The first week of early voting for the Nov. 6 election is complete, and Travis County voters are clearly less than enthused by a ballot that, for most citizens, is only a vote on state constitutional amendments. Frankly, I don't blame them — normally this is where I'd go into tsk-tsk mode and lecture you for not doing your civic duty, but good lord our system of legislating through constitutional amendment is idiotic. Seriously, is this really the best way to govern ourselves?

So, don't feel too bad if you're not one of the 7,112 hardy souls who either went to the voting booth or mailed in a ballot as of Sunday evening (That's a mere 1.33% of the county's registered voters).

As per usual, the Randalls on Research Blvd. had the highest turnout thus far (821 voters), while the lightest has been at the Parque Zaragoza Rec Center (33). The county's various mobile voting sites pulled in 794.

For more info, go to the Travis County Elections Web site.

Leading to the game of the year, maybe the game of the past five years, between the undefeated Patriots and the Super Bowl defending Colts in Indianapolis, there is very little I can write that hasn’t already been uttered. The Colts win by 24, even when they look sad, and the Patriots have yet to look bad.

If you think this be a blood feud, like a Yankees/Red Sox conflict, you’re wrong. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are chums and eat sushi together in the offseason. Although Vegas is making the Colts four-point home ‘dogs, Indianapolis has a discrete advantage few are talking of. The RCA Dome is a smallish stadium, with a lower roof than most of its ilk. In the Manning era, the fans of Indy have become aware and know when to scream and when to whisper, and sound has no place to escape in Indy. I know. I left the RCA Dome 12 years ago with minor ear damage. I expect this to be the difference in the game.

This last Saturday I finally got to meet Adam, from Zen Japanese Food Fast (thats the name of the restaurant . . . really). This guy is alright. I know that some people see what he is doing with the whole Team Zen thing (where people can come out to Auditorium Shores Saturday mornings, get free training, advice and breakfast) and think; yea, thats nice and all, but its all marketing. After talking with Adam for a while, I can say that it is my opinion that this guy is genuine and wants to help people lead healthier lives. I am pretty sure that the marketing thing is way low on his list of reasons for sponsoring all of this.

And besides, it's not like he's out there selling food or Zen gift certificates. The guy is providing a professional trainer and a free breakfast and all of this at 8am on a Saturday! Ok, enough of the Adam from Zen fan club.

So we ran hills on Saturday. It's great to be encouraged to do exercises I would not have been doing on my own. I know that hills are good for you and all, but I don't think I would have incorporated them into my routine without the input from Patric (another great guy!). The workout was pretty good, about a 7 on a poop yourself scale of 1-10 (1 being barely breaking a sweat and 10 being . . do I really need to explain this to you?)

There was a good number of people out there for the workout too. There was some talk about moving the meeting time from 8am to 8:45 or 9am due to the cooler weather, but this week we change our clocks back so I'm not sure whats going to happen there. I'm hoping we keep it at 8am. I have an Officer Selection Office function this Saturday and if we move the meeting time up to 8:45 I won't be able to make it, but if we meet at 8 I will be able to make for a while at least.

Well thats about it, kinda rambled on here, but whats new? My training during the week continues with ever longer runs. At least its supposed to be warmer this week. Hope to see a few new faces out there this weekend (here's to hoping I can make it for a portion of the fun).

drew

And, how.

This beariest bear of all the bears in the bear kingdom bares all about a certain senator from Idaho (who-daho?).

According to this Village Voice distilling of a Wonkette exclusive, Lar-Bear did him dirty.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYIIIUUUUUUU!

This is the best idea I've had all week…

YOKO ONO!!!!!

Here's how you do the Yoko:

1) Dye your hair black

2) Cut it short

3) Wear oversized dark sunglasses

4) Yip, yell, sing, chant, breathe heavy, and think about peace and make art. She's my hero, so no hatin' y'all!

According to researchers at Oregon Health & Science University, random drug testing of high school athletes does not reduce their level of self-reported drug use. In the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The first-of-its-kind study (dubbed Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification, or SATURN) was designed to assess the deterrent effects of drug and alcohol testing among high school athletes, reports OHSU. “Prior to this study, there was little research and no randomized trials to establish whether student-athlete drug and alcohol testing is an effective deterrent,” Dr. Linn Goldberg, the principal research investigator from OHSU’s School of Medicine, said in a press release. What Goldberg and her co-investigator Dr. Diane Elliot found was fairly surprising: “Although drug testing did not appear to reduce school sport participation as some had suggested it would, it did not reduce past 30-day drug [use] or a combination of drug and alcohol use,” Goldberg said, “and it only intermittently lowered past year [drug] use.” Yikes – that sorta puts a kink in drug czar John Walters’ claims that drug testing rocks, eh?

Indeed, it was less than a month ago that Walters’ office issued its own congratulatory release, indicating that random steroid testing in student athletes demonstrate the “immense prevention power of random student testing.” Out of 500 students, the ONDCP release notes, just one student athlete tested positive for steroid use. The result should “provide an impetus for other communities to consider implementing [testing] programs of their own,” Walters said. According to the ONDCP, more than 1,000 schools across the country now use “the preventative power of random student drug testing to help young people resist peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol.”

After four years at the helm, Drug Enforcement Administration head Karen Tandy announced Oct. 22 that she is leaving the agency to take a senior vice president job at Motorola. Tandy, who was confirmed to the post in July 2003, is the first woman to head up the agency, which employs 11,000 people, including 4,600 narco agents.

Under Tandy, the agency began its international opium and heroin trafficking crackdown, sending agents to Afghanistan to ferret out and bust heroin traffickers accused of financing the Taliban (part of the feds’ drugs-equals-terrorism strategy – helped along in part by Motorola, which sponsors the DEA’s traveling exhibit “Target America,” about the link between drug use and international terrorism). The DEA has reportedly claimed that opium and heroin seizures have increased by 700% since the program’s inception. However, a United Nations report this year forecast that Afghanistan would produce 9,000 tons of opium this year – enough for 880 tons of heroin – up 34% over 2006, reports the Associated Press.

Under Tandy the DEA also ramped up its morally and ethically questionable practice of targeting and raiding sick medi-pot patients and medi-mari dispensaries; in 2005, Tandy penned a rhetorically nauseating agency white paper (published in the March 2005 issue of Police Chief Magazine, published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police) titled “Marijuana: The Myths Are Killing Us,” in which she wrote that we simply need to “put to rest the thought that there is such a thing as a lone drug user, a person whose habits affect only himself or herself.” Drug use – and that includes pot smoking, she wrote – is not a “victimless” crime. Rather, she wrote, “marijuana kills innocents.” Are you kidding me? Phlu-ease; buh-bye Tandy!

Saturday mornings is our communal training time at Auditorium Shores as you all know.

Today I suspect a number of us did not make it out. I would categorize that under 'life, happening'.. as in, precommitments, long work hours, other 'priorities'.

How many did show up this morning? And how do YOU (whoever reads this and actually runs as well) deal with 'life, happening'?Do you make up the running time or quietly feel guilty not having worked out? I myself had a pre-commitment and did a full day of First Aid, CPR for adults, children and infants at the Central Texas Red Cross office here on Pershing. I can't believe I never learned any of it before. Sadly, I recognized a few (family related) emergency issues that I could have benefited knowing more about.

Just think, you're running amidst the throngs in a 5K/Marathon whatever, and someone keels over.

Would you know what to do? Check out the training schedules and sign up, you'll feel a lot better knowing what to do.

http://www.centex.redcross.org/index.php?pr=Home_Page

(can someone explain how to post a proper link here? until then, cut and paste people!)

Hey there, party people. Today's presentation is an assortment of folks, some fictional, some nonfictional who would make great Homoween costumes.

READ ON!

Marlon Brando - A white T-shirt and a leather jacket, call yourself Johnny and do rebellious things - or wear a tank-top (or go shirtless) and scream "STELLA!" every now and again.

Anderson Cooper - A nice suit, and some chalk to gray-out your hair. Get a mani-pedi before you go trick-or-treating and rest assured that you were born into and will live in the lap of luxury for the rest of your life. Rrrwor.

Rosie O'Donnell - Honestly, you could take this one many different directions: buy a bunch of kooshes and fling them at party-goers, wear a baseball uniform and act crass (see Madonna as well), or even, do you guys remember that horrid haircut she shaved in to impress Boy George?

Ellen Degeneres - Wear a slim suit with a graphic tee, do a little dance, cry a little bit (for that poor dog) and go to town.

Madonna - She is just an endless source of material: which Madonna to choose? Fetishist from "Human Nature"? Gothic Quabbalistic Princess? Mommy Madge? You can even take hints from the best!

Mr. Clean - Shave your head, pierce your ear, wink at housewives, and grab other guys' butts.

Tim Gunn - Think Anderson Cooper, only classier.

Jerri Blank: She's an ex-con trying to start her life all over again, with lesbiatronic leanings. Really, this is perhaps the best idea on the list. Go to Goodwill and inhabit your character!

Kate Messer - Grab some Buddy Holly glasses and go to town as the hippest (and hottest) lesbian role model we know!