funrunlar

2006-06-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

Very Big Sports Weekend!

This weekend was a huge (and awesome) sports weekend. I am missing one shirt from the weekend. Things started at 3am on saturday morning (Relay for life). I am sorry I can't find that shirt.... Anyway, I did a jog/walk for a hour shift on team USA Swimming relay team. It was a good start to the weekend and hopefully lots of money was raised for cancer research. Then at 7am on saturday was the Sailin shoes 10k. I went 44:20. I was happy and it was great running weather. About 950 people did either the 5k or 10k. Then things finished off with the Star light ride. All the details from that are in the last post. It was a fun weekend and I need alittle extra sleep .....

2006-06-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

A Star Light Ride

It's been a big sports weekend! For this entry I will just highlight one of the events. Last night at 12:03pm was the star light ride through COS. It's a very fun low key event out on the bikes. This year lived up to the hype. We had Brian, Jim, Amy, Louis, and myself as part of a team. The ride was a little different this year and ended up being 22.2 miles. We finished up a little before 2am. Unfortnantly Jim didn't yell at any little kids this year. It's still a good story to tell! I have included a pic of another cool team from last night. This one family had an awesome setup. They had a bike for five (mom and dad and three kids). They had a communication system with some pretty cool lights to top it all off. I must say I have never seen anything like it before and I am still impressed.... I will have a blog of the entire weekend posted a little later.

2006-06-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

A run through the Garden

Today was the Garden of the Gods 10 miler. One of the toughest runs around! Charlene and I braved the course and took on the 1500 plus other runners. It was a lot of fun and the course lived up to the talk. Charlene ran a 1:28 and I was a 1:13. Next year they are changing the course so forget your old course PR's. It's going to get even tougher! Say it isn't so.....

2006-05-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

It's the Bolder Boulder!

Today is my birth day! It's very cool to have your b-day on the same day as the BB... About 50,000 runners zipped through the streets of Boulder this morning. It was alot of fun! My time was pretty good. Not a PR but pretty close 42:13. About 7 sec. slower than last year but basically the same. I was lucky to go in one of the earlier waves. So the staduim doesn't look to full. In about another hour (or so) Folsom field was completely packed. It takes about 2.5 hours to start every wave. Pretty crazy stuff! Have a great Memorial day!

2006-05-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

It's summer time

It's starting to get pretty warm outside and that can only mean one thing.... It's summer time! When it's that time of year the best thing to do is get a good hair cut! Copper got a really good cut on wednesday and she is very happy... Check out how she looks. Alittle more like a yellow lab and a golden but she is still a happy camper!

2006-05-22T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hard at Work this Weekend!

This weekend things went pretty well. It wasn't the most exciting but it was pretty productive. My front yard is slowly starting to show signs of turning green. I planted some flowers and put down alot of mulch in the back. Copper helped me with alot with the work. She was really good in three areas: 1. Picking up sticks! She loves good sticks...2. Digging a whole for the flowers. Shes is a great digger! 3. Supervising! If I wanted to take a break that was ok. However, all attention needed to be focused on her!

There is still a lot more work but we were able to make good progress!

2006-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's Spring Time in COS!

We have had several very nice days in good old COS! It's that time of year to get outside and get started on a little yard work. Day two and progress has been slow but steady. The watering system is up and going. Plus there is nothing better than alittle mulch to make a big impact. There are one pretty big surprise! At the end of the day today I found a new little friend, Sam the snake! He was living in the little shed in my back yard. I am not sure what I am going to do about that yet. I will try to come up with a game plan for that tomorrow. All is going pretty well and I am looking forward to the rest of spring and summer!

2006-05-13T04:13:00.000-07:00

A Big Challenge

Yesterday was the first annual Pikes Peak Challenge. It was a very good time and a pretty competitive event. There were lots of pics and video from the event. These are just a few to show some of the action. We had a lot of people that covered the event from the bottom to the top. I am sorry to the team covering the race at the starting line (Deb and Karin) because my camera was already at the top. Anyway, the runners were Russell, Pete, Dan, Brian, and myself. I was really happy to get to the top! It was a fun time and thanks to everyone who participated.

2006-05-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

A family picture

A couple of weeks ago my grandmother passed away. Not such a good thing... However, one thing it did give everyone a chance to do was take a family pic. I will write more later about who all these people are, but this is the Herr family!

2006-05-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

Back to Blogging with a new PR

Sports fan I am very sorry for the delay in blogging. Lot's of things have been going on. However, I am now back and ready to go. Today was the Indianapolis mini marathon. I have run this race the last 4-5 years. I need to do some research to find out exactly. I thinking that today was a PR for me 1:32.09. I was very happy with the run. Almost prefect conditions for good running. My race was pretty well split. The last three miles were a little tough but it went really well. I have a pre and post race pic and one of my parents as my support crew. They did a very good job! It was a good day out there and now on to do some outside projects.

2006-03-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

Sleepless in Seattle

I am currently in Seattle on a work trip. Last night a group of co-workers went out to eat at a place called Salty's. There were 12 of us that went to dinner. In one of the pics is Russell, Susan, and Amy. We all had a good time, the food was good, and we had a pretty good view of downtown Seattle. I think yesterday was a pretty rare day in this city, no rain. However, in true form it was raining this morning when I went out for a run.

Seattle seems to be a pretty neat place and a good change for a few days from COS.

2006-03-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

More medical trouble

In the last 3 weeks I have had more medical trouble than I have in the 9 years which I have lived here. My lastest trouble has been a fight with sever right shoulder pain.

I would like to thank my friend and co-worker Charlene for really helping me when I was in a ton of pain.

This morning I had an MRI to try to help find a cause. The early theory is a pinched nerve. I think I might also have some carpal tunnel syndrome. Next thursday I am going back to the doctor to read the MRI and get a plan of attach.

I will keep everyone posted as more info becomes avvailble. Thanks again Charlene for all your help!

2006-03-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

Book Review

I have recently finished reading two really good books. The first has been one of the most popular books in recent times. The Da Vinci Code is a great read. Action packed and an absolute page turner. If you are looking for a great book to try it's the Da Vinci code. I can't wait for the movie to come out in May.

The book I just finished was the Cell by Steven King. This is the second book I have read by Steven King. The first was the Green Mile series and this was just as good. Steven King can descibe a scene using adjestives that will make anyone jump. It's a good read and if you are either looking for something scary to read or a fan of Steven King you won't be disappointed.

I just started 1776. I will give a quick review of that one when I have finished.

2006-03-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

The Triple Crown of Running

Despite the fact that I am still on the disable list from the sprain I am really looking forward to running again. This week I signed up from the Pike Peak Ascent. It's a crazy run up pike peak. However, it's alot of fun and it's really well organizied. To find more about the series please click on the link....

2006-02-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

Injury Update

I am up and already starting ice rehab. Hopefully this is the worse it will look. I think the swelling has gone down alittle over the night. Right now I am at 24 hours post injury. Ice is helping and there is no pain. It's just a good old sprain! Hopefully a speedy recovery....

2006-02-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

On the Disabled List

It's my first injury of the young year of 2006. I was doing the Incline this morning with my friend Russell. We were talking and I wasn't looking out for rocks. One of them got me! Charlene took me to the USOC sports med this afternoon and they said just a good old sprain. Hopefully with a few off days I will be back in business. Luckily I had on some cool socks! So this weekend I am going to lay low and watch the Olympics.....

2006-02-19T13:53:00.000-08:00

New wheels!

It was w weird day yesterday. My lease on my car was coming up and I just wanted to go and check out some new option. It was just a research and investigation mission. Well after a few hours I left with a new car. I must admit it pretty cool! So far I am really happy with the larger car and more space. It's really nice. The only problem is that it's hoosier red! That a big buzz bumper but I will get over it. I need to find a cup holder for the drivers side. Not sure why it's missing but I need to get one. Anyways, so far I am happy with my new car!

2006-02-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Double Take!

Ok sports fans, I had a good day today. First time in 2006 we did the incline twice today. It was alot of fun! The conditions were amazing.. Every season is alittle different out on a good trial. I use to think the fall was my most favorite time of the year. However, the winter is my new favorite! Charlene and I took a good pic! It's was pretty cold day but didn't feel that bad out there! Thanks to Russell (team photo man) and Charlene for a fun day out on the incline....

2006-02-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

A tough team!

We did the incline this morning and it might sounds like this was just another old boring incline post. However, this morning was a day like no other! There was little snow and a couple of inches on the ground. We went up fresh power and it amazing! A little cold but that was ok (7 deg. regular and with alittle wind cild -13). However, we didn't really have any wind at all. In the first picture Russell and myself. Second picture is Deb and Charlene. Copper was also part of the team but she was so excited just didn't want to stop for a quick pic. We were the only ones out this morning and it was very, very cool! Great job today team!

2006-02-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

Medal Count

I am behind on the updates but that's ok. We have completed day 7 at the Torino games. The U.S. has had some high's and some low's. Missed opportunites are a part of sports but it's tough. After day 7 the U.S. is in 4th on total medal but still leading the all important gold medal count. Talk of the medal count has calmed down a lot. Hopefully, team U.S. will finish the games off strong!

2006-02-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

One day away from the opening cer.

I have included a schedule of event action. If you click on the image it will take you to nbcolympics.com for alot more info. Hosting alittle party tomorrow night. It should be fun. Then the real action start saturday! Go team USA.....

2006-02-08T05:15:00.000-08:00

Book Review

I am currently reading a pretty good book by John Feinstein. If you are interesting in college sports (and specifically basketball) it's a really good read. I really like the books written by Feinstein. I will recommend this to others and I hope that you all enjoy it!

2006-02-08T05:06:00.000-08:00

Let the Games Begin

Ok, I am back to blogging and ready to go. The Olympic Games are starting in less than 48 hours! Turin 2006 will be interesting to watch. These are the medal standings after Salt Lake 2002. Team USA is usually not to strong in the winter Olympics. However, the last three games have seen a great turn around. Usually the host country of the last games experiences a drop in the medal count. Team USA is trying to reverse that trend as well! I will do my best to keep the blog up to date with info. Good luck to all 211 athletes on Team USA.....

2006-01-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

Finally feeling better

I am sorry for the long delay. I am finally feeling better. I had a cold and a bad cough and it was no fun at all. Today I really started to feel back on track. Still alittle more to go but it's so much better. The bug held up the house projects. I am almost finished but still a little more to go. I am included some pics on the last peices. I will hopefully be back on track with the blog from now on. Have a good evening.....

2006-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

Up the Incline

This morning I picked up Copper and we meet some friends and did the incline. Copper got in some good exercise and it was a nice morning. Thanks to Brian and Mark for doing the incline as well. Hope things are going for everyone and have a good day!

2006-01-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

Opening Day 2006

It's been a pretty big day one 2006! Things got started with the 10k search and rescue run (at palmer park). My time was 48:21, which I was pretty happy with. It's a tough course with lot's of hills and a cross between trail and road. There was a pretty good turn out for the run which was alot of fun. Then I got a call from Charlene and headed for the Incline. The incline was tough after the run but I made it up. We had a group of 5 out today. For whatever reas0n we didn't get a group pic. Instead we have Amy and Mark (from Canada!) and Charlene and Brian from COS. Now I am ready for a nap! Happy 2006....

2005-12-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

2005 Was Pretty Good...

I just finished my last run for 2005 doing "the loop". It was a pretty nice day in COS. Maybe around the upper 50's and just about prefect. I spent most of my day painting. It might not sound like alot of fun but I was pretty productive. Still some work to do in the kitchen and then the upstairs bathroom. It should go pretty fast, I hope!

2005 Has been a pretty good year. Seem like at times it went by pretty fast. I am looking forward to 2006. I think that there will be some fun challenges and hopefully some good times. We live in pretty wild and crazy times so it's best to live life to the fullest every day and be sure to have some fun along the way. We can also learn and grow and don't stop searching for new things to try!

Happy New Year and please be safe.....

2005-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

In transition

I am sorry I am behind on things over the last few days. Things are going pretty well. I am now back in COS. I would like to thank my parents and family for an awesome chirstmas in IN. It was fun and relaxing. I would like also like to thank Deb for her help yesterday. There are still major house projects going on. Deb helped me move alot of things yesterday and it was very awesome! Lot's of things going on today and this weekend. I will try to keep this blog posted. Have a good day!

2005-12-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

Having Fun...

We have had a great Christmas and it's been pretty busy! T-bone and I had a chance to take a break and build a lago rocket ship. It was pretty cool... After we got everything built only a few extra pieces. That's not to bad for us.... Happy holidays!

2005-12-25T03:23:00.000-08:00

No Bull %##&!!!

While there might have been alot of people out yesterday trying to find rain deer. We found the world's largest stuff bull (really a steer official). Old Ben wasn't going to do any flying yesterday but looked pretty good hanging out in his house. Not the best place to take a picture but when you run across something like this you have to work with what you have.... Have a happy christmas!

2005-12-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

Checking out a movie

This afternoon we went to check out a movie (Harry Potter 4). It's past it's peak but it was a good movie. It was the first time for my parents and I to watch it. We gave it a good review. Kind of scary and Harry is growing up! However, it was alot of fun....

2005-12-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve in the Big City

It's Christmas eve in the big city of Kokomo. While other people around here are out shopping or trying to wrap gifts we decided to try to hit the beach! Unfortnately it was closed. However, it looked pretty neat... We were able to get out and about and alittle fresh air. All is going well. Happy holiday's.....

2005-12-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

Getting into the holiday...

There is really no better way to get into the holiday spirit than to go out and try to find Santa Clause and his family! It took us alittle while but we were successful! There is a big time light display in Kokomo. Here are some pics from the evening...

2005-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Back Home Again

Hello from the big city of Kokomo Ind. Got in last night and all is going pretty well. So far taking in the big city again and I have been running some errands with my parents. It's alittle cold but not too bad. This is a picture by my old high school. I will try to post some more pics around the big city in the coming few days. It's pretty low key right now and things are going well....

2005-12-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

In transition

I wanted to do a quick status before I head to my parents house for the holidays. Making good progress on the projects. They basically finished the kitchen floor. Just started the bathroom! So far I am pretty happy. It will be cool to come back and see how everything looks.

Stay tuned... Picture from the big city of Kokomo starting tomorrow (maybe). It will be fun to go back home and see how things are going.

Have a great holiday!

2005-12-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

Day 2 Progress

Things are moving along really well. Day two and there is noticable prgress. The crew things they will have the kitchen tile down today and grot tomorrow morning. Then on to the upstairs bathroom! I think it's going to turn out pretty well. Another progress report tomorrow....

2005-12-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

Project Progress

Day one and a fair amount of progress has been made. They have stripped the flooring and done some damage in the bathroom. Hopefully they will keep this progress up. I am very impressed! It looks like it's going to turn out pretty well. The real factor will be when they put the new flooring down. I am pretty excited! I will keep everyone posted on the progress tomorrow.....

2005-12-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Weekend Snow

Well it's been a pretty cool surprise this weekend, SNOW! I didn't even know it was suppose to snow. However, that's all it's been doing this weekend. I think we have picked up about 4 or so inches since saturday morning. I even had to shovel the drive way. Not sure how much more we are suppose to get but it's making for a good christmas atmosphere!

2005-12-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

I am back!

I am very sorry for the long delay in posting a blog. It's been kind of a busy time but not much excitement. Finally something somewhat exciting is going on. Part 2 and 3 of the house project upgrades are getting ready to begin. These parts will be an putting in kitchin tile all the way down the stairs and some upgrade to the bathroom (upstairs). I have taken some pre-event photes. Hopefully all will go well. I will keep you all up to date as things progress...

2005-11-26T17:21:00.000-08:00

Getting into the holiday spirit

I was going to fix Lasagna tonight but I descided to wait until after I got back from Auburn. I am going to fix Lasagna and looking forward to trying it. Instead I took on a different project. I decided to set up my holiday lights. I don't have alot of lights or stuff but just alittle to get into the mode. It was really nice outside today so I went to work. After doing some major racking I went to the lights. Now everything is up. It looks pretty cool! Looking forward to the house projects getting started soon. More updates on that later.... Have a good weekend!

2005-11-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

First flame lit for Torino Olympics

Get ready sports fans! The flame is lite for Torino....

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — After days of rain, the clouds parted Saturday over the birthplace of the Olympics to let the sunlight kindle a flame for the Torino Winter Games.
Lit at a practice session amid ruined temples on the eve of the official ceremony, the flame will be kept as backup — to be sent to Italy for the Feb. 10-26 Games — in case of clouds on Sunday.
Rain is forecast for Sunday, and bad weather has affected ceremonies for the 2000 Sydney Summer Games and Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City in 2002 and Nagano in 1998.
A Greek actress dressed as a high priestess of antiquity offered a traditional prayer on Saturday to the sun god Apollo and Zeus, chief god in the ancient pantheon. She then used a concave steel mirror to focus the sun on a silver torch, which lit after a couple of minutes.
"Effectively, the invocation is a call on a higher power — whether you want to name it God, Christ, Apollo, Zeus, Buddha or Allah — that inspires and moves humankind to improve itself," actress Theodora Siarkou said.
On Sunday, Siarkou and 17 female followers — all wearing pleated white dresses and sandals — will carry the flame in a copy of an ancient Greek pot to a cypress-ringed clearing named after baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics.
Next to a marble pillar under which the French baron's heart is buried, she will kindle the official flame for the 20th Winter Games in the presence of Torino organizing chief Valentino Castellani and Greek Olympic Committee President Minos Kyriakou.
After the ceremony, 534 runners will carry the torch through Greece over 10 days on a 1,250-mile trip.
The end of the flame's Greek itinerary will include an event on Dec. 6 at the restored ancient marble stadium of Athens that was used as an archery venue at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The flame then goes to Italy for a 64-day, 7,020-mile relay involving 10,000 torchbearers.
On its first day in Italy, the torch — designed by Ferrari and Fiat engineers Pininfarina SpA — will enter the Vatican to be blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.
Later, soccer stars Francesco Totti of AS Roma and Paolo Di Canio of Lazio will set aside the traditional rivalry of their teams to light each other's torch in the relay.
Other torchbearers include Moroccan runner Hicham El Guerrouj, Italy's national soccer team coach Marcello Lippi and all Italian gold medalists from the Athens and Salt Lake City Games.
The last torchbearer, whose name has not been revealed, will light the flame at the opening ceremony on Feb. 10 in Torino

2005-11-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

I believe in Santa

This is something really cool done right here in COS. If you click on the picture it will take you directly to the NORAD web site. This is the story in today's local paper. Very neat stuff.....

50 years of tracking Santa
NORAD service started because of misprinted ad
THE GAZETTE
It’s a tradition born in 1955: tracking Santa Claus by radar and satellite as he travels around the world on Christmas Eve. It’s a job for which the North American Aerospace Defense Command, based at Peterson Air Force Base, is uniquely qualified. NORAD will mark the 50th anniversary of its following Santa around the globe this year, launching its online site Friday for those interested in the history and technology involved. The tradition began with NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, when Col. Harry Shoup got the first call by accident. Sears-Roebuck put an ad in The Gazette that said something like, “Hey kiddies, do you want to talk to Santa? Dial this number.” The number was off by one digit. It rang into the defense command’s operations center. Instead of saying “wrong number,” Shoup, according to NORAD’s official Santa tracking history, said, “I’ll check the radars.” His quick thinking has created a massive response with children from around the world calling in and watching on the Internet as NORAD’s eyes in the sky keep them apprised of Santa’s progress. It’s exploded since NORAD first put it on the Internet in 1998. Santa’s journey can be monitored at www.noradsanta.org. In 2004, the Santa Tracking Operations Center answered nearly 55,000 phone calls on Christmas Eve. During the holiday season, nearly 32,000 e-mails came in from children and adults all over the world, while the Web site was inundated with 912 million hits from 181 countries. This year the Web site features a Santa Tracking Toolbox, where children can prepare for the big day. It also features a bit of history on the program and information on how NORAD tracks Santa. The information is available in six languages — English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Numerous organizations and corporations help mount the tracking program, among them Rocky Mountain PBS, Citadel Mall, MCI, AOL Canada, 721st Security Forces Squadron, 721st Communications Squadron and several hotels, including the Sheraton, Embassy Suites, Radisson and The Broadmoor.

2005-11-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving walk

It's thanksgiving day morning in COS and it's pretty nice. Some freinds went out for a walk this morning.From Right to left: Karin, Deb, me, MJ, and Dan. MJ husband/partner took the picture. Also the two dogs who had a good time as well. Copper and Chowey! They had a great walk. It was in the mid 50's and really nice. We all had a really good time!

2005-11-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Breaking Olympic News

This is very interesting news. They just released the Olympic Torch relay route. Please click on the image and you can find out all the info. The games are coming up very soon....

2005-11-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

Purdue wins the Bucket

It's been a long and disappointing seasson for the Purdue Football team! Probably the best thing is the seasson is finally over. Any win over IU is good so good job for the boys. Hopefully we will be alot better next year!

2005-11-19T12:43:00.000-08:00

Best Sport at Purdue

Our best sport by far at Purdue this year is women's basketball. The number 19th team got the seasson started with a win last night. It will be fun to follow them this year....

2005-11-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

Left off the list again...

Every year it seems like for whatever reason I just get left off the list! I think they are making the announcement this morning on the NBC Today show. Maybe this year I will make the list... Please stay tuned....

2005-11-16T05:25:00.000-08:00

More Storms in Indiana

There was some serious thunderstorm activity again in Indiana. I talked with my parents last night and they said nothing touched down in big Kokomo. However, they got alot of rain and the tornadoe warnings did sound. Usually this is serious business because you don't have a lot of time to make very important decisions. Hopefully these storms will calm down but with big temperature swings comes serious weather problems.... Please click on the picture to read about the story.

2005-11-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

Not much going on....

I need to do a post on my blog and I don't have alot of exciting things going on right now so I liked this picture to post. 86 days until the open for the Torino games. Plus we are getting alittle bite of cold temps in COS. Hopefully some action will pick up around here. It's time to dive into the day!

2005-11-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

Skipping the Microwave!

Tonight I tried to do something I rarely do. I skipped the usual mocrowave dinner and tried to cook a dish. Things turned out pretty well. I fixed Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo and then a cookie pie kind of thing. It wasn't prefect but things turned out pretty well. It was safe for others to eat and I would try to do it again. I am glad I practiced by myself tonight. The next time it will be better! However, for something I haven't done in awhile I was pretty excited.

2005-11-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

Meet the Friendlies

I think they look pretty coo! I am pretty impressed with the pick...

The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, the Five Friendlies will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace--and blessings from China--to children all over the world. Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, the Five Friendlies also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals--the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow

2005-11-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Finished Product

Ok, sorry there have been alot of posts about a not so exciting topic "my roof". However, this project is finally finished and I need to complete the story. I am very happy that this one is finished. Hopefully it will last a long time and no leaks! It will be really nice with new windows and a new paint job on the outside...

2005-11-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Blogging

I think I just might be famous! This morning I wrote in the a message to the Daily Nightly, Brian Williams blog for NBC News. They actually posted my message on the blog! It was very, very cool! If you click on the picture it will link you to the page were the message is posted. It's pretty neat stuff!

2005-11-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Roof Project Update

The first day of the roof project went pretty well. My house is kind of in two parts. The house part and then the garage part. The team decided to tackle the bigger house part yesterday. The were able to strip of the old roofing and put on the base cover for the new roof yesterday. Hopefully they will finish off that part today. Not sure how much progress they can make on the garage part but they should get pretty far. It's cooler today but no rain would be nice!

2005-11-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hard at Work

I usually try to avoid writing about work but this one is to good to pass up. This morning the time/stat team decided we needed to try a little team building! So the goal was to try to spend a little time through the eyes of the people we are work with and for. I guess if your a swimmer you can relate. If not it looks pretty weird. We had a little fun regardless. Susan was a good sport!

2005-11-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

This Old House...

I have to say my house is pretty nice and I am very luck. I have lived there for about five years. When I moved in it was pretty nice but with a little work it would only be better. Thanks to my parents and others I have been able to make siginificant progress. Now pretty much most of the small and moderate size projects are finished. I am getting ready to start some "bigger" stuff. First up will be a new roof! They delivered the supplies yesterday afternoon. Only very minor damage (some broken branches). They said it will take less than a day to complete the job. That's pretty fast! Then next will be windows, then I am going to tile the kitchen floor, remodel the up stairs bathroom, and finally paint the outside of the house (with some help from my dad) this srping. I will try to keep a log on how everything goes and some before and after pics.....

2005-11-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

Check out the News...

Ok, very very cool first for tv tonight. I am a very big Brian Williams fan. He does some pretty amazing stuff! Tonight, and from this night going forward NBC news will be provide free netcasting of the night news. I am looking forward to checking it out. It should be pretty cool stuff! To find out more please click on the link provided link.

2005-11-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

Polls...

Almost every day there is some new poll coming out trying to tell us either what we are thinking about or what we are doing, or something else. Sometimes it's just to much while other times it's kind of interesting. These are two polls from one of the leaders of this kind of stuff "USA Today". These, I thouhgt, are actually kind of interesting....

2005-11-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

NYC Marathon

This morning is the NYC Marathon. I have to be honest I have never done this marathon but I can only image what it's like. There are over 2 million people cheering them on! That must be pretty neat... Any one who has participated in a running road race knows it's pretty cool. To finish a marathon is a "major" siginificant achievement! To check out the story about the run please check out the link. To me it's not really about winning the race it's about take on the challenge! If you can finish you are a winner!

2005-11-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Deadly Stroms Last Night....

If you have never been a tornado you should consider yourself very luck! I am from Indiana and have seen this kind of stuff before. If you want to check out some info on the storm please click on the link. A tornado probably closest to a earth quake, because there is very little if any warning. Because there isn't any prep time people can't give them any cool names like they do with hurricanes. Usually the amount of time the storm is actually on the ground is only a few minutes to a hour tops. It's kind of a weird time to have a tornado (usually alot more common in the spring). However, they occur any time of the year. Luckily this one missed my parents house. However, it did alot of damage and a lot of people got hurt. It doesn't matter where you live mother nature can do alot of damage so please be careful out there!

2005-11-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

Purdue Wins...

It's been a really long season for the Purdue Boilermakers on the football field. To make things worse we had big expectations at the start of the year. After today we are looking at a 3-6 record, and not going to a bowl game (first in eight years) and a long off season! We finally had a big win today and we should be happy! I just hope we will be better in all the other sports!

2005-11-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

Plant Life

I would say I have average luck with my plants. There have been a few I have killed but there are a few that continue to thrive. The best luck I have had is with my Christmas cactus! It's suppose to bloom around the holiday so it's a little early. However, there are blooms none the less. It's pretty cool! Hopefully my other plants will take notice and start to grow as well!

2005-11-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

2008 Olympics

According to the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the mascots will be disclosed on November 11th, exactly 1,000 days leading to the opening of the 2008 Games.

I like the Panda! We will have to see who wins....

The games start on 8/8/08

2005-11-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

A Cool Graph

Three blogs in one day! What am I thinking? I am trying to post some cool/different things. Hopeful people checking this out are liking this stuff. It's cool to me.... Anyway, this is graph from a weekend incline run I did a few weeks ago. I am to out of shape to plot the heart rate as well. However, I can and will do that down the road. If you would like to check out some pictures from the run please refer to a few post prior (a run with a K9 friend Copper). The run to Barr Camp is really beatuiful, you just need to remember to look where your running every once in a while, or you can get hurt pretty easily. This graph is from a Garmin 301 running "GPS". I should have a link to the info but I am running kind of short on time. I will write more about this later. I hope that things are going well for all you sports fans (and fellow bloggers!). Have a good evening...

2005-11-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Sports and Numbers

The following is kind of an interesting table. This is some information from a database that is available through the department of education. These numbers are not 100% accurate but they are pretty close. The results are from last years NCAA Champs in the sport of swimming. Top Ten finishers in both men and women division 1. The operating expenses can vary depending on how each school reports them to the NCAA. Since the NCAA doesn't have a standard they can be alittle off. Regardless they are pretty close and can tell alot about a program..... If I have some time in the next week or two I would like to see how the schools in the Big Ten compare and how some other sports look. Please remember the numbers don't always tell you the whole true! It's just a prospective (in this case)....

2005-11-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

A little swim

Need to add alittle action shot every once in a while other than running stuff. Sometime I like to get in and do a little swimming. The days of the flume are numbered. Technology has pasted this big old thing by. If you like running on a treadmill then you would like swimming in the flume. Not the most exciting thing but it's still pretty cool. If you like exercising but not really going anywhere then this would certainly be the thing for you!

2005-11-01T16:20:00.000-08:00

It's not a Purple Thumb but....

Today was an election day in Colorado and I cast my vote. Voting is an extremely important thing in a democracy. While there weren't a lot of things to vote on, any time you get a chance to make your views heard you should. It was very easy and fast to do. I think I was in and out in less than 5 minutes. It's always interesting to see how the results turn out. If they don't turn out the way I voted, I at least had a chance to participate. I think we will be lucky to get 25% of the eligable voters to actually vote. A very sad number. However, I was someone who actually did, now hopefully things will turn out the way I want!

2005-10-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

I just put a close to Halloween 2005! Things went prety well but it was a low turn out. I had about 10 guess tonight. I think I have had close to 25 before. Tonight was cold so that could have impacted attendance. Halloween is a fun holiday and I have a good time. My biggest problem is to much candy! Not sure what I am going to do but I will figure something out. Next year my goal is to have my own pumpkin from the back forty. I have alot of work to do but I think I can get the job done.

Happy Halloween 2005, have a good night!

2005-10-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

Good Morning

This morning I went out for another little training run. It's late fall and we starting to get some snow. However, not as much snow as there was two weeks ago. We need to get something soon because it's getting to dry. Anyway, had a good run this morning. An aerobic run on the peak. Not to many people out today. However, the temp and conditions were really nice for running. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will continue to be nice.

2005-10-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Fall in COS

We have been in a fall mode for awhile in COS. Every year is alittle different. However, this fall has been pretty neat. The only hard thing has been my trees. The leafs are taking there time coming donw this year. As you can see they still have a ways to go...

It been fun doing the yard work outside. This year the season my take awhile to everything to come down!

2005-10-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

A good morning Run

This morning I took a K-9 friend for a run on the Barr Trial to Barr Camp. Copper is a really good runner and she really like it when it gets alittle cooler and there is some snow on the ground. The total run was about 12 miles but Copper did alittle extra because she was so excited. It was great weather wise and we had a lot of fun. There were two great water stops along the way and she could get a little drink and cool down. We had a good run and it was a good morning!

2005-10-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Mayor's Cup

This morning was the COS Mayor's Cup5/10k. It was a really nice morning! No time expectations. I just wanted to go out and have fun and a good run. It was a successful morning. I had a good time and my time was 42:57 (not to bad!). It was a new start/finish line this year. The race was at the American the Beautiful park. I think COS has done really good job with this park. A good place to go for a walk and relax. Tomorrow should be fun. I am going to try to make it to barr camp with a four legged k9 friend!

2005-10-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Back up the Incline

This morning was pretty cool! I did my weekly incline hike today. There was alittle snow but it wasn't to bad. The temp. was perfect and it was a clear morning. Not many people out today. It was very peaceful to be out in the mountains. Things are going pretty well and it was a great little run. I need to remember my head lamp. It's pretty dark in the morning and I forgot it this morning. Other than that, all is well. Have a good day!

2005-10-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Sports Fans!

Yesterday we had our first official snow of the fall/winter. Depending on where you lived in COS you either got 20 inches or nothing of the white stuff. Here in downtown nothing sticked to the ground so we were on the zero side. Hence I need to take a picture of the Peak to prove we actually got something. This little storm marked the official kick off to the Turino 2006 Winter Olympics. I think we are 122 days awys from the open ceremonies (Feb. 10, 06). I took a picture of some rings to build the excitement. Anyway, things are going pretty well !Enjoy the snow and get ready to have some fun!

2005-10-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

A little morning running

I have decided to include a few pictures this week from my weekly incline hike. Unfortunately

the pictures didn't turn out great but they will hopefully help get the idea of what it was like. This morning a little strom came through and I was able to run above the clouds. The problem was mother nature didn't provide enough light to really see what it was like. We have a few more days of peak leaf color. Right now it's really cool! It was good morning and a nice start to the day. Have a good one!

2005-10-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Field Trip To Purdue

This weekend I took a field trip to West Lafayette (and Michigan). One of the main reasons for the trip was to go watch the Purdue vs. Notre Dame football game. Since we got absolutely killed there really isn't much to write about. I guess it was a dose of expectations meeting reality. I thought that Purdue was actually pretty good in football this year. However, against Notre Dame they were horrible. So I would rather not write anything about that. I sent pretty much a day in Michigan (visiting my sister, her husband, and two kids) a day at Purdue and pretty much the rest of it driving. The person with me in some pictures at Purdue is T-bone. Hopefully a soon to be Purdue student! We went by a local dinner called the Triple XXX. Another picture is of us in front of a new statue at the athletic complex at Purdue. It was a great day and we had fun (also my dad was along, but he was taking the pics).

Anyway, there is a picture of the new Purdue pool! Much different than when I swam. Also the Capital One Mascot Challenge was going on. That made me laugh! Anyways, I am back at COS after the little vacation home. It went well and was alot of fun!

2005-09-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

Into Thin Air

Today I hiked up Pikes Peak with a friend, Deb. Without Deb there I won't have made it up and would have been in serious trouble! So a very big thanks to Deb for helping me and putting up with some altitude sickness! We were alittle worried at the start that it was going to be cloudy and rainy. However the day turned out completely different. All in all we did really well, I think. It's 13 miles up over 7,000 ft (14,110 ft) to the summit. The Aspen are changing color and it was really beautiful! We took the Barr Trail all the way up and stop to eat alittle breakfast at Barr Camp (10,200). We meet some friends at Barr Camp who hiked both ways (up and down) over the weekend. Deb was steady and strong the whole way! I was doing pretty well until A frame (about 12,700ft). The last three miles were hard but we made it up. The plan was to take the train down but we missed it by about 2 minutes! So we bummed a way down and that worked out pretty well. It was a great day and I am very much look forward to doing it again!

Have a good day..

2005-09-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

A little update on the Pumpkin Project

I was gone on a work trip last week and the pumpkins were left too themselves. Before I left I tried to give them one simple set of directions (JUST GROW!). Well I am back and I will let the picture speak for itself. I feel like this is a critical period so I decided to try to take one last desperate act. I went to the store and got Pete the stand in Pumpkin. Maybe if the plants see what's suppose to happen this will push things in the right directions.

I recently tremded my rose bushes. When I put Pete the pumpkin next too those things he gets overwhelemed. Maybe this will carry over and a pumpkin will still come along. Pete with alittle rain might also do the trick! I will keep everyone posted in a few weeks. It's been a fun project. I just need to finish things off with a big bang (or little pumpkin)!

Have a good day!

2005-09-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

A Field Trip To Greensboro

Hello from Greensboro North Carolina (9/13). Today has been a travel day. I have taken some pictures from various airports that I been to today. I left COS a little before 8am this morning. Then connected through the Chicago O'Hare airport. (It's the last of the pictures included.) I had to connect between the B and C terminals in ORD and I got a chance to see the lights. These lights are really cool! Maybe it's a little thing but they make me think about different things. Thousands of people go through this tunnel every day and the lights are kind of a symbol of the speed but smoothness of how everything goes. The lights zip by just as fast as the people. If you ever get a chance you should check it out! Then I arrived in Greensboro. It's my first time to this city. It's seemed like a bigger airport than COS but not by too much. This is my second time to North Carolina and my 26 states to visit. Currently hurricane Ophelia (cat. 1) with max winds of around 80mph is turning away in the Atlantic. I think the hurricane is pretty small and Greensboro is pretty well inland that I probably won't get a chance to experience my first "would be" hurricane (probably a good thing!). Anyway, it's pretty cool to get a chance to travel every once in awhile. The people you get to watch (or talk with) can be pretty interesting....

Well not much more exciting to add. I will make a note if something interesting happens if not have a good week and I will write more when I get back to COS!

2005-09-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Balance Rock

In every place you get to live, over time you develop a few favorite places. Sometimes you get to spend a lot of time at these places and other times you only get to them a few times a year. In my case one of my most favorite places is Balance Rock in COS. I enjoy riding my bike a few times a week (in the morning) and Balance Rock is usually on the loop. It's a rock which weighs a few tons (I think) but for some reason is left standing by just a little piece of this big old rock. It's pretty cool to look at and amazing to think about. This rock sits in a place called Garden of the Gods. No matter what time I go by, there's usually always someone there either looking at it or taking there picture by it. Luckily, this morning was no exception. A high school group from Dallas Texas was checking out the rock and they kindly took my picture. Also on the ride today I encounter some deer just a little past the rock. Somehow they were feeling photogenic this morning and one of them let me take it's picture.

Balance Rock sits in the Garden of the Gods. It's a pretty hilly place and usually as I pass by the rock I am just thinking about getting up the next hill. Today I took a second to check out the rock take a picture or two and then get back to the ride. It's important to take a second every once in a while and take in your favorate spots and really appreciate them. While Balance Rock has been probably been around for a few hundred years (I think) and I hope will be around for at least a few hundred more, it's important to stop and check them out every once in a while!

Have a good day! (9/9)

2005-09-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

The Incline

The first thing you see when you come to COS is Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is something like the 14th (or so) highest peak in CO at around 14,110 above see level. It's one of something like 52 (or so) peaks above 14,000 in CO. On (or as part of) Pikes Peak is an old rail road line call the Incline as part of the Cog Railroad line. It's a series of old rail road ties that goes (almost) straight up .85 miles with almost 2,000 feet of elevation change (a great stair master!). To get down it connects with the Barr Trail which goes to the top of Pikes Peak. Every wednesday morning I like to walk or run up the Incline. This summer I broke my Incline record (25:45 going up from the first step). It's alot of fun and can provide some great views of COS and maybe even of Indiana.....

I am sure I will write more about the Incline down the road but it's pretty cool and a great way to start the day!

2005-09-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

In Search for the Great Pumpkin!

It's the evening of 9/6 and things are going pretty well. Today I would like to write about something alittle different. I have owned my home for about 5 years. This summer I have had a first and I am trying to do something else for the first time. First for the first.... My rose bushes bloomed twice this year! I must admit there was only one rose for the second go around but to me that still counts! It's pretty cool... The actual rose is in a picture up above.

The second part of this will hopefully be equally as neat. For the first time, this summer I am trying to have a garden. The actual garden is really pretty small but you need to start somewhere. I had two goals for my garden this year:

1) Grow at least one Pumpkin.

2) Try to learn as much as possible so when I try this again next summer, I will hopefully have better success.

The report as of today....

1) I currently have several blooms but no actual pumkons yet (I am alittle worried!)

2) I have learned alot this summer and I will have another garden next year. ...

I have included a picture of my garden so I can remember it and try to improve upon it next year.

That's it for now. Have a good night!

2005-09-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today is Labor Day Sept. 5/05. This morning was the discovery trail half marathon. The weather was really nice (sunny maybe mid 60s no wind). I must say that this event has grown alot since the last time I tried to do it. This was the second year for the half marathon and there were around 400 runners. It was pretty cool with a few more people. It was well organizied and a great little trial. My goal was to try to hold around 8min miles. I finished 1:37.56 (about 7:30 miles) so I am pretty happy. Now I am ready for the rest of the day.....

2005-09-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday 9/4/05. Got in a quick run around "the loop" and then went to the COS Labor Day Balloon Festival. There are 89 balloons participating this year. It's pretty cool to watch and with the mountians as a back drop the views are really neat. Tommorow is the discovery half marathon. So need to get in a little rest today.

2005-09-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

I am alittle behind in posting. Last weekend I took a fun trip in Goodrich Michigan to run in the 2005 Crim run. It was a lot of fun. My parents and I stayed at my sisters house. Those who ran over the weekend. T-bone Robertson (kids 3/4 mile and 1 mile run), Nancy Robertson(Kids 3/4 mile, 1 mile run, and 5k walk) , my dad Ralph Herr (5K walk), and me (kids 3/4, 1 mile run and 10 mile Crim). Some picture from the big weekend are included....

2005-09-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is the first posting on my web blog funrunlar. The goal is for this to be a fun and entertaining place to post different things.