Red Bull F1 team picks on France

Via Pitpass:

According to American writer Mark Twain, "France has usually been governed by prostitutes," which is a bit unfair, when everyone knows France has been governed by Asterix the Gaul, his son Charles De Gaulle, Sacha Distel, Brigitte Bardot, that actor with a big nose and singer Johnny Halliday. Ah! La Belle France. The return to Europe for what will be the bulk of the season sees us in the country that can claim to have invented grand prix racing around a century ago.

Unfortunately, the area around the Magny Cours circuit does not seem to have changed much over those hundred years and the social scene at this event is about the dullest of the year. It is a great place if you like to look at cows and of course, being French cows, they are very chic, with lovely long eyelashes and a tan skin colour.

Apart from the drivers, who get to hang out in a modern hotel outside the circuit gates, everyone else is scattered around the local countryside, staying in accommodation that the travel agents describe as picturesque. “Picturesque” is evidently French for “broken plumbing and dangerous electricity.” However, the run down old chateaux do showcase what France does best, namely food and drink and sipping a cold drink in a landscaped garden is a pleasant way to end the day, after the usual round of bars and restaurants in North America.

The nearest town to the circuit is Nevers and if you pronounce it the English way, it perfectly describes how many times people want to come back here. For years, the F1 community was spoilt, as the French Grand Prix used to be held down on the Riviera at the Paul Ricard circuit, which provided plenty of beach time, once the working day was over. The French therefore have never been forgiven for moving the race to an industrial estate in the middle of the countryside, in an attempt to make it a technology hot spot. A referendum in the paddock about the circuit would produce the same result as the recent French vote on accepting the European constitution.

There is nothing much wrong with the circuit itself, which boasts the smoothest track surface of the season, offers excellent safety for the drivers and has a spacious and immaculate paddock. The French round of the world championship often has trouble getting a good crowd as most of the population has escaped to the coast for “les vacances,” and the race date clashes with the Wimbledon tennis finals weekend and the first week of the Tour de France cycle race. This year the grand prix will also lack a local hero, as for the first time in many years there is not a single French driver on the F1 grid, although Olivier Panis is being given a run in the third Toyota during Friday practice.

Finally, for those of you planning to travel to Magny Cours for this race, here are some useful tourism tips:

Nearest Airport – Paris

Nearest decent nightclub – Paris

Sightseeing – Arc de Triomphe in Paris (Do not bother with the Eiffel Tower until they have removed the scaffolding.)

Some have suggested this may have something to do with the fact that Red Bull is banned in France and the team members cannot even import it for thier own consumption. Could it be? Never!

I'm getting Deja Vu

CNN.com has a report on a man suing Ford motor company over an engine fire in his garage that resulted in the death of his wife. What makes it interesting is that once, long ago, we had an engine fire in our garage. We had a '89 Ford Aerostar that caught fire due to the insulation near the alternator chaffing off. Two wires touched and shorted. The end result was an overly exciting fire in the garage, discovery that most of the Marthasville Fire Dept. lives within one block of us, and we sold the beast and bought a '97 Toyota Camry. Ford issued a TSB, or technical service bullitin for the issue...but not a recall.

Now, I normally give the benefit of the doubt to the company in our rather litigious society. Especially with so many frivolous lawsuits being thrown around. However, because of my own experiance, I'm definately leaning toward the plantiff in this case.

We're Coming to Take Your House Away, haha

Captian's Quarters has a great article on the Kelo decision. For those unfamiliar with it, the Kelo decision gave a town or city the right to condemn your home if it was for the good of the public. This is a huge violation of property rights, but unfortunately rather common now.

Instead of just discussing and complaining about this, a group is using the decision to take away the house of the judge that made the ruling:

Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and economic benefits with a hotel [address redacted -- CE] than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Clements indicated that the hotel must be built on this particular piece of land because it is a unique site being the home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans.

"This is not a prank" said Clements, "The Towne of Weare has five people on the Board of Selectmen. If three of them vote to use the power of eminent domain to take this land from Mr. Souter we can begin our hotel development."

Good stuff.

UPDATE: CNN.com now has an article up.

The Biggest NES Auction Ever

Yes, only for the true hard core nintendo fans...like my wife. This eBay auction was for 776 games. Apparently only 10 short of every game ever released in the US. Crazy. It may be too late to buy it, but the guys at Penny Arcade are giving it away.

My Hero

This man was sighted at the United States Grand Prix...he is now my hero:

Oh, the Humidity...again

Wow, I just got back from my 30 minute run and it's definately humid. This isn't the standard humidity...this is Missouri "breathing water" humidity. If you've never experianced it before, well, it sucks. I'm kinda hoping for some storms to come through and cool it off (and give me some more chances at catching some lightening photography).

Sarah, we're moving to Arizona...

Alice Cooper: Conservative Republican?

Yes, folks, the author of "School's Out (forever)," the original "Shock Rocker," and one of my dad's favorite musicians voted for President Bush.

ALICE COOPER: Well, I think if you're in a war, you don't want a poodle in there, you want a pit bull. I don't think that you want a guy in there going, "Gee, I don't know. Maybe. Could be." I think you want a guy in there who's either going to win it or lose it.

INTERVIEWER: Are you referring to Iraq or the broader war against al-Qaeda?

ALICE COOPER: I just think that that war's going to go on for a long time, whoever is the President. If it would have been Kerry, he would have been just as knee deep in it. I don't think Bush got us into that war. I think that started 9/11 and I think somebody had to take it from there.

INTERVIEWER: It doesn't worry you, the false connection that was made between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, all that stuff that's been shown?

ALICE COOPER: No. It doesn't bother me because I honestly think it's all connected.

INTERVIEWER: The one thing we do know about 9/11 is that nobody involved in it actually came from Iraq. That's probably the one thing we absolutely know.

ALICE COOPER: Well, it's probably true, but I can't see them going, "Oh, gosh." The guys in Iraq going, "Gee, how horrible for America." I think there's a general feeling in that world that if America falls they'll be in a much better state, so we have to view those people in the same boat. I don't see much difference between the al-Qaeda and Iraq - not the people, I'm talking about the governments. The people, the poor people, are the victims.

And Chrenkoff also has this to note:

By the way, you have to be worried when a guy with too much mascara and a snake wrapped around his neck has a keener grasp of basic new millennium geopolitics than so many leading lights of the Democratic Party.

Yes, Alice Cooper is, the man:

The Torture of Harry Potter

Chrenkoff has a hilarious post on new torture techniques that have been exposed at Gitmo: Reading Harry Potter.

The story doesn't mention whether the reading was taken from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Guantanamo", and whether the detainee objected more to the fact that a woman can read, or to the plot of the book which has an infidel boy sorcerer, together with an infidel girl (!) sorceress and an assortment of djins, battle a bin Laden-like malevolent figure which spends most of the time in hiding and communicates with the rest of the world through his minions.

Gitmo is starting to sound like a kids carribean cruise ship. They have reading time, loud Christina Agulara music, sleep deprivation (God knows how sleep deprived I was at teen camp).

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Sarah! You're a quarter of a century old...like me, now.

Yes, my wife is 25 today (and yes, our anniversary was yesterday...and yes, I do my best to make them separate). Now, I'm going to work all day to make up for saying the quarter century joke again...I just hope she doesn't sell The Z for 50 cents on eBay.

A Beautiful Reminder

My wife and I just celebrated our first year anniversary, so this story struck me especially amusing.

A controversial radio DJ's wife sold his £25,000 sports car on eBay for just 50p after he flirted with Jodie Marsh on air.

Kerrang 105.2's Tim Shaw told the model he was prepared to leave his wife and their two children for her, reports Metro.

Wife Hayley was listening and immediately posted an advert for the Lotus Esprit Turbo with a 'Buy It Now' option of 50p.

The item description read: "I need to get rid of this car in the next two to three hours before my husband gets home to find it gone and all his belongings in the street."

The car sold within five minutes.

For those interested, the eBay auction is here. 50p would be something like 75 cents...and in the US, that car would easily run to $50-60K. It's the kind of deal one dreams about at night.

The funniest part is that my wife has The Z titled in her name. Well, I guess that means I need to continue behaving...

How to Protest an Anti-War Protest

Little Green Footballs has an awesome report on what some people did who got fed up with Anti-War protesters showing up at the Columbia, MO Memorial Day Airshow. They simply offered a free shredding service to those not interested in their anti-war flyers. The results are tremendous:

A simple concept, legal, moral, and deliciously humorous – Operation Simply Shred provided a polite, free and immediate shredding service for any unwanted political literature or flyer that an Air Show or parade attendee did not care to keep any longer. Small, powerful battery operated shredders in the hands of polite and helpful volunteers allowed any citizen to exercise their own First Amendment right to shred any flyer or propaganda piece handed to them by a “peace at any price” protestor just seconds after they received it. And it was environmentally friendly to boot.

The peace protestors appeared like clockwork when the Air Show gates opened and they started handing out their leaflets. They saw us, and at first our signs confused them. We offered to take any unwanted political flyers from any citizen who wanted to give them to us and then shredded them before the eyes of the smiling citizen and in full view of the peacenik who handed it out. The peaceniks were stunned.

There's also a cool slide show here. But here's my favorite pic:

My Respect for Kimi...

...has just recieved a major boost.

“We had to hold Kimi back, almost physically, from racing, even though he knows the dangers,” he told Autosport magazine."

I haven't ever been a big fan of the "Flyin' Finn" for a number of reasons...many dealing with his "unexcitableness" (if that's a real word) and the great effort it takes to translate what he says. However, this makes me happy. If he would have gone out, Kimi would probably have recieved a 100% increase in his fans.

The New Black Lung Disease

In an odd turn in the Formula 1 world, Finnish driver Mika Salo has been found to have large amounts of carbon fiber dust in his lungs.

According to the Finnish media, former F1 driver, has been found to have "large amounts" of carbon fibre dust in his lungs, during a routine medical check-up. Consequently, the FIA is also to examine the former Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, Sauber, BAR and Ferrari driver, in order to establish whether other race drivers could be at risk. "There was really a lot of that dust in my lungs," Salo told Ilta-Sanomat. "If I have this much of it, how much will Michael Schumacher, who has driven 10 years longer than me, have?"

Interesting. I guess that means my wife won't let me get those carbon fiber brakes now...

Apparently, I'm on the Shallow End of the Gene Pool

In what has to be one of the most arrogant things I have ever heard, Ken Schram seems to think all conservatives don't know what they're doing.

They can't help themselves.

According to a new study published in the American Political Science Review, being politically conservative is, in part, a matter or genetics.

I've long wondered how an otherwise seemingly rational person could adhere so strictly to stilted ideologies; how they could be so consistently willing to smother a sense of social well-being.

It's merely a matter of having been dumped in the shallow end of the gene pool.

They're sorta like the puppy who piddles in the middle of the floor: They just don't know any better.

I was going to make some comments, but have decided that I shouldn't blog while angry...

UPDATE:
Little Green Footballs has some excellent points dealing with Nazism...

The “eugenics” trope was used by Nazi Germany to dehumanize Jews and other groups deemed “subhuman,” by nature of their “defective” genetic material.

And now the American far left, given a voice by mainstream media in Seattle and supported by “studies” from leftist “think tanks,” has come up with their own version of eugenics: Ken Schram Commentary: Just Born The ‘Right’ Way?

It's starting to look like the far left has finally gone so far they are now far right...

True Wisdom

Westboro Baptist Church is a place most Christians wished didn't exist. They have, long ago, gone off the deep end. Now they have crossed new lines.

A radical Midwestern hate group plans to protest at the funerals of two local soldiers killed in action, claiming the slain heroes ``were cast into hell to join many more dishonorable Americans.''
The Westboro Baptist Church, proclaiming ``thank God for IEDs'' or roadside bombs, claims the 9/11 attacks and American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's vengeance on a nation that is tolerant of homosexuality.

However this angers me, there is a light:

...when told about the group's plans, John Maloney, the father of slain Marine Capt. John Maloney, said his son died in Iraq to protect free speech, no matter how offensive.
``He fought and died for their right to do what they do,'' he said. ``I may not agree with what they do. This is still the United States of America, isn't it?''

Rest in Peace, Captain, you have a wise father.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
-Francois Voltaire

Suggested Reading for Today

Arthur Chrenkoff has a couple of interesting stories. The first is about the people conducting the suicide car bombing:

"He was trying to drive into a busy checkpoint and the Marine guards wounded him and disabled his car before he could reach the intersection and activate the bomb," West wrote. "When they opened the door to remove him, they found him chained to the seat with his hands taped to the steering wheel. He had an activation switch on his body that he could use but they also found a remote-control activation device under the front seat. It was hidden in the floor of the car so he probably didn't know it was there... He was going to die whether he wanted to or not."

It turned out he also was heavily drugged, West said.

I don't think Micheal Moore's comparison to Minutemen was a very good one.

Chrenkoff also has a great post on the Coalition of the Willing...including this amazing story of the bravery of some of our allies:

One of his friends was dead, 12 others lay wounded and the four soldiers still left standing were surrounded and out of ammunition. So Salvadoran Cpl. Samuel Toloza said a prayer, whipped out his knife and charged the Iraqi gunmen. In one of the only known instances of hand-to-hand combat in the Iraq conflict, Cpl. Toloza stabbed several attackers swarming around a comrade. The stunned assailants backed away momentarily, just as a relief column came to the unit's rescue.

Wow...theres some Marines that'd be proud...

Inappropriate Behavior

During the race, one of the commentators mentioned that there was a Red Bull Celebratory dinner that evening in Indy...but that the team mechanics were afraid to attend because of retributional violence from angry fans. Apparently, their fears were confirmed as F1 team members were attacked by angry fans as they left the track.

This is a very sad day for F1.

Things are getting Ugly

After the debacle at the United States Grand Prix, things are starting to heat up. Here's the latest letter from the FIA to the teams themselves:

Dear Sir,

Article 151c of the International Sporting Code

You are hereby requested to appear at the forthcoming meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council which is to be held in Paris on 29 June 2005 (FIA – 8 place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, meeting room “Salle du Comite” at 09:30 hrs to answer charges that, in breach of the above, you committed one or more acts prejudicial to the interests of a competition, namely the 2005 United States Grand Prix and/or to the interests of motor sport generally in that you…
- failed to ensure that you had a supply of suitable tyres for the race and/or
- wrongfully refused to all allow your cars to start the race and/or
- wrongfully refused to allow your cars to race, subject to a speed restriction in one corner which was safe for such tyres as you had available and/or
- combined with other teams to make a demonstration damaging to the image of Formula One by pulling into the pits immediately before the start of the race.

And that you failed to notify the stewards of your intention not to race in breach of article 131 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.

A full dossier will be sent to you within 48 hours
At this hearing you may assisted by the council of your choice

Should you wish to send us any comments in writing before this meeting we will make sure that they are circulated to the members of the World Motor Sport Council.

Yours faithfully
FIA


21-06-05

As this continues, things will be getting interesting.

Unbelievable...

I cannot express my dissappointment enough. Now that I know what happened on race day, I am glad I did not purchase a race-day ticket. For those who don't know, here's the story. Coultard says it best:

I feel terrible. I have a sick feeling in my stomach. I am embarrassed to be a part of this. I wish we could have found a solution that had us out here on the racetrack.

You and me, both.

And what a blow for Toyota with Trulli being on the pole. Such dissappointment.

RaceBlogging

Excitement! We were at the Formula 1 qualifying today. I forgot how much I love the sound of these cars...and how unbelievably loud they are. Also got to stare at some lovely cars in the parking lot. A Ferrari 360 Spyder was parked within a couple rows as well as a red Lotus Elise. I was shocked at how contoured the Elise is in real life. It doesn't seem as sculpted in pictures I've seen. Anyway, it was definately fun. Here's a couple pics. I want to post more, but my laptop is ultra-slow and I need to get to bed.


We wondered through about 5 different places to get pictures. This is going into the final turn. There was quite a bit of action here as a Ferrari nearly went off...and a BMW Willams did.


This is a group of "US Tifosi." The monkey in their uniform was definately a nice touch. Also note the Porsche Pirelli Supercup car emerging from someone's back.


My wife was taking a lot of pics with the digi cam, while I handled my film camera. I went through 4 rolls, so I'm hoping to post up some of the best shots after I develop ad print them.

Well, I need to goto bed (I'm blogging from the Holiday Inn in Muncie, IN...very exciting) as I've got a long day tommorrow.

T-minus 3 hours...

Well, in 3 hours, my wife and I will be heading to the United States Grand Prix. Very exciting. Ferrari has not had the best of seasons this year. I'm kind hoping they start qualifying better and we end up with a three-way run for the championship between Ferrari, McLaren, and Renualt. Now THAT would be good stuff.

Our hotel is supposed to have a data port, but we'll find out when we get there if I can blog from there. I'm hoping to post up some pictures while I'm out there. If nothing else, I'll post them up when we get back.

Medicaid: The Great Leach

This article from CNN.com discusses some proposed changes to the Medicaid system. There's a few things I'd like to highlight. First is this statement:

Medicaid now serves about 53 million people and the program is expected to spend a total of $329 billion in state and federal funds in 2005. The governors note the cost of the program has risen so dramatically that it now has overtaken elementary and secondary education when it comes to state spending.

You're telling me that a full sixth of the nation is on Medicaid? I thought this was just for the needy? On top of that, this sucks up $329 billion? All those leftists who ranted and raved about the cost of the Iraq war won't say anything about this...so I will. That's ridiculous. The government needs to be less involved in the healthcare industry. The healthcare companies can't compete against a government that doesn't charge anything.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee soon proved his point with a spirited debate over the wisdom of tax cuts enacted under the Bush administration.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, said that if Congress voted against making the tax cuts permanent, "we could cure Social Security, ... we could cure Medicare, we could cure Medicaid."

*SLAP* Bad Senator. Raising taxes does not cure anything. It just makes people like you think they can spend more. Think within the current tax box...there's plenty of fat programs the government doesn't need. Like Medicaid, for instance.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Oregon, replied: "I don't think just jacking up taxes is the answer here."

Good man. Now just think more like a libertarian...

Pac-Man Turns 25

Pac-Man is now a quarter of a century old. I have fond memories of going to friends houses and playing the game on their Atari. Now that I'm much older (and proudly own an Atari 2600 *AND* Pac-Man), I've found the game could be...frustrating. However, it's still good memories. Perhaps, one day, my children will appreciate the simple fun of the game. Probably not.

News Oddity Proves a Point

CNN.com posted an article on the major headlines that confused me. Why is it news-worthy that a porn star attended a Republican fund-raiser. The only thing I can think of is that some people haven't figured out that not every republican is a Christian Conservative. If a quick read through Atlas Shrugged doesn't prove that, then go meet some more republicans.

In Response to the Urban Guerrilla Liberation Front

Original "communique" here.

Hello person of the world. This message comes from one who once provided jobs, specifically to put a solid roof over your head. I am here, in plain sight. I am a former business owner. I was born in this land of opportunity, and attempted to work to better myself. Unfortunately, I was not successful. Instead of quiting, I have continued to better myself...to learn, to grow. I have not done so by screaming for entitlement...but by work.

I have chosen a path of freedom and liberation from the oppressive socialist/communist agenda. Without the ability to learn and grow and continue to work to better myself, I would wither and die.

For centuries totalitarian systems have enslaved and oppressed the masses. When a country was founded upon the idea of opportunity for all, it was successful. Now capitalism is threatened by those who thanklessly feed off of it. They scream of the injustice of the system, yet rejoice when injustice is done. They cry of enslavement, but cannot say to whom. They seethe about the lack of rights for the worker, yet do nothing to explore the opportunities as an employer.

Now we stand, continuing business as usual, while a small group of self appointed "revolutionaries" threaten to overthrow the system that has supported them their whole lives. We continue to work, while they rant of the destruction of our home.

It is our responsibility to show them that it is our right to earn that for which we work. It is our responsibility to pull together in the name of business and competition.

We thank those who have built great works with their intellagence and their hands, with their blood and their sweat. You have done well, and we look up to you as an ideal of what we want to do. We will work toward our goals. When we meet them, we will join in compatition. We will fight for the will of the people.

We only require that our government protect the innocent through it's military and police services. We will provide the jobs, the capital, and the products.

We only seek to earn that which we have worked for. The best among us will succeed. We seek a better world through the freedom of opportunity, freedom of thought, and freedom of success.

PETA does it again...

One of these days, I'm gonna have to sponsor a bar-b-que next to their headquarters...

VHS is Doomed

Well, we all knew it was going to happen. WalMart has decided to stop selling VHS movies.

I used to make fun of my parent/anyone over 50 with jokes about records and 8-tracks. I'm not particularly looking forward to hearing "VHS" jokes from kids that never used one...then again, I suppose I've earned it after I laughed for 5 minutes at my dad's 8-track collection...

Suggested Reading for Today

In what I'm sure will be heavily covered in the media, Time magazine released the report of the interrogation of the "20th hijacker." After reading what was availible on the internet, my analysis is the same as many: This is it? My high school gym class was worse than what the detainees at Gitmo go through. What the crap. Amnesty International thinks that my high school gym class is the top human rights concern? Wow...
Captain's Quarters and Powerline have more. For a good laugh, here's Screedblog's take.

The Democrats are at it again...trying to start the draft. They're doing this after claiming that President Bush was going to open a "back-door draft?"

Kuwait has recently granted women's sufferage...and they mean it. They have just appointed the first woman to the cabinet. Good stuff.

The New York Times demonstrates it's liberal bias...by mentioning Abu Ghraib on the front page every day for the past 32 days.

Me too!

Palestinian prisoners are now claiming that Israeli guards defiled the Koran. Nevermind the years this went without being said. This brings two points to my mind:

1. These guys are smarter than the average professional journalist. The Palestinians know how to manipulate the snot out of them.

2. The Bible has gone through so much...yet, no one has made a big deal about it. What about all the Bibles shredded in Saudi Arabia (and that was less than a month ago) or the Bibles used as toliet paper in the Church of the Nativity...and those are only the ones that come off the top of my head.

Today's Suggested Reading

Amnesty International requests an Act of War

While much of the media's focus has been on the use of the "gulag" analogy, AI made a statement requesting foreign countries to arrest a list of individuals they claim are the "architechs of torture." The list includes none other than President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and quite a few more. The question for Amnesty International is, should they be condoning an outright act of war?

More can be found at LGF, Powerline, and Captain's Quarters.

Denzel Washington Supports our Troops

Denzel Washington (yes, the actor), on a visit to a hospital with our wounded soldiers, made a donation for a new building to house thier families. The whole story is here.

Slow Blogging

Ever have a day where you just can't seem to get your butt into gear. That seems to describe this week for me. I can't seem to even get myself together to post on this blog. I hope I can get myself into gear...I've got too much to do to slack off.

Anyway, I had my first day of "official" class today in photo 2. Fun stuff. We're working with lithographs right now. Interesting stuff. I'm looking forward to showing off some of my work.

Atlas Speaks

As you may have noted, I have been reading Atlas Shrugged. I am now approx. half way through the book and just thought I might make some observations. The first is that I have been amazed by the time factor of this book. It was written over 50 years ago, and yet the same thoughts run today...particularly in the relm of politics. One needs only to look at the headlines to see examples of sucessful companies being targeted because they are good at making a profit. WalMart and Microsoft have frequently been found guilty at nothing more than being profitable.

I also found it very interesting that the left has not changed it's arguements in 50 years...seeking to heavily regulate the business world in the name of "equal opportunity," decrying the wealthy as greedy and selfish, and basing arguements on "feeling."

To demonstrate the contemporary nature of this, I will (as I find them) take situations from real life and put them with a quote from Atlas Shrugged. I think it will be interesting.

It Finally Happened

Amazing. My sister killed a spider. I don't particularly care for spiders, but my sister borders on the ridiculas. She jumps up and screams if she *THINKS* as spider is in the same room. The one she killed was actually a pretty impressive sized garden spider...probably with a legspan of about 3 inches.

Now if we could just nail down her impulse buying...

Free Copy of the Koran

As a Christian, I feel I have a duty have a decent knowledge of other religions (and for that matter even each denomination within Christianity). In particular the "big three" (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) are of interest to me. To that end, any others in similar pursuit may find this interesting. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is giving out free copies of the Koran. Regardless of the issues I may have with some of the actions of CAIR, I do have to applaud this particular action (even though this edition is apparently anti-semetic...which, I would think wouldn't help their cause very much).

Those who want a bible may find a variety of sources...though hotels are pretty good (Gideons want people who are interested in the Bible to take them...that's what they're there for...however, if you already own one, that may not be quite as nice).

First Day of Class Tommorrow

Tommorrow is my first day of class for my photo 2 class. I'm looking forward to some new darkroom techniques. I'll post up some results when I get 'em.

The Race is On!

My wife and I have made our reservations...we will be attending practice and qualifying of the United States Grand Prix. I'm excited to say the least. There's a dataport at the hotel we made reservations at, so I'm hoping to do some Race Blogging while we're out there. With any luck, I'll get some quality shots for my photo 2 class I'm taking this summer. Very exciting.

Another 30 minutes of Doom

I ran my 30 minutes today, and for the first time estimated my speed. I believe I'm doing about 6 mph, and running a total of 3.3 miles. I'm getting close to my goal of 3.5.

I'm still amazed by the amount of progress I've made from my early, gasping attempts at running a quarter of a mile to my current 3 mile runs. I'm happy.