Which Frontwards Is Backwards, Clockwise, CounterClockwise, Or Otherwise?

Off Topic: My co-worker today mentioned about a new technology being sold in DVD players that automatically can be programmed to filter out scenes and language not appropriate for children. While I think this is a great idea, I can only imagine the potential it would have.


For instance, Scarface would become a silent movie and probably have a new running time of 17 minutes, 32 seconds. An "X" rated movie would be something else still. You'll see the "Warning" sign, followed by the final credits.... Huh?



Last night, though warm, was a beautiful night for running, especially through Forest Hills Gardens. This morning it was a little humid, but my legs are feeling much better. A couple more ice treatments, and hopefully this old 'Edsel' should be ready to leave the garage.
I have absolutely nothing to talk about today. I'm speechless. Surprised? Well yes, I bet you are. Let's see. Oh yes, George Carlin died. What a shame. He was a great comedian, perhaps my favorite of all time. I saw him live at the Beacon Theatre back in '94, and have two books of his including Napalm & Silly Putty. The guy was a genius and will be sorely missed.

I've been taking a close note of the cost of gas versus the cost of taking the Long Island Rail Road. I devised a spreadsheet that works pretty nice. So far, it is still cheaper to drive but not by much. Based on my MPG, distance to work, and number of commute to work days, the cost of gasoline would have to rise above $5.75 per gallon in order for me to justify taking the train and riding a bike the last 3 miles. And of course, while the added aerobic opportunity is a plus, the inconvenience associated in saving a few pennies, is not. I'd only do it if I knew I could save at least $20 a week, so for the 14 days in July that I would be travelling round trip to work, the cost of gasoline would need to be $7.67 per gallon. And if that happens, I think we'd have a lot of other things to have to worry about. My spreadsheet is nothing overly fancy, but if anyone is interested in it, drop me a line and I'll be happy to email it to you.

My ex informed me that their my kids photos came in (school & baseball). Gee, let's take a look:

Tonight was my son's last baseball game for the season. The pizza took longer to arrive than the length of their game. Ugh.

Here he is scoring a run in the final game tonight:

I always like to read Runner's World as well as Running Times for advice and help on how to perform better.

There was an interesting article posted in the July 2008 edition of Runner's World about Finishing Strong. Always feeling grateful for finishing off with a good kick, I had to read it, and was very surprised by what they said.

First off, the article did not delve into outsprinting anyone in the last 100 meters. Instead, it talked about how to be strong in the last third of your race. The author, who is also a coach invented FiST points. It is a statistic that he uses to track his runners during their cross-country season. Using a video camera that records each team member's place at two-thirds of the way into a race, these FiST ("FInish STrong") points, are earned like this. 1 point for every runner you pass, -1 for every runner that passes you.

Runners with a few points at the end of a season may
have been going out too fast. On the flip side, runners with tons of
points leave too much for the last third and could improve their times by
pushing a little harder earlier. The ideal is to start out a fast
pace that you can sustain for the distance, with enough reserve to push past
slowing competitiors near the finish. - Ed Eyestone

I agree with all this, but I sometimes find it challenging to keep a correct head count at the end of a race, especially if I'm going all out. All I can think of counting are the number of bagels I am planning to gorge myself with as soon as that damn obedience timer is taken off my show.

Finally (and alas), my Dad and I got into a laborious debate on IM over, of all things, the direction that my sneakers are pointed and rotating on the top of my blog. The ending of which, was a killer:

DAGONAZ [10:22 P.M.]: I suggest you have the sneakers in your blog run forward.
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:22 P.M.]: ???
DAGONAZ [10:23 P.M.]: you din't notice?
DAGONAZ [10:23 P.M.]: didn't?
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:23 P.M.]: the sneaker wheel is going clockwise. you want me to make it counter clockwise?
DAGONAZ [10:24 P.M.]: the sneakers are going backwards!
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:24 P.M.]: the sneakers are landing on the bottom as the normal foot does
DAGONAZ [10:25 P.M.]: i don't think you understand me or i am not making
myself clear. When I see your blog the sneakers are running backwards!
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:25 P.M.]: no they are not.
DAGONAZ [10:25 P.M.]: yes they are!
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:25 P.M.]: when you run. your foot lands,
and after it lands, it lifts and goes back
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:25 P.M.]: if i make it go counter clockwise it's going to look horrible.
DAGONAZ [10:26 P.M.]: i dont know what you are saying. THE SNEAKERS ARE RUNNING BACKWARDS! That's the way i see it here. I swear!
DAGONAZ [10:27 P.M.]: they are circulating backwards!
DAGONAZ [10:29 P.M.]: your sneakers are still running in a circle backwards
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:29 P.M.]: bullshit!
DAGONAZ [10:30 P.M.]: i swear!
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:30 P.M.]: what is frontwards to you then?
DAGONAZ [10:30 P.M.]: please chek it out
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:30 P.M.]: u didnt answe my question
DAGONAZ [10:30 P.M.]: the front of the foot should move forward not backwards
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:30 P.M.]: in a wheel the foot motion would not look natural that way
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: i got it. stand up. look at your motion
DAGONAZ [10:31 P.M.]: whatever. ask any of your other readers.
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: actually i got one better. cover the top half of the wheel.
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: now look at it.
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: the motion is correct
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: feet land in front then go back
DAGONAZ [10:31 P.M.]: still running backwards! ASK SOMEONE ELSE!
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: you are not reading
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:31 P.M.]: and yes i am listening
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:32 P.M.]: cover the top half of the circle . look at what im getting at.
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:32 P.M.]: tell you what. let me placate you. i will change it now in photoshop. do you have a few minutes?
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:32 P.M.]: 5 minutes.
DAGONAZ [10:33 P.M.]: i did and the whole circular movement, which is clockwise, shows the sneakers backwards!
DAGONAZ [10:33 P.M.]: the movement is correct, clockwise, but the sneakers are placed backwards!
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:33 P.M.]: what do you mean by backwards placement?
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:34 P.M.]: should the sneaker at the bottom be upside down, and at the top be right side up, going clockwise?
DAGONAZ [10:34P.M.]: if the movement is clockwise, the sneakers should have the point looking clockwise, not backwards
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:34 P.M.]: read my last line and answer
DAGONAZ [10:35 P.M.]: all the sneakers should be pointing clockwise with their front part. that's my answer
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:35P.M.]: you mean pointing to the right.
DAGONAZ [10:35 P.M.]: yes
AlexGonzalez0709 [10:36 P.M.]: well then i could do that. however the circular motion will not be as fluid because every sneaker would be at a flat 0
degrees
DAGONAZ [10:36 P.M.]: take the sneakers and shove them up your ass!
LOL

And there you have it folks. And some people wonder why I'M so dysfunctional....
DNA my friends.....D - N - A !!!

Let's take a straw poll. I've put a poll on the right hand side of the page. Please vote. This will help me know whether I've lost it or not (well, we know I probably have lost it), and whether the sneakers are going backwards or not.