Updating a post from yesterday, the Mayor of Los Alamitos, who sent the Obama watermelon email has announced that he will resign effective Monday.
Located in Orange County, Los Alamitos is a 2 1/4-square-mile city of around 12,000 people. Isn't that the same population as Wasilla, AK?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Incompetent? How Would I Know?
This article is a must read. Thanks, Ron, for sending it my way.
The article deals with a study that shows that people who are incompetent also lack the ability to realize that they are incompetent. Doesn't that just explain so much about so many people? Here are some highlights from the article:
People who do things badly are usually supremely confident of their abilities -- more confident, in fact, than people who do things well.
One reason that the ignorant also tend to be the blissfully self-assured, the researchers believe, is that the skills required for competence often are the same skills necessary to recognize competence...The incompetent, therefore, suffer doubly..."Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it."
They found that subjects who scored in the lowest quartile on tests of logic, English grammar and humor were also the most likely to "grossly overestimate" how well they had performed.
Unlike their unskilled counterparts, the most able subjects in the study, Dr. Kruger and Dr. Dunning found, were likely to underestimate their own competence. The researchers attributed this to the fact that, in the absence of information about how others were doing, highly competent subjects assumed that others were performing as well as they were -- a phenomenon psychologists term the "false consensus effect."
The article deals with a study that shows that people who are incompetent also lack the ability to realize that they are incompetent. Doesn't that just explain so much about so many people? Here are some highlights from the article:
People who do things badly are usually supremely confident of their abilities -- more confident, in fact, than people who do things well.
One reason that the ignorant also tend to be the blissfully self-assured, the researchers believe, is that the skills required for competence often are the same skills necessary to recognize competence...The incompetent, therefore, suffer doubly..."Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it."
They found that subjects who scored in the lowest quartile on tests of logic, English grammar and humor were also the most likely to "grossly overestimate" how well they had performed.
Unlike their unskilled counterparts, the most able subjects in the study, Dr. Kruger and Dr. Dunning found, were likely to underestimate their own competence. The researchers attributed this to the fact that, in the absence of information about how others were doing, highly competent subjects assumed that others were performing as well as they were -- a phenomenon psychologists term the "false consensus effect."
What Happens When Comedians Are Taken Seriously
Even Chris Matthews has had enough of Republican buffoonery. Just because comedian Rush Limbaugh thinks it's cute to call the Democratic Party the "Democrat" Party doesn't mean that it's cute or clever for a Congressman to do it. Imagine if all Congressman started quoting comedians in their talking points. It would be non-stop "I know you are but what am I?" all day long.
Note to GOP "leaders", the era of basking in ignorance ended on January 20. Intelligence is in, spread the word. And please, stop taking your talking points from a comedian. It makes you sound even dumber than he is.
What A Boehner
Here is John Boehner flat out lying about Obama's tax plan. For the record, 95% of Americans will get a tax CUT. The richest Americans will see their taxes return to the level that they were at during Clinton's Presidency. They don't call him John Boner for nothing.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Somebody Needs A Diaper Change
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
This video shows Matt Lauer smacking down Rick Santelli for pretending to be offended and pretending that he believes that White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, made a veiled threat to him last week when he called Santelli out for statements that Santelli had previously made.
The "threat" was as follows, "I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives, or in what house he lives." Pretty scary stuff, huh? No wonder Santelli is quaking in his boots. The point that Robert Gibbs was making was that Santelli's financial status would allow him to live in a more upscale neighborhood, one that is less likely to be effected by home foreclosures.
So Lauer calls him out on it and instead of manning up, Santelli brings his wife into the spotlight. See, his wife apparently felt threatened by the body language that the press secretary used while saying, "I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives, or in what house he lives." Oohh. Scary.
Santelli goes on to whine about how it just isn't fair that Gibbs singled him out by name. Come on. How old are you, Santelli? Take the freaking binky out of your mouth and maybe we'll be able to understand you better.
Don't Forget The Fried Chicken
This really shouldn't surprise me but WTF? It's 2009, people. The Mayor of Los Alamitos, Dean Grose, actually sent out a racist Obama email with the title "No Easter egg hunt this year." The email includes the above photo of the White House with the front lawn transformed into a watermelon patch. Hehe.
When one of the people from the race that the Mayor hates because of the color of their skin received the email, she demanded an apology. The Mayor claims that he didn't mean to offend her and he was unaware of the racial stereotype that black people like watermelons.
"Bottom line is, we laugh at things and I didn't see this in the same light that she did," Grose told the AP. "I'm sorry. It wasn't sent to offend her personally - or anyone - from the standpoint of the African-American race."
Hmmm. OK. Well then, Mr. Grose, maybe you can explain to us which light you saw it in and what made it so funny that you felt compelled to share? Seriously, if it's not funny because *teehee* black people like watermelon, then what exactly is funny about the photo?
You can ask him yourself at dgrose@ci.los-alamitos.ca.us . Let me know what he says.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Fact Check
When are politicians going to learn that there is this new thing called the internets and nearly everything they say and do is documented in some way, shape or form, if a person only knows how to look for it.
What this means is, when you change your story or make shit up, chances are those pesky bloggers are going to catch you.
As if Bobby Jindal's rebuttal of Obama's speech last night wasn't already a laughing stock, now we learn that the crux of his Hurricane Katrina story was embellished.
Click for the full story.
What this means is, when you change your story or make shit up, chances are those pesky bloggers are going to catch you.
As if Bobby Jindal's rebuttal of Obama's speech last night wasn't already a laughing stock, now we learn that the crux of his Hurricane Katrina story was embellished.
Click for the full story.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Boston Training, Week 10
This was a scheduled recovery week but it turned out I needed a lot more recovery than I anticipated. That's what I get for racing too hard during a training run.
Tuesday - 3.2 miles, treadmill, recovery pace. This was going to be an off day but I felt like I needed to run so I just took it nice and slow.
Wednesday - 4.5 miles, treadmill, recovery pace. Still taking it slow. Piriformis sore, both sides.
Thursday - 5.1 miles 8:55 pace. This was a scheduled 8 mile hill workout but I just had nothing in the tank. I did manage to get 4 hills in before I totally bonked. A snow storm during mile 4 was the final factor in cutting it short.
Saturday - 14 miles at 8:37 pace. I didn't have much confidence going into this run after Thursday's lack of energy. It took a long time to get into any kind of rhythm, partly due to post-race fatigue and partly due to a strong wind blasting me in the face for 5 miles. When I finally turned around after mile 7, the wind was on my back and I finally did settle into a nice zone until around mile 10. At this point, I started to feel pretty tired. I started thinking about Ryan Hall and how he says to make the most of every run, even the bad one's. So I decided that this was a good opportunity to practice running while tired. I started to visualize the final 4 miles of the Boston course and as I ran up the bike path, I pretended that the cars flying by on my left were actually the Boston subway during that portion of the course. Additionally, I started focusing on form, and again summoned Ryan Hall, and practiced his seemingly effortless arm motion. All of this really helped and I was able to maintain pace through the rough patch. I finally bonked on the mile 13 hill but it was OK because I knew I was almost done. The piriformis held up much better than expected on this run so hopefully I can get it back under control next week. Between the wind conditions and the post-race fatigue, this was actually not too bad of a run.
Sunday - 5.2 miles at recovery pace. Just took it nice and easy and enjoyed the run.
Tuesday - 3.2 miles, treadmill, recovery pace. This was going to be an off day but I felt like I needed to run so I just took it nice and slow.
Wednesday - 4.5 miles, treadmill, recovery pace. Still taking it slow. Piriformis sore, both sides.
Thursday - 5.1 miles 8:55 pace. This was a scheduled 8 mile hill workout but I just had nothing in the tank. I did manage to get 4 hills in before I totally bonked. A snow storm during mile 4 was the final factor in cutting it short.
Saturday - 14 miles at 8:37 pace. I didn't have much confidence going into this run after Thursday's lack of energy. It took a long time to get into any kind of rhythm, partly due to post-race fatigue and partly due to a strong wind blasting me in the face for 5 miles. When I finally turned around after mile 7, the wind was on my back and I finally did settle into a nice zone until around mile 10. At this point, I started to feel pretty tired. I started thinking about Ryan Hall and how he says to make the most of every run, even the bad one's. So I decided that this was a good opportunity to practice running while tired. I started to visualize the final 4 miles of the Boston course and as I ran up the bike path, I pretended that the cars flying by on my left were actually the Boston subway during that portion of the course. Additionally, I started focusing on form, and again summoned Ryan Hall, and practiced his seemingly effortless arm motion. All of this really helped and I was able to maintain pace through the rough patch. I finally bonked on the mile 13 hill but it was OK because I knew I was almost done. The piriformis held up much better than expected on this run so hopefully I can get it back under control next week. Between the wind conditions and the post-race fatigue, this was actually not too bad of a run.
Sunday - 5.2 miles at recovery pace. Just took it nice and easy and enjoyed the run.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Preying On Socialists
Let's face it, Republican leaders like to keep their people scared. Get them fired up about some emotional issue to keep people distracted from the real issues. For a long, long time, it was Communism that we were all supposed to be afraid of. Then, when the Cold War was over and Communism wasn't so scary anymore, they had to come up with something else. Enter Terrorists. Duh and Company were so successful at making everyone afraid of the terrorists that everyone sat idly by while they proceeded to rape and pillage the U.S. Treasury (not to mention the U.S. Constitution) at their leisure. Now that the Terrorism Boogieman is no longer quite so scary the GOP needed something else to keep their people scared and distracted. Since the fear playbook was quite small, they didn't have much to go on. In fact, all they ever really did was change the word Communism to Terrorists in all of their fear propaganda and no one really seemed to notice. So hey, why not just change it back to Communism and try to get the people scared all over again? Yes, yes, brilliant, but this time let's call it Socialism.
So that's where we stand today. The right wing fear/hate speakers go on radio and tv and tell us that the sky is falling and that welfare recipients will soon be making more money than your family doctor, that is, if the new scary "Socialist" government even allows you to choose your own doctor. And instead of people laughing and shaking their heads at such idiocy, some people actually choose to believe it.
Honestly, the USA, the greatest country in the history of 200 year old countries, Socialists? Never.
Well, that's what I thought until I opened my newspaper this morning and found COMMUNISTS right here in my own back yard. That's right, $1 million worth of food, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene products were delivered to the people of Wilmington, Ohio yesterday, in the wake of massive job losses due to the closing of the DHL plant in that town. (As an aside, McCain and his lobbyist buddies played a pivotal role in the closing of the plant. I blogged about it during the Presidential campaign, if you recall).
Anyway, here are all these people taking food that they did not earn and did not pay for. And I realized, the Republicans are right! We have become a Socialist nation. What gives these people the right to feed their families and eat food that someone else earned? That's just un-American. And don't get me started on the personal hygiene products. Seriously, why do these people need soap? It's not like they have jobs to go to (anymore).
But then I remembered reading about some guy who said that it was OK to give to the poor and needy. Yeah, Karl Marx said that, but I'm talking about the other guy who said it. I think the Christians call him Jesus. You all know about Jesus, right? The original Socialist.
So what are the Republicans really saying? I think I know. You see, Christians are asked (expected) to give a percentage of their income (wealth) to the Church, a tithe, so that the church may REDISTRIBUTE this money to help the poor and needy, among other things. In other words, and what I think this all boils down to, is that the Republicans must be on a secret crusade to destroy Christians and expose them as the no good, bleeding heart Communists that they really are. What? Christians are NOT Communists? Well, of course they are. At least, according to the GOP definition, they are. They help the needy and redistribute wealth, do they not? And isn't that what this latest uproar is all about?
Hmmm. Maybe we should all pray on that for a while while the GOP continues to prey on us.
And one more thing, if your doctor is really earning the same as a welfare recipient, you might want to consider finding a better doctor.
So that's where we stand today. The right wing fear/hate speakers go on radio and tv and tell us that the sky is falling and that welfare recipients will soon be making more money than your family doctor, that is, if the new scary "Socialist" government even allows you to choose your own doctor. And instead of people laughing and shaking their heads at such idiocy, some people actually choose to believe it.
Honestly, the USA, the greatest country in the history of 200 year old countries, Socialists? Never.
Well, that's what I thought until I opened my newspaper this morning and found COMMUNISTS right here in my own back yard. That's right, $1 million worth of food, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene products were delivered to the people of Wilmington, Ohio yesterday, in the wake of massive job losses due to the closing of the DHL plant in that town. (As an aside, McCain and his lobbyist buddies played a pivotal role in the closing of the plant. I blogged about it during the Presidential campaign, if you recall).
Anyway, here are all these people taking food that they did not earn and did not pay for. And I realized, the Republicans are right! We have become a Socialist nation. What gives these people the right to feed their families and eat food that someone else earned? That's just un-American. And don't get me started on the personal hygiene products. Seriously, why do these people need soap? It's not like they have jobs to go to (anymore).
But then I remembered reading about some guy who said that it was OK to give to the poor and needy. Yeah, Karl Marx said that, but I'm talking about the other guy who said it. I think the Christians call him Jesus. You all know about Jesus, right? The original Socialist.
So what are the Republicans really saying? I think I know. You see, Christians are asked (expected) to give a percentage of their income (wealth) to the Church, a tithe, so that the church may REDISTRIBUTE this money to help the poor and needy, among other things. In other words, and what I think this all boils down to, is that the Republicans must be on a secret crusade to destroy Christians and expose them as the no good, bleeding heart Communists that they really are. What? Christians are NOT Communists? Well, of course they are. At least, according to the GOP definition, they are. They help the needy and redistribute wealth, do they not? And isn't that what this latest uproar is all about?
Hmmm. Maybe we should all pray on that for a while while the GOP continues to prey on us.
And one more thing, if your doctor is really earning the same as a welfare recipient, you might want to consider finding a better doctor.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Boston Training, Week 9
Half way there.
Tuesday - 10 mile hill workout at 8:14 pace. Felt surprisingly strong during this run. Tried to rein it in a bit during the last half.
Wednesday - 5 mile recovery run on treadmill. Felt fine, might have run the last 3 just a bit faster than I should have. My left hamstring started bothering me the second I stepped off the treadmill. Iced and used the stick for the rest of the week.
Thursday - 8 miles at a comfy 8:18 pace. Legs were a little tired today and left hammie was still sore.
Saturday - 4.1 miles at 9:14 recovery pace. Hammie felt fine. Only seems to hurt when I'm not running.
Sunday - 15.4 miles including racing LCFB 1/2 Marathon. Had totally planned to go out at 160bpm (beats per minute heart rate) and stick with it no matter what. But when the race started, I realized that there were only about 25 runners in front of me and some of them were running the 5k, so I decided to push it a little and see what happens. I ended up running a pretty strong race at 7:17 pace, good for a 1:35:50, 19th overall and 5th in my age group. 166 avg bpm. Piriformis is really sore, both sides. Icing. The price I pay.
Week 10 is a recovery week so hopefully I didn't do anything too stupid and a few less miles this week will help get me back up to speed.
Tuesday - 10 mile hill workout at 8:14 pace. Felt surprisingly strong during this run. Tried to rein it in a bit during the last half.
Wednesday - 5 mile recovery run on treadmill. Felt fine, might have run the last 3 just a bit faster than I should have. My left hamstring started bothering me the second I stepped off the treadmill. Iced and used the stick for the rest of the week.
Thursday - 8 miles at a comfy 8:18 pace. Legs were a little tired today and left hammie was still sore.
Saturday - 4.1 miles at 9:14 recovery pace. Hammie felt fine. Only seems to hurt when I'm not running.
Sunday - 15.4 miles including racing LCFB 1/2 Marathon. Had totally planned to go out at 160bpm (beats per minute heart rate) and stick with it no matter what. But when the race started, I realized that there were only about 25 runners in front of me and some of them were running the 5k, so I decided to push it a little and see what happens. I ended up running a pretty strong race at 7:17 pace, good for a 1:35:50, 19th overall and 5th in my age group. 166 avg bpm. Piriformis is really sore, both sides. Icing. The price I pay.
Week 10 is a recovery week so hopefully I didn't do anything too stupid and a few less miles this week will help get me back up to speed.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Boston Training, Week 8
A pretty strong week, although I may have overdone it just a bit.
Tuesday - 10 mile hill workout at 8:26 pace. Felt strong, very little pain.
Wednesday - 5 mile recovery run.
Thursday - 10 miles, including 5 miles of hills and a 3 mile tempo run, all 3 miles at 7:21 pace and avg bpm's 165, 170, 172. Probably lost a few seconds per mile by running hills on the same day but I really wasn't sure I was going to attempt the tempo portion but then felt good enough to go for it.
Saturday - 20 miles at 9:00 pace. Pretty slow pace but there was still long stretches of ice plus I ran with a friend for 4 miles or so. Felt pretty decent when I finished.
Sunday - 5 miles at 9:30 recovery pace. Probably should have just taken the day off. My left quad was very tight right from the beginning and then my right hip became very sore during the run. I iced the hell out of both areas for the rest of the day and today (Monday) it feels much better.
The plan for this coming week is to back off just a bit and run 3 short runs, a medium-long run, and then a half marathon race on Sunday.
Tuesday - 10 mile hill workout at 8:26 pace. Felt strong, very little pain.
Wednesday - 5 mile recovery run.
Thursday - 10 miles, including 5 miles of hills and a 3 mile tempo run, all 3 miles at 7:21 pace and avg bpm's 165, 170, 172. Probably lost a few seconds per mile by running hills on the same day but I really wasn't sure I was going to attempt the tempo portion but then felt good enough to go for it.
Saturday - 20 miles at 9:00 pace. Pretty slow pace but there was still long stretches of ice plus I ran with a friend for 4 miles or so. Felt pretty decent when I finished.
Sunday - 5 miles at 9:30 recovery pace. Probably should have just taken the day off. My left quad was very tight right from the beginning and then my right hip became very sore during the run. I iced the hell out of both areas for the rest of the day and today (Monday) it feels much better.
The plan for this coming week is to back off just a bit and run 3 short runs, a medium-long run, and then a half marathon race on Sunday.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Boston Training, Week 7
What a week. I learned that the numbness in my left foot is Morton's Neuroma. So I went into the week determined to try to run through it but convinced that I would have to shut down the training for a week or so. I talked to other runners who have had Morton's Neuroma and they assured me that if I took care of myself, I could probably keep running while it healed.
Tuesday - 10 miles at 8:33 pace, avg bpm 150. After icing my foot multiple times per day, I decided to give it a shot. I switched to my Brooks Axiom 3's, which have a wider toe box, which I hoped would mean that my foot had more room and the neuroma wouldn't hurt as much. It worked better than expected and I was able to complete the run with only moderate pain.
Wednesday - 4 miles on treadmill at 8:57 recovery pace. Left foot and ankle were very sore.
Thursday - 11 miles on treadmill at 8:29 pace. Major snow and ice storm made running outdoors impossible. My foot wasn't as sore as I thought it would be. I did wear Asics on Wednesday so maybe the toe box is the key.
Saturday - 4 miles at 8:40 pace on treadmill again. Wore the Axiom's, no problem, still icing constantly.
Sunday - 17 miles, outside, in shorts, at 9:13 pace, avg bpm 145. I had some kind of stomach virus on Saturday which led to many trips to the bathroom and hardly any sleep. This led to no energy for this run. I had to run through many snowy and icy spots so that also contributed to the super slow pace but I decided to just stay in the recommended heart beats per minute range of 130-148 and not worry about pace. As long as I was in this range, then I was doing the workout at the correct intensity, regardless of pace. It felt good to put in a solid long run. I was tired but not spent.
Monday - just a quick update on the Morton's Neuroma. I've only had to ice it once so far today and I'm walking and taking the stairs normally again. So I'm really hoping that I dodged the bullet on this one. I'll keep treating it and taking the proper precautions.
Tuesday - 10 miles at 8:33 pace, avg bpm 150. After icing my foot multiple times per day, I decided to give it a shot. I switched to my Brooks Axiom 3's, which have a wider toe box, which I hoped would mean that my foot had more room and the neuroma wouldn't hurt as much. It worked better than expected and I was able to complete the run with only moderate pain.
Wednesday - 4 miles on treadmill at 8:57 recovery pace. Left foot and ankle were very sore.
Thursday - 11 miles on treadmill at 8:29 pace. Major snow and ice storm made running outdoors impossible. My foot wasn't as sore as I thought it would be. I did wear Asics on Wednesday so maybe the toe box is the key.
Saturday - 4 miles at 8:40 pace on treadmill again. Wore the Axiom's, no problem, still icing constantly.
Sunday - 17 miles, outside, in shorts, at 9:13 pace, avg bpm 145. I had some kind of stomach virus on Saturday which led to many trips to the bathroom and hardly any sleep. This led to no energy for this run. I had to run through many snowy and icy spots so that also contributed to the super slow pace but I decided to just stay in the recommended heart beats per minute range of 130-148 and not worry about pace. As long as I was in this range, then I was doing the workout at the correct intensity, regardless of pace. It felt good to put in a solid long run. I was tired but not spent.
Monday - just a quick update on the Morton's Neuroma. I've only had to ice it once so far today and I'm walking and taking the stairs normally again. So I'm really hoping that I dodged the bullet on this one. I'll keep treating it and taking the proper precautions.
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