While on the road a couple of weeks back, I had the opportunity to work out at the Concord Mills YMCA.  I went with a coworker who was a member, and didn't have to pay a dime (NICE JOB #1!).  By contrast, the Charlotte area Masters swim club was going to charge me $9 just to swim! 

The pool area was clean, and two swim coaches were available for consultation.  In addition, they provided plastic bags, hanging on hooks right there in the pool area, for your wet clothes (NICE JOB #2!). 

When I finished my swim (inspired by the quality of service being provided, I did 25x100 on the 1:30), as I was leaving, I peeked into the gym - 4 full basketball courts, and I had them all to myself at about 6:30 a.m.  I couldn't resist shooting about 10 minutes worth of hoops with the quality basketballs they provided (NICE JOB #3!). 

Saturday morning, I spoke with Jeff Moran about the possibility of him coming over to "hang out."  Now, as most of my recent guests will attest to, "Hang out" in my terms means "help build the treehouse."  So here's Jeff, helping out with the treehouse, and "other duties as assigned."

For a long time, the Bicycle Advocacy group of Central Arkansas (BACA) has been trying to get the NLR and LR sections of the River Trail linked via a pedestrian bridge over Murray Lock and Dam.  Well, it looks like it's starting to crystallize!  My commute to LR could get easier, or at least more interesting...  Regardless, with the addition of this bridge and a few more improvements (currently underway), the LR-area bike paths will be some of the best in the nation!  More info at www.bacar.org and here.  NICE JOB!!!

The Kelly Miller Circus was in town yesterday in Maumelle.  Our little town of about 11,000 was privileged to enjoy the big top, which was set up in an open field near our Harvest Foods grocery store.  I felt a warm feeling of community as I looked around during the dog-and-pony show.  Here are the kids' mixed reactions.  It may have been mere coincidence, but even Eden squealed (she's been doing this lately - VERY cute) during this segment.

The circus is a funny little section of our society - certainly different than most.  It was nice to see some folks carrying on the circus tradition with obviously limited resources.  It was truly old-school.  Nice Job, Kelly Miller Circus!

FANTASTIC Job, all those who worked on GLCBS '05.  What a wonderful week!  For those of you not familiar with Christadelphian Bible Schools, they are basically week-long extravaganzas where one learns more about the Bible and God's plan for the earth, spends time with family and other families, gets to know people from other parts of the world, and generally has a good week of re-focusing our lives on what's important. 

Here are a few pictures from the week, and a few other pictures from whenever.  As always, check the captions.  Firefox users, this page is best viewed in Internet Explorer, as Firefox does not show the captions (where all the action lies).

SO NICE JOB, GLCBS ORGANIZERS AND WORKERS!

I don't deal well with change.  I'm the guy who reluctantly got a cell phone, DVD player, Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc. 

I'm an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" sort of guy with a lot of things.

So you're going to give me adequate service through some cold, distant, Instant-Messenger-looking window, and I'm going to come away feeling like you CARE about me?

Actually, YES!  This was a lovely experience that I had.  I came away with a more personal feeling than I thought possible through such a medium.

NICE JOB to the guy that came up with on-line chat help!

Two weeks ago, I rode my bike the furthest I've ever ridden it, 115 miles.  The trip was from Maumelle, AR to Lizard Springs on the Mulberry River.  An image of the route, including profile, is shown below. 

Despite being on roads where motorists probably are not used to seeing cyclists, EVERYONE WAS NICE!!!  Ok...there was ONE mean person the whole way, but they caused me no bodily harm, so no hard feelings.

My overwhelming feeling is NICE JOB ARKANSAS MOTORISTS!

I can't say enough about Asher and the Mustangs of the Maumelle Youth Basketball League.  They are amazing!

I'll set the stage...the Mustangs began the season playing a sort of basketball which would have been hard to identify, absent the type of ball they were using.  They did well to pass and dribble - which was all by design - most of the kids were just learning the game.

As with Asher's baseball season, where I submit he didn't really "get" the game until the last day of the season, his first venture into basketball presented many learning opportunities:  1) running up and down the court to your designated spot on defense is not the ONLY objective of the game, although it certainly is an important one; 2) GET THE BALL!!!!; 3) when you get the ball, don't let go!!!; 4) SHOOT THE BALL!!!!!; 5) etc., etc., etc.

Well, the Mustangs entered the end-of-the-season tournament near the top of their game.  The tourney was a double-elimination format.  The Mustangs lost a heartbreaker in their opening game, leaving them with a big hole out of which they had to scratch, claw, and work their way.

That's when the true magic began.

The Mustangs ran off FOUR straight victories, showcasing a defensive tenacity unmatched by any team in the league.  Last Friday, they won their first game, then faced the Pistons (the second-best team in the league based on W-L record), who were coming off a loss to the Razorbacks in their opening game of the night.  The Mustangs would come out on top, thereby claiming the spot as the winners of the losers' bracket in the tourney, and setting up a matchup against the Razorbacks, winners of the winners' bracket.

Let me tell you a bit about the Razorbacks.  This team was the Juggernaut of the Maumelle Youth Basketball League '07.  UNDEFEATED through the regular season and the tournament, they rolled through game after game (including the regular-season matchup v. the Mustangs), right up to victory in the two-point squeaker against the Pistons last Friday. 

The Mustangs were not favored.  And the dance was ready for Cinderella...

In the first game, the surprising Mustangs (especially thanks to that tenacious defense) held an 11-6 lead with just 2 minutes to go in the game.  An insurmountable lead, one would think.  But the Razorbacks scored with just 1:50 remaining, and then scored again with just 1:00 remaining, to pull within 11-10. 

The Mustangs' point guard, Kemp, was never one to rest on a lead, so he pushed the ball up the floor, and the Razorbacks recovered the ball with about 0:50 left.  The Mustangs' defense successfully held the Razorbacks in check, and the Mustangs reclaimed possession with 0:40 on the clock.

Again, the Mustangs charged down court, and they were forced to make another defensive stop, this time with 0:20 remaining. 

Again the Mustangs pressed, and again the Razorbacks returned with their offensive prowess, only to be held at by by the suffocating defensive play, now with 0:10 on the clock. 

One would think the game was well-in-hand, but the Mustangs were not satisfied, so they made one final offensive push for a score, and with 0:03 remaining, the Razorbacks would have one last chance. 

The inbound came near half-court, and with 3 dribbles, a Razorback was wide open from the top of the key, with a fraction of a second on the clock. 

He let fly...

The buzzer sounded...

The crowd was on their feet...

And the ball sailed over the rim...

Over the backboard...

And out of bounds!

GO MUSTANGS!!!!  The first team to de-throne the Razorbacks on the season, they were now faced with the daunting task of doing it AGAIN!  (Coming out of the losers' bracket, the Mustangs needed two victories to claim the championship)

The second game was nothing short of MAGNIFICENT.  Words cannot describe the balanced play of Kyle, who distributed the ball so effectively; Becca, who was a force on the interior, with multiple key blocked shots; Kemp, who learned from the first game that sometimes, you can use the clock in your favor, and slow things down a bit, and who played an INCREDIBLE offensive game; Shelby, Sam, and Clay, who came up with key rebounds and stifled the Razorbacks' inside game; Ashley, who recovered a couple of key loose balls; Asher and Ashlyn, whose defensive tenacity destroyed any Razorbacks' hopes of getting ANY good looks at the basket; and who could forget...

RICKY!!!!  Whose 10 points on STELLAR shooting from the field led the Mustangs to a 22-16 victory and a League Championship, capping the most amazing 6-game winning streak I think I've EVER witnessed, and the good-feeling Cinderella story of the year!!!!!!

Way to Go, MUSTANGS!!!!!

And of course, as a proud Dad, I'd like to point out one particular game-within-a-game...Asher was bloodied during a scrum underneath the Razorbacks' basket late in the 3rd quarter, fighting for a loose ball.  He had to come out, of course (due to the risk of STDs amongst these 7-year-olds, presumably?).  The Razorbacks scored on BOTH of the two ensuing possessions, pulling them within 12-10.  BOTH scores were from the exact position where Asher would have certainly put the defensive clamp down, and preserved the Mustangs' precious lead.  A Band-Aid was located in short order, and Asher was back in to finish out the game in the 4th quarter. 

Asher's defense was stellar this game, and he got off a couple of good field goal attempts due to some solid rebounding. 

Way to Go, Big BOO!!!!!!! 

Nice job to CTEH for the fastest response time ever to an emergency!  If you don't know, I respond to emergency chemical releases all over North America to analyze people's exposures.  It could be a chemical plant fire, a train derailment, an oil spill, or something like that.

So at 4:56 p.m. last Thursday, July 19, I was shocked to see a plume of dust coming from the ground across the street - at first I thought it was water, but then I saw no wetness, only the hazy, wavy lines that could only indicate a gas release.  Sure enough, a guy digging up a tree across the street had hit a gas line which was marked to be on the other side of the sidewalk where he was digging (not his fault, apparently). 

I immediately ran to our equipment room for an air monitoring device which can detect whether the air is explosive or not.  It reads in percent, i.e., when it reads 100%, that means the air is explosive. 

I got up to 100% (also the max reading) on the road that runs in front of our building.  So we "set up a perimeter" and re-routed traffic through our parking lot.  We also monitored at some of our employees cars as they started them, to reassure them there was no risk of an explosion as they started their cars. 

A lot of times we joke that we're "saving lives" on sites because more often than not, we're just documenting the fact that the air is clean ("just making sure").  But in this instance, I'd like to think we may have actually been "saving lives."

Nice job, CTEH, for the fastest response time ever (I was on-site at 4:57 p.m.), and one safely and well done!

It's time for Ironman Wisconsin 2007.  Go to ironmanlive.com to view it in the next couple of days, and live on race day, September 9.

Today, in the mail at the hotel, I received a very special package.  In 2003, for my first Ironman (Hawaii), I got a CSX jersey the day before we left for HI.  In 2005, for my second Ironman (Florida), I got a CSX jersey the day before race day, delivered to our condo in FL.  Today, 3 days before race day, I got a CSX jersey delivered to the hotel in WI. 

Two times might have been a fluke, but this is becoming a little bit of a tradition!  Many thanks go out to Tom.  Here's a pic of this year's jersey (it has polka dots), and one of me and Mike wearing the 2005 and 2004 vintages.  Great shirt!  Nice job, Tom!!!

The polka dots have special significance:  on a recent training ride, to spice things up a bit, we decided that, in the spirit of the Tour de France, we would have the person who won the hills classification wear a polka dotted clothing item.  In the Tour, it's a jersey.  In the local training ride, it's the polka-dotted boxer shorts.  Much fun, and Nice Job to Kevin, who won the first polka-dotted boxer award! 

Nice Job to Will, Brad, and myself for completing the siding/roof panelling job on the Jacksons' treehouse!  I think all were pleased with the outcome. 

We rang in the New Year with Will, Brad, and Fam, and then watched the Razorback football team play in The Game Which Shall Not Be Mentioned before heading home.  Sis. Jacqueline hosted us wonderfully, as always!  Nice Job to all involved making the weekend an enjoyable success! 

Because as I like to say, "Good times don't happen by accident."