Super Bowl Sunday

I predict a 25-18 win for the Arizona Cardinals. I came to that conclusion after running through an intense determination process. After picturing booth teams in my mind I let random numbers pop into my head and though I thought the Steelers might win I liked the Cardinals better. Saw Papa Murphy's advertise four large pepperoni pizzas for $20 and have been calling around to see if anyone wants to watch the game together so we can take advantage of the deal.

Speaking of birds, the radio in our new vehicle picks up HD radio. So we receive the UWM station that plays the BBC World after midnight. It is on while we are making our rounds and adds just a bit more value to my life in the various topics they cover from around the world. Something just right of the insanity of our own left wing here. But it was local coverage that I was listening to yesterday when they mentioned half the bird species in the United States do not have beaks that can eat seed. They were speaking of ripping out invasive species and planting native trees and plants to support insect and spider life that native birds feed on.

Here is a picture of our feeders from last Winter. We haven't put seed in them for years! I often contemplate tearing out all the plantings in our back yard and starting from scratch. Redesigning the whole thing and seeing how much I can produce. Even have some vertical planting designs bouncing around in my head. I just can't bring myself to destroying the plants that are already there, but many are dieing now.

Can't get to the gym much so have been trying to walk the neighborhood every day. the ups and downs on the hills are a good variant but the sidewalk conditions are poor. Many icy patches especially where the city or county plowed. Took Ship-po around today. Maybe I'll take Tun-Tun around half a block later.

I reorganized the 'Racing for Real Men' links, adding the BC Bike Race. I arranged them by balancing proximity and level of the competition. I put the Trans Iowa last because... does anyone really want to go to Iowa if they don't have to? Maybe I should choose a top ten. Perhaps a survey of the readers. The last survey I tried went so well.. or not. But I have a counter now so I know you readers are out there, so you might as well do it. You're welcome to list any other race recommendations in the comments. I'll set up the survey soon.

Mayfair Mall

Yesterday was the Chinese New Year. Celebrated by the goodwill and fashion challenged ones, along with the rest of the orient. Enter the year of the Ox. Misao and I are both Dragons. Not sure what year Alois was born in. The more he posts, the more German speaking nations hit our blog. Hits from forty nations now since I added the counter. Lithuania being the 40th.

Misao went with a church elder the other day to walk the mall. An enticing off season training option if they would let you run. My mom said when she went, she went hours before the shops opened. Kept her from spending my dad's money. At least he thinks its his money.

I grew up at that mall. It was fairly plain when I was young. The arcade was in the basement, along with a cobbler. Then they put a ice skating rink in the middle and had little streams running down the center of the public space. You could sit in McDonald's and watch people skate below, it was on the basement level. Then they closed the rink, removed the streams and all the basement shops and started going high end. Most recently they added a second floor and then the controversial 16 screen movie theater. There was a theater in the parking lot that had been closed many many years earlier. Now Mayfair is clearly the premier mall in the entire region. A hot Dog stand in the food court its latest addition.

Been to the mall quite a bit recently. Of course there was Christmas shopping. Bought my new glasses there too. They have a Steins and Lense Crafters. Though Steins has some big sales, Lense Crafters is nearly identical in price when you go for the most expensive lenses. Plenty of time to walk around as I waited the hour for the new glasses. It's nice to walk around the mall. The second floor is carpeted and like all newer mall designs they have couches and comfy chairs to sit in if you get tired.

Also nice to stop by the Apple Store. Just don't make light of Steve Jobs while your there. I wish I could afford a new Apple. I wonder if you can break the desktop model down to fit in a padded case for travel.

Always nice to stop by one of the newer and most interesting shops; 'Teavana'. Though many of the ingredients have specific health benefits in oriental medicine they speak of the health benefits in general terms. Blending the ingredients towards general health themes. They always have free samples. Some have caffeine equivalent to coffee and they claim it metabolizes slower so it doesn't make you jittery and stimulates you all day. It would be nice to have a tasty tea to start the day once in awhile, but unfortunately it's not cheap.

They also have three Starbucks, a Gloria Jeans and an Alterra Coffee. The Alterra that hosts the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic WORS race at Crystal Ridge. And all must have heard by now that Wisconsin will host all the cycling events if Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics. Some say Obama's election gives Chicago the edge.

Sushi

Yes, we did go out for sushi for our Anniversary. We went to 'Kyoto' off 76th Street. They have all you can eat sushi on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Or so they claim. I had to think of John Belushi and his Samurai skits he did on Saturday Night Live. Ready to cut open his gut at the slightest expression of dissatisfaction by the customer. Unfortunately this restaurant isn't run by Japanese. Excuse me for knowing my sushi, or not. The waitress' eyes rolled as we placed our order(s). And when we finally finished with the sushi and got our ice cream for desert, it was in far smaller bowls than the people next to us received (my bowl was dirty). I thought the sushi was lacking on the vinegar and my wife said the miso soup was instant. We ate til we were full, but I could have eaten a lot more if I wanted. A whole lot more. Almost have the mind to go back.

Misao, my wife, said they were Chinese (I would have never guessed!). They wrote Kyoto on their sign with a single character. In Chinese it is pronounced Kyoto but in Japanese it is just Kyo. There is a second character for To.

But it is a fine restaurant if you like the rolls.

And it brings to mind Jacques Pepin, the French cook on PBS. He cooks a lot of meats with simple but eloquent recipes. Always puts a big cube of butter in the pan after the olive oil. He often mentions Julia Child. I just can't watch Julia Child. It always brings to mind Dan Aykroyd's portrayal on Saturday Night Live. If you don't know what I'm talking about I'm not going to spill it out for you. But that was when Saturday Night Live was actually good.

And it calls to mind one of the most important lessons of 2008. Don't forget to put a compress on your wounds as quickly as possible if they go through the skin.

My weight? Hasn't been moving much and I have few opportunities to get to the gym. I don't trust the roads with my bikes and don't want to expose them to road salt. My tires don't fit the conditions either. I am encouraged with my run/walk workouts. Clearly ahead of myself from last Winter and the recovery is good.

The Mountain Bike Art Museum opened in North Carolina. Missed the last MTB meeting (we were eating all you can eat, so they claim, sushi) and the Monkey Light demonstration.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. The one above is an old file photo. All we have is my wife's cell phone camera right now. The Kodak digital apparently started working again but I removed the software on Kodak no longer has downloads for windows 2000. And no one ever spread the wealth for a new camera. All I got in the mail was the dollar my credit card company sent me to entice me to return their survey. Which I did.

Anniversary

Yesterday, the 12th, was our anniversary for our Holy Wedding. It was also Rush Limbaugh's birthday and that of my brother. Misao was busy all day so we are going out tonight. Maybe sushi, or we'll use one of our gift cards. I wanted to get Misao another exercise DVD that we could do together; Denise Austin. I couldn't find a copy or any of her yoga DVD's so we are out of luck. I will most likely miss the club meeting tonight and the live demonstration of those monkey lights that the 'Beer Man' ordered.

My weight really shot up after Christmas. About a pound a day but I had the quickest turn around ever. A couple days at the gym and the weight started down. About half a pound a day. Getting down to 250 isn't the most difficult task. Getting past that is. If I can do it during the Winter season it will be a great accomplishment. No, I didn't get a trainer I bought some new glasses. Couldn't really afford them either, but my others were soooo old they tainted my image. While not everything it is something. I could spend thousands on bicycle accessories without even buying a new bike. Check out some of these trainers.

So on the actual day,yesterday, my wife brought home Chinese and we ate off the coffee table while watching Jack Bower on"24." I was wondering if that was the same man purse he had last year. After I ate the whole thing we opened our fortune cookies. Mine said "You will be unusually successful in business" and my wife's "Sing and rejoice, fortune is smiling on you."

My dog, TunTun was sniffing around looking for scraps. I didn't think much of it. Then I jumped up and screamed "NO!" Yes... He ate my fortune. I tried to pry open his mouth but he was uncooperative. I gave up and started laughing... and crying at the same time.

2009

Getting back to the gym on a regular basis. Have been away for awhile. More the nature of the season than my determination. My wife likes me to go to the gym. Because she always has the car during the day she said; "why don't you go in the evening." .... This time of year? A colossal waste of time with the crowds and having to wait for equipment.

Still contemplating resolutions for this year. Have been drinking more water and less soda (don't drink diet soda); we're drinking a lot of tea these days. Starting to focus more on stretching which has always been something I determined but didn't keep up.

Of course there are many more substantial improvements to contemplate. Creating my own projects not just on paper but on the computer, focusing on 3D modeling, though that hasn't been my business plan. Getting to a slew of topics I want to write about and becoming more productive in all my various pursuits.

And goals competition wise? We''ll see what opportunities arise, but being the 2008 State Champion I feel pushed to keep a continually higher level of performance. Don't have a trainer yet but still opportunity to go beyond last years accomplishments if I use this Winter season well. Some may mock my accomplishment, being no one else was qualified; holding a USA Cycling License in my category. That is how it goes, just as some finished higher than me in the series standings because they could make more races though I beat them on a regular basis. I competed on a high level for the category and was a true beginner, whereas others may have competed in higher categories in the past and/or had much more experience than myself. Besides do you know how much gold is going for these days. This (see photo) is over a half ounce (yes, I weighed it) of golden goodness. Of course I collected the award (I couldn't make the awards banquet and had it mailed to me). Do you think I'm Stupid or something?

Misao hit the store for after Christmas sales for next years Christmas cards among other things. She picked up this ornament to commemorate my Championship season. She said I can write (paint) '2008 State Champion' on it.

Ein Frohes Neues Jahr ...

und alles Gute im Jahr 2009!