What would democrats talk about if W wasn't in office? I mean those democrats who care about politics. Just imagine if John Kerry or Al Gore were president, what would democrats do with their time?

I guess a bunch of politicians are getting busted for perjury and stuff. Just another day in America. I could probably write this same statement a week/month/year from now and still be accurate. Trust. Do I trust politicians? As a whole...yes. If I got arrested and asked to step down any time I made a mistake I'd likely live in the alley by the Red Shed. Some mistakes are totally bogus. But others like when someone takes a phone call about campaign fund raising while on the clock or something stupid like that...big deal.

Politics in America: Vote for the less of two evils and spend every waking moment defending or bashing whomever is in office. I see bumper stickers saying He's Not My President on them. That is the most ridiculous sticker ever. I love America, I hate W, W is my president.

Wow, not sure where this came from, just sick of this anti-America sentament I see and hear. But I respect the rights behind it! I am sure J.Bro stopped reading this after line 1 because he is all into that Poli-Sci/Law stuff and knows all the flaws to my arguments before I argue them but in case you are still reading, here is the most bogus thing of all:

From Cyclingnews.com:No more beer tents in Cyclo-cross The UCI has banned cyclo-cross races from passing through beer tents, one of the hallowed traditions in many Belgian events. The decision was made on the grounds that it was unsafe, on the basis of remarks made by Richard Groenendaal last year about the difference in inside/outside temperatures and the danger of being hit by beer glasses. However, Groenendaal said that his comments were not intended to be taken that way.

Couldn't they make them just drink out of plastic? I think having a cross race pass through a beer tent is pure genius! I will add it to the list of things I didn't invent that I should have. Of course it will be below Qdoba, I kick myself every day for not inventing a made to order burrito place!

From: Larson, Eric
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 9:58 AM
To: Mark Larson
Subject: Blog suggestion

You should post a review of Applebee’s Jambalaya past bowl on your blog.

-Eric

I can't leave my fans waiting. Russ is an idiot. Had he merely read the item description or looked at the photo of the menu item he would have not ordered it. He said it wasn't what he expected, he expected rice and not pasta. From the menu: Cajun sausage and blackened chicken breast served over linguine tossed in Louisiana pasta sauce with tomatoes, mushrooms and topped with Parmesan cheese. Served with garlic toast. He wouldn't say he didn't like it nor would he say he ordered a dud. Come on Russ...fess up, that crap sucked... right? I suppose you could blame Applebees for discontinuing the Southwest Philli Steak Wrap which was a top 5 menu item in the whole US. On the plus side also is that is was cool to see Russ and Angie and hang out with them.

I saw one other odd thing. After Riz was done with his burger he asked for some mustard and from what I can tell he was dipping his fries in it. What's that all about?

OK, I guess I have to diss all my friends in one swoop. Zarun said he was 78% certain to be at the corn maze tomorrow. Then I come to work this morning and he is a no go.

I wonder what Hez is doing right now?

Little Boxes
by Malvina Reynolds
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same
And there's doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.
And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same,
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

I found a website that is essentially a Hall of Fame for Video Games! How cool is that? I agree with some of their games (Pitfall, Sim City, Mega Man 2, Mortal 2, Tetris) I disagree with others (New Castlevania, Smash TV) and find a bunch of notable omissions (Ape Escape, GTA 3, Ninja Gaiden.) Mario Kart on N64 was far superior than the Super Nes version. Also missing are many arcade games, Frogger, Tron & Toobin’ come to mind here. Where’s Burger Time? I am glad they included Marble Madness, not my favorite but a cool game nonetheless. I’ll have to come up with my top games of all time. Of course many of mine would be newer so maybe I’ll have to do top games by system to avoid bias. Currently I am 90% done with Jak 2 and hoping to complete if by the end of the weekend.

It has begun…

Last night I went for a nice easy jog, the first miles I’ve ran in two months and the first miles I’ve ran in preparation for the Ironman. Actually I think I need to train for the Ironman by setting smaller goals in the mean-time. So I have 30 days to train for the Berbee Derby on Thanksgiving Day! It is a 10k race that appears to get a pretty good turn out. I am hoping to simply break the one hour mark. I know in my running prime (which wasn’t all the prime at all but still 21-22 minutes for a 5K) this time would be laughable. But since I’ve ran a grand total of 15 miles this year and am starting out my running career 30 days before this race 1 hour itself could be a stretch. So if you are running or considering running drop me a line and maybe we can create a team. Oh yeah, and I am not overly sore today either so I am hoping to get a ride in at lunch and another jog after work. Unseasonably warm temps late this week might help me get some bike miles in before daylight savings time falls back. But to make a long story short I am hoping by spring I am a half-way respectable runner so I can work on my distance work. God I hope I don’t turn into a Tri geek!

I wonder what Russ is doing right now?

Congratulations!!! I’ve known a lot of news this past month and a half but have had to keep much of it secret.

But not anymore! J

First things first, Larkin and BTBA are having a baby! It is due in the spring. I will be an uncle!!! Yep, a first-timer! I am very excited for them and can’t wait!!! So look for me to visit Seattle a time or two next year! And they had a sex test (or ultrasound for you PHD’s out there) and it is going to be a girl. At least it should be. Thus it will unlikely be named Steve. Which leads me to news item #2.

On September 18th (I think technically) Isadora Luna was born to my good friends Andy and Mary Jo. Wasn’t a Steve after all but instead a beautiful girl coming from truly beautiful people. Those who don’t know them might remember Andy from poker on Friday (that guy who only got to play like two hands) and Mary J owns Renew Vintage, check out the link on the side.

Last but certainly not least Russ is getting married! Yes, that Russ! He’s getting married! Word on the street is that he and his fiancée are going to be on State St on Saturday night. All signs point to Russ not stealing any signs, posters, neon glow boards or toilet toppers. I am hoping to get to know Angie (the fiancée) better as I’ve only gotten to meet her once since Russ keeps her holed up in Columbus, Ohio. Fortunately Russ currently lives in the land of hockey fandom free agency and can become a Blue Jackets fan. Yep, Russ is leaving. The Russell farewell and bachelor parties are in the works as we speak. Russ, good luck and you’ll be missed.

So for those of you outside the loop or from different circles are now posted on what’s all going on with the Madison and Larson crew…

Score! We had a health fair at work today and they gave out door prizes! I won my choice of any pair of New Balance shoes I want and a 3 month membership at the Princeton Club! That is really cool! Jess also won a 3-monther at the Princeton Club so looks like we will be members for a while! Too bad I just bought some Nike Shox for running and it looks like New Balance doesn’t make much in the way of basketball shoes so I am still wait and see on those. But with the Ironman coming up it might pay to get a 2nd pair of running shoes so maybe I’ll do that. I also have some free 2-week membership coupons at the Princeton Club if anyone would like to try it with me. They have a resistance swimming pool and 24-hour hoops! They also have an Ironman training class I am considering. $299 for 8 weeks but they do a bunch of tests and fun stuff like that. I am not canceling the Y membership any time soon as I have a nice group of hoops players and friends there so no worries! Hoops and lifting will still happen there!

Friday we played poker. In true Riz fashion I was out early in the first two games. Seems like I have a dumb hand each game about a half hour in that blows through all my chips. I need to eliminate that so I can get towards the final and try to intimidate. What I need to do is get some CD’s so I focus on poker and talking smack and not so much about music. Anyways in the third game I was playing well and had great cards, until it got to Russ and I where he killed me softly until I was done. On the plus side I won as many games as Dean, the Sinclairs, Jordan and Andy so I’ve got that going for me. And I did well playing darts, Jenga and watching Harold & Kumar so not all was lost!

Saturday was homecoming. Instead of cross racing Saturday morning I got the hot tub chemicalized and used it and played like an hour and a half of Boggle on the computer. Exciting stuff. We then all headed down to the Camp Randall for some tailgating/Badger game/homecoming action. I rode my bike down there and froze, it seemed to get cooler and cooler. On the plus side Dahl showed up with tickets and the Badgers finally didn’t blow one to Purdue. It was a great game and an awesome time! One thing I reaffirmed is that I need to learn how to play beer pong, it looks awesome and is all the rage with the students. So expect in the next month that I’ll play beer pong, maybe Beav can show Riz and I how.

Saturday night I had Papa John’s Deep Dish pizza. I recommend it, it is similar to Rockys with a buttery crust.

Sunday we celebrated Jess’ birthday with the family. It even looked for a half that the Packers would help celebrate too but Edinger just can’t be stopped. He’s my favorite kicker in NFL history (I even like to pull out the Edinger when I go bowling) but it’s a shame he had to be a Bear first and now a Viking (and that was after being a Michigan State Spartan.) So my teams went 4-1 this week (way to go Lions, Colts and Wolverines.)

I don’t normally post movie reviews (and this isn’t one) but last night we went to a movie and I feel compelled to tell you about it. The movie is Elizabethtown. First of all I am a Kirsten Dunst fan and if you can’t stand her then you certainly will dislike this movie. This movie accomplished what Welcome To Mooseport couldn’t…it had believable small-town characters and decent lead acting. The soundtrack is extremely compelling and is almost a must-have. Critically this movie did badly. Makes me wonder what makes a good movie to a critic. To me this is one of those movies that matters. I couldn’t wait to see how it would all end but just as much I was sad when it was over; I really enjoyed the journey. It is probably safe to say that this was the best romantic comedy I’ve seen and I enjoy most of them. Jess liked the movie too! But after thinking about this movie and relating it to people I know I am not sure I can recommend it to anyone. This movie certainly isn’t for everyone. So I guess I’ll spend the week in my Elizabethtown haze and wonder why I don’t go to more movies…

I wonder what Riz is doing right now?