Long way away, but

I know it is almost a year from now, but I already can't wait.




Still need to see Captain America and Thor.

Unplugged

So, I took the summer off from blogging. Partly from laziness and partly from the fact that I did not want to spend my summer in front of a computer. In fact, aside from the occasional email checks, Facebook updates, a few baseball and Tour de France updates (mostly done from my phone), I tried to stay offline as much as possible. It was somewhat liberating. I spent a lot of time teaching RPM at the Riverplex and teaching cycling at the Loop...actually, these consumed lots of time this summer. I trained in Body Combat. And I spent as much of the time left with my family.
I did from time-to-time wonder what I was missing in my RSS feed, but after a few quick scans of it, there wasn't much. A few postings from friends that I caught up on, but most professional stuff was "stuff" that could wait.
Regardless of the peace over the summer, I plan to get back in the swing of things and spout more Supposedly Interesting Things in upcoming weeks/months.

Send a letter

A friend of mine who is a columnist for the Peoria Journal Star, Steve Tarter, wrote in last Sunday's paper an article titled, "Business Watch: Help a postman-write a letter today." His article is right on so many different levels, I had to respond.

First, read his article (click above).

Second, a mantra in business is that you've got to change with your customer to survive and some argue that the post office hasn't done that. That isn't my argument. I feel that the post office is a service that we still need. What would we do if we got home from work and didn't get to make the trip to the mailbox to see what surprises are in there? Granted half the stuff I get is garbage or recycling, but it is a simple way to communicate, give and receive. Also, I'm still waiting for my million dollar check to come! If they dump Saturday delivery, I'll have to wait an extra day, probably. I'm not quite sure why the term "snail mail" got such a bad reputation. Don't good things come to those who wait? We don't have to get everything NOW! How about a little patience?

Third, I am all for helping people keep good jobs, especially in the environment we live in today. It is not going to break anyone's bank to do what Steve is suggesting: write a letter and if that is what it takes to keep an American staple of home delivery every day, how is that going to hurt? Write a letter once a week or once a month. Would it kill us to do that? Not just to save jobs, or a service that we all take for granted, but to write, share, think, care, etc. And, like Steve suggests, do you remember what it is like to get a note from someone in the mail? Isn't it fun to get a card in the mail on your birthday or Christmas? How would it feel to just get one for no reason except that someone was thinking about you?? I know, a foreign concept, because email and texts are so random and sent with little thought many times. And as we weed through our inboxes, how much time to you spend actually reading the contents? I've heard plenty of people, myself included, say, "I saw the message, but didn't really read it." A letter makes us stop and read. Do you have any idea what the handwriting of your family or friends is like? I will never forget what my dad's handwriting was like.

So, check your contacts in your email, see who your real friends are on Facebook (those would be the people whose address you know) and send them a letter in the mail. Also, maybe turn them to Steve's article or my plea (print them out and stick it in the envelope with your letter) and ask them to send a letter to a friend. If we all do this, we won't lose postal service, you might save your friendly, neighborhood postman/woman's job, you might rekindle an old friendship, you might get a surprise letter in your mailbox, you might reduce your stress by actually sitting down and thinking about something for more than sixty seconds. We all need that and so does the USPS.

CD revival stalled and Note to local Radio

The CD revival has been stalled and it is XM Radio's fault. Since our baby has been born, I have been driving our car and not the Aztec (long story). Anyway, the car has XM Radio and I discovered two stations that I can't leave behind when I'm in the car. One is BPM that plays techno dance and the other is the Grateful Dead station. I realize the stations are as different as black and white, but they both take me to different places in life.
I hope to get back to the CD revival soon, but as long as I'm riding in the car it will be XM Radio.

Oh, on a side note to all the radio stations in Peoria and their advertisers. Radio in Peoria is terrible!!! We are sick of light rock, pop/urban rap, canned country, and 80's and 90's heavy metal. Stations: get a real, original format that is different from your competitor. Advertisers: stop wasting your money and demand that the stations get real formats. Oh and get a clue, advertise on stations that meet your market. I don't think too many people listening to the rock and heavy metal station are going to the Peoria Symphony any time soon. Stop using Ad agencies!!!! Hire someone local who can actually listen to the station and understand who does or doesn't listen to the stations.

Happy Poetry Month

Rain, rain go away
the Bulls keep winning, so it's okay
the Hawks keep putting the puck in nets
I wish I would have placed some bets
if the Chicago boys of summer would start knocking in some runs
that might just bring out the sun

Happy Poetry Month from
the Cycling Librarian

CD Revival reveals "No Doubt" iPod worthy music

Yep, I know everyone has been wondering if I'm still listening to my entire CD collection and the answer is, yes! I did take a week off to go back and listen to several that I had determined iPod worthy, and I still agree they are.

I must admit that I am getting to a smaller collection of CD's that I roll my eyes at as I grab any random 5-6 to put in the car for the week. But today, I came across a couple of gems that I had forgotten all about. They are currently out in the car, so I do not recall the names of the albums. The band is No Doubt. Wow, I forgot how much of a Ska beat is on one of the albums, but the next is more electronic beat. Besides the nostalgia of the music and remembering how much I liked them about 10-15 years ago, some of the "flip side" songs really rocked.

It is re-discovery like this that is the reason why I am doing my CD revival. I will post again as I get close to finishing.

Can't wait for this!

New Avengers

Pretty excited about the sudden appearance of Dr. Doom in the New Avengers this month. He is one of my favorite villains. Well, I guess it isn't actually Dr. Doom himself, but one of his Doombots. I am going to guess that when a Doombot shows up, the real deal isn't too far behind. Oh, by the way I'm also pretty excited that the New Avengers, led by Luke Cage (very cool), have convinced Dr. Strange to join. I really hope he can somehow return to the Supreme Sorcerer. One more accolade, the artwork will keep me around for a long time, too.

Loving Every Minute

Well, it's official. I've been sucked in. Over Christmas I decided to inventory my comic book collection. I discovered that I seem to be missing all of my Iron Man and Dr. Strange books. Disappointing. I did start digging through several looking for some to sell to make more room for new ones still coming in. I still get Amazing Spiderman, New Avengers, Avengers Prime, Secret Avengers, Spider Girl and X-Force. Before you start thinking, whoa, what's he doing buying so many books? I could buy lots more...easily.

Anyway, I was looking for some books to get rid of and I thought, I will read them one more time, put them aside, and sell them. I started with the X titles: X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Cable, X-Force and X-Factor. All of these are books from 1991 to about 1998. I have been reading them all together chonologically (all titles from Jan. 1991 then Feb...) just like I did when I bought them new. Of course my books all start with the unbelievably good X-cutioner's Song storyline. Let's just say, I'm not getting rid of any of these, but I'm back reading everyone of them and loving every minute.