Friday, June 16, 2006

Am I too old for new tricks?

I'm sitting on the couch. injured.

My back continues to hurt no matter how many times i rearrange these f-in couch pillows. I had one of those moments today while windsurfing "Am I too old to learn new tricks?? No way! I'll go for it!"

About two days ago i received my early fathers day present = The Windsurfing Tricktionary. it's the windsurfing trick bible. almost every crazy move ever invented. i studied it for hours on my flights to/from LA this week, and then today, the wind blew! Now was my chance! I must bust a move!

well... it feels like i "busted" something.

Anyway, at this point if you're still reading this (you, i mean jana) then you'll be interested to know that Christi inspired me to do the duck jibe today. So, i'm hurtin, but at least i pulled off a duck jibe on my 7.3. I got that going for me....

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Look Daddy, Fire!

Yes, my morning was going fairly well until I heard “look daddy, fire!”

Wow. The toaster oven had black smoke pouring out and big flames clearly visible through the glass window!

I quickly unplugged the toaster oven, Karsten opened the back door, and the smoldering breakfast was set on the back porch.

Ok, organic toaster pops are not going to work today… uhh, kids, who wants eggs for breakfast?!

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Al Gore comes out of the woods

A group of us saw Al Gore’s movie last night – An inconvient truth.

A question came up after the movie: If “this” Al Gore (a funny, charming, scientific, warm guy) was running against Bush, would the outcome have been different?

I remember reading a book about politicians (while I was running for port commissioner) and now it’s all starting to make sense to me… Al Gore has come out of the woods.

I think Al has been in two political camps during his career...

1. The 'hot topic of the moment' politician. This type of politician will eagerly change their point of view when it's convenient to them, to meet popular opinion, to get reelected, etc. In my opinion this type of politician does not have a real backbone, they are only interested in preserving their job in office, they will take the 'easy way out' to avoid conflict, etc. This was my view of Al Gore during his election vs. Bush. Al Gore appeared to be easily manipulated. And he was.

2. The Ideal-based politician. This type of politician has very strong beliefs on a topic and will not be swayed by popular belief. It is their goal to gain power, so they can enact their policies, and change the world damn it. These types of political figures go through LONG periods where they are "out in the woods" - that is, their political views are not valued by the general public so they have no chance of being elected, and they are seen as 'a little crazy'. They can go their entire career "out in the woods" and never have an opportunity to shine, or they can have great timing, and luck, and perhaps their 'hot topic" will become a national importance and they will rise to power. Winston Churchill has always been sighted as a good example of this type of politician - true to his beliefs - and took power when his views were in line with the political environment. And now... dare i say... Al Gore... is this type of politician too?