National Night Out
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
Taking the streets back from the criminal element!
So where does the criminal element hang out tonight?
Ask (dis) pencer.
(sent via mobile)
Archive for August 7th, 2007
Velodrome
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007Do we deserve one?
Don’t get me wrong, I love racing at the track. With the increase in the size of my family over the past couple of years I really don’t have time to train for road racing so track racing is about the only competitive outlet that I have for the next few years. I would be really sad to see it go. But every year our velodrome degrades a bit more and at some point it is going to be unsafe to use.
Do we deserve to have a velodrome based on the number of riders who are currently taking advantage of it?
I have not traveled to other velodromes and I am unaware of the size of the other bike racing communities that are fortunate enough to have a track at their disposal. Maybe the size of our racing community is about the same as it is in places like Milwaukee or Chicago or Colorado Springs, I don’t know.
Our track is viable because of the hard work of Bob Williams and a hand full of volunteers. Thanks to the hard work of these individuals, the dozen or so who use the track for training and the few dozen who use the track for racing have the opportunity to do so.
But what is going to happen when the track fails? How are we going to get another one? Is some deep pocket really going to step forward and build a facility that is, at most, used by less than 50 people over the course of a week?
I think a covered velodrome is the only option to replace the existing velodrome as it would instantly create a market for those riders who want to stay on the bike over the winter. Also, having this covered velodrome closer to the metro area would allow for greater use.
Based on the current use of our existing track however, I can’t help but be pessimistic regarding the future of track racing in Minnesota. How are you going to convince someone to invest in track racing in Minnesota when they see how little the current, and might I add world class, facility is being used?
Someone care to argue the other side?
Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Photos
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 |
| Minneapoli |
From yesterday.
Gingrich
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday the Bush administration is waging a “phony war” on terrorism, warning that the country is losing ground against the kind of Islamic radicals who attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001.
A more effective approach, said Gingrich, would begin with a national energy strategy aimed at weaning the country from its reliance on imported oil and some of the regimes that petro-dollars support.
“None of you should believe we are winning this war. There is no evidence that we are winning this war,” the ex-Georgian told a group of about 300 students attending a conference for collegiate conservatives.
Uhhh, does Sean Hannity know that Newt is off message?
“We used to be a serious country. When we got attacked at Pearl Harbor, we took on Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany,” he said, referring to World War II.
“We beat all three in less than four years. We’re about to enter the seventh year of this phony war against … [terrorist groups], and we’re losing.”
Gingrich is making sense here, he must not be running for President.
How come John Edwards got so much flack for calling the “War on Terror” a bumper sticker slogan but Gingrich use the phrase “phony war” and no one from the GOP side, or the major media outlets, makes a peep?
Walk Score
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.
My house scored 43 out of 100 which rated Not Walkable. That’s kind of funny because the house in Albuquerque NM that we moved here from rated a 60 and Mrs. Smithers and I walk a lot more now than we ever did out there.
I think having Baby Smithers in 2005 has caused us to walk quite a bit more just to get out of the house.
The suburban house that I grew up in rates a 22, not much of a surprise.
How does your place score? How much do you walk?
