http://shar.es/RWNR
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It appears that the powers that be have changed the legs of the LV Half Marathon. I was supposed to run Leg 2 which was listed as six miles but now Leg 2 is 6.5 and the only leg over six. Plus we had someone from our relay team drop out and picked up a replacement. So now, I am running the first leg which is 5.5 miles. So, now, it's just maintenance.
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Recently I read Neuromancer, the novel that is credited with launching the cyberpunk genre. The opening sentence of Neuromancer also seems to be widely acclaimed as of the great literary opening lines:
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Here are some of my favorites:
It was a pleasure to burn. Fahrenheit 451
Elmer Gantry was drunk. Elmer Gantry
Howard Roark laughed. The Fountainhead
If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want the truth. The Catcher in the Rye
By ten-forty-five, it was all over. The Moon is Down
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Nineteen Eighty-Four
These lines are mostly simple and almost summarize their respective texts in a nutshell. Holden's opening statement is long but that's about as close to a nutshell summary as Holden can get. The opening sentence to 1984 is just chilling. And, the more I think about it, 1984 was cyberpunk way before cyberpunk; and a whole lot more, obviously.
Edit - as I revisited this topic this morning I remembered that 1984 has a very memorable closing sentence.
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In May I planted 12 tomato plants, 12 pepper plants (banana, anaheim, jalapeno), and started two pumpkins from seed. Due mostly to the fact that March lasted about 115 days this year, I have nine peppers still standing and of the 12 original tomato, it appears that only about three will really produce. None are dead yet but many have the ecru-colored leaves indicative of blossom-end rot and the plants are withered and appear to be dying. Most have tomatoes but I don't know how long that will last. On the bright side, the peppers are producing and the third attempt at pumpkins has finally given me two flourishing plants but I don't think the pumpkins will be ready by the end of October.
The constant rain and cooler temperatures of the 3.75 Marches we had this year have wreaked havoc on the tomatoes. The three pepper plants I lost were due to wind gusts from the maelstrom of rainstorms knocking them down and uprooting them - even as they were staked.
So, next year - what to do to guard against this? I will have some work to do.
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I bought a 4GB usb flash drive from Newegg on Tuesday. I haven't received it yet. Here's the tracking chart:
8/7/2009 6:05 PM ET LEHIGH VALLEY, PA, US SHIPMENT ACCEPTED BY USPS
8/6/2009 7:10 AM ET ELKRIDGE, MD, US TENDERED TO USPS
8/6/2009 12:49 AM ET ELKRIDGE, MD, US ARRIVAL DESTINATION DHL GLOBAL MAIL FACILITY
8/5/2009 9:48 AM ET RUTHERFORD, NJ, US DEPARTURE ORIGIN DHL GLOBAL MAIL FACILITY
8/5/2009 1:48 AM ET RUTHERFORD, NJ, US PROCESSED
8/4/2009 11:45 PM ET RUTHERFORD, NJ, US ARRIVAL ORIGIN DHL GLOBAL MAIL FACILITY
8/4/2009 7:00 PM ET EDISON, NJ, US PICK UP
The item came with free shipping and, boy, it sure is shipping. Another funning thing is that Edison is only about 50 miles from my house. According to Google Maps, Edison to E. Rutherford to Elkridge to me is 399 miles.
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Letter to the editor, in today's Express-Times:
If life deals you lemons, sue, sue, sue
Original article: http://bit.ly/10bE7n
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I did a one hour run this morning which should be good for 5+ miles. Another mental and physical obstacle overcome; I rule!
Our team has registered for the Lehigh Valley Marathon. I am running the second leg, the second longest, which is six miles.
Less than a year ago, the thought of running had never entered my mind. I thought I couldn't do it. Well, I can.
No excuses. No bull. Just do it. More people need to take that old Nike slogan and fuse that into their brains and bodies.
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"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
--John F. Kennedy
Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs
25 May 1961
"... There he is, there’s a foot coming down the steps. ... So there’s a foot on the moon, stepping down on the moon. If he’s testing that first step, he must be stepping down on the moon at this point. ... Well, look at those pictures. It’s sort of shadowy, but we sort of expected that in the shadow of the lunar module. Armstrong is on the moon — Neil Armstrong, 38-year-old American, standing on the surface of the moon, on this July 20, 19 hundred and 69."
--Walter Cronkite
20 July 1969
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Still posting to Twitter as the novelty hasn't worn off yet. It's kind of fun in a way and maybe a little addicting. As a bore the world with what I'm doing (or at least those who follow me), I also read in kind those who do the same. It is interesting, and very gossipy, to follow what others are doing. Some post what they are doing or have recently done or will do soon, and others post short commentary and opinion, sometimes with links. It's yet another piece of Web 2.0 that has everyone contributing, for better or for worse*.
*worse == S-P-A-M
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http://twitter.com/bws53
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Yes, that's right. From today's Providence Business News:
Cold, rain cut N.E. electricity demand
Since AGW causes cooler temperatures, rain, and pretty much anything that used to naturally occur (hence the need for the repackaging of the terminology to Climate Change as a CYA; when something doesn't sell, repackaging sometimes helps), we can logically conclude that global, er, Climate Change has cut electricity consumption in N.E.
However, it may cause my electric consumption to increase. Given that it was 74/54 yesterday (avg. is 83/62), I may have to start turning on the heat at night.
Where Has Summer Been?
Since June 1, Boston has only seen four days above 80F. Wow. Locally, we're a little better; three so far in July and eleven in June; June 16 is the first day where the average high should be 80 and we've only seen 80 or better eleven days since.
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FOUND
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