The Today Show: what did I just spill in my lap?

I got home from a workout this morning and the television just happened to be on NBC. The Today Show was the broadcast. It took me back to my college days when morning free time was abundant and the Today Show would be on from time to time. I remember it being a somewhat entertaining show that gave some news and relatively relevant informative segments.

Well, in the last 17 years of work, I haven't missed anything in regards to the Today Show. In fact, the programming has taken a sad nose dive in quality and it should be sent to the refuse pile. Actually, the refuse pile might be an honorable dismiss of the show; it needs a new, lower pile for it to retire. David Sarnoff should return and give them a good Sarnoff beating.

Today's news stories (this is supposed to be the serious part of the show) included a story about the release of pelicans on the Florida coast and a shark that is following seals near some beach in California. This was the serious stuff. Then their segments included the pressing news of Sarah Palin's daughter's announcement that she was getting back with her boyfriend and father of her baby. They might actually get married. This story required an interview with the editor of some important magazine that deals in celebrity/political news. And, the Palin's did not know of this announcement until the release of the article in the very important magazine. I'm glad I did not miss this story. Then the elite Today Show, with Matt Lauer as the captain of the ship of fools, thought it to be of most important entertainment to introduce us to a 31 year of single man whose mother is trying to get him "hitched." I noticed that this young man's mother was not wearing a wedding ring, I suggest maybe he get hitched to her. He has spent 31 years riding on her coat tails, he might as well add some responsibility his smug smile. My favorite story was the finance segment where they took a question from a viewer who is loaded with credit card debt, has two children and two incomes but can't catch up. The financial geniuses suggested getting the card interest rates lowered and stop using the cards. What insightful advice! I'm sure that couple hasn't thought of that. Then the experts looked in the camera and gave "sympathetic" smiles like they understand the situation.

This show made me throw up or spill my coffee in my lap; I wasn't sure what that hot feeling was because I was trying to wipe the glaze from my eyes and the stupidity from my brain. I hope that people don't actually watch this show and that the advertisers who support the show eventually figure out that they are sponsoring garbage.

Now that I have lowered my blog to the lowest denominator with my "Supposedly Interesting Thoughts" on this topic; perhaps I should dump it as well.

Rock Island Trail

Took a few hours today to visit the Rock Island Trail this morning. I can't believe it is mid-July and I haven't been out to run or ride. While that is disappointing, I still had a great ride today. I hitched up my daughter's trailer and she eagerly hopped in the trailer. We did a three hour round trip from the Alta trail head to Princeville. Kaleigh chatted it up to Dunlap then suddenly got quiet. I looked back and she was sound asleep. She slept the entire 30 minutes it took to get to Princeville. It was a BNSF train that jolted her out of her sleep. She was so excited to see the train because we had ridden a train to and from Colorado, but that morning in her tumbling class, they marched around pretending to be a train.

Then we stopped for a break so she could stretch her legs and we both enjoyed peaches, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. We also took a short walk to inspect the white butterflies fluttering about. The regular flies got the better of us and we loaded up and headed back. It was a great day with great weather but even better company. We will be back soon.

Update September 16, 2024:

Kaleigh is now a senior in high school.  I am full of joy that I have these memories of bike riding with her in the trailer.  We visited the Rock Island Trail many times together and as a family over the years.  The trail is an asset to our region with the miles of well-maintained old railroad bed trail.  Peaches, carrots and cherry tomatoes, are a nice snack from a dad who these days would probably bring chips, cookies, and Gatorade.  Ha!  

Buried Article

Page A11 in the bottom left corner of the Peoria Journal Star last Thursday was an eleven line article that stopped me in my scanning from the doldrums of oil leaks, Avanti's dome, U.S. General changes in Afghanistan, Peoria shootings, yada yada yada. The headline: "Last South Dakota code talker buried." Many thoughts crossed my mind when I saw the headline, but a lesson I try to communicate to my students immediately came to mind.

We all carry our life story with us and when we are gone, our story is gone. I tell my students that there is no way that we will know all the stories, but we cannot discount people. Their stories are important and we need to listen to the stories and pass them on. I saw this article and all I could think is I hope that Clarence Wolf Guts' story lives somewhere. He is gone and his voice is gone. All we might have is the story that he told someone. This hero's story is seemingly so significant but so small in actual remembrance. Maybe technology like this will help us to document our stories so the future generations will remember and learn from us easier.

Wallpaper

We have decided after 5 years in our house (at the insistence of my wife) that we redecorate our bathroom. She (and I, admittedly) have had it with the seahorse door handles and sea shell wall paper. Part of what has held us up in the past is a lack of direction. We knew we didn't want the ocean theme any longer, but we couldn't finalize on a new look for the bathroom. Our daughter has the easy solution...pink, Barbie or Hello Kitty bathroom. While that would be nice, that's not going to happen. So, I made a decision that has erased any doubt that a decision will easily be made. Like any good-minded husband, I stepped out of the decision making process and turned all power of decoration over to my wife. I trust that she will make an excellent decision, and I also know that the decision will finally be made. I accept the responsibility that I have dragged my feet on the bathroom project long enough.

So, last night, bathroom destruction began! We spend three hours applying that goopy compound and scraping off paper, old glue, and some paint. We spent three hours on one panel of drywall. We still have three panels to go! Lets just say, I hate wallpaper. I have decided if you ever want to do an evil act to an eventual buyer of your house in the future, or if you feel like self inflicted evil in the future, you should apply as much wallpaper to your house as you can. It will eventually lead to misery, anger, frustration, and quite frankly, a complete breakdown of whomever will be removing it in the future. Did I mention that I hate wallpaper? It is kind of the slang language of home decorating. It looks cool when you put it up, but it is quickly out dated. And, it looks silly if it is kept up too long, but some of it never goes away driving people crazy. I hate wallpaper.

The Warrior Dash

Last weekend I ran in "The Warrior Dash" in Joliet. The race was an off road 5K with muddy hills and obstacles. I would not consider it a challenging race physically, but it certainly did not disappoint in the thrills, excitement, and "good times" category. Some of the more memorable experiences were the mud pits. One with a slide down to a knee high pit then a muddy climb out, and of course the ever popular finish in the mud pit crawl with barbed wire over your head. Also, the junkyard barriers were especially fun for me as I took great joy in doing a Bo and Luke Duke slide across a hood and jumping on top of the car and getting a bit of bounce to launch me off. I also enjoyed the (maybe most dangerous in my eyes) the fire leaps. As I approached the first line of fire all I could think was that I was

going to slip on my approach and fall face first into the fire. The post race party was great as well, with live bands and DJ's and groups of people sharing th eir warrior stories. The race was a blast, and I will definitely find myself being a warrior next year.

Things that make you go Hmmmm...

What are these guys thinking about? Probably second breakfast.

The MRT is Awesome!

I recently returned from my bike trip to Winona, Minnesota. Once again it was a most enjoyable trip filled with headwinds in Illinois, rolling hills in Iowa, and great descents and climbs in and out of the Mississippi River Valley. Also making the trip great was the company. I went with three colleagues from PCHS and the verbal jabs, encouragement up the hills and laughter were frequent.

We all feel that the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) road in northeastern Iowa is a great example of cycling and motorized vehicle harmony. On each side of the road (a two lane highway) there are paved and clean cycling lanes about seven feet wide each side. It made for safe riding on the bikes and kept the traffic from coming close to our sides. The day earlier we were on a two mile stretch with little to no shoulder and we were constantly beaten by trucks and cars driving by at 55+ MPH. Not only does this toss a cyclist around but the cars and trucks are, in most cases, closer than 3 feet. This is not fun for either the drivers of the cars and trucks, but it is not fun or safe riding for the cyclist.

It seems that the Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (from Illinois) supports road projects like the MRT. He says in a written statement that, "We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities." I hope that this includes more new road and road repair projects that include biking lanes like those found on the MRT.

Here is the irony to this statement and my accolades of Iowa's MRT project. In the most recent issue of Bicycling (July 2010) there is a small piece I will quote here. "Iowa Congressman Tom Latham ridiculed transportation secretary Ray LaHood for his support of cycling, declaring that 'one biker is one less person paying into the transportation trust fund.'" Isn't that an amazingly disappointing statement coming from anyone, but especially from someone who represents a state that has the MRT and citizens happy to see us riding through their small towns spending money. And, as Bicycling editors note, "Hey, Latham: You know most cyclists drive right? We vote, too."