that? Yeah, NEVER.

Long time no bloom...

...but not anymore. My cattleya orchid from the Big Island of Hawaii finally bloomed again. It's a minor indoor gardening miracle, as far as I'm concerned. Some ants delivered some scales (parasites) which killed off the previous bloom before it even opened.

What am I training for anyway?

This morning before heading into work, I jogged over 11 miles in the hills of Belmont and San Carlos. My friends keep asking me if I'm training for a marathon, and I say yes, but I don't know which one I really want to do yet. After reading Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, I'm thinking I just may be crazy enough to try a 50-miler. Yes, I really want to get in shape again, ha ha ha...

I think I found the ultra marathon that I'm training for...the Run to the Sun on Saturday, March 25th, 2006. It's on the island of Maui, and the race goes from sea level to the top of Mt. Haleakala (10,023' ASL) over 36 miles. There's a 10-hour cutoff, which doesn't seem so bad (3.6 mph), but the main problems will be the 40 degree F drop in temperature and the lower oxygen content at altitude. It's a good thing the race is still 7 months away. I should try to convince some friends to run with and motivate me over the last 5-10 miles. Hmmm, who do I think would join me in this act of sadomasochism...

Facing death; stolen Scarecrow

In the final straightaway of a 4.1-mile jog in San Carlos, a big Doberman pinscher appeared on the sidewalk. It had no leash, and I immediately braced myself, thinking that it was going to jump up and try to knock me over.

I didn't break stride and surprisingly, the dog stepped aside as I noticed the owner was walking about 10 feet behind. I felt like complaining to him for not having "Bane" on a leash, but since the dog didn't lunge, neither did I.

When I returned from dinner in Santa Clara with the "Beybertys" and "The Door", I was infuriated to see that someone had unscrewed and stolen my Scarecrow sprinkler.

I hope the unit breaks and throngs of deer stampede the punk's yard...

...with the punk in it.

Hybrid on empty; Cricket would bore me, if I let it...

Something I'll probably never see again...

Yesterday I was driving to meet up with some friends for brunch in Daly City, and as I go under 280, I notice a Toyota Prius on the shoulder. At first I thought the guy was trying to pry his left rear door open, but then I realized that he had a gas can and was filling the tank with some gas to make it up to the gas station up the hill. I thought about pulling over and taking a picture for amusement's sake, but the memory of the incident and the associated laugh as I powered up the hill to the restaurant were more than sufficient.

Something I never want to see...

I try to imagine something more boring to me than watching baseball, and my mind comes up with watching cricket. In the news today, the U.S. was kicked out of an international cricket tourney after an election dispute left the U.S. unable to decide on a team. The USACA (U.S. Amateur Cricket Association) had some election back in March, and the result was two factions had claimed leadership. The USACA says that about 10,000 players, primarily expatriates from south Asia and the Caribbean, compete in weekend games in CA, FL, and around east coast cities. God forbid it displaces a spelling bee or World Series of Poker episode on ESPN. If I live to be 100 years old and never see a cricket match, which I hear could last for days, more power to me...

A friend's friend started a Segway polo league. Now that's something I could watch once...

Once.

Club Deluxe Doorman

On the way to Club Deluxe for Brooke's performance, I ran into her, and she asked me to be her doorman, collecting the $5 cover charge during her show.

The "uneducated doorman", Brooke, Joyce's mom, & Joyce


From one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes:
JERRY: How 'bout those Knicks?
DOORMAN: Oh, I see. On the sports page...
JERRY: Yeah.
DOORMAN: What makes you think I wasn't reading the Wall Street page? Oh, I know, because I'm the uneducated doorman.