Bluerant

Why has Formula One become a penalty game?

If you’re not a top-level motor racing fan, then you’ve missed the transformation of one of the most-watched sports in the world from a struggle of man and machine against each other in a very traditional sense, into a battle of lawyers, rules makers and conspiracy-theory riddled umpires who are now in control of the championship. Not a very graceful evolution for the sport where the phrase, “that’s racing” ruled the past.

Over the past four races, in Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Japan, there have been at least six different penalties meted out by FIA Formula One Race Director Charlie Whiting or his disciples that have had significant influence on the overall World Championship contest. Almost all of them either completely unnecessary or extremely poorly handled when compared with near recent racing history. In the prior season, the entire World Championship was decided by court-room proceedings on the scale of the Watergate incident.

Cries of conspiracy theories, bribes, and personal agendas at the top echelons of the sport are becoming common discussion. Where does this leave the fans?

For a sport saddled with monumental costs about to face a major global recession, this is not an enviable position to be in. When the machinations of a small number of extremely wealthy and selfish people are being blamed for the possible demise of the modern global financial infrastructure, do the leaders of the FIA and Formula One really want to draw such easy parables to their own situation and infrastructure?

The spirit of the sport is what keeps people coming back. The passion to win and the belief that great, or even historic things can happen at any turn is the inspiration behind a fanatical fan base. To negate those emotional drivers with controversy-tinged penalties that ruin the spirit of the sport can easily be the beginning of the end.

With only two races to go, and an incredibly tight battle for both the Driver’s and Manufacturer’s Championships, we can only hope that the spirit of the sport returns and we can witness a fitting end to an epic battle on the track, not in the courts.

I’m Fed Up and You Can Too!

Please, please, please make the political pain go away!

Make the horrid, demeaning, hypocritical political attack ads that assume I’m an idiot stop yelling at me. Make our current President stop pretending that the American people care at all about what he says. Make the pandering about American Values stop ringing in my ears.
Make it all stop.

And please, please, please remind people in power that they do, as opposed to sports figures, have an honest to god responsibility to act as role models for all citizens.

When will we learn???????

When can we turn the corner?

Country First?

What’s the Difference Between a Hockey Mom and a Pit Bull?

Well, aside from the presence of opposable thumbs required to drive a mini-van, quite a few other things as well, it turns out.

For one thing, Hockey Moms, or really, any kind of mom, have a responsibility to themselves and their families to make rational and intelligent decisions based on facts about the best way to raise their kids and manage their lives. If there was a hunk of raw meat sitting on the ground a few feet away, and one of their children was wandering into the pathway of a maximum security bus transport from the local penitentiary at the same time, what would she do? What would a pit bull do? What would you do?

While it’s easy to make simple, sweeping statements that endear oneself with a certain audience, the reality is that knee-jerk decisions based on instinct, or even worse, ignorance of belief, are clearly not the way people responsible for the lives of others should make decisions.

Convictions based on logic, reason and real-world experience used to count for something. Hopefully they will, again.

Ahem…Is this thing on???

Thanks to the New York Times for this piece of classic ignorance….

“Two prominent Republicans — one of them a close ally and former aide to Senator John McCain — were caught on a live mic on MSNBC bemoaning the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin and the controversy surrounding her.”

Mike Murphy, who worked on Senator McCain’s campaign in 2000, and Peggy Noonan, speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and columnist.

Why John Stewart is clearly my idol….

Why is it that we need to rely on humor to remind us of the obvious?

Emotion vs. Logic: Why Palin might work for the Republicans

Photo courtesy: Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

If it’s not obvious from my previous posts, I truly love starting my mornings with Dowd and Friedman. They just usually seem to resonate with my feelings on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This morning, however, I think they might have missed the mark a bit. While their logic, as well as a very observant piece by Garry Wills, on the the errors underlying the choice of Sarah Palin as the Veep-to-be, as well as why McCain is no longer the man he was, is very sound, they have forgotten why we are stuck deep in this moribund morass.

For the most part, it’s not logic, nor platforms, nor well-reasoned programs that drive voters, it’s emotion! It’s being able to associate with a candidate and feel like they are “one of us.” Just ask the Big Dub as he sits in the Oval Office for his final days and contemplates the “success” of his administration.

Did George W have any more experience than Obama does now when he was elected? Did he have better platforms and more well-reasoned programs than Gore or Kerry? Was he a better speaker and leader?

I’m going to hazard a guess that the answer to those questions was, “no.” What he did have, however, was an ability to get the majority of the population to feel like he was “one of them.” Like they could sit down and have a beer with him and fit right in.

So, fast forward to today and think about two key audiences leading into the next election:

For each audience, I believe there is one key factor that will enable their decisions. For the first audience, as much as I hate to say it, I truly feel that all they need is a believable excuse to not vote for an non-white candidate. Something that lets them save face on the surface, but also satisfies their emotional drive underneath. The McCain campaign has already provided that with the Experience vs Words argument.

But here’s the kicker. The second audience above is really what will take votes away from the Obama campaign. And Palin is just the right person to do that. Not just because she is a woman, but because she isn’t a corporate suit and is clearly dealing with many of the same issues that middle-America moms deal with on a daily basis. She’s just like one of them!

So the way I see it, there is now a truly effective mix of emotions supporting the McCain campaign.

Will Palin survive the process? Who knows. Will she end up hurting the Red Ticket? Possibly? But I am always amazed at the power of emotion over logic when it comes to big decisions. And this one ranks pretty high up there on the “big” scale. To me, the only thing missing to send the McCain - Palin ticket over the top in polls is a good old “husband affair scandal” that Sarah Palin survived, worked through with her church and family and still stands by her man. Anyone got a tip?

What we’ve been missing…

I just remembered what it was we’ve been missing for the past eight years. Hope and inspiration.

One Hundred Miles and Twenty Grand for Diabetes

It all started because I opened my big mouth (for a change).

My good friend Stewart found out that I had taken up biking to try and get in shape since the gym had proven time and time again to be a futile and expensive option. He mentioned that he was putting together a team of people to ride in the Tour de Cure 2008 to help raise money for Diabetes, and that I should join them. Sounded good to me! A target motivator for my biking and a great way to help raise some money for a good cause as well.

What I failed to factor into the equation was the fact that he was planning on doing the ‘big ride’, and by ‘big ride,’ I mean the 100 mile route. Now, at that point, the most miles I had ever done on my bike was about 25, and not many of those actually went up a hill. In fact, based on my physical conditioning at that point, I tried my best never to even walk up a hill if I didn’t have too.

But as I mentioned, I had already opened my big mouth, so as far as I was concerned, I had already committed. So, that gave me about three months to get in shape for the ‘big ride.’ This is where living in Boulder really started to pay off. If I hadn’t mentioned it sooner, one of the great features of Boulder Colorado, is the “Triathlete Vending Machines” they have at every corner. They are very effective devices. If you have any questions about physical conditioning or distance events of any kind, you simply stand at the corner, scream out your question and within approximately 30 seconds, you will receive at a minimum of three expert answers. No quarters needed (however, you may need to denounce doping several times for goodwill).

So, armed with a deadly combination of advice and motivation, I got my (tremendous) rear in gear and started biking whenever I could. I even started climbing a bit. Of course, my early definition of climbing involved standing at the bottom of Left Hand Canyon and muttering, “Yeah, I’m really gonna have to try this soon.” This is where some great friends like Ingrid and Brent really helped. They are both really accomplished bikers and made sure I had someone to draft as I trained. Never underestimate the value of the threat of humiliation in front of your friends as a motivator!

Fast forward: One week before the event.

On the Tuesday before the event, still the longest I had ridden up to that point was about 40 miles. I figured it was time to test my endurance and headed out for a trip up to Carter Lake and back. A round trip of 60 miles from my house with a pretty aggressive climb in the middle getting up to the Lake. I managed the ride, but did not feel well at all for the last 10 miles back to my house. I immediately got on the horn to my friend Stewart and tested the withdrawal waters.

He calmed me down, explained that although the ride was just over 100 miles, from mile 50 on, it was pretty much downhill so I had nothing to worry about. Did I mention he’s a really good salesman? Anyway, he talked me off my ledge and I re-committed to being there. Besides, by that point, a bunch of really great people had already donated around $2,000.00 on the promise that I was doing the ride. I couldn’t let them down (re-read that ‘humiliation in front of your friends’ part above).

Saturday, August 23rd, 6am:

From left: Jon Brandon, Me, Stewart Booker, Jim Behmer, Gregg Behmer, Jason Wisniewski

We’re up and lined up for the ride at the Longmont Fairgrounds about to leave for this:

This daring course is only for those ready for a grand challenge. Ride north towards Loveland, then through an elevation gain of approximately 3100 feet to beautiful Estes Park through Glen Haven. We’ve changed the start/finish, but have preserved the most loved aspects of our 75-mile ride of years past – the beautiful ride through Big Thompson Canyon, the ever-so challenging switchback of Devil’s Gulch road, and the amazing scenery once you make it to the top! This ride is for those bold enough to take on a fantastic challenge in the name of combating diabetes.

Or, click here for the full route.

As we head out, I realize that It’s really just not a good idea for me to try and keep up the pace of the rest of my team, so I slow down and just ride my ride. What was amazing to me, was how, with so many people in the ride, I could ride for about 30 miles or so and be completely alone? I passed one or two people here and there, but for the most part, I was really just riding without anyone else in sight.

Stewart had prepped me for the big climb - the part right before you get to the top of Estes Park right around mile 47 or so - the part everyone calls “The Wall.” So again, I was taking my time on the 30 mile climb leading up to that point, trying to conserve my energy for the hard part. As I approached mile 45, I rounded a canyon bend, and immediately realized why it was so aptly nicknamed. I felt like if I didn’t slow down, I might just run right into it since it truly ascended from what I thought was the road surface into something I could only start to describe as a ‘heavenly ascension,’ straight up. Somehow, I thought it was a joke and the road would quickly veer to the right or left like an old-time haunted house amusement ride would do just before you enter the clutches of the beast. But no. It was really right there in front of me. This hideous thing full of screaming and moaning people, curving steeply up the mountain side into the clouds.

I engaged my fall-back strategy of moving just fast enough to not fall over and starting counting the pedal revolutions until my death. After about a half-mile into my maddening mantra of ‘just don’t stop and you’ll survive,’ I noticed a Red Rider (a rider who suffers from Diabetes) stopped on the side of the road. It was my buddy Stewart, who, apparently felt bad that I was riding alone and feigned some bad leg cramps so he could wait for me.

Now that I had someone to ride with / motivate me, the rest of the ride (after we got to the top of ‘The Wall’ of course) was a piece of cake. Drafting with a bunch of other guys for while and just tooling along with Stewart for a bunch of miles really made for an enjoyable ride. The scenery was simply spectacular, and crossing the finish line after 100 miles to the cheers of all the Tour de Cure supporters was truly inspirational and also quite emotional for me. I wasn’t giving myself great odds on finishing the ride, but knowing I had done it, and still feeling good at the same time, brought a real rush of energy and excitement. And the best part of the whole deal was knowing that between myself and the rest of the guys on Team Grateful Dads, we finished as one of the top three teams this year and had raised over $20,000.00 for Diabetes.

I can’t thank enough those of you that donated for this event. Not only did you help us raise a tremendous amount of money for a great cause, but your involvement kept me going and helped me achieve apersonal goal that I never would have believed was possible. Thank you.

Some quick facts:

Total miles ridden: 103.67
Total time on the road: 7hrs, 15min.
Total time actually riding: 6hrs 2 min.
Number of curses screamed while climbing: 25 or 30
Number of packets of Gu consumed: 10
Number of flat tires and mechanical breakdowns: 0
Number of times passed by the old and handicapped: Too many to count
Number of pounds I lost: Not sure, but my wife thinks I’m looking pretty sporty!
Number of times I considered giving up: 0

“Reasonable and Necessary to Prevent Terrorism”

Great article in the Washington Post today.  It reminded me of why I trust our government and the unending foresight of our “Defender in Chief” to make sure I’m safe and sound as I sleep.  They are on top of this stuff!

Not sure about you, but knowing that they can somehow get around anyone’s right to personal property and privacy is the only way I can think of to truly be free.  No siree.  I  will never criticize my country again. I’m going down to Pearl St. right now to confiscate random laptops, hum the national anthem and show off my Patriotism.  Who’s in?

UPDATE:  While discussing this with some friends at lunch, Dr. Skippy was taken aback by the following quote from a Slashdot article on the same subject:

DHS officials said that the newly disclosed policies — which apply to anyone entering the country, including US citizens — are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism… The policies cover ‘any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,’ including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover ‘all papers and other written documentation,’ including books, pamphlets and ‘written materials commonly referred to as “pocket trash…”‘”

He quickly concluded the following:

It’s “The policies cover ‘any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,…” that really got my attention. Remember the little trick with your knuckles to keep the number of days in various months straight? Presumably that would have to count as an analog information storage device…goodbye hand.

He has a beautiful mind and now walks around with his hands planted firmly in his pockets.