Anything 'Cept the Truth

So...we've got a new president. Yeah, I know the election was a few days ago, but I haven't had a chance to blog since then. I was glad it didn't come down to some hanging chads in Florida or Ohio. Hopefully Obama will surround himself with good people on both sides of the aisle and get right to work bringing about some of that change he's been talking about for a couple of years. Because we sure need it. I've been around long enough to know that campaign promises don't mean squat. Obama's proven he can run a hell of a campaign. Now let's see how he runs a government.

Today would have been my dad's 68th birthday. Hard to believe he's been gone for 12 years now. Sadly, he's becoming more and more of a distant memory; it's not like I've forgotten him or anything, but it's just that so much has happened in my life since then. I will say he taught me my most valuable lessons...by showing me what not to do. The way I lead my life is exactly the opposite from how he led his, which isn't to say he was a bad man. He just made a lot of mistakes and in the end, they killed him. But hey, let's not dwell on that now. Wherever you are, Dad, happy birthday.

My second running column ran in the paper today. I focused on the debate over whether runners should use headphones. I've already gotten a lot of good response from folks (both friends and people I don't know), so that's encouraging. My photo ran with the column today (only in the print version).

Only two weeks until we head to Philly for the marathon. Knock on wood, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm supposed to run 13 this weekend, but I'm going to do a 10-mile race in Andover on Sunday morning instead.

Kibbles and bits:

• Commercials by the major automakers in recent years have usually taken a classic rock song and beaten it to death for months at a time. The latest example from Toyota is even more annoying than usual because it takes an old Fixx song, "Saved By Zero" (which I liked), and has an unknown singer atonally singing the line. This is bad enough, but the worst part is the ad runs probably 15 times during a football game, so you're just bombarded by it. Even Lily was making fun of it the other day. And apparently it has engendered major hate from all corners.
• In a story that has to be already in the works as a movie idea, two kids from India won a talent contest and are now training for a pitching tryout in front of major league scouts. The guy who discovered them is Barry Bonds' manager, who you figure has a lot of time on his hands these days.
• Runners face many hazards on the road, usually from inattentive or obnoxious drivers. But you don't often hear about a rabid fox biting a runner, let alone the runner continuing to run another five miles with the damn thing clamped down on her arm. Insane in the membrane.