Lance Armstrong Still Rules

It's official, Lance Armstrong no longer won 7 Tour de France titles. I guess he was just home those weeks watching TV.

The French couldn't wait to take those titles away, they were embarrassed after being beaten 7 times by the USA.

I personally don't see what is so bad about the whole steroid doping thing. Yes, I know it's bad for you, but so is smoking and drinking and they let us do that. Yes, it's a bad role model for young kids, but have you met most of their parents and relatives?

It's not like you could inject steroids in just anyone and they would immediately jump off the couch, brush the doritos off their chest and cycle across another frigging country. I say let the French dope themselves too (pun intended) and they still wouldn't be able to win their own damn race.

And do they have their own yellow gel bracelet with cool slogan? NO!

Seriously, I could be injected with testosterone, coffee, and Red Bull and put on a bike and by the end of the first day of the Tour de France I would be face down on the street unable to move - and the 2nd day I would just be in the bar. 

Can't the UCI just do what baseball does? Put a little asterisk next to his name in the records book. It's like a little <wink> <wink> and we know what it means. 

I say screw the Tour de France - let's start a new race and we'll only let atheletes who have doped themselves compete.

Tour de South Africa, or Tour de Monaco, I might be able to do that one.

 

Learning Spanish

One of my Life Goals is to learn another language. I chose Spanish back in high school as my language elective, so I figured that would be a good place to start, and also it is now the 2nd most spoken language after English (even more than Mandarin apparently). Of course, the real reason is that I watch the hot women on Telemundo channel on cable. I think I know where the Gigante in 'Sabado Gigante' comes in.

But I digress... So I have been trying to learn Spanish for over 2 decades, to no avail.

I can do a basic conversation, but I construct a sentence in my head and it takes so long the other person is fast asleep before I finish.

When I watch TV, I catch a few words and phrases here and there but I cant keep up - I think my brain's CPU processing power isn't fast enough for language processing. I use Rosetta Stone, and with that I have no problem, I get everything right and have no problems keeping up - but obviously that is spoon fed...that is the problem with CDs and software.

If I could have my way - I would spend a month in Barcelona or Costa Rica and just bite the bullet and immerse myself.

This is one of the 5 things on my list when I win the lottery that I would do right off - I wont tell you the rest.

In the meantime, 

Here are a few more sites online I will check out to help learn Spanish:

• Busuu
• Personalized Spanish
• Learn Spanish with the Independent
• Google Translate (I use the Android phone application)

Having Fun for (almost) Free

Living within your means (*gasp*) does not mean a life without fun and excitement. I personally feel that instead of looking forward to a few big experiences of fun each year (e.g. vacations, holidays) we should build a little fun and relaxation into each day -- or at least each week.
Here are some ideas off of the top of my head on how I enjoy life for free or very low cost:

• Play guitar
• Read a book (from the library)
• Watch a movie (from the library, or Netflix is cheap)
• Talk to my friends on the phone (or use Skype)
• Have friends over for a BBQ or a drink
• Jog around the park or lake
• Go to the gym (only $10/month for me)
• Play a board or video game with my sons
• Go to the park with my kids and play catch
• Go to the bookstore and browse
• (but not if you can't help yourself from buying books!)
• Ride my bike
• Go geocaching
• Volunteer
• Facebook
• Play music
• [ * censored * ]

What do you do for (Free) fun?

99% of Failures

"99% of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses" -- George Washington Carver

Success

Success has made failures of many men.

-- Cindy Adams

Success is doing what you like and making a living at it

-- Greek proverb

If you get to be 35 and your job still involves wearing a name tag, you've probably made a serious vocational error.

-- Dennis Miller

Work - Life Support Group

Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so?
There's a support group for that -- it's called Everybody!
And they meet at the bar.

-- Drew Carey

Fishing

Men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Albert Pike Quotes

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

-- Albert Pike

Socialism in the USA

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

-Winston Churchill