A half marathon you say?

Last weekend, Retired Sorority Girl and I took a trip to San Antonio to visit WWJCD and watch him run a full marathon ... oh and we decided to run a half marathon as well.  Unfortunately, a fracture in the right foot eight weeks prior slowed down the training and I was only able to get in a six mile run prior to the race.  I didn't think this would be too much of an issue and of course I was incorrect.

Here is a quick rundown of the race:

• Pre-Race 
• Very excited but a bit worried that the 90 degree temperatures are going to be a bit warmer than expected. That and no one trained in any temperatures above 80 degrees ... in fact, during my longest run it was 45 degrees. 
• Mile 1
• Good times. This should be fun ... everything is going well.  I think I might be able to pull this off 
• Mile 2 
• I just ran past the Alamo and it looks like a suburban two story house. Seriously, very underwhelming but the way I see it, I'm running over Santa Anna's army and I'm going to kick this race's ass. Six miles of trianing only ... pfft. I've done this before ... just win baby, win! 
• Mile 3
• Damn ... it's hot.  And these compression socks are only compression heat into my body. Why did I think this is a good idea? I'm at the 5K mark and I'm starting to feel those neat little pains in my shins and calves.  
• Mile 4 
• Ok, that's it, I'm exhausted, its 92 degrees and someone forgot to tell me that my wave included the 5K. I went from running with 3,000 people to 150 people.  Not cool. Oh and I keep passing all these BBQ restaurants handing out free food. Absolute torture ... I wish I had some brisket to help me through this monster. 
• Mile 5
• Welcome to Trinity University.  Hopefully, someone here at Trinity University has some Vicodin because I'm pretty sure my right foot is re-broken.  I can actually feel my pulse in my toe nail. Looks like there might be a hill on this mile ... but at least I'm running through a University and the Zoo! yeah, the school is right next to a zoo which looks kinda awesome. At least I'm getting to see some cool things on this race.  Maybe I'll see a Polar Bear? 
• Mile 6 
• I haven't seen any animals, all the kids at this University are tools with stupid @$@#$ signs and this hill is now going on its second mile. Who in the hell thought it was a good idea to have a hill that covered multiple miles? Just passed a band called Death Parachute and they were awful.  I thought this was the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon and there were going to be good bands? 
• Mile 7
• WTF - I'm still going up hill and I think I just saw the cast of the Biggest Loser sprinting up the side of the hill.  Dolvet looked like he was beating one of the slower cast members with a rubber hose ... or maybe I'm hallucinating because its 92 in November and I'm running up a hill! A !@#$%!%! two mile hill. 
• Mile 8
• Finally .... downhill.  I officially can no longer feel my feet and for some reason, the scar tissue in my right shoulder decided to say hello. At least I'm out of that University and now in a really nice neighborhood. 
• Mile 9
• No longer in a nice neighborhood and just passed a gay nightclub with a man standing out side wearing pasties and a Darth Vader mask.  I'm not sure he's running the race but pretty sure he could pass me at this point. Oh and the woman in front of me just farted really loudly and I think the actually just shit herself.  Nothing says HOT like having someone in front of you shit themselves as you are running. 
• Mile 10 
• OMG ... I can see the Alamodome. I'm only a 5K away from the finish line.  I'm so excited, I can't wait to get there because I can't feel my legs, I just had some dude shit themselves and pretty sure they just handed out instruments to homeless people to play music along the race course. 
• Mile 10.5 
• @#$%!^!#$^ - super, my arm band for my iPhone 5S just ripped apart (Yarbuds - crap, don't buy it) and my iPhone 5S battery about to die. Seems like the wizards at Nike didn't build an ap that can last a half marathon. Great job guys ... hope you are enjoying the 50 degrees and rain back in Beaverton! 
• Mile 10.6 
• Yeah, !@#$!@#$ this ... I'm never running again. Time to walk kids. Passed my first passed out person lying on the side of the rode as some EMT's pour ice water all over him. The good news ... nipple band aids are holding up so no bleeding! 
• Mile 10.7
• I think I just realized that I'm walking faster than my jogging pace over the last couple of miles.  How is that possible? 
• Mile 11
• Stopped for a quick stretch of the calves and that was a horrible idea.  Calves are fine but my feet and hands are so swollen I need to ditch the shoes and the wedding ring is coming off.  Oh and the water stations have resorted to handing out salt packets to everyone to help with hydration.  Good news because this is the last water station for the next 2.1 miles ... bad planning. 
• Mile 12 
• This is my second 1/2 Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon and I've realized that the organizers are cruel !@#$@# and they like to end the races on stretched of land that involve no shade, concrete and even less water. The good news, we just merged with the Marathon runners and they are streaming past me. As if my self esteem wasn't crushed by the three mile hill, now I have really good runners striding past me like a herd of gazelles on the plains of Africa. 
• Mile 13 
• Yeah, @$!@#$ Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon, !$#~!# % this heat, !#$!@#$ San Antonio and the lack of water stations.  Ugh, I'm not sure how I made it this far and pretty sure the next .1 might kill me 
• Mile 13.05 
• Photo shot - no smile, game face. Fist to the chest ... I'm not smiling ... very little about this race was fun for me. oh and good news ... the nipple band aids worked. No chafing ... but pretty sure my right foot is re-broken. 
• Mile 13.1 
• And we are done ... time was horrible but at least I finished the bastard. I'm exhausted, hot, miserable and in need of an IV and some serious pain meds. Dreading that fact that I'm headed to the airport and will sit on a plane for the next couple of hours. 

So that was a glimpse into my inner monologue for the race. I'd have to say that not being able to train properly was a real reason for my misery.  I learned a key lesson that you can't just go wing a half marathon. That's a terrible idea and anyone that thinks its a good idea should be electrocuted.  Of course, the guy that came in second place in the marathon, did it in 2:30 and had never run a race before.  Bastard ... 

And of course, you would think I hate running and will never do another race ... and you would be wrong. I've decided that I'm actually going to fully train for the next one and get my ass an gear. I have five months to prepare for the Atlanta Half Marathon ... BRING IT!  oh and can someone please bring me my advil, it's Wednesday and I still can't feel my legs. 

Sounds like a book worth reading

Rabbi Shapiro posted the following on Facebook from Colin Woodward.  It's a very interesting overview that states we don't have 50 states, rather 11 districts.  And if your keeping score because you are a fan of the Hunger Games, the 12th District ... we never speak of the 12th District.

Anywhoo, pretty interesting concept.  I hope that the Greater Appalachia and the Deep South merge and run the country.  No wait, I think that may have happened a few hundred years ago. Huh ... well, since our current administration refuses to look back at history and learn any lessons, I will do the same.  Happy Tuesday!

Adios Bravos

Big news, the Braves are leaving Atlanta. Well, not really, but they are leaving that dump of a neighbourhood where they play now.  At first, I was a skeptical, but then a wise Dr. Noisewater pointed out that the new stadium is a fantastic venture.  And after thinking about it ... I couldn't agree more.  Some points on why I think it would be a good idea:

1. The current stadium is not a baseball stadium ... it's an Olympic facility turned into a stadium.
2. Traffic will suck ... traffic sucks everywhere in Atlanta. 
3. The new stadium will give the Braves the chance to create Bravesville or whatever.  In other words, a Wrigley / Fenway environment which is amazing. 
4. No MARTA = fine by me.  MARTA would be great if it went anywhere and didn't delivery cholera across the city.  I've lived all over the world and MARTA is by far the worst public transportation I've ever encountered. 
5. The deal is bad news for Kasim Reed. Just shows he hedged his bets on the Falcons in Atlanta, not the Braves.  I actually love the way the Braves negotiated the deal in secrecy and announced it a week after he was re-elected mayor.  
6. So the Braves won't be in Atlanta but adjacent to Atlanta.  Does it really matter? What matters is a ballpark that draws fans and that the Braves win.  That's what matters.  

So here's to 2017 and a new facility / area. From what I saw in Oregon, I hope they get Nike to create the Stadium and everything around it.  

Now this is advertising that works. Thanks, Ron Burgundy!

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Love Guy Fawkes Day ... and I miss it terribly. Since I can't get drunk tonight b/c of work stuff nor burn any effigy's, I've decided to share some Guy Fawkes Day love with some V for Vendetta.  

I'd also say listen to these words ... interesting. "People should not fear their governments; governments should fear their people."

Vald's not messing around

In a move that every nation in the world should follow but won't because of some PC garbage, Russian Emperor Valdimir Putin signed a law requiring terrorists relatives to pay for damages (story).  What an amazing concept, share accountability for someone going off the rails.  So does that mean that we can now charge the Boston bombers family for what happened on Patriot's Day? And speaking of which, whatever happened to their parents? They weren't very nice and are they still in Russia? Wonder if they are now roommates of Edwards Snowden.

Speaking of Snowden, the fact that he asked for Clemency from the United States is comical. And yesterday, he released more damning information about NSA and spying.  Yeah, if there were a betting line on Snowden's life expectancy, I'd take the under.

In other news, day light savings ... which means I still woke up really early and got the opportunity to ... yup, work an extra hour.  Awesome. At least I mixed in a few hours of Battlefield 4 which is pretty amazing and has some super amazing sniping capabilities.

Oh and in other news, I'm running a half marathon in exactly 13 days ... yeah, me thinks that might be a mistake but i'm doing it anyways. And I'm going to shave a mohawk!

'More Than F*cking History!' Hilariously Drunk Bostonian Drop F-Bomb Liv...

Greatest clip ever ... i was alive since probably 1988 ... amazing. Go Sully, Go Sox!

http://www.youtube.com/v/TZLJgbl-XyQ?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=h_IfsM5Jo0iKWcgtx1yggw

Dropkick Murphys Shipping Up to Boston Game 6 of the 2013 World Series

http://www.youtube.com/v/wx-Ytx2pKY4?autohide=1&version=3&autohide=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=CA_EHeuyUvT2xDKObwEyHw&showinfo=1&autoplay=1

Order is restored ... sorta

With all the things that are out of whack in the World (see Washington D.C. and politics, The Atlanta Braves inability to play well in the off season, UGA injuries, etc.) it was finally good to see some order return with the Red Sox winning another World Series. While I wouldn't call it one for the ages (not like the 1991 WS with the Braves vs. Twins) the series was pretty amazing and the Red Sox won their first World Series at home since 1918.

For those of you that wonder my Boston affiliation and love, look to my childhood hero and Roger Clemens. Now the guy is absolute scum now, but back in the mid 80's through the 90's (before he became a traitor and went to Toronto), he was a machine and I dreamed of one day being a professional baseball player like Clemens. I went to Fenway a couple of times with my mom and dad to see the Red Sox and Clemens ... some of my favorite memories.

I also went a few years ago (as a birthday gift from my wife) to see the Yankee's and Red Sox in Fenway.  Probably two of the greatest games I have ever seen and one of my favorite birthdays.  There's just something magical about Fenway and the Boston Red Sox that I haven't experience with other clubs.

So while I'm a lifelong fan of the Braves, I also hold a special place in my hear for the Red Sox. I dream that one day I will make it to 7 consecutive World Series games when the Braves and Red Sox square off. Anyhoo,  last night was amazing and the Red Sox really delivered for the Boston community.  BOSTON STRONG!

60 Minutes: Benghazi

CNN - Hard hitting news

When I can't sleep, I generally turn on CNN because their incessant rambling about nothing will generally put me straight to sleep. Over the past week, there have been a number of interesting media stories that CNN is not covering. I'm not going to focus on what they didn't cover, but more on what they did cover ... Blackfish. No, not some racial story out of the ocean, but better yet, the story of killer whales, Orcas, in captivity and how they kill their trainers.  That's right boys and girls, the global economy is collapsing, we are spying on our friends and DC is in chaos ... and CNN is covering Orca's.

In fact, they covered a 90 minute story about the trainer at SeaWorld that was killed by an Orca that lived in a cage.  They even dedicated hours upon hours of programming time to talk about the dangers of Orca's potentially killing their trainers. I'm not saying its not a sad story and we probably shouldn't have giant killer whales living in a small cage and a swimming pool, but should this be the hard hitting news that CNN needs to cover? Or is our society becoming so idiotic that ratings are more important that real news and whales are more important that sharing the story of our countries problems?

While watching all of this, a few things popped into my mind as I watched the show:

1. Opening credits:  Who in the f*ck approved this story? 
2. 15 minutes in:  Let's play the common sense game:  You take a whale that is used to swimming in a 50 mile radius and put him in a swimming pool and cage at night ... and then wonder why said whale is angry and ate his trainer? 
3. 20 minutes in:  Whale weights 4  tons, trainer ways 140 pounds -- wonder who's winning this fight? 
4. 30 minutes in:  What's happening in Syria? I'm really curious about that right now? 
5. 50 minutes in: Wait so, Orca's are so dangerous that they could, could mind you, eat people in the ocean if they swim by them.  Would these people already be dead b/c the Orca's swim / live in artic waters?  Wouldn't hypothermia kill the people first?  And why in the hell would random people be swimming in arctic waters? 
6. 80 mintues in:  Why in the hell is this a story and that dude who trains tigers is on Piers Morgan next.
7. Post show:  Piers Morgan is actually interviewing people about Orca's. WTF has his career come to? I didn't care for his rants at the NRA, but at least they were relevant. Poor Piers Morgan is just doing whatever they tell him. Nothing like a hard hitting interview with Free Willy!
8. CNN is re-running Blackfish b/c of fan demand.  Oh dear lord ... CNN just confirmed their fan base is the largest group of not intelligent people alive. I now understand the political drama now ... CNN is shaping the minds of the tired, the poor, the huddled masses. 

So in a nutshell, the fact that CNN bowed to ratings and promoted Blackfish is stupid. Granted, Blackfish is a sad story, but it belongs on Discovery, Animal Planet or NatGeo.  CNN should be about hard hitting news and getting the facts out ... not about how three people (in a planet of billions) were killed by an Orca. Let's say we release all the Orca's tomorrow, it's not going to help the global economy nor is it going to solve the espionage or political issues.  

If this is the trend, then I'm excited to see FOX do a show on Polar Bears and MSNBC cover the Passenger Pigeon.  

Babies, babies and some more babies

It's officially, baby fever has taken over. Well, not directly in my world, but certainly around me. For instance, this weekend I got to hang out with my nephews and Captain Fry's son.  Great kids and pretty sure the three together are going to make a great backcourt, infield or something in the future.  I also had a co-worker that just had a little boy and all together, these four kids are pretty amazing.  Oh and good to see that they are all boys. I know there are thousands of Chinese right now wishing for some of these boys.

What I've realized is that I'll be ready for a kid when: 1. It's handed to me, 2. when I'm making millions of dollars.  They are awesome, they seem fun, but they also look like a giant handful and pretty sure I'll just have to be ready for that handful when it happens. Plus, I've got a lot of preparing to do in order to have, or join, conversations with kids. Spent the weekend talking (well, listening really) to people talk about babies and kids and all I can say is Jed didn't get to Ramble. I did learn that I need to make sure I refer to it by name and no longer "it" ... good life lesson.

In other news, the largest baby, POTUS, is back on the denial game about our spying on our allies. Yeah, you might want to adjust that comment, POTUS, because I'm sure Snowden has some gems up his sleep -probably a YouTube video of you and Biden listening and laughing to calls from Sarkozy and Merkel.

I wonder what information Snowden must really have. If this were the movies, and I believe life is just one giant movie, then Snowden's got some really amazing info that's sitting with some reporter, Grennwald, that he will release if anything ever happens to Snowden. It's like John Grisham and Tom Clancy are writing a screen plan / novel together.

And finally, Jed realizes his hiatus is costing him readers and would like to thank both of you that still read the page. Fear not ... more is on the way.

PlayStation Through The Years

An interesting look at the PlayStation through the years ... yup, I had all of them and will have the new one on November 15.  Just call Jed a big ole kid.

This looks fun ...

The shutdown continues ...

Almost like the Wu Tang classic Triumph, The saga continues ... Yeah, a little Wu reference for your Tuesday evening entertainment.

Some of my quick observations on the shutdown and other things in life:

• End the shutdown ... the politicians are making us look foolish. The entire shutdown is ridiculous regardless what of what political party you support. 
• Obamacare started and the website can't handle the forms or support. I spoke to an IT guy and he made a lot of interesting remarks about how badly the government designed the software.  Basically, it has nothing to do with servers and the software is tragically flawed. How in the world can you design something so poorly and have so long to create it? 
• POTUS is grandstanding and its going to come back to hurt him. Not paying for dead solider benefits and arresting vets at monuments is embarrassing. Especially not paying for the transportation of families to see their sons and daughters last trip back to the United States.  Regardless of the stupidity around Obamacare ... pay for our soldiers.  Go look at history, countries that don't pay / support their militaries usually don't have their support when they need them.  
• I've seen a few new healthcare premiums and they are much much higher than what anyone said. Believe it or not, I'm for a national health care policy but I would love to have more of a say for what I'm paying.  Our country is a great place that offers the American dream and last I looked, I don't work 70 hours a week to provide handouts to those who are taking advantage of the system. 
• Oh and the Atlanta Braves are shutdown because they had poor leadership.  Horrible managing decisions led to their demise and failure. Funny ... they are a mini example of our government. Bad leadership leads to failure.  
• I saw about an hour of the Patrick Swayze cult classic, North & South, this weekend.  Wow ... it's remarkably amazing and bad.  I love that its on repeat on StarZ at all times.  
• Got the new iPhone 5S and it's kinda awesome. Love having new gadgets.

And some new categories I'm going to share: 

1. Things I'm reading 
1. The new Popular Science that offers tips on survival. Who knew to never swim near a dock b/c hundreds of people are year are electrocuted. 
2. Video games I'm playing (yeah, judge me ... I don't care) 
1. FIFA 2014
3. Amazing things I'm eating 
1. Juice -- my new favorite breakfast full of pears, apples, oranges, pineapple, sweet potatoes and carrots.  Everyone needs a juicer ... life changer. 

Crossfit = not for me

I've always been quiet about my views on Crossfit mainly b/c no one cares, nor asks. But this morning, I had a chat with a co-worker about Crossfit and the ironically, stumbled upon this article on Gawker.  It's a great read.

I have to agree that Crossfit is great ... but screw Crossfit. I've done it once and watched it a number of time and I'm good thanks.  I have no need for the competition of lifting weights with others. I guess the competition out of my system when I was an athlete in college ... I feel no need to bring that back, especially with weights and strange exercises.

And the most important part of the article ... you will get hurt. Yup, you'll get hurt.  Non-athletes trying to do athletic things will equal in injuries. And sometimes really nasty injuries.

For people like my cousin, Crossfit is the greatest thing on Earth but for this guy, I'm going to stick with working out like regular people and having my trainer quietly kick my ass.

Shut Down Day 1

Here are a few things I noticed today with the shutdown:

1. CNN has a ticker for how long we've been in the shutdown ... which is kinda awesome and sad.
2. Hmmm ... yup, the only things of the shut down I noticed were provided to me by CNN. 
3. Oh and I was looking for some CDs earlier today and came across an old G Love and Jack Johnson CD. Thought I'd share a good tune for Tuesday evening. 

Shut it down boys and girls

SHUT DOWN ... it's coming. Much like the pending doom of the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs, the government shutdown is coming.

And the WSJ is actually throwing shots in opinion pieces at POTUS. Yes, you read that correctly, the WSJ is not bowing down to POTUS and actually spreading out the blame.  Yeah, I know, I just had to change my depends as well because I never knew that such opinions were possible. Put on a new diaper, take your blood pressure meds and read below:

"We've criticized GOP Senator Ted Cruz for his strategy to make defunding ObamaCare a requirement of funding the rest of government. He and his allies know that Mr. Obama can never agree to that, and even millions of Americans who oppose ObamaCare don't agree with his shutdown ultimatum. It risks political damage for the House and Senate GOP in 2014 even as Mr. Cruz builds his email list for 2016.

Yet it takes two to tangle, and Mr. Obama is as much to blame for the partisan pileup as Mr. Cruz. This is a President who is eager to negotiate with dubiously elected Iranian mullahs but can't abide compromise with duly elected leaders of Congress. He refuses to negotiate at all over an increase in the federal debt limit, claiming this has never happened. Like so much that Mr. Obama says, he knows this is false. His own staff suggested the spending sequester during the 2011 debt debate, and Democratic Congresses have used the debt limit to extract concessions from Republican Presidents.

Mr. Obama also refuses to bend on any part of ObamaCare—except when he unilaterally announces bending in his own political interest. He decided on his own, and contrary to the plain text of the law, to delay for a year the business mandate to provide insurance for employees. He also unilaterally delayed verifying the income of Americans seeking subsidies. He did this to pile more people into the ObamaCare exchanges, lest they fail, and to limit the harm to job creation before 2014.

Yet now he'd rather see the government shut down than accept the ObamaCare compromises that House Republicans have put in their latest government funding bill. He refuses to delay the law for a year though his own actions reveal it is not ready for prime time. And he won't even accept repeal of the medical-device tax that 79 Senators, including 33 Democrats, are on record as supporting. The tax is already hurting innovation and sending jobs overseas.

Mr. Obama's refusal to negotiate suggests that he wants a shutdown—either over the budget or debt limit. His agenda is dying on Capitol Hill, because of Senate Democrats as well as House Republicans. With his approval rating down and independents leaning toward the GOP, he figures his only chance to salvage a second-term domestic legacy is to restore Nancy Pelosi as Speaker in his final two years. His best opening to make that happen is a shutdown or debt-limit crisis that he will try to blame on Republicans. A shutdown is as much his strategy as it is Mr. Cruz's."


Link to opinion on WSJ

Shut 'em down

I hope Shut Em Down by Public Enemy's playing over the loud speaker through every hall, building and office in Washington D.C.  And yes, I completely see the irony of Public Enemy playing across the halls of Washington as a shutdown is about to occur especially with Chuck's affiliation to Obama.

No, I don't want the government to shutdown but part of me kinda wants it because I'd like for the public to perhaps act on the stupidity that runs (and ruins) this nation. It starts with the worst POTUS of my life time (yeah, yeah, yeah, Bush was bad but he didn't destroy the integrity of the presidency and at least he could answer questions off prompter) and goes all the way down to the intern will to sleep with anything to get a political job. They are all bad ... get rid of all of them.  Vote every last one of them out of office ... liberal, conservative, moderate ... they all have to go. Put people from our top corporations in office ... run the country like a business.  Do something ... anything.

Why can't we find different people to run for office? When I think through the options on my last voting ballot, all the options were basically the same except labeled independent, republican or democrat. I've always written in people not because I"m throwing my vote away, because I'd rather vote for something rather than some ass hat that's grandstanding for a few more minutes on CNN.

And while we are at it, let's take the 24-hour news cycle with them. Any chance we can figure out a way it can be "shut down" with the government?  I'm tired of seeing "breaking news" stories only to tell me that Wolf Blitzer has an interview with some Senator that no one really cares about ... or Sheppard Smith just got breaking news that someone is going to be holding a press conference about something in a few minutes. Why not make "breaking news" about ... wait for it ... actual breaking news? Why not cover news instead of trying to create it?  Ugh, and it's only Monday! Can you tell I worked all weekend? I could go on for hours, but alas, I will not.  I leave you with an angry Chuck D and Shut Em Down.

Time to Awaken The Nation

I'm bleeding out ...

Ok, that's a bit excessive but I'm traveling (shocker) and left my nice, Mach 26 razor at home. The hotel hostess heard me and was nice enough to give me a disposable razor and some shaving cream to use. The yellow and orange, single blade razor was new to me and I figured, how could this be bad? It's only one razor?

After about seven seconds of using the world's worst razor, I'm pretty sure I need stitches. I finally have a gash on my right cheek (I've wanted one for years) but sadly, its from shaving, not a fight with a terrorist.  Note to whomever is reading, never use the disposable razor.  Use a knife instead ... you will have better results.

I'd say this pretty much sums up the last couple of weeks ....

Yup, pretty much my mantra.  I'm blaming it on genetics ...

Everyone must get one of these!

Nothing like getting to second base on national television

Looks like this guy had more on his mind than the Braves game last night.  I'm not sure, but his date doesn't seem too comfortable with the situation.  Damn the torpedoes, this guys' getting to second base no matter what!

We should all listen to Tony Blair

The Honourable Tony Blair was on Piers Morgan last night and gave a fantastic interview (especially for CNN). I've always been a Blair fan (sorry English friends) and I couldn't agree more with some of his quotes / comments last night:

 "The trouble with these people is they're prepared to fight without hesitation, kill without mercy and die without regret. So what that means is in any situation where they're involved, they're going to be tough to beat. Now, in my view, you do have to beat them."

I could share lots of comments about the quote and some of his other comments, but instead, watch the video.  I'm fully on board with his comments and I'm glad to see Piers talk about something else other than Obamacare.

Here's the video link because blogger refuses to let me post a video ... stupid blogger.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/09/24/pmt-tony-blair-on-middle-east.cnn.html

Somebody has a case of the Mondays!

Yeah, I've got a case of the Monday's so there's not much in this Monday morning ramble that will be that great.  At least I warned you ...

• The Emmy's were boring.  I think they should merge the Emmy's and Porn awards ... that would make it much more entertaining. 
• Music Midtown was this past weekend and I chose (wisely) not to go.  I love listening to all my friends / co-workers that braved the monsoon rains to go and this morning basically can't talk or have early versions of the flu.  I'll be super excited when it spreads through out the office 
• College Football this past weekend was terrible. I'm no fan of the NCAA but I'm starting to be less of a fan of the schedule makers.  There were maybe three games that were watchable.  And hats off to Urban Meyer for throwing on a hapless opponent up 60 in the second half. I guess the highlight would be that he didn't throw the ball to Aaron Hernandez. Keep it Klassy Urban! 
• And that's really all I have to say about that.  I sent a co-worker an email this AM stating that "today is going to be amazing" so I'm off to go sprinkle some pixie dust on stuff and make magic happen. 

What's the deal with op-eds?

Last week it was Putin, this week it was McCain ... today, it's the president of Iran (Rouhani). For the record, I miss Balky because I could make comments about Perfect Stranger, but anywhoo ... back to op-eds.

Why the sudden influx of op-eds? Does no one want to throw a video up on YouTube?

After listening to a few people (not co-workers) talk about op-eds, it made me wonder if people actually understood the definition of an op-ed.  To clear it up, an op-ed is not:

• An endorsement by a publication of an idea 
• An endorsement by a country of an idea 
• The thoughts of the people 

An op-ed is a paid vehicle where high profile people / companies go to explain a situation.  In the case of Putin, the op-ed was put in place by a PR firm, Ketchum. No clue about McCain's or Rohani's but I'm going to assume there was some slick, silk suit wearing PR person behind the scenes. The reason for the education is that I've heard so many head-scratching definitions / thoughts behind the op-eds that its made me laugh out loud ... mainly b/c they are a tool I've used (in the past) for work.   

So now that the education is over ... the op-eds are kinda entertaining.  I love how everyone is getting excited, angry and frustrated over them.  They are a speech placed into words in a paper. I also find it more amusing that said politicians don't put up a YouTube, FB or Instagram video. Clearly, they didn't want their voice heard or else they would have gone to social media instead of a dying medium that has a paid subscription base online. 

So that's my political / education rant for the month. I'm going back to bad political commentary and sports comments. 

Yup, I'm injured again ...

While trying to get in shape for a half marathon, Jed decided to head out for a nice job.  Around the two mile mark, Jed found some concrete and a tree and decided to run into it, fall to the ground and injure his foot.  After a week of limping around, Jed headed to the medic to find out that he's got a nice lil fracture and a sprained foot. The good news - not much you can do about it except chew on advil.  The bad news - no half marathon for Jed.  Pretty sure Jed's going to move into a bubble soon if things don't get better.

Oregon Ducks!

This past weekend, I headed to the left coast for some work ... and some Oregon Football.  I've always wanted to see the Ducks play and I was finally allowed to see Oregon v. Tennessee.

Eugene is a very interesting place.  Its very relaxed and I think that has a lot to do with the giant hash cloud that is surrounding the city.  Here are some other things I noticed:

• Amazing athletic facilities .... best I've seen. You can tell that when Nike puts their money against something, the results are incredible
• Puddles the Duck is an amazing mascot ... best in College sports. Yes, better than Uga. 
• They don't tailgate out west. Very odd but they really don't sit around or have the tech set ups you see across the SEC
• The fans are incredibly nice 
• Oregon's entrance is awesome.  It's more College Football theater than X and O's and full on hitting.  I'm not taking anything away from the Ducks, but there is a tremendous difference between how they warm up than any SEC team I've seen
• The team is small and incredibly fast.  Fastest I've ever seen.  
• Autzen isn't very large, but its incredibly loud.  
• We never got to see Puddles in person, but I'm pretty sure when he was on the field he was looking for me ... I'll share pictures. 

Overall, I'd tell anyone and everyone to goto Autzen to see the Ducks play.  It's an awesome experience and glad and can tick that one off the bucket list.  

Never Forget, Never Surrender

I was just at the 9/11 Memorial site and it is truly a moving experience. I remember 9/11 as if it was yesterday and I'll never forget watching it in my office lobby while talking to Jeff Mullins about what was unfolding.  I'll also never forget standing out side with WWJCD and panicking a bit when fire trucks flew down the road and military helicopters scream across the sky.

And I remember sitting with my family listening to President Bush. And I remember watching Bush yell on a megaphone to the crews at the site. And I remember holding a candle outside of Highland Tap singing God Bless America the days following. And I remember all the soldiers I've known that have fought for us and come home injured, haunted or gave the greatest sacrifice for us all and didn't come home at all.

I will never forget ... and we as a nation (the people not politicians) will never surrender. We may have politicians now and in the future that apologize for this nation, but we as a nation are people that will never apologize and will never forget who we are and what we stand for.  We must remember what Aristotle said, "Those who cannot bravely face danger are the slaves of their attackers" and continue to stay frosty!

Welcome!

Welcome to Jed Like's To Ramble. Previously, Jed created a blog called No Where Near Berlin that followed his travels around the World. Then, Jed got married and created a blog called Journey To Camelot (which is still live). But since JTC focuses on experiences with his wife, it really doesn't allow him to let loose the crazy ... so we give you Jed Like's To Ramble.

And Jed's going to ramble about a lot of things ... at all times.

So comment, like, hate ... Jed doesn't care.  And remember, careful of your comments because Jed's fought off Russians, Cubans and North Koreans so he is a pretty testy individual.

God Bless America!