No More Daily...No more Dose...

With regret, sadness, and a little bitterness, I have decided to end my run at The Daily Dose. Lately, I just have not found the motivation to continue the updates at a pace that is required to maintain a good, well maintained blog. I made it 206 consecutive days with the blog, but unfortunately, it ended during one of my most anticipated events of 2008...The Olympics.

The Olympics were amazing, Michael Phelps and his eight Golds, Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, and of course...beach volleyball dominance. Personally its just watching good looking girls in bikini's play volleyball :-) But with it, I noticed that the desire to post no longer exhisted. It became more of a chore than a passion, and that is not why I started this blog...it was supposed to be fun. So with that, through some Blog soul searching, I decided I should step away from the blog.

There may be a few posts here and there, but from this point on, The Daily Dose and Zachawii are no longer here. I thank you all for the wonderful support and hope that you will be able to find another feed that will tweak your interest for those few small moments in which you spent with The Daily Dose. I thank you, and so long!
Peace!

Water World!!!

Unbelievable!
I have watched a redic amount of Olympics on TV thus far, and today was not an exception. I wish I could have seen a better variety of events, but so far not a bad total.
*Swimming
*Gymnastics
*Sculls (Rowing)
*Volleyball
*Beach Volleyball
*Road Bike Racing
*Basketball
*Fencing

But tonight's Mens 4X100m freestyle relay was simply amazing. Plus, I have a total dude crush on the American mens team, I wish I could look like that when I yell haha. Jason Lezak raced an amazing anchor leg to come back from over a half second at the turn to take gold for the American's. It was sweet redemtion, as the French, the favorites, had a bit of trash talking before the event. If you talk trash, be sure you can back it up! To think, the Olympics have been this exciting so far, and the best is yet to come...track and field (in my opinion)

A Brewing good time...

I need to see some ID's...
Hoganistan and I decided to head over the Abita Brewing Company today to take a tour of the Brewery. K&A Wags headed along with us as well, and, upon arrival, was Hoganistans "Happiest day of my life." The tour really is not a tour, mostly a "here is where the beer is fermented" and "this is where the beer starts its life" tour of two stops and 10 minutes in length.

It is a good time, as they make it fun and, as you walk in the door, are ushered over by the receptionist who checks ID's. With that, you get your "sample cup" and have free access to all of the beers on tap. Best part...its free. No limit on the drinks, and 14 taps of various brews. There is even a tap for their rootbeer, which is AMAZING! So, if you need something to do on a Saturday and want to have a few cold ones, head over to Abita Springs, and its local, so you feel all warm and fuzzy for supporting the local economy...or maybe its just the beer...I'm not sure!

And so it begins...

Simply put...the 29th Olympiad has begun, and China started it off with an amazing bang! Lets have some amazing games and I am pumped! I am biased, but USA, USA, USA! Hopefully my foreign readers are not offended:-)

No...not that Phelps...

Speechless
Kansan's most beloved son...ok, not really, has made his entrance on to the media stage once again. The controversial preacher Fred Phelps and his breakaway church, Westboro Baptist Church, is planning on picketing the funeral of a Winnipeg man brutally killed on a Greyhound bus earlier in the week. Why, might you ask, would this church protest the funeral of a man sliced and diced by a psycopath? Its Gods punishment on Canada for allowing homosexuality, abortions, and divorce. Seriouslly?

This is nothing new for this dispicable sect, as I documented earlier in the year of the protest in Greensburg, KS during that towns 1 year anniversery of a powerfully destructive storm. The Westboro Baptist Church "is best known for picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers in line with a belief that God has been using the war in Iraq to kill American military personnel to show contempt for a nation and military that has allegedly become overly accommodating to and sympathetic of gay/lesbian concerns." As I said back in May, "this, by all accounts of the definition is a radically religious group no different of the Taliban. Extreme assertion, yes, but the stuff that this group chants at a fallen soldiers funeral is a shame and they themselves should be made to serve on the front lines."

Hopefully the group will not get to protest, let the man rest in peace. I agree that we have the right, as Americans, for freedom of speech, but there is also a moral obligation as humans to let ones family have a proper time to grieve, no matter the circumstances...On a brighter note...The OLYMPICS start tomorrow!!!

Hump Day Challenge...The End

The season finale of another Club South Runners Hump Day 2-Mile Challenge was a success. I purchased my new kicks before my 5-mile warm up and absolutely loved them.

I will try on 20 pairs of shoes before the perfect fit is achieved. Its almost like the line in Transformers (the movie) where Bernie Mac says" A driver doesn't choose the car, the car chooses the driver." For me...the shoe chooses the runner, not the runner choosing the shoe. So what shoe was it?

The Nike Skylon 11, seen below. Its one of Nike's newer shoes and I was surprised by how well it fit. Normally, Nike and I do not get along, but, as I said earlier, the shoe chooses the runner!

After getting the shoes, we did a good 5-mile run with the Varsity Sports group and then jetted over to the final Hump Day Challenge. The race was stacked, tons of ex-collegiate runners, high school runners, and just plain fast guys. I went out fast, but conservative and pushed the second mile hard. I set a new PR for this racing series, which is nice. Placed second in the 'old mans' division. The Varsity Sports group represented well in most categories with two overall division winners and three 2nd place age group finishers.

In another note, in Hoganistan and I's absence, the Humpday All Stars pulled out another win...we officially have a winning streak now.

"The Rouge" View

Back in early March (here) I mentioned that it would not be long before "The Rouge" would be showing up in GoogleMaps nifty little service called Google Street View. Well today, it has arrived, we, "The Rouge" are now mapped and photographed. Hopefully everyone was smiling when the camera rolled by! The streetview below is of Tiger Stadium...also known as "Death Valley" one of the hardest places to come into and play!



View Larger Map

Zachawii in "The Rouge"

Hoganistan and I made it into "The Rouge" late last night. So, I decided to post a update on the past weeks worth of blogs. Some have said this is a cop out for a blog posting...oh well! Enjoy

1. Preseason Football..oh wait...thats a Cop (7/28/2008)
2. Take a deep breath...or not (7/29/2008)
3. Kickin Balls to a Win (7/30/2008)
4. Filler (7/31/2008)
5. One Week to Go! (8/1/2008)
   
6. HP Waiting Game (8/2/2008)
7. Back in "The Rouge" (8/3/2008)
   

Heading to "The Rouge"

I will be heading down to "The Rouge" for two weeks today to continue the support of the company transition off of our program. I am excited to head back for a trip to join back up with the VS group and have some good runs. I need new shoes as well...so hopefully I will be able to sport some new kicks. And there are a few races I may partake in. It should be a good two weeks...see you from "The Rouge."

Waiting...and Waiting...

Awhile back I posted that my trusty blogging laptop became ill and was a little under the weather. Heard from HP tech support, from India, and they informed me that the part to replace the piece (what is wrong...would not tell me) was back ordered. I'm looking at the 19th of August as my receiving date...great! Thanks HP thanks alot...

Olympics, one week away!

Its only one week till the official opening of the Summer Olympic games...who's not excited! The athletes should start showing up in the Olympic Village in the next couple of days and the excitement will be awesome! Today, August 1st, was the opening day of the controversial 1936 Berlin Games. Hopefully these games will go smoothly but also bring awareness to China, in whatever manner floats ones boat: pollution, lax manufacturing standards, Tibet, Darfur.

Another Day Another Dollar

Work was long...nothing to report

Hump Wins...Hump Wins...

It is that time in the week again where the rubber meets the foot...KICKBALL. So the Humpday All Stars (my team) have never won a regular season game in their existence. I was not apart of the teams inaugural season, so for me, we have only ever lost one game (last week). In a lot of ways we are looked down upon, the little engine that could NOT win. But alas, that all changed.

Supported by "rummy worms" (Rum infused gummy worms)supplied by Hoganistan and VW we, the Humpday All Stars scored our first victory of this season and the first victory of franchise. Do I smell a playoff run? I think so...Following the game we headed to Penn Quarter (our sponsor bar) and held it down at the flip cup tables as well. All in all...a great day to be a Humpday All Star...a great day indeed!

Pollution go Away...

Acid Rain, Particulates, Smog Oh My
As we get closer to the Beijing and the opening ceremonies, the talk surrounding the air quality in Beijing is heating up, much like the temperatures in the Chinese capital city. But, as much attention that has been given to China, I believe one much criticize their own backyard before criticizing someone else.

The Nature Conservancy recently released a report examining the impacts of air pollution on the ecosystem. They found that pollutants such as mercury and ground-level ozone are resulting in less fish stocks, reduced farm production and possibly linked in the drastic reduction in the honeybees population.

The image above depicts the distribution of the varying pH levels of precipitation across the U.S. Interesting, but ugly, map where red indicates a greater acidity. Its rare that studies actually document the impacts of pollution on anything other than human respiratory health. Imagine what the bugs and bunnies feel about all of our pollution.

"Dodge This"

Most of you have probably heard or seen about this intersting video that occured in New York a few days back. A rookie NYPD cop was stripped of his badge and gun today after the video caught him slamming a bicyclist to the ground in an apparent unprovoked attack.

Officer Pogan was one of two cops monitoring the Critical Mass bike rally when a swarm of cyclists rode by ringing their bells about 9:35 p.m. Without warning, Pogan, appears to single out one cyclist, jog toward the sidewalk and then slam his shoulder into the biker, shocking the crowd on the sidewalk.

Critical Mass and Time's Up!both advocate for environmental issues with the monthly protest ride in several cities, including "The Rouge. Hopefully as gas prices goes up, we wont have angry motorists "car-checking" riders into ditches...its not fun!

Gravely Point

Hold On To Your Hat
On our way to the airport to drop RAC off, we decided to stop by Gravely Point, near Reagan National Airport. Its a nice little spit of land that is on the flight pattern of the planes landing and taking off at the airport. It sits just a stones throw away from the runway and the planes literally fly directly over your head!

I shot the picture of a nice NWA aircraft as it was coming in for a landing. A great place to bike (click on link above) or drive and spend an afternoon having a picnic and watching planes! If you bring small children, ear plugs would not be a bad idea, though its not too loud. All in all, a sweet location to visit every now and then!

Up in the Monuments

RAC'in up Monuments
This weekend RAC came for a visit up to good ole DC so I wanted to have a good trip. We decided that Saturday was going to be a Monument(al) day! We got up fairly early so that we could catch the metro to downtown to get in line for tickets to go up into the Washington Monument, you know that tall pencil looking thing. We waited in line and had to endure the "all knowing" knowledge of wanna-be locals who kept rattling off stats on the various monuments on the Mall.

After we got our tickets (you can book online weeks in advance here ) we headed to hit the rest of the sites. We went to the WWII









Vietnam, Lincoln, Korean, Jefferson and then to a few Smithsonian locations.








Finally we got to head to the top of the Washington Monument. Simple elevator ride to the top and you are presented with some wonderful views of the DC area. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance. Below is one of the pictures from the top...

Marion Jones

Do the Crime, Serve the Time...
It has come to light recently that former track star Marion Jones is asking President Bush for a pardon for her crimes in using steroids and check fraud. She is but one of many people who are requesting a pardon from Bush before he is out the door in January. I am deeply troubled by this, yet another high profile person using their fame/money to get preferential treatment that you or I would never have the chance of obtaining.

Marion Jones was the darling of the Olympics, looked up to by many young people and an inspiration. Her smile could lighten up a room and she had talent too. But she cheated, by her own admission (though lied to a federal grand jury) and with that, she is serving a 6-month prison sentence. Do the crime, do the time. That is why, after her tearful admission in January, I am astonished and upset that she would seek a pardon from the President. This just makes me feel like she has more to tell, more to admit to. If not, those tears back in January were obviously faked...

'Kickin it' at the Mall.

Today, I officially became initiated into the wonderful sport of DC Kickball. I first talked about this in May, but I was only a spectator then. Now, I am a full fledged member of the HumpDay Allstars!

Before the game started, a ritual that I will most likely never get tired of, progressed down Constitution in front of the WWII Memorial...Motorcades!!! I am pretty certain that GW was not in this motorcade as it was fairly large, but not nearly as burly as (what others tell me) GW rolls with, but still...what a way to roll home.

It always starts with you noticing that cops are stopping traffic on certain streets, kind of odd, but you don't think anything of it. Then, all of a sudden you hear them...the sirens and the motorbike police. They coming flying down the roads and you have the black SUV's (totally pimp looking) come screaming by, followed by the limos. Trailing is the "gunship" which are the boys you would not like to mess with. All windows and back hatch are wide up and automatic rifles are visible. It happens a lot, but its a spectacle every time.

Oh...and we lost kickball...3-1. No biggie, bunch of newbies (Myself included) so it took awhile for the team to mesh. We beat the rains, and all in all a great day!
Cheers

Dolly...

Not just a country singer...
Dolly has hit the Texas/Mexican border packing poorly sung tunes and a Category Five bust(i.e. chest)...wait...I mean. Ok, not that Dolly. The Hurricane Dolly hit as a Category 2 hurricane and looks more impressive on radar. The outer cloud/rain belts stretch clear to the south central coast of Louisiana. At least Dolly will not cause as much damage as Dean did last year...I hope.


One thing though, when anytime something like this hits the US, we can count on one thing...Jim Cantoree from the Weather Channel will be there! This guy is a manimal and loves to be in the thick of 100mph winds. Gotta love this guy! So the motto of the day is:
"Three things are certian life: Death, Taxes, and Hurricanes with Jim Cantore.