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| nafta superhighway | 2010-06-30 23:12 UTC |
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just doing a little websurfing - one interesting thing about the web is that a lot of stale information stays in place - sort of like a bunch of old newspapers and magazines in your attic - except that often there's not much of an indicator of how stale it is.
Other stuff happily stays up despite being clearly dated. I'm glad it does Take this article (which does have a date): Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway Amusing to me because I live and work very close to Highway 59 in Houston, which was to be / would be / will be(?) a part of the highway. I'm not aware of the specific facts he's claiming with regard to the development of the "trans Texas corridor", but none of them are inconsistent with what we've heard around here. The whole time I've been living here, we've been waiting for 59 to turn into Interstate 69, knowing it would connect through Laredo. But it doesn't seem any closer to happening now (2010) than it did in 1996 - ten years before the panicky article above. I love the references to the star chamber conceived "North American Union". |
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| bp cares | 2010-06-07 13:37 UTC | ||
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| nosocks | 2010-04-17 16:39 UTC |
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After two days, I tried running in the watersocks again. This time, I was acutely aware that they didn't fit right, and the sliding around on my feet was hurting, so, about a half mile in, I took them off and completed the rest of the 2.9 mi. barefoot. Again, at the end of the track, I was thinking I could go around again, but I was pushing Sophie in a rolling jogger, and she wanted to go the park across the street. I thought it would be a good idea to walk through the grass to clean off some of the clay on my feet from the running track, but there were stickers (grass seeds that have spikes on them)! I did more damage in about 8 steps than the whole 2.5 miles - ecchhh.
I got home and proudly announced what I had done. Josiah (now aged 15) said simply, "smart." without looking up, and, yes, sarcastically. Jane wasn't impressed either, saying it sounded like a gross thing to do, and reminding me about foot-born parasites and other diseases. Can't win.... |
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| watersocks | 2010-04-14 10:04 UTC |
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When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I fell off a cliff in the outer portions of the Palo Duro canyon View Larger Map Like many runners, I've been on an endless quest for a running shoe that minimizes pain and fatigue, all the while being mindful of the ankle issue, although thankfully I haven't had any pain I can identify with that break for maybe ten years. I've had my share of foot, ankle, and knee pain that is likely attributable to impact from running and not to my ankle problem. As time goes on, I find myself selecting shoes with more and more substance, offering more "support" and control. My current running shoes are marvels of engineering - I can barely feel the ground underneath my feet, and I suspect the shoes precisely control my stride, and even my posture (one of the shoes doesn't fit just right, but that's probably a fluke manufacturing defect that I should have noticed when I first tried them on). Still, with these shoes and their immediate predecessors, even though the worrying pains are gone, at the end of three miles, I have very tired feet and ankles. Yesterday morning I got a daily-reading email from Delancey Place with an excerpt from a passage noting that 60-80% of runners per year sustain injuries associated with running (many to the knees) and suggesting that running shoes themselves could be the cause of these injuries. The article noted that running shoes have only been around for 5 or 6 decades, and that they cause a very different running stride from what occurs without them. With that in mind, last night I ran around Rice U: View Larger Map (about 2.9 miles around Main/University/Greenbriar/RiceBlvd/Sunset - nice track) I guess I would like to try running barefoot, and might still do that, but I'll need to work up to it - I worry about stepping on glass or something like that as well. Maybe moccasins are next, or maybe another cheap pair of water socks, or even just regular socks. |
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| about a year without a car in houston | 2010-03-21 14:12 UTC |
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It's now been a little over a year since my car died and I decided not to replace it. I take the light rail to work and back, and occassionally drive my wife's minivan. I can run a lot of errands on my bicycle, thanks to a couple of bags that hang nicely off the rack in back. It's only 4 train stops to work - I walk about a total of 7 blocks each way (to and from each stop), but the downtown stop is right next to a tunnel entrance, so I can walk the two block to my office underground if the weather's not nice.
On those occassions where I need a car temporarily, there's an Enterprise Rent-a-car office that's two train stops away. I can pretty much walk in there and drive out within 5 minutes - not bad. When I drop off the car, they give me a ride back, or I can walk or take the train. I would probably use zipcar, but it looks like they don't operate in Texas. Not about to get another car... |
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