My Mathematical Mind

Hey there, ho there. Another quick one as yet another summer weekend disappears into the ether.

• So I've got a new beverage I'm hooked on. No, it's not the delicious Sam Adams Octoberfest, which we found available this week (more depressing signs that summer is nearly over). Nope, it's Dr. Pepper. I can't get enough of this stuff. Never really dug it before, but for some reason, I had a few in recent weeks and I totally love it. Deb picked me up a 12-pack and it may be gone in a few days. I'm not even much of a soda guy anymore, either. My beverage of choice every morning is still Nantucket Nectars' Half and Half (half iced tea, half lemonade). But something about Dr. Pepper is working for me right now. My brother-in-law Matt swears by Diet Dr. Pepper, but I don't like diet drinks in general.
• My training for the NYC Marathon is going well (knock on digital wood). I'm up to 14 miles on my long runs and just picked up a new pair of Brooks' Adrenalines (this must be my "Suck up to products I like in the hopes that they'll somehow read this and send me free stuff" post) from the good folks at New England Running Company in Beverly. I'm up into the two hour-plus range for long runs, which means I'm entering the really grueling part of training. The race is November 6, which isn't that far away when you think about it.
• The Big Easy is about to get slammed by Hurricane Katrina, which is currently a category 5 storm (in other words, a bad mammajamma) packing 175 mph winds. Of course, what doesn't help New Orleans is the fact that it's below sea level, so much of its citizenry has evacuated. Wonder how long it'll take people to start partying again after the storm passes through; I'm serious, those people know how to party. What surprises me about this whole news story is that I haven't seen any "Katrina and the Waves" headlines; doesn't anybody know their rock history anymore? Surely you remember "Walking on Sunshine"--it was only one of the most overplayed songs of the mid-80s that ended up in endless commercials and on movie soundtracks and trailers.

All right, go on with your bad selves.