Shanes Blog

Change of Address Notice

2008-11-08T21:20:00.004-05:00

This blog is moving to www.shanekenny.com. Please update your reader, bookmarks, etc. This will be the last post to this version of the blog. If you want to change your feed to my blog you can go here.

Getting Political

2008-11-08T12:09:00.005-05:00

The day after the election and the solid beating that the Republican Party took I made a blog post about about getting involved. Since I am a firm believer in walking the talk not just talking the talk I headed out to the first political meeting of my life this morning. I did not go alone though. Ron Davis went as well since he is tired of the same old politics and is on a personal mission to see Saxby Chambliss unemployed next year. While I may not see eye-to-eye on everything with Ron it was nice to have someone to go with.

Overall the meeting was interesting and I learned alot about issues I did not even know where issues in Georgia. Maybe I will post more on that at a later time. Suffice it to say... did you know that we have been in a border dispute with Tennessee for over 150 years? Yeah, me neither.

There was also lots of talk about the run-off election that will occur for Georgia on December 2nd. Saxby Chambliss is in a serious fight for his job and his re-election chairman for Paulding county was there to urge us to vote for him. He said that Saxby got the message and that he plans to return to fiscal conservatism and to fight for the conservative values that the Georgia people want. I want to hear it from Saxby though before I will believe it. Ron talked to the guy on the way out the door but I will leave that for him to comment on his blog.

Overall my first trip into politics was enjoyable and I plan to go back for the next meeting. If you live in Paulding county and want to get involved in something other than armchair politics then let me know and I will make sure you get the details on the next meeting.

Blank Sign

2008-11-07T20:14:00.003-05:00

I passed a church the other day that had a sign that can be changed each week to make an announcement or display some cute message like, "What is missing in CH -- RH... U R". However, in this particular case the sign was blank. I couldn't help but think this sign was screaming, "Keep driving... nothing going on here". To make matters worse, this was the church that my family had recently left after attending for over 7 years. If you passed a church with a blank sign out front, what would the sign be saying to you?

So, what now?

2008-11-05T08:27:00.006-05:00

I think there are a lot of republicans are scratching their heads this morning. I think we expected Obama to win but not in the landslide victory that we saw. What happened? What do we do now? I've given some thought to this and here is what I have concluded so far:

The people have spoken. The democracy that makes America great is also the thing that allows the "other guy" to win and it is also the thing that I have had a friend die fighting for and that John McCain spent years as a POW for. While I may not have voted for Obama, or even really like him, I can give him the respect that his position deserves... and I will.
Get involved! I am as guilty as the next person of playing arm chair politics. With the Republican party in a shambles this morning it is time for young America to get involved again. Find your local party office and see how you can help. Run for office. Donate. Attend rallies. Educate yourself on the issues. Do something... not nothing.

Today I am just as proud to be an American as I was in 2000 when President Bush was elected. It's the other party's turn now. It is their turn to celebrate like I did in 2000 and 2004. However, when the celebration dies down I hope that the rights, the lefts, the Christians, the Jews, the Catholics, the Blacks, the Whites, and everyone else can just be Americans and work toward a better tomorrow.

My Vote Is In

2008-11-04T16:57:00.003-05:00

I decided to wait until the official election day to vote. Some said I would pay for it based on the turn out they were seeing for early voting. I still decided to take my chances. To make matters worse my wife was sick today and I had to take the 8 year old and 2 year old with me. I pulled up to the school (polling place) at 1:06 and pulled away at 1:33... 18 minutes to stand in line and vote and 9 minutes to walk to and from my car. Why can my gamble never pay off when I am in Vegas?

I will probably be up late watching the returns come in but in the end it does not really matter. The candidates are not that far apart and Washington is so screwed up right not that neither of them will likely come through on most of their promises. Major changes are needed not just another middle-of-the-road democrat or republican.

One a lighter note my eight year old had these comments on the election:

"Don't vote for Obama because he will make me go to school on Sunday and will raise taxes"

"Don't vote for Bob [Barr] because he is going to lose anyway"

"Dad, did you vote for all the Republicans?" This was said in his "outdoor voice" while I was voting!! And, no I didn't... take that Saxby!

Almost Done!

2008-11-01T11:57:00.002-04:00

As many of you know I spent this week in Pensacola helping my parents with the new daycare center they are starting... Kidz Academy. Mainly my work has been construction as well as misc office tasks that needed to be completed. I am nearly done and ready to go home. I figured out a few months ago that 3 nights is the point where I am ready to get back to my life with my family. Things are going good here at the daycare center and I think they are on track to be doing really well by the end of the year. The worst job of the week... climbing around in the ceiling pulling an ethernet drop to the front desk. Some moron decided to put spray insulation down on top of the drop ceiling. Needless to say, I am little itchy and dusty right now.

Personal Records

2008-10-29T21:17:00.002-04:00

This week I have set a PR in a few areas. I know that this is not as big as a WR or an OR but big to me none the less.

1. This is the 18th post for October. This makes it my most posted month. I am really getting into the blogging thing and enjoying it. Someone should've thought of this a few years ago.

2. I ran a 5k in 26:50 last Saturday. This is 40 seconds faster than my previous PR for a 5k and on a very difficult and hilly course. I think a sub 26 minute 5k is possible very soon. I also ran the first mile in 7:47 which is over a minute faster than I have ran any mile in a 5k. All around a good day even though I had to walk some of the final hill.

Goodbye Brandon

2008-10-28T09:35:00.003-04:00

Today is one of those hard days to deal with. I have had very few occasions where someone's death has been close enough that is has truly affected me. The last time this happened was when my friend, Josh Dingler, died serving his country in Iraq (another reason we should not run from Iraq like Obama thinks we should). I remember trying to drive home after I got the call and having to pull off to the side of the road.

Yesterday, Brandon Craig passed 2+ years after an auto accident that should have killed him back then. Brandon was not a close friend and I barely even knew him. But, he was my sister-in-laws brother so that makes it personal. Steph is one of my running buddies as is her sister Stacey. I will be thinking and praying for you guys.

Kenny, Kenny, Kenny

2008-10-27T23:40:00.002-04:00

I go to a "mobile church". This is not a denomination like Baptist, Methodist, or PCA. Instead it means that we unload our church stuff from a truck each Sunday morning and pack it back in the truck at the end of the day. Kenny is our truck. Kenny decided to call in sick this past Sunday. I knew it was bad when I pulled up at 7:00 and they were unloading stuff from car trunks and any other vehicle that could be used. Despite Kenny church went smoothly and we were able to complete setup and be ready on-time for the 9:30 service.

I have to say though that I get the priviledge to work with some awesome people over at Freedom Church. Even with Kenny not showing up for the first time since the church started, everyone pulled together and got the job done. Even better... I did not hear a single complaint all day even though tear down took about an hour longer than normal. Great job everyone!!

Home -> Indiana -> Home -> Las Vegas -> Home

2008-10-23T09:59:00.002-04:00

It's been a whirlwind couple of days to say the least. Last Friday I left for a visit to the in-laws in Indiana and at 9:30 last night I returned from Las Vegas. Both trips went well and much was accomplished. Sunday after church I leave for Pensacola where I will spend a week helping my parents with their daycare center. That give me 2 days to catch up before being gone again.

For those keeping up... the meeting I did not have in Las Vegas went well. That's all I have (and can) say about that!!

The hotel had a nice fitness center so I got to run while out there. I did 4.2 miles on Monday in 35 minutes and 4.6 miles on Tuesday in 40 minutes. I also hit 25:34 for the first 3.1 miles (5k) on Monday.

Whoa Scary

2008-10-21T03:07:00.003-04:00

So, I am in Las Vegas meeting with people that I cannot name concerning a project that I can't talk about. In fact, forget I am in Vegas at all since I can't talk about it.

This is my fourth trip to Vegas this year and the town never gets any less... let's say... "interesting". It is midnight here as I type this and I have just returned to my hotel. For this trip I am not staying at my usual hotel because this one was closer to the people that I wasn't here to meet with. Anyway, I came in a different door than I usually do and got a little turned around trying to pick my way through the casino to the hotel rooms. As I rounded the corner I must've looked a little lost because off to my left I heard, "Where ya headed honey?" I turned my head and nearly screamed in fright at the "lady of the night" standing by a slot machine. She was at least 6 feet tall, 95 pounds, and probably older than my mom. I was so startled that the only clever comment I could muster was, "This way" and walked off. I guess I can mark #9,999,999 off my bucket list now -- be solicited in a surprise attack by a random hooker!!

P.S. That was not really on my bucket list in case there was any doubt.

World of Goo

2008-10-19T09:00:00.002-04:00

The other day I stumbled across a new game and downloaded the demo. It is called World of Goo and was written by 2 guys with a new game studio called 2D Boy. I am addicted. If you enjoyed games like: Lemmings, Worms, or Marble Blast then you will like World of Goo. I suggest that you download and try the game for yourself. Right now it is available for the PC but a Linux and Mac version are in beta testing according to their website.

I love these kinds of stories because in a world where major game studios are spending 10s of millions of dollars on new games there is still room for the little guy with a great idea. GO LITTLE GUYS!!

3rd Time's a Charm

2008-10-18T21:29:00.003-04:00

Me and the aforementioned crazy father-in-law decided to work on putting the tongue-and-groove cedar siding up on the walls going down to the basement. We got one wall done and for non-professional carpenters I am fairly impressed. Of course there were several times when we had to measure twice and cut three (or more) times to work around light fixtures and the stairs. By the end though we were flying through it and getting it right most of the time. It was great at the end to stand back and admire the work. You probably had to be here to really appreciate it though.

Ran 4.0 miles tonight in 36:24 which is right at the 9:00 mile that I have been running. It was fun to run here in Indiana where you see 2 cars, 1 house, 2 falling down barns, 3 abandoned tractors, and 15 dogs all in a 4 mile run. Plus, you get to hear the animals scurry as you come running by.

Ahhhhhhhh Vacation Day!

2008-10-17T16:22:00.002-04:00

Hang on a second... had to check my email real quick! As previously noted I am in Indiana visiting the in-laws. The drive up here was as horrible as I expected it to be. At least the kids slept for the second half of the trip. While I still think my father-in-law is crazy for taking on the task of building his own log cabin (no, he did not chop down all the trees for it) I have to say that it looks great so far. There is still a ton of work to do but it is livable and way better than some hotels that I have paid to stay in before. It'll be awesome once it is totally complete.

Went for 3.0 mile run today in 26:45. It still felt like my feet were made of concrete like earlier in the week. I am not sure what is causing that but I am guessing I just need to slog through this phase. If you have stumbled across this blog and have some advice in this area I'd be glad to here it.

Off To Indiana

2008-10-16T14:42:00.002-04:00

I'm about to leave with the family for a quick weekend trip to visit the in-laws in Indiana. Other than the drive the trip is usually not too bad. My father-in-law took on the crazy task of building his own log cabin a couple of years ago so I am sure there is some manual labor in my not-to-distant future. There is a certain level of satisfaction though to stepping back and saying, "I hung that piece of plywood and once they put the siding on you will never be able to tell it's crooked!"

If You Can't Run With The Big Dogs....

2008-10-14T09:35:00.014-04:00

you know the rest. Today it was announced that Safe Eyes has an amazing new feature that you will not find anywhere else -- clip-by-clip YouTube filtering no matter where they appear online. You can see the updated Safe Eyes page here and the full press release here. Traditionally filters had to block all of YouTube because of some of the content that was available. Now, with Safe Eyes, you can allow YouTube and just block the offensive content. If you are already a Safe Eyes user, simply download the latest version from the website to enjoy this new feature. If you are not a Safe Eyes user, you should be!!

Running Last Night

2008-10-14T08:57:00.004-04:00

I went out for a run last night and right from the start my legs felt heavy and mentally I had no interest in running. About a half mile in I decided to cut my planned 3 mile to a 2 mile run. Everything just felt "off" and I felt like I was walking rather than running. Experienced runners tell you that if you don't feel like running then don't. If you take the enjoyment out of running then there is no reason to be doing it. (I know some of you will question what enjoyment you could ever possibly find in running!) When I got back to the house I had completed the 2 miles in 18:12. That is a 9:06 average mile which is pretty fast for a slow night. I'm sure there is some life lesson about "pressing on" in this somewhere, but I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Catalyst - Day 2

2008-10-13T10:15:00.003-04:00

I did not get to sit in on as many of the sessions the second day of Catalyst but what I did catch was good. Plus, as mentioned in a previous blog post there was some great music from Steve Fee and Aaron Keys.

The morning started with a talk on leadership from Dave Ramsey. If you know me then you know that I am not a huge Dave fan. I will not go into the reasons here but I was able to set them aside and sit in on his session. He did a great job talking about the 5 things that can kill an organization:

1. Poor Communication
2. Gossip
3. Unresolved Disagreements
4. Lack of Shared Purpose
5. Sanctioned Incompetence

His definition of "gossip" was interesting as well - "Complaining to anyone that does not have the power to resolve your problem." I had never thought of it that way before. I think there will be some changes put in place at InternetSafety.com over the next couple of weeks based on his talk.

Overall the conference was great and we were able to talk with a ton of pastors and youth pastora about Safe Eyes. I am looking forward to going back next year.

That Was A-MAZE-ING

2008-10-10T15:38:00.004-04:00

I am still at Catalyst but it is winding down. I will post the full details later but I just sat in on a 5 song set by Steve Fee. It was incredible. I also managed to score a copy of his CD to put on my iPod. Aaron Keyes played this morning as well and he did an awesome job. Steve and he are opposite styles but I enjoy both. As a bonus I got a chance to meet Aaron Keyes and talk with him for a few minutes. He has used Safe Eyes and we hope that we can get him to start promoting it when he travels.

Catalyst - Day 1

2008-10-09T22:08:00.002-04:00

I have been looking forward to this conference for a couple of months now. Not only will it be a great audience to promote my company's product to but I also get to sit in on great leadership sessions by people like Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, and Craig Groeschel. Then, on top of that I get to hear great music from people like Steve Fee and others. It is great combination of work and fun all rolled into one.

Andy Stanley started the morning with a home run. He talked about how a leader must first handle forgiveness, family, and finances in order to be effective... great stuff. Steve Fee opened Andy's session with 3 songs and one of them was new... BONUS!

Steven Furtick talked about how between The Promise and The Payout you have to endure The Process. While he applied it to church planting it is equally applicable to business and life in general.

Finally, Craig Groeschel spoke to the leaders that are burned out in their current role and have lost "it". While it did not apply to me right now it was obvious that there were plenty of the other 12,000+ people in the room that they needed to hear this. Plus, I can tuck it away in case I ever need the advice he gave.

Overall it was a great first day. Andy is on again tomorrow as well as others I look forward to listening to. Oh yeah, great response to Safe Eyes as well.

The Little Things

2008-10-06T21:36:00.004-04:00

I had a chance to hang out with several couples from my church tonight and listen to Pastor JR talk about his vision and passion for Acworth. It reminded me again why my wife and I chose to stay and get involved in Freedom Church. Not only does Pastor JR have a real passion for what he is doing but he is also a real person. This may seem like an odd thing to say but my past experience has been tainted with pastors whose biggest weakness they could admit was speeding and eating too much ice cream. This always left me wishing that I had a pastor that understood what the average person, like me, deals with day-in-and-day-out.

Tonight Pastor JR nailed it on the head. He said, "its not the big things that I struggle with, its the little things." That is so true. I have never struggled with murder or stealing, but it is hard to read my Bible every day and to not get too frustrated with the kids when I am tired. Those are the real things that I struggle with. It is great to know that I am "normal" and that my Pastor is "normal" as well, and that he knows where his struggles are and therefore knows where mine are too.

Running Update: 3 miles tonight... 27:10!

Lowest Form of Scum

2008-10-04T22:18:00.003-04:00

Today I realized what type of person ranks as the lowest form of scum in my book... the person that uses other people to get themselves ahead with no regard for the people they stepped on to get there. To make matters worse these people are everywhere, crawling out from under every nook-and-cranky looking for ways to get ahead at the expense of others.

As I mentioned in a previous post my parents recently purchased a childcare center in Pensacola, FL. They knew throughout the purchase that they were not dealing with the most honest person but that the deal was great if they could work through it. In the end they got the deal done but in the process the previous owner proved that there is another level of low-life that I had heard existed but had never personally encountered.

Without slogging through the details there are several items that were part of the transaction that mysteriously went missing the last day the previous owner had access to the premises. She took important documents in an attempt to ruin the center after she left (this will fail because what she did not know was how well my parents know how to run childcare centers). She talked bad about my parents to the employees as well as to the parents of the kids already using the center.

Then, to top it all off we learned today that she is not planning to pay the employees for the last 7 days she ran the business. She is just "skipping town" so to speak. Essentially she used these employees for 7 days, collected tuition from the parents, and then pocketed it all leaving the employees with bills to pay and no money to pay them with. This is low and I hope that I am never one to be accused of stepping on people just to get that one step ahead.

To Bail or Not to Bail?

2008-10-02T15:41:00.003-04:00

Unless you are dead you probably know about the proposed government bailout... errr I mean "rescue"... that passed through the Senate last night. This is the plan where the government borrows money to buy bad debt from private businesses that made poor business decisions by lending the money to people that could not pay them back. I know that I am no economist but I fail to see how this plan makes sense from any angle. Where do we draw the line? What about the painter that has fallen on hard times now because fewer new homes are being built or the Pizza guy that can no longer afford to deliver my pizza because of gas prices. Who is going to bail them out?

Yes, times are hard right now. But, somehow the American Spirit always seems to drag us through difficult times. Why are we rushing to pass a bill that has the government lending billions of dollars to companies that got themselves in trouble by making stupid business decisions? On top of this so called "emergency", the bill being passed is laden with all the typical special interest riders that a typical bill going through Congress gets. If this is soooooo (sarcasm implied) important why can't Congress pass a bill that does one thing, does it quickly, and does it well?

What do you think of this bailout plan?

A Fresh Start

2008-10-01T17:10:00.003-04:00

Today my parents stepped out into the world of small business ownership. I could feel the excitement when I talked to my mom on the phone this morning. As of 12:00 am this morning they became the proud owners of their very own child care center in Pensacola, FL. They have their work cut out for them as this was a horribly mismanaged center by the previous owner. But, my bet is that within 60 days the thing is humming along like a finely tuned timepiece. If you're looking for first-class care for kids in Pensacola then check out www.thekidzacademy.com
located on New Warrington Road.

A big thank you to my brother, Aaron, for linking to me from his blog. I am still waiting for Ron to share some "link love" with me as well. Maybe I could spend some of my Ron Points on that.

In other news... I ran 2 miles in 16:54 last night. That is a crazy 8:27 average mile. Needless to say I almost passed out when I was done. Tonight I plan a nice, slow 10:00 average mile run.

I've Got Gas!!

2008-09-30T09:34:00.002-04:00

I drove by a gas station with working pumps and hardly any line this morning so I pulled in and filled up. I also called everyone I knew that might need gas and let them know where to get it. Maybe the problem is starting to ease up a little bit. I should be good through the end of next week at this point. Other items of interest:

I ran a 3 mile hill course in my nieghborhood last night. I was very pleased with my 27:19 time. I am looking forward to an official race on a flatter course to see what I can do a 5k in at this point. I am considering an event in Kentucky in a few weeks since I will be in the area visiting the in-laws.

One of my neighbors is planning a 5k event to help raise money for the schools in our area. Since one of my kids goes to a school that will benefit I am planning to run in it. If you are interested in this October 25th event let me know and I will get you an entry form. I am nagging him to get the race up on active.com but until then we have to use the old fashioned mail order form.

Massive Update

2008-09-29T10:55:00.002-04:00

Since there were several things I wanted to comment on today I decided to do a bullet list to try and keep it short:

I did a 20 minute trail run with my friend in Colorado. This was my first trail run and I enjoyed it (after not during). I had to walk a few sections but other than that I thought I handled the new type of running and lack of oxygen pretty well.

I did not watch all of the presidential debate last Friday but my favorite part was when Obama said (and I paraphrase), "I have a bracelet too that was given to me by srgt uh uh um by tthe mother of srgt uh...". He finally got the name out but it was such a "me too" moment that totally backfired on him.

The gas shortage in Georgia is really starting to become an issue. I am not sure if this is an actual supply problem or if people around here are just stupid and creating the problem with their panicking. What's funny is that I hear we are the only state having these issues right now.

I got to play Duke Nukem 3D this weekend on my Xbox 360. This was a huge game when I was in college and we spent many a day with wires spread between our rooms or having LAN parties to play this game. Now I can play it across Xbox Live and not have to drag by computer to someone's house to play Dukematch.

I. CAN'T. BREATHE.

2008-09-24T20:18:00.005-04:00

Today was day 2 of running in Colorado. At dinner last night a friend of mine, that is a Colorado native, told me that the second day of running would be harder than the first... he was right. I had no reason to doubt him but to hear it then experience it just drove the point home harder.

Forrest and I decided to try a different route today and ended up running about 5 minutes along a mostly level route then 15 minutes that was all uphill. The lack of oxygen was real clear as I headed uphill gasping for more oxygen all the way. At 20 minutes we turned around and ran the 16 miles back to our hotel. It got a little easier toward the end of the run (maybe because it was downhill) so maybe there is hope for tomorrow when I go trail running with my Colorado-native friend.

I figure we were running at about a 12 minute mile pace but my lungs felt like I was running at something under a 9 minute mile pace. Of course the real problem may be the cool, clean air that I am breathing here rather than the humid, polluted air of Georgia. Either way this has been an interesting experiment.

O2

2008-09-23T10:36:00.002-04:00

Since this my first trip to Colorado since I took up running I decided to give running a try while I was here. First problem... its cold here. It was not unbearable but it was something new to deal with. It will eventually start to get cold in Georgia so this was just a sample of what is to come as winter gets closer. Second problem... there is not as much oxygen in the air here. While I could tell a difference I compensated by running at a slower pace but I could tell it was a little harder. I plan to run the next two mornings I am here as well. More later.

No. Freakin'. Way.

2008-09-18T17:43:00.006-04:00

OK, so I stole that title from the last series at my church but it applied twice in the last 14 hours so I thought a little plagiarism was in order:

The same 2 mile run that I ran on Tuesday night in 18:54 on Tuesday night I ran in 17:47 last night. That is a 8:49 mile and the best mile average I have ever run. Not sure if the cool nights are helping or if I have experienced one of those mystical breakthroughs that all the running books and articles talk about.
I just saw something from our R&D guys that has me so excited I can't sit still. I can't say anything at all about it other than that it is very cool and that I can't wait for the world to experience it. Stay tuned!

What "No Freakin' Way" moments have you experienced lately?

Here's A New One

2008-09-18T17:43:00.004-04:00

My dad called me today to tell me that the landlord for a facility he is opening as a daycare center called with an interesting demand. Somewhere she heard that he was planning to hire a specific person to work in this daycare center. Somehow she assumed that she had the right to call my dad and threaten to terminate his lease if he hired her. I know I am not a lawyer but I am pretty sure there is nothing in his lease that gives the landlord the right to dictate who he can and cannot hire. Whatever she is smoking she needs to quit... it is making her look stupid.

Parktards

2008-09-17T16:26:00.002-04:00

I have ranted about this before but Ron, Chris, and I ran into the perfect example of the middle class, snobby, soccer mom driving (or rather parking) her land barge this afternoon. Ron needed to stop at the Post Office to mail a package. To our surprise (and, we have seen some pretty crazy stuff in our line of work and things rarely surprise us anymore) the first 3 spots were taken up by one vehicle. Somehow, she managed to avoid taking up any of the handicapped spots though. To top it off, Ron laughed and shook his head as he walked by and her teenage daughter rolled down the window and shouted, "GET OVER IT!" At least we know that the women is spending her teaching her daughter manners rather than how to park.

I'm Back

2008-09-17T10:18:00.002-04:00

I had to take a couple of weeks off from running because of a foot injury. Last night I went out and tested it out and had no problems. Plus, I ran 2 miles in 18:54 which is just under a 9:30 mile. If you know where I live you will be impressed with that time, otherwise you may make a comment about your grandmother's electric wheelchair being faster than that.

I caught the season premier of Biggest Loser last night. I was surprised at how excited these people where when they found out they would be on the show. I guess they see it as a life-changing event even though it is tough road they will walk (or crawl) for the next several months.

Head Down

2008-09-16T10:07:00.002-04:00

I had to ignore the blog yesterday. It was one of those work days where you look up and it is 6:00pm already and you feel like you just got there. I have been working hard on a big project for hte last several days and got it done with a whole 5 minutes to spare on the deadline. Now I will spend the rest of today catching up on email and phone calls for everything else I have been neglecting. It is rewarding to get to the end of a big project though and get it done.

Sheeple

2008-09-13T18:11:00.002-04:00

Last night I needed gas. I got in my truck and the "Check Gauge" light was already on. Since I have been driving my 1996 Ford Explorer since 1997 I knew that I could make it to one of my "home" gas stations without any problems. Driving in my best conversation mode I got to the Kroger and was surprised that at 10:00 at night there was a line 3 or 4 deep for each pump. Plus, they were only advertising a price for premium. Fearing I would not make it to the gas station up the road I made a break for it anyway and held my breathe. I made it, but all of the pumps were closed down there (the old bag over the handle trick). I pulled into a parking spot and called my brother who brought me a couple gallons he had for his lawn mower and I was able to make it home.

I guess people had heard some news report that we had several oil refineries in the path of Hurricane Ike. That must mean we will run out of gas in Atlanta in the next couple of days. What they didn't know is that President Bush had already relaxed some rules on oil imports making it easier to get foreign oil in, and that only 22% of our oil refineries would be affected by the hurricane. I expressed my frustration with people to my friend Chris and he his response was, "Sheeple are stupid". I thought that this was an appropriate way to describe this particular behavior. Not sure if this is a Chris-original but I am giving him credit for coining a new term that you will hear me using from now on.

CT Scan

2008-09-12T14:19:00.003-04:00

I got the pleasure of a morning CT scan today including the lovely "vanilla shake" that you have to drink to make your innards glow. As I left the hospital I could not help but think about the raging debate over health care and whether we should socialize our medical system like they have in the UK, Australia, and other places. While this subject falls well "above my pay grade" I had to wonder how long I would have had to wait in line for my CT scan appointment had I lived in a socialized medicine country. My condition is not life-threatening so would that mean I would have to wait longer? Would the level of care not have been as good? While I will agree that the medical costs here in America have spun out of control (it was $4,500 for a 15 minute CT scan today) I am not sure that socializing the system is the right approach. And, for once I don't have an alternate suggestion...yet!

Taking the Week Off

2008-09-11T17:09:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday I went out for a little 6 mile run and did something to my right foot. Not sure what yet, but it seems to have mostly gone away. But, with that plus the toenail plus this nagging cough I cannot get rid of I decided to take the week off. I plan to resume running on Monday. It is funny how 4 months ago I was so inactive and now a week off makes me feel sluggish and fat again. (I am still fat just not as fat as I was 4 months ago!!)

Learn to Park or Get Off the Road!

2008-09-09T13:44:00.002-04:00

So, we returned from lunch this afternoon and there was one parking spot available in front of our office. However, the inconsiderate jerk in the spot next to it had parked his huge, gas-guzzling Chevy 2500 super cab well over the line. I cannot stand when people do this. I have even been known to make my wife re-park the family mobile (read: mini van) when she missed the spot. Being the kind person I am, I let all of my passengers out of the car and proceeded to park in the open spot inside of the lines. Unfortunately this only gives Mr Inconsiderate about 8 inches to open his driver side door when he leaves. I would be lying if I did not admit that it made me feel better.

P.S. I drive a beat up 1996 Ford Explorer so an extra dent from this this guy's door would only serve as a badge of honor at this point.

Spore

2008-09-08T14:43:00.003-04:00

I caught a documentary on the making of Spore this weekend. For those of you that are non-gamers, Spore is the latest video game creation of Will Wright the legendary game designer of Sims fame. If Sims were about people then Spore is about everything else. Essentially you create your own lifeforms, planets, solar systems, etc while at the same time being able to visit the planets, solar systems, etc of all the other people playing the game. Watching the documentary reminded me how much I want to create video games one day when I grow up.

It's Official

2008-09-05T11:15:00.001-04:00

The US10k organizers posted the official times this morning. I had predicted 62:05 on Tuesday based on the first mile official time and then the lap times from my watch. The official time: 62:04. I didn't quite get under the 60 minute mark that I was aiming for but now I have a time to beat next time I run a 10k. My time also placed me as finisher 1,644 out of 3,072 that had the official timing chip. My running buddies did real well too. Stacy finished in 62:51 and Steph finished in 66:51. I have my eye on a couple of 5k races coming up this fall. I may even get to run one in Ohio when I go to visit the family in October.

Phelps

2008-09-04T11:48:00.002-04:00

Somehow I managed to injure a toe running the 10k on Monday. (I am braced for the sarcastic beating I am going take from that little fact.) Well, this means that I need to let it heal before I continue running. From what I have heard it is great to cross train during these "down" times. Last night I decided to hit the pool to swim a few laps since that is supposed to be a good aerobic workout. I have a new level of respect for Michael Phelps now! I managed to swim for about 25 minutes and when I was done I thought I was going to die. What Phelps does in the pool is even more amazing to me now.

US 10k Classic

2008-09-02T09:35:00.003-04:00

Not sure what you did with your Labor Day but I started mine with a little 6.2 mile run with 12,000 running buddies up Cobb Parkway from Cumberland Mall to Whitewater. Here is how it went down:

2:12am - My 7 year old came into the room to let me know that he had clogged the toilet. I tried the plunger for a few minutes with no luck. Later I remembered that my wife had told me that our 2 year old had flushed some toys the other day. The plumber will need to fix this one.

3:00am - Not sure why but I woke up and was wide awake. Decided it would be a good idea to go get a drink and start hydrating for the race coming up in a few hours. 16 ounces later I was back in bed and fell right back to sleep.

5:00am - The alarm went off... I was not real happy about it but that 16 ounces of water at 3:00 helped get me out of bed. Ate 2 slices of toast with peanut butter topping (something new I was trying), drank another 16 ounces of fluids, took a shower, got dressed, and headed to pick up Steph and Stacey who were running the race as well.

6:15am - Picked up Steph and Stacey and headed to event.

7:00am - Arrived at event, worked through traffic, parked, and then walked 1/2 mile to the starting line. Stood in line for 30 minutes for the restrooms.

7:45am - Race start. I like to start near the back because it feels good to pass a lot of people as you run. This was a mistake this time and the 3 of us spent the first 1.5 miles weaving in and out of traffic, having to stop and walk sometimes to find a way around a traffic jam. We did pass a lot of people though!

Mile 1 (11:58): This was a slow mile and I am not real certain where the actual starting line was. The main problem was traffic, along with how far back I started. I actually showed this a an 8:58 mile on my watch but we were 12:00 minutes from when the gun went off. Felt good so far.
Mile 2 (10:09): Another slow mile as I am still having to weave in and out of traffic. I am still running with Steph and Stacey and we are having a good time talking and joking with people around us. There were some funny t-shirts to read as well. Still feeling pretty good overall.
Mile 3 (9:33): Mile time comes down as the traffic clears up a little bit. I decided to hit the water stand this time and got slowed up behind some runners that thought it was OK to stop running to get their water. After nearly knocking down the lady in front of me I had my water and was back on my way. I had not realized ahead of time how bad the hills were going to be on this course. This mile had hill number 3 of 6 in it and I am starting to feel them now. Still feeling pretty good overall but realizing I am halfway and still have some serious work to do. I lost Steph at the end of mile 3, she went on to complete the race just a few minutes behind me.
Mile 4 (9:16): Somewhere in mile 4 I lost Stacey as well. She stayed right behind me to the end but I did not see her again until the end. The hill ended at a McDonald's this time and I thought for a second about hitting the drive through. Overall I am still feeling pretty good and mentally I realize that there are only 2 miles to go.
Mile 5 (10:05): THE WALL! Everyone has heard about it but this was my first experience with it. Mile 5 contains the hill referred to as "Dead Man's Hill". I am not sure if this is because of the hill or the fact that there is a Krispey Kreme and KFC on the same hill. The thoughts of walking are now all that I can think about. My legs feel like lead and I am wondering why I am out here. At one point I took a half walking step but willed myself on. I made it through but only by sheer determination that I had come this far and I was going to fininsh it.
Mile 6.2 (11:04): The finish seemed easier than mile 4.5 to 5.0. Not sure why. Maybe it was mental because I knew I only had a mile left and I would be done. I managed to find the gas to sprint to the finsh line from just outside the 6 mile mark. It felt great to finish and like I had accomplished something huge. Plus, I passed 2 runners pushing strollers adn you always want to finish in front of the strollers!

If you add up those times it looks like I hit 62:05 which is 2:06 longer than I had wanted. But, it was my first 10k and from reading the paper this morning this is also one of the hardest 10k's in the nation. Overall it was fun and I plan to participate again.

Six Miler

2008-08-30T20:22:00.002-04:00

I decided to test the 10k this morning since I will be officially running one in two days. So, at 8:00 this morning myself and two running buddies set out on a six mile run. We decided to take a nice, easy pace and completed the course in 63 minutes. It ended up being more like 5.75 miles but it is close enough to feel confident that I will be able to complete the course. Now that I know I can complete the distance I am looking forward to Monday's run. My goal is to complete it in under 60 minutes. Stay posted for the results...

Heroes

2008-08-29T14:43:00.003-04:00

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes (as well as a tasty sandwich style). My hero today is a fellow co-worker that reached 14 days since her last cigarette. She just decided one day that it was time to quit, set her mind to it, and followed through. She is a great encouragement to anyone that needs to kick a habit, lose some weight, get back in shape, etc.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2008-08-29T11:42:00.002-04:00

I decided to watch Barak Obama's speech last night. One thing really stood out and bugged me. At one point he went on a rant about the failed policies of the current administration. I have no problem with that since he is entitled to his opinion and he was given the platform to spread his message. However, when he did this he referred to the policies of "George W Bush" not "President George W Bush". This was after he made sure to refer to "President Bill Clinton" on at least one occasion earlier in his speech. I understand that Obama may not like President Bush but at least respect the position even if you don't like the man.

New Shoes

2008-08-28T09:22:00.002-04:00

Last week I went to Big Peach Running Co and bought my first pair of official running shoes. I chose this store because I had heard great things about their process for making sure that you get the best shoe possible. Here was the process the salesperson (who is also a runner) used:

The salesperson had me stand on this device that measured my center of balance, my shoe size, where on my foot I place the most pressure, and the type of foot that I have. I found that I place too much pressure on front of my foot and that my arches are fairly normal.
Next, I was asked to run on a treadmill while they recorded the way I ran. I found that my left leg isnormal but my right leg tends to over pronate. It was explained (and showed to me in slow motion) that this means that my ankle on my right leg rolls too far in during the heel to toe motion of running.

From these 2 tests the salesperson brought out 3 pair of shoes from me to try (good heel and front of foot cushion and light stability control). I tried each pair on and took each for a "spin" out in the parking lot. I instantly noticed a huge difference from the Walmart specials I had been running in. In the end I settled on a pair of Saucony ProGrid Guide and to my surprise they happened to be 15% off that afternoon because the Saucony rep was in the store!

When I left I stopped and took my new shoes for a 3 mile spin and could not believe how much difference a good pair of running shoes made. If you are serious about running I would suggest finding a store like Big Peach Running Co and get fitted for the best shoe possible. It will change your life!!

Five Miler

2008-08-27T09:44:00.003-04:00

Last night I decided to try and run 5 miles. Since I am planning to run a 10k (6.2 miles) this coming Monday I figured I should see if I can reach at least 5 miles prior to the event. Most of the time I run 2 or 3 miles, occasionally I run a little over 4. Five was hard! I kept thinking that once I reached the next corner it would be downhill, I'd get the second wind, etc. Well, when I reached the last corner (at 4.7 miles) to head home it literally was downhill. It was weird though, it felt like I was running uphill still. The lungs were tired, the legs were tired, and it was sheer willpower that moved me on. Monday should be interesting as I will need to add 1.2 miles to what I did last night to complete the 10k. My realistic goal is under 60 minutes, my "Shane is awesome" goal is sub 55 minutes. Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it goes.

First Post

2008-08-25T17:35:00.003-04:00

This is obligatory first post. I am starting this blog because all of my friends do it and because with my new passion for running it gives me another outlet to share that with the 3 people out there who care (yes, I am counting myself twice). Not sure what you will find here but the goal is short posts that take a few seconds to read and when you are done you will probably wish you had not wasted that time you will never get back. ENJOY!!