Election Eve

Today I went to a my first rally for a local politician, Lee Zeldin, who is running to represent the 1st U.S. Congressional District of New York. There were several other local politicians there and between 100-150 spectators/supporters (rough estimate). They were pretty excited and optimistic and I realized that I should have joined the campaign long ago. Of course, I got some photos. They thought I was from the press, but, to their disappointment (I think) I had to tell them that I was not. Well, unless this blog is included in "press." I did get to meet Lee Zeldin and my first impression of him is very good. Here are the pics:





I signed up for some campaigning tomorrow and am really looking forward to voting and having some fun tomorrow.

The 3 hour 5k - Golfing

Now this is a 5k pace that I can handle. After a few weekends of going to the driving range, it was time to hit the golf course, or so I thought :( I have only been on a golf course maybe 5 times in my life more than 15 years ago. So PA and I headed to Heatherwood Golf Club to hit 18 holes, with me lugging my $20 set of golf clubs (with genuine vintage vinyl bag) my dad found at a yard sale and PA sporting a custom fitted Ping golf set. And what is with golf ball slogans? My Top Flite XL Distance balls say, "It's Long. It's Strong. Play it till you lose it." And PA's Nike Juice balls say ginormous right on the ball. Anyway, long story short, here is the score card.


My score was abysmal, but I had a good time. Lots of shanks, beach trips, etc. On hole 13, I hit a decent tee shot and my second shot was heading right to the green before it tagged a handrail and shot into the forest. On hole 15, from the sand, I crushed the ball way past the green bouncing off a nearby street and nearly hitting someones new car parked at his house. The old man was mowing his lawn and ask PA if we were playing baseball. Hole 18 was my only tee shot onto the green. Next week I hope to do better, weather permitting.

Roller Hockey

Now that my ankle is more-or-less back to normal, I can start to play some sports again. And after finding some old friends from UCSD on facebook and seeing all their hockey related pics, I decided to get my ass back on the rink. I haven't really played any ice hockey since being in Ithaca (maybe once or twice) and I haven't really played roller since UCSD (yes, more than 10 years ago, ugh). I wasn't expecting too much out of my legs when I went to play pickup hockey at thesportsarena (www.thesportsarena.net) and it was a good thing I wasn't. Any skills I had still existed in my mind (enhanced a little with age), but just didn't seem to translate into reality. Stopping was a big problem - well, there was the boards that solved that problem.

I also saw that they play "dek" hockey there - that is the east coast term for floor hockey, I suppose. They even have a team named Cobras (http://www.thesportsarena.net/dek-c.php), but they are clearly not a part of the Cobra empire. Now I am looking for a team, either roller, dek or ice. For now, I will just go to roller hockey pickup on Friday nights.

LI pothole + running + 190lbs = ....

Update (day 8), Sept. 30, 2008: The pain is gone during normal activities, strongest pain during supination (inversion), but still slight pain when at the limits with any motion. Able to move very normally and swim and play ping pong.

Update (day 3), Sept. 24, 2008: Pain much less and there is some strength, but turning new colors and the swelling is expanding down foot and up ankle. I am keeping an eye on it and getting frustrated that I can't do much of anything.

Out of for my first jog after a few months and 50ft from the end of my run and I do this to my ankle. Reminds me of this quote, "Exercise relieves stress. Nothing relieves exercise" - Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata. Now I have a good excuse to avoid running for a week or two. The stats are below and are consitent with age and condition.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=6828033

Return of the running

A very rare event happened yesterday...I felt like running. Just felt like cleaning out the allergy stuffed head and get the old heart pumping again. Plus, the sun is starting to do its job and stay up after 4:30PM and warm up the place a little, and I mean a little...about 45F and windy. Good thing I have the 198 lbs. to keep me warm.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5190485

Wrapt out

The shockmaster inserts on my High-tec Wraptor (size 9.5) badmington shoes have crapt out. Who could possible expect any pair of shoes to withstand the shock of my BMI=27 fatness for nearly 2 years. Maybe if they were reinforced with some nanomaterials, they might stand a chance. Bought January 20, 2006, they have lasted 699 days.

Since I wasn't so thrilled with their performance, I have opted for upgrading to actual badminton shoes, the Yonex SHB-100 MX (Size 10) from www.badminton.net
featuring Hexagrip, Tough Gaurd II, Lateral Claw and the all important Power Cushion. With my Yonex bag, Yonex shoes, Yonex racket and Yonex shirt you might think I am a sponsored player, until you see me play...

Comet Holmes as seen from Long Island

Just a quick entry about the comet that is flying by in the sky, Comet Holmes. With a couple of pics:

320mm (35mm eqiv.), f/2.8, 13s, ISO400

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112mm (35mm eqiv.), f/2.8, 8s, ISO400