Life Ain't Fair

Life is not about everything falling into place perfectly.  I understand that.  But sometimes it means there are tough choices to be made.

I tell my players that there's an order of priority for making decisions:

1. Family
2. Education (For adults: your employment)
3. Volleyball

I try and hold myself accountable to that list.  But there's the problem--what happens when potential personal interests conflict with family-first? 

That's easy--you go with family.  BUT--what happens if the conflict, which is self-interested, has potential long-term advantages for the family, but means short term sacrifices?

The problem is worrying about it in advance--I tend to do that regardless.  Worrying in advance means 90% of what you worry about will never come to pass...so why worry in the first place?

Long week.  Long, long week.

Intolerance!!! Oh! Oh! Look at me!

I'm always fascinated by perception, the idea that my reality is different than yours.  Or like the old Indian story of the three blind men who touch an elephant and reach radically different conclusions because one is feeling the trunk, one the belly, and the other the tail.

In Texas recently, a relay team was disqualified recently because the anchor raised his hand to the sky after winning the race.

The other is the burial of the Boston bomber.  Apparently, there are no cemeteries in New England willing to bury him--either for fear of unwanted attention or because he doesn't deserve burial, or they don't want to bury him because he isn't Christian.

That Texas race team--people are complaining about the DQ, mad because it shows intolerance for Christianity, that Christians are persecuted in the United States.

The funny things are:

*Texas' sports association has a hard/fast rule: no gestures while in the competition area.  If you gesture, you're disqualified.  This isn't just a fist in the sky, it could be taunting an opponent or any number of other things.  It's also clear that if an athlete leaves the competition area (say off the track into the infield) and drops to his knees in prayer--that's fine.  Just none of it in the playing area.  So how is this persecution of Christians?

*The Boston bomber did evil things.  But it's a body, an empty vessel now.  It deserves disposal, even if that is cremation.    Why is burying a criminal suddenly an issue of being "Christian"?

Now, to be clear, I'm not religious.  I actually despise organized religions--they are designed to accumulate power in the hands of a few and apply rigid dogma to very personal questions.  Indeed, if Christianity is about a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ", why do I need someone to tell me about that relationship?  Why do I allow someone to break up that direct line?  Nope--too many religious leaders out to make a buck or accumulate power (or both).

But--a couple thousand years ago, that Jesus guy, he was convicted as a criminal--ultimately, as a threat to the state, he was killed as a rebel as much as anything else.  And yet, someone gave him a spot to be interred.  Jesus the criminal received a funeral/burial.  And yet his 'devout' followers today would deny that to someone else?

Again--I'm not saying the bomber is anything less than evil.  But the same "Christians" who claim they are persecuted for living the Gospel, emulating Jesus...also turn out to be the first in line to NOT follow Jesus' teachings when it's inconvenient to their beliefs.  Funny how that works.

Ever notice that fundamentalist Jews despise Palestinians?
That fundamentalist Muslims despise Israel?
Fundamentalist "Christians" hate science, hate 'liberal' views (never mind that 2000 years ago, Jesus wasn't just liberal, he was a full-blown radical)

The evil of this world is intolerance.  It's fundamentalism.  It's people who only see the world as my way/the wrong way.

And that's sad.  Because it means the teachings of men like Jesus and Mohammed become tools for the political agenda of men, sometimes intentionally evil men, rather than what they were intended to be--words of wisdom for creating a direct relationship with the Almighty.

Come to Jesus...a volleyball blog....

It's been a while since I've been able to post on the blog regularly, and probably will be a while more since I've been doing stuff for Pirates v. Dinosaurs, Family Vacation, and Kremlin, as well as spring season, and finishing writing a book on coaching volleyball (now at the editing stage, woohoo!!!)

Doing the drive to Champaign today, I realized something.  I don't think there's been a year I've coached where a 'Come to Jesus meeting' hasn't happened.

First--what is a 'Come to Jesus meeting'?  Easy--that's a meeting where the coach has to sit down with the team and point out the path the team needs to head and the players (in theory, always in theory) make a commitment towards those goals.  Ideally, everyone gets motivated and on board.

It doesn't always work that way.

I think every team has this moment during a season--regardless of sport or gender.  It's the point where players consciously decide whether they want to put the work in or if they are going to ride out the string and be okay with whatever happens--essentially, "Let's just get this over with".  The question is what triggers the need for the meeting (other than the obvious frustration of the head coach).  Some of the things I can think of:

*off-court behavior
*skipping class / not keeping up with academics
*laziness in practice
*cliques
*disrespect towards teammates or coaches
*selfishness

I'm sure there are others.

Let's see what I remember....

'96: Laziness in practice  (Finished 26-5)
'97: cliques (18-16)
'98: cliques + disrespect towards coach (18-12)
'99: ...I don't remember needing one...maybe that's why this was a great year (24-7)
'00:  I KNOW we didn't need one.  (33-4)
'01: laziness in practice (just a couple culprits) (30-6)
'02: off-court behavior, laziness in practice, disrespect (16-18...and still conference champs....)
'03: off-court behavior (20-12)
'04: cliques, skipping class, disrespect (16-22...not surprising given what I walked into at ACCC)
'05: off-court behavior, academics, laziness (18-20)
'06: disrespect, academics (29-21)
'07: off-court behavior (38-15)
'08: skipping class, cliques (33-14)
'09: cliques, disrespect, selfishness (34-12)
'10: off-court behavior (34-11)
'11: cliques, disrespect, academics, laziness (33-11)
'12: selfishness (33-9, nationals)

No real pattern, other than academics becomes an issue starting with 2004--once I became a college coach and kids aren't in school non-stop all day.  The three best years ever for Satan's School for Girls and Boys though (not so coincidentally) coincide with the years of not needing a Come to Jesus meeting (because that '01 meeting was targeted at two specific individuals).

With LLCC, the Win-Loss records don't correspond really with the severity of the meetings or suggest differences, but that's definitely not true.  There have been some years that coaching was like pulling teeth and others where the season could've gone on another 4-5 months and would've been fun.

I don't know if there's a way to avoid these sorts of meetings.  I remember a couple at Ohio State, both taking place during road trips, and I remember one at Iowa State--a closed meeting where me and Troy Gilb, the two males helping, weren't allowed in the meeting.

Is this a natural part of a sport's season's cycle?  Is this something more prevalent with female athletes than male?  (I don't think so--knowing that baseball teams call player-only meetings, etc)

And just as important--we call them as coaches to improve the team.  Do they?  Do they have any effect on team performance?  I guess that's a good question....

Kremlin biographies...

Since I'm starting to work on a reprint of the classic boardgame Kremlin--why not put the biographies of the politicians here?

Vladimir Ilych Lenin (1870-1924, stroke)

Simbirsk

1. Lenin survived two assassination attempts, though it is believed that the injuries caused by the second attempt’s wounds were partially responsible for hiss declining health which led to three strokes and death.
2. A prodigious writer, he wrote more than 30,000 pages of material, available today as his ‘Collected Works’.
3. In his political Last Will, Lenin warned that Joseph Stalin held too much power and needed to be removed from his position as party Secretary-General.

Khristian Georgievich Rakovsky (1873-1941, shot by order of Stalin)

Gradets (Ottoman Empire)

1. Was Bulgarian rather than Russian.
2. Disliked communization and preferred regional autonomy, specifically for the Ukraine.
3. Purged, but sentenced to twenty years hard labor. Executed after the Nazi invasion to eliminate viable political alternatives to Stalin.

Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (1875-1946, natural causes)

Verkhnyaya Troitsa

1. A friend of Stalin for over forty years.
2. He was Chairman of the Presidium, but had no power in that role.
3. Was the only ‘close friend’ of Stalin who was truly born a peasant.

Anatoli Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (1875-1933, heart attack en route to appointment as Ambassador to Spain)

Poltava

1. Considered himself friends with H.G. Wells, Bernard Shaw, and other writers and philosophers.
2. Was associated with the establishment of the Bolshoi Drama and Dance Theater.
3. Spoke and read six languages in addition to reading Latin.

Maxim Maximovich Litvinov (1876-1951, natural causes)

Bialystok

1. Had opposed giving in to Hitler and the Nazis at Munich, suggesting it encouraged Hitler’s thirst for war.
2. Performed on stage multiple times with Harpo Marx.
3. Believed in collective security, preferring to work with western powers rather than against them.

Leon Trotsky (born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein) (1879-1940, ice pick to the head)

Yelizavetgrad

1. Advocated interventionism during the 1930s to stop the rise of Nazi Germany.
2. Was responsible for turning the Red Army into a professional military force at the end of World War One.
3. Had an affair with famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Joesph Stalin (born Iosef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (1878-1953, cerebral hemorrhage or warfarin poisoning)

Gori, Tiflis

1. Repudiated Leninism with his philosophy of “Socialism in One Country”
2. At some point in his teens, Stalin went from being a Georgian Orthodox adherent to becoming an atheist.
3. Provided universal health care access, as well as guaranteeing equal rights of education and employment for women in Soviet territories.

Grigory Sergo Ordzhonikidze (1886-1937, ‘paralysis of the heart’, possibly suicide)

Kharagauli

1. Part of the ‘Caucasian Clique’ with Stalin and Mikoyan because of his Georgian heritage.
2. Responsible for incorporating the Caucasus into the USSR.
3. Loyal to Stalin, he played no role in the Purges.

Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (1881-1969, natural causes)

Lysychansk

1. Signed 185 documented lists of execution during the Purges, including many Red Army officers.
2. Supervised the creation of the communist regime of Hungary after World War Two.
3. Adopted the children of Mikhail Frunze, after his friend’s untimely death in 1925.

Grigori Yevseevich Zinoviev (1883-1936, first executed in the Great Terror)

Yelizavetgrad

1. Used his influence to help Stalin remain General Secretary when ‘Lenin’s Testament’ was published.
2. Never wrote the ‘Zinoviev Letter’ inciting revolution in England.
3. Confessed when Stalin promised he would not be executed. He was shot that evening.

Lev Borisovich Kamenev (1883-1936, shot by order of Stalin)

Moscow

1. Opposed the Bolsheviks seizing power in 1917, believing the time was not right.
2. Served as Premier while Lenin was ill and on his deathbed.
3. His wife and two oldest sons were executed by Stalin. His youngest son survived imprisonment in Siberia.

Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (1888-1938, shot by order of Stalin)

Moscow

1. In 1907, he sponsored the youth conference which became the Komsomol.
2. Foremost supporter of the New Economic Program (NEP)
3. His trial was the inspiration for Arthur Koestler’s novel ‘Darkness at Noon’.

Sergei Mironovich Kirov (1886-1934, murdered on orders from Stalin)

Urzhum

1. His real last name was Kostrikov, but he shortened it so it would be more memorable to revolutionaries.
2. Considered a moderate, he stood up to Stalin as an opponent of forced collectivization.
3. The third oldest ice skating competition in the world is named for Kirov.

Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky (1893-1937, court-martialed and executed by the NKVD)

Alexandrovskoye

1. As a WW1 POW, tried to escape four times before finding success in his fifth try.
2. Stalin and Tukachevsky blamed each other for the failure to defeat Poland in 1920. Stalin never forgot.
3. Responsible for concept of ‘deep operations’—eventually the main Soviet approach to battle in WW2.

Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (1877-1926, illness)

Taganrog

1. Spoke three languages (Polish, Hebrew, Russian) and attended school with Polish leader Joseph Pilsudski.
2. First director of the Cheka secret police.
3. Was memorialized in a 15-ton piece of art in 1958 placed in Lubyanka Square in Moscow.

Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich (1893-1991, natural causes)

Kabany (near Kiev)

1. Responsible for the massive famine and starvation of 1932 and 1933, especially in the Ukraine.
2. Ruthlessly enforced Stalin’s wishes. Wherever he went, heads rolled or suicide rates skyrocketed.
3. Mentor/protector of Nikita Khruschev during Khruschev’s rise to power.

Grigory Naumovich Kaminsky 1894-1938, executed by NKVD firing squad)

Ekaterinoslav (Ukraine)

1. Chairman of the Central Committee for trade unions.
2. Established foundation for Soviet medical/health education
3. In mid-1937, spoke out against NKVD arrests of party members. Was arrested 6/25/37, shot 2/8/38.

Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov (1895-1940, executed by NKVD)

St. Petersburg

1. Only low-level functionary to be subjected to ‘damnatio memoriae’—to be removed from all books and pictures.
2. With Beria’s appointment as his assistant, realized he’d be executed.
3. Was executed in the same fashion he’d executed his predecessor, Genrikh Yagoda.

Vasili Mikhailovich Blokhim (1895-1955, suicide)

Vladimir Oblast

1. Single-handedly executed all of the Polish officers killed in the Katyn Massacre.
2. Personally shot all criminals in the Trial of Sixteen.
3. After Stalin’s death, was immediately stripped of his rank/office, turned to alcohol, and went insane.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (1890-1986,natural causes)

Kukarka

1. Remained an unrepentant Stalinist to his death, even though Stalin had vowed to ‘eliminate Molotov’.
2. Never appeared in public dressed in anything but suit and tie.
3. The ‘Molotov Cocktail’ was named for him by Finns. The name applies to improvised incendiary bombs.

Nikita Sergeyevich Khruschev (1894-1971, heart attack)

Kalinovka

1. Khrsuchev was taken aback by the US response to missiles in Cuba, given American insistence on keeping missiles in Turkey on the Soviet border.
2. Khruschev wanted to reduce the Red Army drastically, relying on ICBM forces for defense (a la Eisenhower in the US), but in the end this was discarded as a policy for internal political reasons.
3. Personally ordered the arrest of more than 40,000 during the Purges. Was one of three Moscow Party supervisors (out of 38) to survive the Purges.

Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (1895-1978, natural causes)

Sanahin (present-day Aremnia)

1. Proud that he was Armenian and reminded Party insiders that Stalin was Georgian, not Russian.
2. Was the only Party official to attend Khruschev’s funeral and offer condolences to Khruschev’s family.
3. First Soviet politician to give an anti-Stalin speech after Stalin’s death in 1953.

Nikolai Alexanderovich Bulganin (1895-1975, natural causes)

Nizhny Novgorod

1. Was recruited into the Cheka less than a year into his membership of the Communist Party.
2. Supported efforts at destalinization in the 1950s.
3. Split with Khruschev on issue of reforms, took no sides, and was removed from power once Khruschev was out of office.

Laurenti Pavlovich Beria (1899-1953, executed with bullet to the back of the head)

Merkheuli

1. Survived longer than any of Stalin’s secret police chiefs and may have repaid that loyalty by assassinating Stalin.
2. He was in charge of “Task No. 1”, the Soviet A-Bomb project as well as the spy efforts to steal info from the American Manhattan Project.
3. Sold arms to Israel and was convinced Israel would be a better ally than Arab nations.

Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov (1896-1948, heart failure)

Mariupol

1. Was Communist leader in charge of Leningrad from the murder of Kirov until 1940.
2. In 1941, he managed the defense of Leningrad.
3. The Zhdanov Doctrine: “The only conflict possible in Soviet culture is between good and best.”

Georgi Maximilianovich Malenkov (1902-1988, natural causes)

Orenburg

1. Never married his ‘wife’, so that they could double-dip privileges from the Soviet system.
2. In his role with the Orgburo, he managed the paperwork, secret and public, of all two million Party members.
3. Attempted a coup in 1957 with pro-Stalinist elements. It failed and he was exiled to Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (1911-1985, heart failure / emphysema)

Bolshaya Tes

1. Was responsible for the USSR’s decision to boycott the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
2. Became friends with Brezhnev when appointed to a propaganda position in 1948.
3. Was the last person buried in the Kremlin necropolis (Dmitri Ustinov’s ashes were interred later, but he was not ‘buried’ within the Necropolis).

Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (1909-1989, vascular issue)

Staryja Hramyki

1. Served as Foreign Minister for twenty-eight years.
2. Was known to Western politicians as ‘Mr. Nyet’.
3. A master of details, Kissinger believed him to be the greatest diplomat in the world.

Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (1902-1982, heart attack)

Shakhovskoye

1. Opposed détente and the Kosygin reforms in the 1960s/1970s.
2. From 1965 onwards, was considered the greatest expert on communist ideology in the USSR.
3. Commanded partisan forces during the Great Patriotic War…but always made sure to stay in constant communication with STAVKA….

Yuri Vladmirovich Andropov (1914-1984, renal failure)

Stanitsa Nagutskaya

1. Head of the KGB from 1967-1982, the longest tenure ever for an individual.
2. Was ambassador to Hungary in 1956 during that uprising.
3. Made the decisions to suppress the Prague Spring by any means possible.

Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin (1904-1980, series of heart attacks)

St. Petersburg

1. “The most intelligent and toughest man in the Politburo.” – Andrei Sakharov
2. Believed economic decentralization and public-private businesses were essential for the USSR’s survival.
3. Originated idea for and supervised building of pipeline under Lake Ladoga to get fuel to Leningrad during its siege in WW2.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906-1982, stroke followed by heart attack)

Kamenskoe

1. During his rule, the GNP growth rate dropped from 4.9%/year to 1.3% (CIA estimates). His rule was called ‘The Era of Stagnation’ by Gorbachev.
2. Was near-death repeatedly after 1979, but resuscitated each time. Other officials feared the instability that would follow Brezhnev’s death.
3. Ruled the USSR at the height of its power, but also made the decisions responsible for its eventual breakup.

Nikolay Dmitrivich Kovalyov (1949- )

Leningrad

1. Spent twenty-three years in the Security Services before promotion to ‘General of the Army’.
2. Publicly stated he believes Boris Berezovsky was responsible for the death of Alexander Litvinenko.
3. Is a staunch Russian nationalist.

Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (1929- )

Kiev

1. Given control of the KGB after the failed 1991 coup to assure its loyalty.
2. Is a relative of Alexei Kosygin.
3. Didn’t become active in politics until 1989 after a long career in the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Yevgeny Ivanovich Shapshnikov (1942- )

Rostov

1. Expert in space exploration
2. Representative for the government and its primary arms-exporting company.
3. Trained as a fighter pilot, eventually commanding Soviet air forces in Germany in the 1980s.

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1931-2007, congestive heart failure)

Butka

1. His father did several years in the gulags for ‘anti-Soviet activity’ in the 1930s.
2. When appointed mayor of Moscow, was popular because he fired most corrupt Party members.
3. Became first politician to voluntarily resign from the Politburo when he felt Gorbachev wasn’t pressing fast enough for reforms.

Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov (1951- )

Perm

1. Twenty-nine years as an official in the KGB.
2. Is rumored to have masterminded the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko.
3. Is rumored to be equally loyal to Vladmir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev

Nikolay Platonovich Patrushev (1951- )

Leningrad

1. Earned an undergraduate degree in engineering, but also holds a Ph.D. in law.
2. Some believe he may have been involved in human-trafficking while Minister of State Security in Karelia.
3. Directed the FSB (successor to the KGB) until 2008.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (1952- )

Leningrad

1. Resigned immediately upon hearing about the coup attempt on 8/20/91 and had tried to distance himself from extremists before that point as well.
2. Believes in animal conservation and the value of sports—in similar fashion to American President Theodore Roosevelt.
3. Has 6^th dan belts in judo and karate and has authored a book on judo, “Judo: History, Theory, Practice”.

Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin (1952- )

Lushunkou, China

1. Was in charge of federal security during the Budyonnovsk Crisis of 1995.
2. Is the head of the Account Chamber of the Russian Federation, the governmental audit agency.
3. Believes Russia should allow Dagestan and Chechin should be allowed to leave the Russian Federation.

Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov (1941- )

Arbat

1. Chairman of Russia’s largest corporation, Gazprom.
2. Spent almost twenty years working on agricultural projects.
3. Has been prime minister of Russia twice.

Vladimir Petukhov (1941-1998, ‘hit’ due to resistance to criminal elements)

Nefteyugansk

1. Opposed further concessions to Yukos. Was murdered on Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s birthday.
2. Popular as mayor due to standing up to corrupt influences.

Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (1944- )

Mymrino

1. Secretary of the Russian Federation’s Communist Party since 1993.
2. Opposed perestroika and glasnost as well as allowing the USSR to be broken up.
3. Believes that Russian society needs to be ‘re-Stalinized’.

Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov (1937-2003, natural causes)

Moscow

1. Believed in the marketization of Soviet businesses, although he was otherwise considered a conservative.
2. The ‘Pavlov Reform’ was an attempt to move cash into industries producing consumer goods rather than products for heavy-industry.
3. Was part of the coup attempt in 1991 that failed. Pavlov was imprisoned for a time for his role.

Anatoliy Eduardovich Serdyukov (1962- )

Krasnodar

1. Worked in a furniture factory from 1985-2000, rising to be the company’s managing director.
2. Is reforming the Russian army from drafted soldiers to a volunteer army and has authorized a $500 billion upgrade for re-equipping Russia’s conventional forces.
3. He is well-regarded for his business acumen and efficiency.

Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (1963- )

Moscow

1. Was arrested due to his growing political influence. Ironically, in jail, he is now considered more influential than when he was a billionaire.
2. It is insinuated that he ordered the assassination of Vladimir Petukhov.
3. Is currently listed by human rights organizations as a ‘prisoner of conscience.’

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (1931- )

Privolnoye

1. In the Politburo, he was responsible for personnel decisions, so that many of his supporters were promoted—and proved helpful with policy decisions later when Gorbachev became General Secretary.
2. Has recorded a CD/album of Russian ballads.
3. Strong critic of US unilaterism regarding Yugoslavia (1999) and the Iraq War, noting that the government has taken actions against the will of the American people, something unbecoming of such a prosperous democracy.

Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko (1962- )

Sukhumi(

1. Has served since 2005 as the head of Rosatom, the Russian nuclear energy corporation.
2. Was considered so pro-reform that the Duma, controlled by the Communist Party, refused to confirm his nomination as Prime Minister twice. With stiff-arming by Yeltsin, his third nomination was successful.
3. Helped found the Union of the Right, the largest liberal party in Russia.

Dmitri Anatolyevich Medvedev (1965- )

Leningrad

1. Served as First Deputy Prime Minister then President, and then back to Prime Minister in an arrangement with the man who was President when Medvedev was Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin.
2. Medvedev’s wife, Svetlana, was his childhood sweetheart.
3. Enjoys reading the Harry Potter series of books and watching the movies as well.

Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (1966- )

Saratov

1. Passionate about football, he’s most widely known across the world as owner of the Chelsea Football Club.
2. Made his initial money on the black market and via smuggling. Glasnost/Perestroika allowed him to ‘legitimize’ these earnings.
3. As governor of Chukotka, voluntarily spent more than a billion dollars on internal development of the region.

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky (1946- )

Moscow

1. Considered a criminal by Putin, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the state. Britain granted him asylum in 2003. He remains there to this day.
2. Believes the rich have the right to control society to ‘protect democracy’.
3. Has survived at least three documented assassination attempts, plus a rumored three or four others, since 1993.

Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (1938-2010, illness)

Chernyi Otrog

1. Some say he died of a broken heart. His funeral service was only the third televised nationally since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
2. Mis-spoke regularly—the Russian equivalent of Americans Yogi Berra or George Bush.
3. His opinion on economic reform: “We wanted the best, but it turned out as it ever does.”

Alicia Keys has NOTHING on me...

I've got a knee and it's on fire
Burning like a smelter flame, incinerates my v-b game
My knee's locked up and it's on fire
Throbbing with each step I take, so I know pain's the mae

Oh, both feet are on the ground
I've got no hops I've found
I've got my knee wrapped in ice
and it's time I'm done

My knee is on fire
My knee is on fire
Just walking is fire
My knee is on fire

Looks great outside, but inside no way
Swolled, cartilege grinding
When I run, what can you say
Painful to watch, but that's ok
I'll play anyway
Damn these knees, that's what I say

Oh, both feet are on the ground
I've got no hops I've found
I've got my knee wrapped in ice
and it's time I'm done

My knee is on fire
My knee is on fire
Just walking is fire
My knee is on fire

Boston--something to not lose sight of

I'm aware of the horrible attack in Boston, and it has made me consider a couple of things.

1 - Before we think of this as a singular event or a sign of our times, this is nothing more than a repeat of history, a little more than a century ago, during the height of the anarchist movement and peak of strife between unions and industry--look at the assassinations and bombings in the US during that era.   Then look at Western Europe. 

There are always disgruntled people who will go to extremes, either because they are believers in a warped cause or for their moment of glory and fame in newspapers (and today, via social media/internet)

* *

2 - The greatest terrorist attack on the US was September 11, 2001.  After the attack, the US government jumped into action creating the Department of Homeland Security, instituting checks at airports, ports of entry, train stations, not to mention changing border-crossing rules with Canada and limiting visas/citizenship requests from foreigners.

But has any of that worked?  The argument would be "Look, there haven't been any more hijackings, so yes, it works!"  My counter would be--no hijacking can do that again.  Cockpits are now sealed, and just as important, passengers are all aware of what happened and would not sit meekly while it happened with them on board. 

Instead, we've seen a bloated bureaucracy appear costing now in the trillions of dollars--a bureaucracy that hampers travel, harasses innocent citizens, a giant waste, all in the name of "security."   We should remember those old words...I believe from Ben Franklin: "Those whould trade their liberty for security will soon find they have neither."  Airports are not secure--and the security in them takes forever and is effectively 'just for show'.

What will happen now?  With the school shooting in Connecticut and the marathon's bombing, there's another call for increased security, more government action.  And this is wrong.

Yes--law enforcement should do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice, get to the bottom of it, and make sure it wasn't state-sponsored.  And that's it.

I understand and acknowledge the risks and dangers that come with having a free nation with free borders.  But it is that freedom, the lack of an overbearing state security system which makes this nation great.  I am free to travel.  I am free to work, pray, laugh.  I am free to think.  I am free to fail, rise up and try again. 

I prefer this freedom to further government regulation and control.  Evil people will do evil things no matter what laws are on the books.

The Great Domino's Pizza Monster Meal Coupon

Oh, the memories that come back sometimes!

Tuesday evening, I got to talk with Erick up in Ames--he was taking a break from studying for a Philosophy exam (how many other engineering students are taking philosophy--zero....but they should.  The world's a bigger place than numbers allow for).  While I was talking with him, I was on my way back from club practice, and was driving past a Domino's pizza place.

The funny thing is that Erick and his buddies like ordering Domino's while studying or hanging around playing video games or whatever.  I suppose some things never change.

Back in the 86-87 school year, Domino's ran a coupon in the ISU phone book advertising a medium (12") thick crust, pepperoni pizza for $5.00.  By the way that was everything that was on the coupon.  Do you notice it's missing something?  Yup, an expiration date.  It was an endless coupon and we, the glorious residents of Foster, noticed that and took huge advantage of it.

How?  Because Domino's' drivers never asked for the coupon like they were supposed to, so a coupon that was supposed to be used only once, wound up getting used over and over, maybe twenty times per coupon.  Eventually, Domino's caught on and started asking for the coupons more and more frequently--which then led to scavenger hunts to collect more of the coupons--whether from public-access phone books or from the books in friends' (or other people's) rooms.

Yup, we went more than a year without paying more than $5 for a delivered pizza. 
Ahhh, the glory days.

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Speaking of glory--have you gone and purchased my novels?  (The Last Post, Until the Goodnight Smile)  Have you told other people about them or put a nice word on Amazon about them?

Just sayin'...it'd be great if you helped a friend out (since I don't have any more $5 Domino's coupons...)