The Washington Press - First Day Covers

I just finished the revamping of my dad's company's web site. I've been working on it for a long time and it's finally up and ready for business. The site has a lot of their products available for sale with pictures which is a new thing for many of the products. In addition to First Day Covers, The Washington Press sells stamp albums, stamp mounts, rare stamps and other philatelic interests, and even autographs. The response so far has been extremely positive. Check it out: The Washington Press - First Day Covers

Friday

Assault

I got assaulted on Monday in broad daylight. I was walking back from the bank wearing a black puffy jacket and an Internection winter cap and there was a big black dude with a red rasta cap walking the other way. I usually look down when walking past people so as to avoid provoking them, but the dude stopped about 2 feet in front of me, so I looked up and then he kicked the side of my leg with the bottom of his boot. He hit my left leg perpendicular to the direction it normally swings from my knee. He didn't get that good of a shot on it, so it didn't hurt too much but I was still shocked. I mean... WHAT THE FUCK? I don't go around kicking people. In fact, I'm really quite a nice guy. I looked at him and in mere milliseconds, I determined the correct course of action. This decision took into account his height, weight, possible psychiatric abnormalities, the potential for weapons on his person, the probability that he may be carrying an AIDS infested syringe.....

I took a step back and said "What's your problem, man?" This must have really scared the shit out of him because he kept walking. I thought about calling the police, but I doubted that they'd show up in time to find the dude. Also, I considered how embarrassing it would be to call 911 and say "Some guy kicked me." I've never been a violent man, but this made me very mad. I'm looking into finding myself a nice lead pipe and a pair of brass knuckles for next time.

I've attached a composite sketch of the man who attacked me. If you see him, run away.

Daily Dose - November 5, 2007

I ran 3 miles today. I tried to increase the speed for a while. It felt pretty good. I'm starting to see improvement which is always motivating.

Headphones

There's a lot of talk of banning headphones at races. That's kind of annoying. I don't know why they would want to do that. They say it's for safety, but I'm not sure how they figure wearing headphones is unsafe. I, personally, have always been really alert to what's going on during the race because it's interesting to me.

I can't even think of a scenario where wearing headphones would cause you to get injured. They say another reason is that listening to music gives you a competitive advantage. If that's the case why don't you see Kenyans wearing headphones? And even if it did, who cares? Is the problem that some people can't afford music players? Some people say certain shoes give you a competitive advantage. Should they make everyone wear the same shoes?

For me, the headphones help me pass the time. Maybe I'm missing something. I don't get it.

Here's an article about it:

Rule Jostles Runners Who Race to Their Own Tune

Oh. I should mention that today is the day I would have been running the NYC marathon. I woke up and started my day like any other. It didn't even occur to me that I was missing it until a little while ago. I guess it's not bothering me too much to have bailed this year. I have a year to prepare for the 2008 NYC Marathon. I plan to be ready.

Daily Dose - November 2, 2007

I ran jogged 3 miles this morning.

Apparently, I've been jogging. According to this site, where you can win free running shoes for life, you can't be a runner if you use a treadmill, or wear headphones, or cover less than a mile in 7 minutes:

http://www.wearenotjoggers.com/

Whatever.

Daily Dose - October 24, 2007

I ran 3.1 miles this morning.

I adjusted the Age and Weight settings on the treadmill and it turns out I'm burning 600 - 650 calories with my run today and on Monday. Despite my new increase in activity, I actually gained weight. Granted, I went to Toledo Lounge last night for a half-priced burger and a few of the on-tap Hefeweizen. Maybe the weight gain is from muscles building up in my legs. Maybe not.

My legs started out sore before my run and I was thinking I would bail after 2 miles, but I got to 2 miles and I decided I could do another mile. I jacked up the speed for a while just to get it done quicker.

I think I'm going to have some grilled salmon for lunch.