The kids have effectively rendered our home PC useless.  Austin has recently started to use MySpace and shortly after, the spy ware started coming in.  I've been fighting it for a couple of weeks.  This week it got really bad.  Seems the more you try to clean it, the worse it gets.   Right now, a lot of the services won't even come up anymore.  Can't get onto the internet, not even to the IP address of my router!  Can't copy/paste, can't drag and drop, so I'm using xcopy to copy all of our music, pictures, mpgs, etc from the PC to our external Hard Drive.  Damn what a pain in the ass.  So, when I'm done with all of that, I'm going to wipe it clean and start from scratch. 

I've had a really good week running.  I've run every day so far this month.  50 miles last week, 54 miles this week.  I'd like to try to run every day this month.  I have to work on Sunday for a system upgrade starting at 6:15 am.  Hopefully, we don't take the full 24 hours that is allotted to us and I can squeeze a run in there.  My first official 5K of the summer will be next Saturday, a local, low-key race.  It's a little ambitious at this point, but I'd like to try to break 18:00 first time out.

BTW, "Alone In The Dark" sucks.  I've played it for a total of about two hours and the game actually has me turned off of it.  So, I'm glad I only rented it and didn't buy it.  I don't have to return it until Wednesday, but I doubt I play it again...

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Another pretty good workout on the track tonight.  Tonight, ran at Rose-Hulman track.  Did 3+ mile warmup, struggled a little.  Then did 8x400m followed by 8x200m.  The 400m repeats were faster overall than Saturday, but the 200s were about the same.  It was really tough as I ran the workout by myself tonight.  Then ran 2.5 mile "cooldown" at 6:30 pace.  Hard to explain that one.  I could have probably gone another 5 miles at that pace.  Probably about 9 miles total for the day.  Got three 5ks lined up July 19th, July 25th and August 2nd. 

Kourtney had a better practice tonight.  Her knee that she had surgery on is starting to bother her a little, so we're going to have to get her in to the doctor.  Her Broadway on the Bash sounds really exciting.  The performance is in less than two weeks.  I'm really looking forward to Wilkommen from Cabaret, Seasons of Love from Rent, What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line and a whole bunch of others. 

Austin is really starting to take interest in trying to learn to play electric guitar.  He is becoming rather resourceful as he has been finding tutorials off of WikiHow and other sites.

While upgrading our Dish Network tonight, Mariah realized that she paid our next door neighbor's bill.  We were getting ready to leave for vacation and were scrambling to get all of the bills out.  This bill was large, indicating that we hadn't made our last months payment, but Mariah made the payment anyway, unaware that she had our neighbor's bill, not ours!  Well, she fixed all that tonight, and the neighbors are probably going to be in for a surprise.

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I'm ready for it.  I just watched the last of the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials.  Lots of good races.  Lots of promise.  Some disappointment, reality, etc.  I'm really looking forward to the Olympic games now.  I'll have to get my DVR set up. 

I ran really well this week.  Made it 50 miles for the week.  Thursday I once again ran a really good tempo run, struggled a little, but still ran 8 miles at 6:17 pace.  The weather was so cool so I took advantage of it.  Didn't run the 1 mile race July 4th that we have here in town.  Figures, the first time in 9 years that I haven't had to work July 4th, and I didn't run the race.  Saturday was a really tough track workout by myself.  It really took guts to make the whole workout.  8x400m all 76 to 78 seconds with the first one in 81.   Then 8x200m, progressing faster, starting with 37.3 down to 34 seconds for the last three.  Then today, what was supposed to be an easy long run, turned out to be a 14 mile tempo run in a near course record 1:36:38.  Had to run in the heat of the day, so I really struggled from 10 miles on, even then, what felt like I was jogging was still a 7:06 mile for the last mile.  Went to Mariah's grandma's and swam for about an hour (soaked) with Mariah and the kids.  I am so sore and the tightness in my lower calf has shown up again, so I'll have to be careful.  Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to get Austin onto the track.  Kourtney has her first day of Broadway on the Bash from 8 until 5.  Then her first high school soccer practice from 6 to 8:30.

Work was really rough last week and this weekend.  Things are a bit of a mess and it's going to take an effort to really clean it up.

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Work was so crazy today.  Today was definitely a two fire day in a one fire truck town.  Even though I'm irritated, it hasn't reallly bogged me down.  Vacation may have helped more than I realize.  We'll see. Tomorrow evening is going to be a little tricky.  Then Friday, once again working on the 4th of July.

Got a lot of new DVDs.  Family Values 2006.  Sucks.  Quality is basically bootleg.  I like the groups, but damn.  Steve Miller Band Live 2007.  Actually pretty good.  And even though I love Steve Miller Band's music, it actually makes for a bit of a boring concert.  Deep Purple around the world.  Excellent.  Most impressive though so far is Judas Priest Rising In The East.  Been a fan of theirs since 1982.  Rob Halford can actually sing well.  I'd never heard anything live from them.  Today during my brief getaway for lunch, I went to Headstone's and bought three records, Deep Purple's "Fireball".  The title track is probably my favorite Deep Purple song.  Got Judas Priest's "Hell Bent For Leather" and David Lee Roth's "Eat 'Em And Smile".  All for $9.  A little more pricey than I'm used to for used LPs, but these are in really good shape.  About 50 of my LPs got damaged when our basement flooded about 4 weeks ago.  Damn.

Also bought some new CDs while on vacation.  Disturbed's new CD "Indestructible" and their last one "The Thousand Fists".  Also got Flyleaf's new album.  Kinda good actually.  Then Lacuna Coil's latest.  Not entirely impressed, but haven't given them a fair shake yet. 

Mariah and the kids cleaned out my car today.  It looks brand new except for the growing rust spot on the rear fender and the eye sore of my right tire with no hub cap.  Thank CSX railroad crossing for that.

Had an excellent run the last two days.  Yesterday 3.25 miles in 20:28 with last mile in 5:52.  Today, an even paced 5 miles in 33:12 with the last half mile in 3:08.  It's been kinda cool.  Right hip area is still a little tight.  Right achilles isn't bothering me at all.  I've got to get the miles back up.  Maybe back up to 50 a week by the end of July.

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Not.  Just to Arizona.  What a wonderful couple of days it has been.  My family and I left for vacation Tuesday night and drove to Arizona (from Indiana).  We've seen so much.  We've driven so much!  First day we drove to St. Louis and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.  I have now eaten at HRC in 8 cities (St. Louis, Atlantic City, Atlanta, Chicago, Gatlinburg, Louisville, Indianapolis, San Francisco). Next day, drove from St. Louis to Shamrock, Texas.  Then Shamrock to Holbrook, Arizona.  Driving across New Mexico was like driving across Kansas!  I didn't think we would ever get across that state. 

It has been about 27 years since I've been to Flagstaff.  I ran a race this morning in Flagstaff.  It was a fun race.  It was quite a challenge.  It was a 15K trail race.  at high altitude, I'm a little beat up still from last Saturday's race, tight from three days of driving, and Austin and I got food poisoning at Fazoli's last night (Austin is experiencing much worse than I, and it takes quite a bit to knock this 10 year old on his butt).  But, I managed to finish 11th overall and made it through.  Ironically, the race is called Gaspin in the Aspen.  At 8060 feet above sea level, I was gasping for the first 45 minutes or so. 

We've taken so many pictures.  We very briefly visited the Grand Canyon as we had to leave when Austin's food poisoning kicked in.  Right now, Austin and I are in our hotel room hydrating and getting over this, and Mariah and Kourtney are doing our laundry.  The plan tomorrow is to drive to Mesa to visit Mariah's aunt.  Hard Rock Cafe in Phoenix may be a stop, but after Tuesday nights $82 bill, I'm not so sure.

Kourtney and Mariah at Union Station in St. Louis,






Kourtney approaching a raven





Me standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona next to a flat-bed ford.

IMG_0672[1]

Austin reading about the Crystal Forest in the Petrified Forest.

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I think.  Lots been going on.  Last weekend, we had major flooding as we had 9" of rain over night (15" for the week).  Not good.  Lots of people losing stuff.  We managed to get by with just 1" of water in the basement.  The floods were a good half mile from our house.  Some people that I know couldn't get out of their house, and one of my wife's friends couldn't leave her town for two days.  Looks like I might be able to see Rush after all.  Turns out that poor weather in Denver pushed a make up date to June 25th, which is the day they were supposed to play Indy. Rush is now going to play Indy on July 24th, so I may see about going to the show.  Less than a week before we go on vacation. I'm getting excited.  Work is hectic as I try to keep up as my two other co-DBAs are on vacation this week, so I'm going solo.  And I've got to wrap things up before I leave. 

I've been trying to watch the Euro 2008 soccer tournament on my new HD TV...  Haven't quite had the time.  Finally got to wrap up the French Open three days after it finished.  Nadal wins again.  Federer didn't look good at all in that match.  So, now only Nadal and Bjorn Borg have won the French Open four straight years.  Lots of good sports coming up on TV.  Euro Soccer 2008, USA T&F Olympic Trials, Wimbledon.  Been running really well.  Have our Half Day Relay race this Saturday.  Can't wait.  Gotta make sure I eat right and get enough sleep the rest of the week.  Looks like we're going to get a bit more rain through..

Kourtney is reading her first Dean Koontz book.  Looks like I need to put down the Wii controllers and try to read a little bit at night.

TooMuchRain

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How many houses have you lived in? How is where you live now different from where you grew up?

I don't know where to begin as I grew up as a Military brat.  How about chronologically.  I believe I lived in one place in my hometown my first 18 months, then moved to Germany for a total of four years.  Mannheim, Heidelburg and Bremerhaven, government quarters of course.  When I was 5, we moved to Oakland California, where I remember living in an apartment complex.  First grade, we moved to Carson City, lived in an apartment for a while.  Spent part of 2nd grade still in Carson City, but in a house.  Moved to Giessen Germany in 2nd grade.  Lived in Marshall Housing area through 5th grade.  Moved to Yuma Arizona and spent the remainder of 5th grade at Palmcroft Elementary school, living in a snow-bird trailer park.  6th grade, we moved on base (Yuma Proving Ground) and I spent 6th grade at M.E. Post in Yuma.  Moved to Naples Italy and spent 7th, 8th and 9th grade, living in US Government leased 12 story towers in a resort about 30 miles north of Naples (200 yards off the beach of the Mediterranean).  1984, came back to the US to Radcliff Kentucky and spent 10th grade at North Hardin High School, lived in a house a few miles from the school in Radcliff.  Following my sophomore year, we moved onto base and lived in government quarters at Fort Knox.  Spent 11th and half of 12th grade there.  Moved to Yokosuka Japan middle of 12th grade and lived in Negishi heights.  Moved to San Francisco April of senior year in HS and lived on base at the Presidio.  College lived in three different dorms at two different schools.  Lived in a rental house with 7 other guys the summer I got married.  Lived in married housing in college.  Then after graduating from college, lived in trashy apartment complex for 3.5 years.  Moved into our current house December 1996 and have been in it ever since.

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Long time no write.  Weird.  I have so much going on right now.  Kids are out of school, yet so busy.  Work was really crazy last week.  A lot of pressure and high visibility.  I've been there before though, and I made it through again.  Really didn't have much in the way of sleep last week.  Or even last night.

Storms last night left 25 gallons of water in the basement.  Apparantly we got over 4" of rain last night, and the drainage system just couldn't carry the water away quick enough.  So, that's what Mariah and the kids did this morning.  Austin is going to like an honors math program 5 days a week.  Kourtney's soccer conditioning for Terre Haute North High School starts next week, and she's still not even done with travel league until the 15th. 

Running has been going great.  I've had some really productive runs.  Although, for about 6 days now, I've had some achilles tightness.  Last Thursday, my right achilles started to hurt during my tempo run.  I finished the tempo run and it hurt pretty bad the rest of the night, and all the next day.  So that ended 102 miles in 11 days.  Ran 2 the next night in excruciating pain.  Then Saturday and Sunday, 100 minutes on the Octane.  Monday, 30 minutes Octane with 1 mile easy with Austin at his running program.  Tuesday, it felt a little better, and I ran a really quick 3.25 miles just a hair over 20 minutes with the last mile in 5:41.  Today, did 30 minutes on the Octane at lunch, then tonight, ran the same 8.5 miles as I did last Thursday.  Achilles was just a little tight the last two miles.  I had to alter my running a little bit and land a little harder on my heels as opposed to pushing off.  Range of motion is a little limited.  I started out really struggling, but even with that I was still running 7 minute pace.  On the way back from my out-and-back, I averaged 6:10 pace on the way back.  And it was really hot and humid.  Post rain.  Lots of trees down and some power lines down in Deming Park.  Pretty amazing.  It's supposed to get really hot in a few days.

Hehehehe.  Austin is doing downward dog on Wii Fit.  Never thought my 10 year old would be doing Yoga.  Funny.

I'm dehydrated.  I need to drink.  And get some sleep.  After I play some Williams Pinball on Wii.  Still trying to keep up with the French Open.  I'm two days behind.

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What a long weekend.  I had to work quite a bit, but I did have time to do stuff with Mariah and the kids, and got some running in.  Saturday morning, a group of 18 of us ran 9 miles from Hawthorn Park into town to Cracker Barrel and ate breakfast together.  That was fun time.  The weather was beautiful and the breakfast was good.  I managed to get in 63 miles last week.  First time I've done that since before the Columbus Marathon training in 2006.  Sunday was a 14 mile "tempo" run done at 6:30 pace.  I was so sore yesterday, but still got in a pretty good 8 miles. Running on the trails at Hawthorn Park and Rose-Hulman helped a lot.  Tonight, I ran speed work in a light rain, although a little breezy.  3+ mile warmup, legs were kinda dead.  Then did 12x400m with 400m jog between, then 2 mile cooldown.  Not quite 11 miles for the day.  And 30 minutes on the Octane during lunch. 
Work was hectic today.  Some of it was fall out from some of the maintenance that we did on our systems over the weekend.  It wasn't very smooth.  So, I'm a little irritable today..  The French Open started this week.  I finally got to see a little bit.  I saw Mauresmo wrap up her match and watched the first couple of games in Nadal's match.  I've setup our HD-DVR to record it all.  Got to watch the remainder of Nadal's match.  Hopefully I can keep up with the tournament.

An oh, the Indy 500 was this weekend.  BFD.  Can you tell I'm not originally from Indiana?

I saw a video of an upcoming release for the Nintendo Wii and immediately recognized the bass playing on the theme music.  It was Les Claypool from Primus.  They are one of my favorite bands of all time.  But amazing that you could hear a bass guitar in a song you've never heard before, but you recognize the sound and the style.

Neat.

Secrest out.

Congrats to David Cook American Idol.

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Tonight I did a track workout with Jeff and Josh.  It was a really good workout, but I'm still recovering from Saturday's Trail Half Marathon race.  So, the legs were really dead tonight.  Guess I'm still getting over it.  I was still sore going into the workout tonight.  My legs are still twitching 5 hours later.  But!  In my race, I finished 4th overall.  Three of my running buddies finished first, second and sixth.  There were probably 14 people from Terre Haute/Brazil that made it to the race 90 minutes away. 

My car is fixed.  I brought it in Monday and it was ready today by lunch time.  The whole front end of my car looks brand new.  Shweeet. 

Wii Fit came out today.  Not so sure we're going to get it.  We did get a new TV though.  Our old one died after 14 years.  We think lightning fried the power supply...

Tired....

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