No cure for upset bowels

This afternoon I went out for a run, intending to go 11.5 miles. The first 40 minutes were uneventful, but after that I began to feel my bowels rebel against me. In other words, I felt like I was going to go number 2 in my shorts. Now, this was not the first time I've had this problem. It's actually becoming quite common, which frustrates me to no end. Running definitely exacerbates the discomfort, and when I stop to walk, I feel fine. Well, that's what I ended up doing today. I managed to run for 2-3 minutes at a time before having to walk. I ended up cutting the run short, only going 9.3 miles.

I am incredibly frustrated with this, especially because otherwise I feel fine. It's rare enough that I can go on a run and avoid blisters, armpit chafing, nipple bleeding, and crotch burn. Not to mention the fact that some days I just feel more tired than others. So when I get a day where I feel great, why do my bowels insist on ruining the run? I've actually considered continuing to run until I soil myself, but the discomfort is simply too great. I can only hope this problem doesn't plague me when I run the JFK 50 miler in a few weeks.

Ham radio supports hurricane relief effort

As a result of Hurricane Wilma, millions of Florida residents are without power. No power means no communication. Enter amateur radio operators. Hams have long provided critical communication during emergencies, and hurricanes are no exception. When landlines, cell phones, and satellite phones all cease to work, radio amateurs step up to the task. More information on this can be found at this link.

Roddick makes final in Lyon

This has not been a good year for Andy Roddick. It started out pretty good. He made it to the semis of the Australian Open, losing to Lleyton Hewitt in 4 sets. He made the semis at Indian Wells, losing again to Hewitt. After that there was the expected poor perforamance during the clay court season, but Roddick rebounded by winning Queen's Club and reaching the Wimbledon final. So far so good, I guess. But first round exits at Montreal and the US Open were to follow. I can only imagine how frustrating it must have been for him. In spite of it all, though, he still has his #3 ranking in the world, behind only Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Roddick was in action this week in Lyon, France, where he'll play in the final tomorrow against Gael Monfils from France. It would be nice to see him win and restore some of his confidence. I still think he belongs in the top 5 players in the world, possibly being second only to Federer. He's never really gotten a chance to play Nadal since Nadal catapulted to the top of the tennis world. It would be an interesting match.

Possibilities are numerous for BPL technology

One of the latest forms of internet connectivity is Broadband Over Power Line, or BPL. The idea behind BPL is that if an internet connection can be established via power lines, anyone with electricity will also have internet access. It is a concept that makes a lot of sense.

Running through power lines is a 60 Hz sine wave of electric current. In contrast, the wave carrying the internet data is high frequency. This carrier wave is superimposed over the low frequency power wave.

This concept has many possibilities. Aside from the internet, power line communications could be used to program TVs, clocks, microwaves, refrigerators, etc. There are still many kinks to be worked out, but I think sometime in the near future power line communications will be commonplace.

One big problem with BPL is unwanted interference. Power lines are generally not shielded, which means they function similarly to a long wire antenna. There have been many cases of interference on amateur radio frequencies. Recently the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) filed a complaint with the FCC to shut down the BPL system in Manassas, Virginia. Nevertheless, BPL has plenty of potential, and I'm sure the problems will eventually be resolved.

Chicago gets first WS title since 1917

The sweep is complete! With a 1-0 victory last night in Houston, the White Sox won their first World Series since before the infamous Black Sox scandal in 1918. In a way, it was nice to see them win. After all, it could have been worse. The Yankees or Braves could have won.

Even though it was a sweep, the series was enjoyable. None of the four games was a runaway. Two of the games were decided by one run, and the other two were decided by two runs. One of the games went 14 innings.

Chicago is in unknown territory. The Cubs haven't won the Fall Classic since 1908, so it's unlikely that there's anyone alive today who remembers a Chicago team winning the World Series. Personally, I'd much rather see the Cubs win than the White Sox. Maybe that'll happen next year.

Sox win marathon Game 3

I seem to have a habit of missing all the best action in this year's World Series. Unfortunately, the games don't start until after 8pm here, and it's hard for me to make it past 10:30 or so without dozing off. I'm glad I didn't plan to watch the entire game last night, though. I understand it didn't end until around 2 in the morning. I fell asleep at some point during the 8th inning. The last I remember the Sox were ahead 5-4. Apparently Houston scored a run in the bottom frame to tie it up.

I admit I'm surprised the Astros lost. They were playing in their home park, they had Roy Oswalt on the mound, and they got an early 4-0 lead. If they can't win with all of that, I'm afraid they can't win at all. But I remain optimistic. I fully expect the White Sox to win the series, but I predict the Astros will win the tonight's game. I'd really like to see Houston win the next two games so the Sox can win it all in the Windy City.

Great novel: Rabbit is Rich

Recently I was looking for a good book to read and came across Rabbit, Run, which I'd read a few years ago. It is the first in a series of four novels by John Updike that also includes Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest. The main character is named Harry Angstrom, a.k.a. Rabbit. The first two books did not impress me very much when I read them, mainly because Rabbit is such a despicable person. He leaves his pregnant wife and young son, moves in with a prostitute, and takes no responsibility whatsoever for his actions.

I'm not sure why I decided to read all four novels after disliking the first one, but I did, and Rabbit is Rich made it worthwhile.

The story takes place at the beginning of the 1980s. After all kinds of infidelity, Rabbit still lives with his wife Janice. They've inherited quite a bit of money (hence the title), and their lifestyle has changed correspondingly. There are three main storylines:

1- Rabbit's son Nelson comes home from college with an unknown girl.
2- Rabbit spots a girl whom he thinks may be his daughter from a prior affair.
3- Rabbit and his wife hang out with their country club friends.

To me, Rabbit suddenly became likeable. It's hard to say exactly why that was, since his behavior is still despicable. Maybe it's because he's gotten older. Rabbit is Rich is a fascinating novel, and I enjoyed reading it. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1982.

Konerko's slam helps Sox steal Game 2

It sure looked like the Astros were going to win last night, but everything changed with one swing of the bat. Paul Konerko's Grand Slam in the 7th inning changed the score from a 4-2 Houston lead to a 6-4 game in favor of the White Sox. As I watched the game at that point, I thought the Astros would roll over and play dead. It turns out that they rallied in the 9th and scored a couple of runs to tie it up, which set the stage for Scott Podsednik's walk-off homer in the bottom of the inning. As luck would have it, I missed all the action due to falling asleep. Last I heard it was 6-4.

The Astros now find themselves in a tough situation. Game 3 is a definite must-win for them, and in my opinion so is Game 4. I'd like to see them win both of those games just to prolong the series. So far there has been some exciting baseball. For Game 3 on Tuesday, I predict a Houston victory. Roy Oswalt is scheduled to take the mound, and he has performed very well this postseason.

White Sox win WS opener

The World Series got underway last night, and, as I expected, the White Sox got the victory. I didn't tune in to the game until the 3rd inning, after the score was already 3-3. Roger Clemens had to leave the game after only 2 innings, so it was not a good start for him. The winning run in the game was scored by Joe Crede, who hit a solo homer in the 4th inning. The rest of the game was uneventful, and the score was still 4-3 when I fell asleep. The Sox ended up getting another run on an RBI triple by Scott Podsednik, and the final score was 5-3.

Game 2 is tonight. The scheduled starters are Mark Buehrle for the Sox and Andy Pettitte for Houston. I predict the White Sox to win again, although I wouldn't be overly surprised if they didn't. The Astros are a relentless ballclub and won't go down without a fight.

Nadal reaches final in Madrid

Spain's Rafael Nadal is continuing to have a spectacular year as he plays for his 4th Masters Series title tomorrow in Madrid. His opponent will be Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia. Nadal's other Masters Series titles this year were in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Montreal. I watched his match in Montreal against Andre Agassi, and he looked very impressive. His best surface is undoubtedly clay, but he soundly defeated Agassi on hardcourts that day. Nadal also reached the final in Miami back in March. He lost a five setter to Roger Federer, but he put up a very good fight. I watched the match on TV and was surprised to see him win the first two sets. These days it's rare to see a player win even one set off Federer. The key to the match was the third set tiebreaker, which Federer won. After that he dominated the last two sets.

Nadal is the real deal, but he's still a little bit inconsistent. After winning the French Open, he lost in the early rounds of both Wimbledon and the US Open. I think that when Nadal is playing his best tennis, he can beat anyone in the world except Federer. He's beaten Federer on clay, but at this point I strongly believe that he is not capable of beating Federer on grass or hardcourts. Fortunately for Nadal, Federer has a foot injury which caused him to withdraw from the Madrid tournament. His only obstacle now is Ljubicic, and I think he'll dispatch him with relative ease tomorrow.

Bloody nipples no more

Final results of the Baltimore half-marathon have been posted, and I finished in 90th place out of 1,369 runners. As I mentioned before, I'm very happy with how I did. I improved from last year by over 10 minutes.

When I got back to my car after the race, I noticed a couple of blood stains on the front of my shirt. Turns out my nipples had been rubbed raw during the run. I had been well aware of this problem beforehand and actually used petroleum jelly as a preventive measure. It didn't work. Earlier in the week I'd tried band-aids, but those fell off as soon as I began to sweat. Finally, a few days after the half-marathon, I found a viable solution -- waterproof band-aids. I had to shave some of my chest hair in order to get them to stick, but once they were on, they stayed on. I'm not sure how I'll ever get them off, but for now I'm content to leave them there. I haven't had bloody nipples since.

My next race will be the JFK 50-miler on November 19th. I plan to run it with my friend Brian, but he's currently nursing a hip flexor injury. With any luck it will be healed by race day. In the meantime, I'll continue training at 40 mpw with a long run of 12-14 miles.

Astros get the job done

Just when I was beginning to think the Astros were down for the count, they redeemed themselves with a 5-1 victory last night in St. Louis. Now they get to experience their first World Series in the history of the ballclub.

It's nice to see a couple of new teams in the World Series. I'll be watching on Saturday night, when the first game is played in Chicago. Right now I'd have to say it looks like the White Sox will win. That's my prediction. I hope it's not a sweep. I'd like to see as much baseball as possible.

Houston, you have a problem

After Lance Berkman hit a 3-run homer against the Cardinals Monday night, I figured the Astros were World Series bound. They had a 4-2 lead when I fell asleep. It was not until morning that I learned the awful truth. Only one strike away from victory, the Astros blew it. They allowed a couple of base runners, then Albert Pujols launched a 3-run shot. Houston, of course, was unable to score in the bottom of the inning, so they lost the game.

This change in momentum is tremendous. Now I will not be surprised if the Cardinals win the series. The last two games will be played in St. Louis, and the Astros will undoubtedly be hanging their heads. As much as a team tries to forget about a devastating loss, it usually doesn't work. An example that sticks out in my mind is when the Cubs lost to Florida in game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Sure, there was still a game 7 to be played, but the Cubbies were already deflated.

It will take a lot of mental toughness for the Astros to rebound and win one of the next two games. It won't be impossible, but it remains a difficult task.

Great song: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

It was not long after the break-up of the Beatles that Paul McCartney's solo career yielded a number one single. It was his only number one song produced in the brief period between the Beatles and Wings. In 1971 Paul and his wife Linda released an album called Ram. A track from that album, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, was released as a single a couple of months later and eventually topped the Billboard charts.

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is a fantastically nonsensical tune which has absolutely nothing to do with the famous WWII admiral. The lyrics go something like this:

The butter wouldn't melt so I put it in the pie
Hands across the water, heads across the sky

The song begins with an apology to Uncle Albert for not having heard something. There is a thunderstorm in the background. This pleasant melody continues for about half of the song, until the tempo steps up and we get a nice trumpet piece, followed by a couple more verses. It ends with a fade.

Where it can be heard: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is on the compilation All The Best. It is also played every once in a while on Oldies stations. It does not seem to be as popular as some of Paul's other songs, though.

World Series comes to Chicago

Chicagoans have a reason to be excited about the upcoming Fall Classic. Their city hasn't seen the event since 1959. They came awfully close a couple of years ago, but the Cubs managed to blow a 3-1 NLCS lead over the Marlins. Now it looks like the White Sox will be the favorite to win the World Series. How can any team beat them when they're playing like they did these past 4 games? Even when they don't score, they also prevent the other team from scoring. An Astros-White Sox series will be fascinating. I'd love to see how Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens handle the potent Sox lineup. I also want to see how the Astros hitters fare against the Sox rotation. All that's needed is a Houston victory tonight. If they can't pull it off, they'll need to win one game in St. Louis. I like their chances.

Angels, Cardinals have reason to worry

The Astros and Cardinals are tied 1-1 in the 7th inning of their NLCS. As I sit here listening to the game on the radio, I'm thinking that the Cardinals are approaching some dangerous territory. They're already down 2 games to 1 in the series, and their offense has been anemic lately. If the Cards fall behind 3 games to 1, it will be extremely difficult for them to win the series. Of course, I'm feeling pretty good about this situation since I don't like the Cardinals.

Ever since the blown call in Game 2 of the ALCS, the White Sox have been on a roll. I think the Angels are in even deeper trouble than the Cardinals. They can't seem to get on track offensively. After tonight, the White Sox could be heading to their first World Series since 1959.

I don't think I could have envisioned a better post-season. The Yankees and Braves both lost, and now it appears that the Cardinals will lose. A White Sox-Astros World Series is definitely probable. With any luck, the upcoming games will be close, exciting ones -- unlike last year's World Series.

Successful race in Charm City

I was very pleased with my performance this morning in the Baltimore half-marathon. Going into the race, one of my big worries was that I'd go out at too fast a pace and end up dying. While I was definitely in some discomfort the last few miles, I never really "hit the wall", so I'm happy about that. I started out at a steady 7:30 pace, which felt fine. I began to tire somewhere around miles 10 and 11, but I was surprised to see that my pace remained the same. I guess that's a result of the past couple of months of long distance training. I crossed the finish line at 1:36:58 by my watch. My gun time should be about 30 seconds slower, based on my remembering that the official clock was at 8 minutes at mile 1. My watch was at 7:30, so there's a 30 second difference.

I don't know my place yet, but it should be posted on the website within the next day or so.

Here are my splits for each mile, as timed by me:

1 - 7:31
2 - 7:35
3 - 7:20
4 - 7:11
5 - 7:28
6 - 7:53 ...starting to slow down here
7 - 8:05 ...my only mile over 8
8 - 6:56 ...this should compensate for the last two miles!
9 - 7:11
10 - 7:28
11 - 7:07 ...nice to see this quick split at mile 11
12 - 7:38
13 - 6:55 ...approaching the home stretch
13.1 - 0:34

Controversial call at The Cell

After watching most of the White Sox-Angels game on Wednesday night, I decided to wait until the end of the 9th inning before going to bed. I figured the game would head into extra innings with a 1-1 tie. Instead, I witnessed the worst call I've ever seen an ump make in a baseball game.

With 2 outs and nobody on, A.J. Pierzynski swung and missed at a low pitch for strike three. The umpire pumped his fist to indicate a strikeout. The Angels' catcher rolled the ball back to the infield, and the rest of the Angels started heading for the dugout for the 10th inning. Meanwhile, Pierzynski took off for first base and made it there easily. Confusion reigned. The umps conferred. The verdict? It was a dropped third strike, Pierzynski was safe at first, and the inning would continue. The White Sox scored a short while later and won the game. Mike Scioscia was obviously very upset with the call, and I completely agree with him.

The key point here is that the umpire clearly indicated an out by pumping his fist. Whether or not the ball was actually in the dirt is irrelevant. As soon as an ump signals a third out, the players are going to come off the field. The ump can't just change his mind after declaring that the inning's over. Of course, the umpire claims he was merely signalling strike three, as opposed to the third out. Still, I am convinced that the only reason this was called a dropped third strike was because Pierzynski ran to first base. If he had remained in the batter's box instead of running (the ball would still be live), there's no way the ump would have waited. He'd have rung him up. I would've liked to see that, though. Pierzynski should have stood in the batter's box until all the Angels were in the dugout, then run around the bases for a combination strikeout/home run.

If anything good came of that call, it's that the White Sox won. I was starting to worry they might have to head to California trailing 2-0 in the series. At least now it's evened up.

Pumped for the half-marathon

Just got back from the Health Expo at Ravens Stadium where I picked up my race packet for the Baltimore half-marathon, which I will be running on Saturday. I've been putting in some long runs over the past few weeks, so I expect to do pretty well. Last year I covered the course in 1:47:38 (gun time was 1:48:44). I could possibly be 6-7 minutes faster than that this year.

My training runs have been longer this summer than in previous years. I'm currently at the point where I can do a 9 mile loop at 8:30 pace with no problem. I've also run numerous hills up at Patapsco which has built up my strength.

I am excited about the race and am looking forward to setting a big PR!

Great novel: Deliverance

James Dickey is known more for being a poet than a novelist, but it was his book Deliverance which really grabbed my interest when I first read it back in April 2002. I was in college at the time, and I remember sitting in the dining hall asking a friend if he'd ever read Deliverance. He said he had, and he thought I'd enjoy the novel. So I read it, and I'm glad I did.

The story is written in the first person, narrated by the main character whose name is Ed. Ed decides to go on a canoe trip with three friends of his - Lewis, Bobby, and Drew. The trip goes smoothly until Ed and Bobby encounter a couple of mountain men on the riverbank. The men assault the two at gunpoint. Lewis shoots one of the men with an arrow, killing him. The other guy scampers off. After arguing about what to do, the four bury the body and continue on their way. Unfortunately for them, the other mountain man follows them and shoots Drew, causing both canoes to capsize. Lewis suffers a bad leg break.

It is up to Ed to ensure that the remaining three make it off the river alive, granting them "deliverance". How he does it is both harrowing and fascinating.

Deliverance was made into a movie in 1972, directed by John Boorman and starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds. It is a great movie, but, as is the case with most movies adapted from books, it's not as involving or as detailed as the novel.

Yankees lose! Yankees lose!

There was a lot of action in baseball while I was out of town. The White Sox swept the Red Sox, which I was glad to hear. The Angels defeated the Yankees last night in Anaheim to win that series, and I am very happy about that. The ALCS looks to be an interesting series. I'd like to see the White Sox win and advance to their first World Series since 1959.

In the NLCS, I consider the Astros to be the lesser of two evils. As a Cubs fan, the Cardinals are one of my least favorite teams. I had hoped that the Padres would knock them off in the first round of playoffs, but that was never likely. The Astros are another rival of the Cubs, but my detestation of the Braves made me glad to see them win the series in the bottom of the 18th inning on Sunday. Now I'm forced to root for them again because they're playing the Cardinals. Whatever the result, I will be hoping for the AL team to win the World Series.

The ALCS begins tonight in Chicago. I will be watching.

Touring Yosemite

I'm back from my little jaunt to the Golden State. It was a blast. I flew out there Wednesday morning with my brother Brian and his wife Jess, and we met my parents and Greg at the airport in San Jose. From there to Monterey is not a bad drive; a little over an hour. The graduation was on Thursday morning, and shortly after that we all took off for Yosemite. I got to see some of the landmarks out there like Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, and Glacier Point. Overall I probably saw less than 5% of the park, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Heading to California

I'm flying out to California tomorrow to see my brother Greg graduate from the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, where he's been studying Arabic for the past couple of years. I've been out to visit him twice before, in February and August of 2004. The first time we got to see Alcatraz, Lombard Street, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The second time we saw the A's play the Royals at the Oakland Coliseum. We also went down to Point Lobos and did some hiking. Aside from the graduation, I'm not exactly sure what's in store for me this trip, but it'll be a lot of fun.

So I'll be out of here tomorrow morning. But, like MacArthur, I shall return.

Great song: Over the Hills and Far Away

Led Zeppelin is undoubtedly one of the most popular rock bands of all time, and their tune "Stairway to Heaven" is one of rock's most famous songs. It's definitely appealing, but there's another Zeppelin piece I like even more -- "Over the Hills and Far Away".

The song begins with a long guitar intro by Jimmy Page, followed by Robert Plant's distinctive vocals. The verses are slow and relaxed, and the chorus is loud and raucous, much like "Stairway to Heaven". I really enjoy the ending when the vocals fade out and the acoustic guitar gradually slows down before the finish.

Where it can be heard: "Over the Hills and Far Away" is on the album Houses of the Holy. It's also played every once in a while on classic rock stations like 94.7 The Arrow in Washington DC.

Federer wins in Bangkok

With all the football and baseball action today, it has gone largely unnoticed that Roger Federer won yet another tennis tournament, the Thailand Open. His opponent was 18-year old Andrew Murray from Britain. I couldn't help but laugh when I read the headline at CBS SportsLine.com -- Nice try, kid. Murray is definitely a rising star, but he's no match for the mighty Fed. Federer's current domination of the tennis world is jaw dropping. I believe that he is better now than anyone else who's ever played the game. His greatness will be determined by how long he keeps it up. It's hard for me to picture him losing anytime in the near future.

Indians' playoff hopes almost extinguished

The Indians lost their second consecutive game to the White Sox today, effectively putting a damper on any postseason enthusiasm in Cleveland. A loss tomorrow means the Indians are done. The Yankees and Red Sox are also uncertain of their playoff future, but neither team faces elimination tomorrow. I watched happily as Boston won the game last night, then eyed the TV in disgust a few hours ago as the Yanks clinched the AL East. The playoff possibilities are now not as numerous as they were just yesterday. I see four viable scenarios:

Indians win, Yankees win -- This results in a one-game playoff on Monday between Boston and Cleveland. I'm not sure where it would be played, but the winner would earn the Wild Card berth. If it's the Red Sox, they'll play the White Sox while the Angels play the Yankees. If it's the Indians, they'll play the Yankees while the Angels play the White Sox.

Indians win, Red Sox win -- In this case, the Red Sox win the Wild Card and would play the White Sox. The Angels would play the Yankees.

Indians lose, Yankees win -- Same as previous scenario.

Indians lose, Red Sox win -- Same as previous two scenarios.

I'd like to see Cleveland make the playoffs, so I hope they win the Wild Card. I'd wanted both the Indians and Red Sox to make it, but that is now impossible.