text:
Athletics - 300 000 001 - 4 12 0After a questionable out call at first base to begin the game, Matsuzaka gave up a double, another double, and a home run. After only 12 pitches, Boston trailed 3-0.
Red Sox - 200 020 11x - 6 10 0
But then -- just like the old saw about Tim Wakefield getting it back as quickly as he lost it -- Dice settled down. He scattered a handful of singles over the next 5+ innings and the Red Sox bats took the lead.
In the bottom of the first, Marco Scutaro singled and David Ortiz doubled off the Wall. Kevin Youkilis singled them both in and it was 3-2. Darnell McDonald opened the fifth with a double and Ortiz smoked a two-out dong to right. Boston led 4-3.
With two outs in the seventh, Dice hit a batter and allowed a single, but Daniel Bard got out of the 1st/3rd jam by striking out Kurt Suzuki. Bard then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. In the meantime, Scutaro and Dustin Pedroia hit back-to-back doubles (FY's 1st RBI in more than two weeks) in the seventh and Scuatro blooped an RBI single into left center in the eighth.
Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo home run in the ninth, but got the save.
In addition to his double and dong, Flo walked twice. Scutaro had three hits. McDonald had two hits and a walk. J.D. Drew tripled to start the sixth, but watched in dismay as the next three hitters all popped out.
In Toronto, the Blue Jays shit the chambre for the second night in a row, blowing a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning and losing to the Rays 7-3. The worthless Jays dropped behind the Red Sox with the loss. The Yankees beat the Orioles 9-1.Ben Sheets / Daisuke Matsuzaka
Dice's last four starts:Scutaro, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Drew, RF
Beltre, 3B
Hermida, LF
Varitek, C
McDonald, CF
IP H R BB K PITB-Ref ranks Matsuzaka's 79 major league starts by Game Score. His six 2010 starts are ranked: 71, 61, 6, 77, 3, 57.
0511 vs TOR 7 3 1 0 9 116
0517 at NYY 4.2 9 7 3 3 105
0522 at PHI 8 1 0 4 5 112
0527 vs KCR 4.2 2 3 8 1 112
So in between two of his top six starts, he throws just about his worst game ever. Who knows wtf we'll see tonight?
Sheets starts (via PA):
First 6: 30.1 42 24 16 16 6 7.12
Last 5: 32.0 22 10 13 35 1 2.81
Orioles/YankeesJune 2 in Baseball History
Rays/Blue Jays
1935: Babe Ruth announces his retirement.
1943: The Red Sox and Browns play their fourth consecutive extra-inning game (doubleheaders on May 31 and June 2). Boston will set a record with 31 extra-inning games in one season.
1995: John Valentin goes 5-for-5, with three home runs, becoming the first shortstop in history to have 15 total bases in one game.


text:
Friday, October 31, 2008
Mum's the Word
Friday, October 31, 2008
Let's see, we've covered pumpkins and ghosts and spiders, but I feel like something's missing from our Halloween line up...
OH! I know! This is:
Hey, John R.? What'd you say this was again? A mummy? [checking photo again] With a red hair bow? Seriously? Wait - that's a cookie! Does that even count?
Hm, well, let's see what Amanda M. dug up for us.
Amanda thought this was some kind of spiderweb, but my Wreck radar is telling me it was supposed to be a mummy head. It's also alerting me to the fact that this is a dreaded CCC, so we'd best move on.
Ok, here we go: that's actually recognizable. Kudos, Annie D.; I bet you never thought this would be the best looking one, huh? Still, I include it as a base of reference for this next one:
Yep, Stephanie S. reports that this was actually labeled "Mummy Cake". As opposed to "Ticked-Off Cross-Breed of a Storm-Trooper and a Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtle Cake".
And the award for "Least Effort Exerted in Making Overstocked Cakes into Halloween Cakes" goes to:
Like you, I thought that surely this design (found by Amy W.) was a one-store fluke. But then I got this from Jessica K.:
Ack! The smiley face mummies are everywhere! And they're surrounded by nuts!
Still, I don't think any of those Wrecks can compete with what Michael G. uncovered:
Words fail me. The stringy white stuff, the eyeballs, the two fingers...yep, I got nuthin'. Y'all will have to help me out here: what the heck is this? My best guess is a melted mummy, but I'm sure you guys can come up with something better.
127 comments | Post a Comment
- The Courteous Chihuahua said...
I love #3 if you're presenting it to someone who just had plastic surgery!
- October 31, 2008 at 9:32 AM
- Reverend Shari said...
Kermit the Frog attacked by Killer Shaving Cream.
Seriously, when I was a kid,the big fear on Halloween was to be sprayed with Nair. So maybe it is Kermit sprayed with Nair...except frogs don't have hair...OK I give up. - October 31, 2008 at 9:34 AM
- Unknown said...
Ack! Those foil wrapped eyeballs freak me out. I just know someone is going to bit into one and have some tooth trauma...
- October 31, 2008 at 9:34 AM
- Nequam said...
Wow - you know that the green thing (for lack of a better word) is truly awful when you didn't even mention that it's a CCC! Well, at least they managed in making it terrifying for Halloween?
- October 31, 2008 at 9:35 AM
- Unknown said...
umm, Witch shaving gone bad?
- October 31, 2008 at 9:35 AM
A mummy try to claw its way out of its wrappings?? (It managed to wriggle the hands up close to the face, while still under the bandages.)
Don't forget to note that it's a dreaded (and dreadful) CCC.
-Cindy- - October 31, 2008 at 9:36 AM
The first Wreck reminds me of a commercial from a few years back where a smiling Mr. Clean appeared in various household surfaces and talked to housewives.
It was on TV. Really, it was.
*goes off to eat Halloween candy* - October 31, 2008 at 9:36 AM
I like the mutant crossbreed of a stormtrooper and a ninja turtle best. XD Cheer up, green guy, you're on Cake Wrecks!
- October 31, 2008 at 9:38 AM
- Jean E. said...
That last one is Oscar the Grouch in a mummy costume. (Jeez anyone can see that!)
- October 31, 2008 at 9:40 AM
- Kameron said...
And to add insult to injury, the last one is a CCC as well!
- October 31, 2008 at 9:42 AM
It's the sad, bandagey aftermath of Frankenstein's monster's clash with a mummy. The monster thought he was tough, and that his size would be enough, but the mummy and his ancient ways overpowered the monster. ;)
- October 31, 2008 at 9:42 AM
- tony a.k.a. isweatbutter said...
...THAT NINJA TURTLISH THING, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS A WHOLE OTHER STORY... - October 31, 2008 at 9:46 AM
The green "mummy" looks an awful lot like "Eddie" the mascot of the metal band Iron Maiden.
- October 31, 2008 at 9:47 AM
- Kilroy! said...
Those mummified stock cakes would have looked so much better if they put some effort into it! But seriously, a few strands of white and they call it a mummified cake? Lame!
Last one; looks like someone tried to defeat the mummy by unwrapping it? - October 31, 2008 at 9:47 AM
Well, obviously that last one is an alien that got TP'd, so now it's giving the decorator the finger - twice! And rightly os, I say :-)
Zita from Halifax - October 31, 2008 at 9:49 AM
The green thing is obviously Oscar the Grouch caught in a Spiderweb.
my name? Boo to Yoo - October 31, 2008 at 9:52 AM
- M K Glass said...
I think it was supposed to be some sort of mummy. I didn't ask the baker because I was afraid they'd know I was going to send it to Cake Wrecks LOL
I went back to purchase it for my Halloween party tonight (at a different store) but sadly they didn't have any in stock.
I love that they added those fingers. Very creepy. I suppose it qualifies quite well as a Halloween cake (even though it's a CCC)! - October 31, 2008 at 9:56 AM
- HorribleLicensePlates said...
Maybe that one should be called "Cake Decorator's First Day."
- October 31, 2008 at 9:59 AM
- Barb said...
The last cake - the horrid, smushed, green CCC - can only be one thing.
It's the remnants of Slimer from Ghostbusters after a run in with the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man (or whatever the heck he was called.) The scary traumatized eyeballs, the splatter of white goo, yep, I can see it now... - October 31, 2008 at 9:59 AM
- Kirsten said...
Was that green one a ninja turtle or something?!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:03 AM
LOL! I'd say the last one is a mutant love child of a mummy and the wicked witch of the west. Great post as usual!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:04 AM
I think I would call that last one "Frankenstein's Mummy" The fingers are replacing the bolts on his neck, of course.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:04 AM
- Tina aka Snupnjake said...
I saw the green mummy slightly better done at the same place I found the rasta spiders (they were delicious BTW).
Is there some book that the stores have that they share called "Bad Cakes - how to decorate them?"
Tina - October 31, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Clearly the last one is supposed to be a green snot monster. He's been splattered onto the cake as if picked and flung away, landing on the cake. The stringy white stuff? Maybe he's been sick!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:05 AM
- Unknown said...
I think that last one is Cthulhu.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:06 AM
- Unknown said...
I vote that it's some sort of mummy frankenstein monster...
- October 31, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Oscar the Grouch caught in a spider's web and visibly terrified by the experience. Sad, really.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:10 AM
- Soggy Carrot said...
The last one kind of looks like it maybe might could have been an attempt at a mummified Frankenstein's Monster. But, that's all I got. I have no explanation for the fingers.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:10 AM
- Amber said...
That last one looks like Slimer from Ghostbusters after he tried to go through the Marshmallow Puff man!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:13 AM
- Unknown said...
Did anyone notice that the last one, the freaky green mummy was a CCC???
- October 31, 2008 at 10:16 AM
- Ms Unreliable said...
It was only a matter of time before a Storm Trooper and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle realised they were meant for each other.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:20 AM
- Unknown said...
I know exactly what that last ccc is. It's little Johnny (dressed as Frankenstein) who got into Dad's shaving cream again.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:22 AM
I know what the last one is...
Ya know how Frogger goes "splat" when he gets run over because you're a dolt and misjudged while playing the game? Yeah, it's that; and the bulged eyes back up a flattened Frogger. But then, the local road commission came along and painted new lines on the road, but didn't bother to move the roadkill Frogger first. They just painted the lines over him.
The fingers.... yeah, those are of somebody from the Chinese restraunt in New York state that got shut down for serving roadkill. They were trying to pick up roadkill Frogger to serve him in the stir fry. - October 31, 2008 at 10:27 AM
- Blonde Savant said...
We just had a birthday party at work, and of course there was a hideous pumpkin CCC. I was sad that I have no camera to document it. Then I took a closer look. It wasn't actually cupcakes. IT WAS BROWNIES! It was a Brownie Cupcake Cake! And the brownies were stuck to the board with icing. So now I have a little cupcake-shaped brownie that has icing on the top and the bottom.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:29 AM
- C. Beth said...
I think you're being a little harsh. After all, with #1, it really was nice for the decorator to let her 2-year-old experiment with frosting finger painting. It's kind of a warm fuzzy cake, what with all the family involvement in its creation.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:29 AM
- John said...
i think that's what you call a I'm-Supposed-To-Decorate-Twenty-Cakes-A-Day-And-This-Is-The-Last-One-And-I'm-Just-Going-To-Use-All-The-Leftover-Shit-That-I've-Been-Using-All-Day-Long cake.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:30 AM
- Carrie said...
wow...if you're trying to scare me on halloween you have definately succeeded!!! these have to be some of the most disturbing cakes we've seen all week...I had to cover my 2 year olds eyes!!!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:31 AM
- Hi Kooky said...
I find the green eye/finger cake delightfully bizarre. I think he looks horrified at his finger situation. Did he just lose the others? Are they someone else's fingers... that landed on him? Is he confused because they just sprouted out of his side? The poor thing.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:31 AM
- Jessica said...
The CCC mummy looks like the E.T. cake from a while back!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Maybe it's because I'm hungry and haven't eaten breakfast yet, but I actually LIKE all but the last three! Except what's the thing in the bottom right of the first cookie? It looks like a can of spray paint...
- October 31, 2008 at 10:33 AM
My 8 year old just walked up and said "Wow. That's a blob of a cake, isn't it?" (Referring to the last one.)
- October 31, 2008 at 10:39 AM
- Jennifer Foster said...
Green Oobleck got into the halloween costume bucket? Maybe? Happy Halloween Cakewrecks!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:39 AM
- sarah said...
It's a two fingered mutant green alien who's been silly stringed into wide eyed hysterics.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:41 AM
I think the last cake is a nuclear zombie!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:42 AM
- The Honorable Mayor of Bethville said...
Ugly or not, I want to eat that giant cookie. With a quart of milk and a ridiculously large napkin. If anything, it will put it out of its apparent misery.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:46 AM
- Trevor said...
Wait... someone used SugarVeil on that last one and made it look like THAT? I'd have thought that anyone with sugar veil would at least have talent. *Sigh*
- October 31, 2008 at 10:48 AM
- Manggy said...
Hmm... I think it's someone's twin growing out of the web between that person's gangrenous index and middle fingers :)
- October 31, 2008 at 10:49 AM
- harmzie said...
{sniff} How appropriate! I just stayed up the last two nights until two stitching together bandages on a shirt (and hat & pants) to satisfy my daughter's requirement to be a mummy! (Please hold all bad planning & underestimating time commitments thoughts & comments. I spent every other half-hour kicking myself for same)
Anyway, these beauties have broken through my sleep-deprived haze (no small task) and have given me new hope (lessness) for Halloween! Thank you! - October 31, 2008 at 10:49 AM
The last one? So simple I can't believe you didn't see it right away. It is the deformed love child of the Mummy and Frankenstein's Monster.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:52 AM
- Missy said...
Hmm, I think maybe it's a rabid witch who is clawing her way out of her grave before she's choked to death (by what, I don't know. Maybe one of Rasta Spiders or something!)
(I hope this didn't post three times! I keep getting directed to enter a security code, even though I KNOW I typed it correctly each time!) - October 31, 2008 at 10:52 AM
- *Michelle said...
The second one reminds me of Dark Heart from the Care Bears movie!! Wow. I don't even have kids I can blame that knowledge on. Oh well!
- October 31, 2008 at 10:54 AM
I believe the smiley face mummy cake #2 has its sides covered in halloween quins, not nuts. I'm not sure which is weirder.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:55 AM
- Crystal Chick said...
The last one is the result of Slimer taking on the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.
- October 31, 2008 at 10:57 AM
a mutant lettuce facing a worm attack ?
- October 31, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Since when do mummies have yellow smiling happy faces?
~Amy B. - October 31, 2008 at 10:58 AM
- Momma J said...
I think the Incredible Hulk finally got so mad he exploded in that last one!
http://crochetbymommaj.blogspot.com/ - October 31, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Kermit the Frog lands face-first in a spider web... where two green slugs have already been caught. And the poor slugs are screaming for their little slimy lives (hence their big gaping mouths). Kermit is so horrified his eyes bug out. It all makes perfect sense, people. (Given the spider cakes we saw the other day, I'd be terrified, too).
- October 31, 2008 at 10:59 AM
- Joy said...
I actually thought, "You know, that kinda looks like a TMNT and a storm trooper" before I read your caption. I don't know if that scares me or makes me proud.
- October 31, 2008 at 11:04 AM
- arensb said...
I'm pretty sure the last one is Our Noodly Savior, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Or maybe it's supposed to represent an explosion at a factory that makes shaving cream and guacamole. Either one, really. - October 31, 2008 at 11:15 AM
- Mary said...
What's really scary is that I think #3 is actually a left over Easter egg cake base! Looks like they found a spare box of them in the back corner of the freezer.
- October 31, 2008 at 11:22 AM
You always put the best thing in the last. *mad giggle*
- October 31, 2008 at 11:23 AM
Think the TMNT/Stormtrooper is actually an attempt to recreate Jonathan The Zombie of youtube fame, who, when asked what he thinks about zombies, replied, "I like turtles!"
- October 31, 2008 at 11:24 AM
- Rox said...
Ectoplasm covered in silly string.
- October 31, 2008 at 11:29 AM
- Amy© said...
Oh my golly, your blog is so much fun! Thank you! :)
- October 31, 2008 at 11:55 AM
- LilBit said...
These seriously made me laugh out loud. Too funny. I think that last one might have been Frankenstein losing control of the silly string can.
-Summer - October 31, 2008 at 11:56 AM
I thought the first one was a cat...
- October 31, 2008 at 11:57 AM
- Boozy Tooth said...
Here's my critique:
1) Looks like a smear of black mold icing on a giant cookie. Not appetizing or remotely buyable.
2) Melted marshmallow pile
3) Finally a cake with style - even if it's one only a mummy could love. (hehehe)
4) Oscar the Grouch?
5 & 6) Bandaged smiley face cakes? Not Halloweeny at all.
7) Green face with run away Crest toothpaste accents.
Number three is the hands down winner for best wreck - unless of course we are voting for the worst wreck. Then it's a six-way tie.
Alixandra Hice
http://casahice.blogspot.com - October 31, 2008 at 12:03 PM
my 5 year old son suggested that green thing is a "buggy man" while my 4 year old daughter suggests that it is a "birthday cake bat" (she's currently a bit obsessed with bats).
- October 31, 2008 at 12:20 PM
The green thing under the mummy-smileys could very well be the "Flying Spahetti Monster".
http://www.venganza.org/ - October 31, 2008 at 12:23 PM
- Carrie Snider said...
Sinking swamp creton reaching for... a web of Cool Whip rope?
- October 31, 2008 at 12:29 PM
- Jess said...
Wow -- I made it on Cake Wrecks! I'm so excited! I can't believe they made the smiley mummy face at other stores, too! I will never shop the bakery section in the same way again. I will always have my camera phone at the ready now!!
- October 31, 2008 at 12:34 PM
- Ice Cream said...
I can't tell you how dissapointed I am in my local grocery. Every week I scan the cake shelves for a wreck and I get nothing. I did find those dreadlocked muppet spiders but they all looked more cute than wreck. *sigh* At least I know I can count on you to get me my daily cup o' wreck.
- October 31, 2008 at 12:35 PM
- Amy.mangos said...
It's the Wicked Witch of the West, bandaged up after her whole Dorthy-induced 'I'm melting!' episode. She had a Chinese finger trap on at the time of said melting, keeping just those two fingers dry (and whole). The eyes are new; tinfoil transplants, maybe?
- October 31, 2008 at 12:46 PM
2 fingers... that should be for tequila, not cake.
- October 31, 2008 at 1:28 PM
- Aviatrix said...
I was about to type that I kind of like the last one, but then I remembered that this is supposed to be presented as something one would EAT. So I kind of like the last one as artwork, but I would have to pretend I'd just come from the dentist or something if someone offered me any part of it.
- October 31, 2008 at 1:35 PM
- Nancy Frye said...
The last thing is obviously a zombie mummy.
- October 31, 2008 at 1:36 PM
- Kat said...
I can't believe I have to correct you on this, but it's pronounced "Wreck-dar."
- October 31, 2008 at 1:40 PM
My little girl thinks the smiley faces walked through a spiderweb.
She has no idea what the last one is. And why does it have 2 different colored eyes? and so many other why's? - October 31, 2008 at 1:40 PM
- Tara MacDonald said...
I think I know what the last one is... A partially regurgitated alien mummy. And it's a dreaded CCC to boot :)
- October 31, 2008 at 1:41 PM
- Angela said...
hm.... interesting for the lack of a better word.
- October 31, 2008 at 1:54 PM
Maybe those aren't fingers in that last one. Maybe they're mandibles.
- October 31, 2008 at 2:01 PM
- Latitude said...
The last one is the remains of the wicked witch of the west after she melted.
- October 31, 2008 at 2:22 PM
- Mary Ellen said...
I know what #7 is!
Freaking AWFUL!
Happy Halloween. Thanks for the laugh!~ I am encouraged that even my worst cake ever is better than these!! - October 31, 2008 at 2:25 PM
- KrazyKapnKarl said...
Oh come on you had 2 chances for awesome puns. You could have used the term "Wreck-dar" and "what the wreck?". Still, I don't know how these cake Wreckorators can sleep at night.
- October 31, 2008 at 2:28 PM
- warren said...
Ack! The smiley face mummies are everywhere! And they're surrounded by nuts!
Wielding cameras, no less. - October 31, 2008 at 3:20 PM
- ConglomerateBeauty said...
My first thought on the "Ticked-Off Cross-Breed of a Storm-Trooper and a Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtle Cake" was: Angry Cabbage?
- October 31, 2008 at 3:25 PM
- elesa said...
It's a puddle of toxic goo! Actually,that may have been what the puddle looked like after the Wicked Witch of the West melted....
- October 31, 2008 at 3:26 PM
the last one looks like Kermit coming out of a not-so top-notch ER after making one joke too many about Miss Piggy's weight
- October 31, 2008 at 3:53 PM
the last one is OBVIOUSLY an alien who got in a silly string fight.
*mutters* shaving cream? hah...shaving cream is fluffier. - October 31, 2008 at 4:17 PM
Oh, I don't know how I could love Cake Wrecks more. Please, please never leave us--I've held too many jobs in bakeries with ugly cakes to be denied this blog.
- October 31, 2008 at 4:37 PM
- hamburke said...
My 7 year old said Frankenstein (well, the monster, really for the book geeks out there) covered in bandages. I just said "yuck!"
- October 31, 2008 at 4:38 PM
Maybe the smiley face mummies are from Wal*Mart, the logo and all?
- October 31, 2008 at 4:38 PM
- lawnajo said...
I asked my 5 year-old about the first one, "What does that look like?" He said, "A blueberry pie!"
I too, noticed that the last one is a CCC. - October 31, 2008 at 5:06 PM
- writtenwyrdd said...
That last one: Oscar the Grouch having a shaving cream accident (due to the unfortunate loss of all but 2 fingers).
The smiley face mummy cake? That's just bizarre. - October 31, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Winner, Brad! I think that is Eddie from Iron Maiden!
- October 31, 2008 at 5:51 PM
- Gaston Lacombe said...
That last one, the green thing, is so incredibly obvious!! It is the Wicket Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz just as she was almost all melted. Remember: "I'm melting! I'm melting", and she was green, right? That has to be it...
- October 31, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- The Creeper said...
That last mummy is so jealous of the good looking mummy that he's gone all green as he flips him the double-bird.
Pissed off storm trooper/ninja turtle crossbreed... classic! - October 31, 2008 at 6:07 PM
- Norma said...
The 4th one down actually looks like an attempt at the Iron Maiden mascot, "Eddie," who's sort of a mummified dude...those look like his eyes...but those "bandaged" smiley faces are soooooo bad!
- October 31, 2008 at 6:18 PM
My goodness.
I have nothing to say to that.
PS: My verification was "inthe!" We have achieved real words!!! - October 31, 2008 at 6:54 PM
- FreedomFirst said...
Wow! Ummm, let's see: A possessed lime covered with maggots? Or a toilet-papered green jello monster?
- October 31, 2008 at 7:46 PM
"Ticked-Off Cross-Breed of a Storm-Trooper and a Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtle Cake".
LOL, I love you XDDD<3 - October 31, 2008 at 8:05 PM
I bet the Smiley Face mummies are for the "Watchmen" fans out there.
Come to think of it, I bet a Rorschach cake would be pretty easy... and hilarious! - October 31, 2008 at 9:23 PM
- Katie said...
Are you sure that's not ketchup all over the first one?
- October 31, 2008 at 10:31 PM
The last one is a mummy that went moldy.
The first one is a frazzled Halloween cat, and I think it's cute. - October 31, 2008 at 11:23 PM
- noricum said...
Hmmm... that last one might be the FSM (Flying Spaghetti Monster) getting it on with Cthulu...
- November 1, 2008 at 12:03 AM
- robyn said...
Umm...the Incredible Hulk, "that got squot by a tractor tire" (in the perfectly-said words of Stephen King)
- November 1, 2008 at 12:39 AM
- evil cake lady said...
imagine my delight when, after reading this post, i venture off to my local grocery store and see IN PERSON that last cake!! although i do not believe in the CCC, i had to buy it. mine was even more wrecky than the one you posted! awesomely good times, and a sugar coma to boot.
- November 1, 2008 at 4:39 AM
- Bedlam said...
those are some great cakes, I cannot figure this out, but it has fingers.
- November 1, 2008 at 9:16 AM
- WakeGrace said...
shouldnt the last one at least get bonus points ( as sad as it looks) for not using a pile of icing for the eyes but instead using foiled candy? although, since the eyeballs are two different colors i guess we should take some points away. so it all evensout i suppose. hahah
- November 1, 2008 at 9:19 AM
That last one...I would say..it was a normal child mummy who was asked to walk home from school because the mommmy mummy(ha...funny) needed to get her paper re curled for her big date...well hes licking a lollipop crossing the stree(you know how kids do) and out of no where dracula in his F 150 comes down the street at 105 miles per hour becuase hey its sunlight and hes in pain but he needs to make a withdrawl from the blood bank and SMASH...we get a smushed child mummy lost 8 fingers any sense of form...oh and as for the bakery...well you dont even wanna know what happened to them..haha
Sincerely written,
Jessi H - November 1, 2008 at 2:36 PM
- PiECE of CaKE DESiGNS said...
wow, thats just bizarre! I don't think this person thought through the design very long and just went for it!!
- November 1, 2008 at 8:45 PM
- Bobbi & Noe said...
It just shocks me that these are made by actual professionals! I think my kids can do way better than these~
- November 1, 2008 at 11:47 PM
- Miss Sunshine said...
That last one is oddly endearing to me.
- November 1, 2008 at 11:54 PM
- Sheri said...
Halloween sure does make for Wrecktastic material! I loved all your Halloween-themed entries, but the smiley face mummy was just so--wrong?--that it made me laugh out loud.
Keep up the great work. - November 2, 2008 at 11:01 AM
#3 looks like a mummified Homer Simpson...
- November 2, 2008 at 11:12 AM
That last cake is obviously the wicked witch of the west after she was melted and slugs began walking across her, bubbling because of the high salt concentration in her goop.
~ iamkat - November 2, 2008 at 1:39 PM
- Sarah said...
The cookie one looks like someone sat on it.
- November 2, 2008 at 5:42 PM
- Will said...
I say it's the wicked witch of the west.... after she had melted, Dorothy put some bandages on her..but, to no avail...well, you get the picture.
- November 2, 2008 at 10:23 PM
That middle green one is awesome. If it wasn't marked as 'mummy' I'd buy it just for the ability to ask people 'what do you think this cake is?'
- November 3, 2008 at 1:36 AM
- M K Glass said...
... I have to tell you all... the last one, which I submitted, was not a one-time anomaly. The bakery that made that made a BUNCH of them -- there must have been about 10 of them available for purchase when I snapped that pic. I didn't have the foresight to ask the bakers what it was supposed to be. Perhaps I will show them the picture I took and ask them next time I am in there...
- November 3, 2008 at 9:39 AM
- Stephanie said...
Oh, I think the bottom one is easy. Obviously, Igor got hungry, and he went out and ate a frog. Lacking fiber in his diet, he noticed that some teenager's had TP-ed the laboratory, so Igor downed the TP as well. He finished his meal with too much candy...then the nausea set in. Poor Igor projectile-vomitted his entire ill-advised dinner onto a lab table, where it congealed into an entirely new monster that will soon terrorize the world.
- November 4, 2008 at 12:36 AM
- Emily Kline said...
I must note that the last cake is also one of the dreaded CCC cakes.
XD - November 6, 2008 at 6:51 PM
The Mummy with the foil covered chocolate blue eyes could totally double for a Rayman Raving Rabbid if it only had ears....*not to self ask for mummy cake for birthday next year and apply ears
- November 10, 2008 at 2:27 PM
- celticchrys said...
ok, my theory on the green mess is this: The Wicked Witch had just summoned a Mummy to attack someone, when they threw a bucket of water on her, and she melted, falling on top of the mummy, who was banished, but some of his bandages for stuck in the goo.... ? How does that sound? Hideous. truly hideous.
- November 21, 2008 at 1:50 PM
I think the bandaged smiley faces are hilarious! Makes me think someone kncoked around the walmart icon a few too many times!
- December 9, 2008 at 10:43 AM
- Cupcakes Lady said...
Yeh, the last one does look like Slimer from Ghostbusters after he tried to go through the Marshmallow Puff man! Good call. ;) xx
- October 7, 2010 at 4:51 PM
I am rather late to the party but I have to say that the second cake looks like the pokemon Tangela!
- April 25, 2011 at 12:41 PM
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text:
-- Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
My fiancee and I watched What the Bleep Do We Know? Why? Because it was there. By reputation it is a terrible new-age movie that claims to be about science. The film makers attempt to explain quantum mechanics and neurochemistry, in the service of a general squishy feel-good message similar to "The Secret" implying that if you send positive energy to the universe, good things will happen to you.
Some of the movie kind of, sort of, almost conveys some important ideas of science successfully. They describe the double slit experiment; they take a stab at chaos theory, in which small random interactions affect macroscopic objects. They also, unfortunately, attempt to have a plot. I want to focus in on that, since it doesn't seem to be discussed in many reviews.
Early in the movie they introduce a lady who is a deaf magazine photographer. She is portrayed as a severe grouch, so I pegged what this character was for right away. "Aha," I said. "I'll bet this character is going to be initially skeptical of whatever claims the movie is trying to make, and then she will be won over in the end."
It's a lazy technique that yields a required character in many styles of evangelistic tract: the converted skeptic proxy. It operates under the same principle as the old "I used to be an atheist" claim. The message is: "This character is you, skeptic. She has been where you've been, and she was convinced. If you are reasonable like her, you will be convinced too."
I say it's a lazy technique because the writers are not attempting to win you over through the legitimate strength of their arguments; instead, they want to lower your defenses by getting you to identify with their position. Last week on the show I mentioned that it's like a car salesman telling you "I've driven every car, and this one's the best." Oh, okay! No need for me to do my own comparison shopping then. This salesman seems like a reasonable and completely unbiased chap. (Analogy gratefully borrowed from Slacktivist -- Thanks, Fred!)
So yes, this lady does not believe in quantum mechanics or love or happiness, and sure enough, her life suffers for it. And when I say "suffers" I mean she appears to be experiencing a buffet table's worth of unintentionally hilarious mental disorders. She screams "I hate you!!!" at herself in the mirror. She suffers Vietnam-like flashbacks to her past bad relationship when a guy starts coming on to her. Later, while drunk, she starts to hallucinate her mental hangups as tiny computer animated blobby monsters. You see, reasonable people don't disagree with the movie's thesis. Only sad, sad individuals with massive emotional baggage. You aren't that kind of person, are you? I sure hope not! Now, about that car I'd like to sell you...
The first sign that this movie was going to infuriate me came when one of the Very Serious Narrators explained with a straight face how the minds of Native Americans operated when the Europeans arrived to conquer them. It turns out that they couldn't see the ships coming. I don't mean they were distracted and didn't happen to notice them. In a dramatic reenactment, the tribe's shaman was staring directly at the approaching ships, and he literally could not see anything. You see, explains the Very Serious Narrator, these massive ships were so far outside the normal day to day experience for these natives, that their minds refused to process them. Eventually, the shaman points out the ripples on the water, and as everyone tries to figure out what's causing them, POOF -- suddenly there is the ship, plainly visible to all, thanks to the magic of camera tricks.
This is, of course, straight out of Douglas Adams.
"Can you see," said Ford patiently, "the SEP?"
"I thought you said that was somebody else's problem."
"That's right."
Arthur nodded slowly, carefully and with an air of immense stupidity.
"And I want to know," said Ford, "if you can see it."
"You do?"
"What," said Arthur, "does it look like?"
"Well, how should I know, you fool?" shouted Ford. "If you can see it, you tell me."
Arthur experienced that dull throbbing sensation just behind the temples which was a hallmark of so many of his conversations with Ford. His brain lurked like a frightened puppy in its kennel. Ford took him by the arm.
"An SEP," he said, "is something that we can't see, or don't see, or our brain doesn't let us see, because we think that it's somebody else's problem. That's what SEP means. Somebody Else's Problem. The brain just edits it out, it's like a blind spot. If you look at it directly you won't see it unless you know precisely what it is. Your only hope is to catch it by surprise out of the corner of your eye."
There is, of course, a subtle difference between that scene and this one: Douglas Adams was deliberately writing comedy.
So naturally, while we were heckling this movie, the question that immediately came to mind was: "How The Bleep™ do they know that?" I mean, it's not like you can go back and question the natives about their experiences. They didn't leave a lot of written material about it either; and even if they did, how would you really know that the ships were actually invisible to them, and the shaman wasn't just covering his ass out of embarrassment?
This is a place where we can ask the film makers, because the question is right there on the official What The Bleep™ web site. You're going to think I'm making this up but I'm not, so prepare to be astounded.
My mother is stuck on the question of where the information on Columbus and the Native Americans came from. She can't seem to get past the part where the shaman 'showed' them the ships, and then they were able to see them. Where did this story come from?
Amy Proctor
[Good question, exactly what I was thinking. Thanks, Amy!]
The story of the Native American's inability to see the clipper ships from Europe has two aspects to it: physiological and anecdotal.
[Ummm... evasive. Bad start.]
Any journalist is familiar with the phenomenon of asking three different people to relate the "facts" at an accident scene, only to receive three different versions of the "facts."...
[Yeah, people have bad memories. So... you're saying that the cars are invisible to some of them? Let's skip past this, seems pretty empty.]
Pattern recognition depends on familiarity. An example of this is experiments done by Colin Blakemore and G.F. Cooper in the 1960s...
[Blah, blah, blah, not answering the question. Skipping...]
I have personally experienced this as a truth, raising two wolves from 6 week-old pups. Frankly, I thought the male had brain damage. For months he never looked at me directly...
Now for the more anecdotal origins of the story,
[Oh good, FINALLY they're going to answer the damn question.]
which Candace Pert refers to as "A wonderful story I believe is true..."
[Aw, crap.]
Co-writer and producer Betsy Chasse says, "Other scientists related the same story to us." And, apparently, there are references to the tale in an historical document made by an early missionary in the South Americas. This document, unfortunately, has not yet been found.
So now you know as much as we do about the origins of the tale!
[Are you bleeping kidding me?]
So that's it, right there, in their own words. The story is made up. They have a flimsy tale, told twelfth hand, and they have no source for it whatsoever. But they decided to treat it as fact in the movie in service of their point.
Elsewhere in the movie, they use more Very Serious Narrators to great effect, in one case citing the works of one Dr. Masaru Emoto, whose experiments in the exciting field of writing words on glasses of water have revealed that water can read and respond to English phrases by forming crystals that are "beautiful" or "ugly," depending on the sentiment behind the words. This is explained via an intellectual sounding museum tour guide, while soft classical music plays. That's how you know it's gotta be true.
In case you haven't got the point, someone bonks you over the head with it: "Makes you wonder, doesn't it? If thoughts can do that to water, imagine what they can do to us." And then that phrase returns through echoey aural flashbacks about five more times throughout the movie, as our deaf photographer skeptic proxy is sitting around wallowing in her own inadequacy and thinking about what a shallow, emotionless bitch she's been.
One of the worst scientific atrocities the movie commits is constantly confusing "subatomic particles" with "mental processes." Heck, they both involve little tiny things, and all little tiny things are the basically same, right? So they'll say something true ("The state of an electron changes when you observe it!") and something else true but completely unrelated ("Your brain is made of neurons!") and then they'll draw a nonsensical parallel from it, sounding superficially plausible but abandoning any pretense of anything you could actually research or falsify ("Therefore, if you imagine something existing, on some level it really does exist!")
The woman's story has a happy ending, of course: She scribbles little hearts all over her body with a sharpie, causing an instant attitude adjustment. People who knew her when she was one of those horrible skeptics come away reeling in shock because she was nice to them for a change. Or perhaps, based on her newly acquired facial expression of pure bliss, she is just intensely stoned.
The Very Serious People who explain things throughout the movie are a mish-mash of folks who are often bearded and are never identified until the credits are rolling. Some of them appear to be actual experts in real scientific fields, which explains why the movie occasionally manages to briefly make sense before cutting away from those people. Of course, the most sensible of the scientists is David Albert, who publicly disassociated himself from the film, saying:
"I am, indeed, profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness. Moreover, I explained all that, at great length, on camera, to the producers of the film ...Had I known that I would have been so radically misrepresented in the movie, I would certainly not have agreed to be filmed."
And then, of course, there's Ramtha.
Apparently this is common knowledge among aficionados of crackpottery, but I honestly had no idea that there was a sixty-something year old middle American lady who, since the late seventies, has been going around claiming to channel a 35,000 year old warrior from Atlantis. I found this out on the internet in between my first and second sittings (what, you think I could watch this drivel in one go??). Before I knew who she was, all I could think about her was: "Who is this ridiculous lady and why are they expecting me to take the stuff that's coming out of her mouth seriously?" After I learned more about her, my reaction was more like "OH GOD, OH GOD, THAT STUPID ACCENT, MAKE IT STOP." I guess my brain filtered out the crummy accent that she was putting on before, because it was outside of my normal experience and so I could not hear it. ("I thought you said that was somebody else's problem!")
Anyway, like Stephen Colbert, apparently Ramtha only speaks to the cameras "in character," which is why she is credited at the last minute, not as "JZ Knight," but as: "Ramtha, Master Teacher - Ramtha School of Enlightenment. Channeled by JZ Knight". Woohoo! Who needs scientific credibility when you have a Master Teacher at your disposal?
It was a terrible, terrible movie. Not terrible like a hilarious Mystery Science Theater target. Terrible like "If you locked prisoners in a room and forced them to watch this movie, you would be violating the 'cruel and unusual' clause."


text:
A Thorny Crown - Judges 8:1 - 10:5
This is a sermon by Scott McKay from the evening service on 26th May 2024.
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text:
Voting opened just yesterday and closes on May 8th. I'd absolutely love if you could all show your love and support and vote for me here. Please keep in mind that for your vote to count you have to vote for who you think is the best "Fun, Fearless Female" in all 11 categories, not only just the blogger category. When you've reached the Libra competition form you'll know you've reached the end.
This would mean the world to me so please take a few seconds to cast your vote, or even better and start spreading the word to your friends on FB and twitter. I wouldn't even be nominated if it wasn't for all of you so thank you for being such an inspiration to me and getting me this far. The girl in the second photo is pretty much spot on with how I'm feeling right now.
A big congratulations to everyone nominated, and also to Sara from Harper and Harley who funnily enough I will be meeting tomorrow night at an event :) Fingers and toes crossed we make the top three finalists!


text:
Hi guys
Im new to this forum and did a quick search on tennisball machines, and came up with some good pro's and cons about them. I just wanted to know if many players use them on a regular basis and which functions would most people like to see on the machines.
I say this because i know there is a line down the middle where some people swear by them and some, swear at them!
we actually manufacture tennisball machines in australia and have been working on the latest technology with these machines , any suggestions or feedback will be apprectiated!


text:
Python The dynamic programming language with a nice syntax
This community was created 8 years ago and has 143 members.
Are you a contributor in the Python community? Then join it on Liberapay!
Soon you'll be able to advertise your community projects here and post status updates about your work.
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Community newsletters will help you stay informed about what's going on and which projects need support. They're not operational yet but you can already subscribe.


text:
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
And I'm Steve Inskeep.
The man who authorities said could not be charged with a crime will now face charges.
MONTAGNE: George Zimmerman is expected in court today in Sanford, Florida. Special prosecutor Angela Corey says she plans to charge him with second-degree murder for shooting an unarmed high school student.
INSKEEP: At first, police declined to charge Mr. Zimmerman. He claimed self-defense under Florida's Stand Your Ground Law.
NPR's Greg Allen reports on a changing case.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: For weeks, there were rallies and marches in Sanford and around the country in support of Trayvon Martin, all calling for one thing: for law enforcement to arrest and charge George Zimmerman.
Yesterday, in a news conference in Jacksonville, state attorney Angela Corey - appointed to take over the investigation by Florida Governor Rick Scott - said those marches, rallies and media coverage had nothing to do with her decision to charge George Zimmerman with second-degree murder.
ANGELA COREY: Let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts of any given case, as well of the laws of the State of Florida.
ALLEN: For weeks, the uncertain facts surrounding George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin haven't stopped the nation and the media from engaging in an intense discussion about race and justice.
It all began on February 26th, when Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, spotted Trayvon Martin in his townhome community. The teenager was on his way back from a convenience store with candy and an iced tea. Zimmerman called police and told them he thought the 17-year-old looked suspicious. A few minutes later Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.
At her news conference, Corey worked to put that intense national conversation behind her, saying prosecutors are committed to justice for every person, regardless of race.
COREY: We only know one category as prosecutors, and that's a V. It's not a B. It's not a W. It's not an H. It's V for victim. That's who we work tirelessly for.
ALLEN: Before announcing the charges against Zimmerman, Corey said she spoke to Trayvon Martin's parents, who were in Washington, D.C. Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said all she ever wanted was Zimmerman's arrest, and she finally got it. She spoke directly to those who marched and rallied on her son's behalf.
SYBRINA FULTON: I just want to speak from my heart to your heart, because a heart has no color. It's not black. It's not white. It's red. And I want to say thank you from my heart to your heart.
ALLEN: Appearing with Fulton was Al Sharpton, the activist and television personality who helped put her son's case to the national spotlight. Sharpton said while the charges are a vindication for those who sought justice, it's not a time for celebration.
REVEREND AL SHARPTON: This is not about gloating. This is about pursuing justice. We have not won anything.
SHARPTON: All we have done is establish that we must have the right to redress and justice in this country.
ALLEN: By yesterday afternoon, George Zimmerman had already turned himself in to police. For weeks, his whereabouts were secret. This week, questions about Zimmerman and his state of mind were heightened after he stopped communicating with his lawyers. But yesterday, Zimmerman's family hired a well-known criminal defense attorney in central Florida, Mark O'Mara. O'Mara says Zimmerman's state of mind is fine, but he's troubled.
MARK O'MARA: I cannot imagine living in George Zimmerman's shoes for the past number of weeks. Only because he has sort of been at the focus of a lot of anger, and maybe confusion and maybe some hatred. And that's got to be difficult.
ALLEN: O'Mara says Zimmerman will plead not guilty to the second-degree murder charges and he'll use Florida's Stand Your Ground Law as a defense. Under that law, people are entitled to use deadly force when faced with death or bodily harm.
When asked about Stand Your Ground, state attorney Angela Corey said her prosecutors will deal with it like they always do.
COREY: We fight hard. Some of them we've won and we've had to appeal them, or the defense has appealed and we've won it on appeal. Some we've fought hard and the judge ruled against us. That's happening to prosecutors all over the state. It is the law of the State of Florida and it will be applied.
ALLEN: Shortly after Angela Corey announced charges against George Zimmerman, in Sanford several dozen people gathered for a special service at Allen AME Church, where one of those speaking was the Reverend Jabari Paul.
REVEREND JABARI PAUL: Father, we thank you for everything that you have done for us. Most of all we thank you for this day. We thank you for the news that we heard on this day. Father, that one step toward justice has been taken.
ALLEN: Even before the Trayvon Martin shooting, Sanford was a city where many black residents mistrusted the police. At the church, there was confidence in Angela Corey and hope that justice will be done.
Greg Allen, NPR News, Sanford, Florida. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
Imperial Alabama Chrome Bar Stool
- Officially Licensed Collegiate Team Bar Stool
- Official team colors and logo printed on heavy-duty vinyl
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- Seat is 30" high, 3.5" thick, 14.5" diameter
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- In-Home Delivery (IF AVAILABLE): In-home delivery is available for select items at an additional charge. With this service, the freight company will unload the game table and place it in your game room. The company provides for placement of the rec room item only and not for assembly. Additional charges may apply for difficult to access areas or, in some cases, the delivery may not even be possible.
At the time of delivery, please carefully inspect your shipment thoroughly. If a box is torn, dented, ripped, punctured, or damaged in any way, please sign the delivery confirmation by clearly noting the damage. This will aid in filing a claim against the delivery company, if necessary. If you are unable to fully inspect your shipment at the time of delivery, please note "Subject to Further Inspection" on the delivery confirmation in the event it is necessary to file a concealed damage claim.
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Your room may be special, but is it Epic? It can be, with a game table, dartboard, indoor golf net, putting green, arcade basketball game, classic board games, or any number of things Epic Rec Rooms carries to make your game room, rec room, or "man cave" into the epic space it is destined to be.
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Epic Rec Room is part of the EpicClick family of specialty e-commerce sites. Epic was founded in 2010 as a company of entrepreneurial professionals dedicated to following our passions in business. This mission has resulted in a series of retail sports and entertainment-oriented websites offering a friendly, safe, and price-conscious shopping experience.
Trusted by organizations in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and MLS, EpicClick is an invaluable on-line resource for team sales and scholastic sports programs across the country. Comprised of former athletes, current coaches, and sports enthusiasts that have hands-on experience in the use and benefit of many of the products we sell.
We look to provide a unique shopping experience for individuals and institutions at all levels.
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text:
What are the ethical considerations regarding the privacy and control of consumer information and big data, especially in the aftermath of recent large-scale data breaches?
This course provides a framework to analyze these concerns as you examine the ethical and privacy implications of collecting and managing big data. Explore the broader impact of the data science field on modern society and the principles of fairness, accountability and transparency as you gain a deeper understanding of the importance of a shared set of ethical values. You will examine the need for voluntary disclosure when leveraging metadata to inform basic algorithms and/or complex artificial intelligence systems while also learning best practices for responsible data management, understanding the significance of the Fair Information Practices Principles Act and the laws concerning the "right to be forgotten."
This course will help you answer questions such as who owns data, how do we value privacy, how to receive informed consent and what it means to be fair.
Data scientists and anyone beginning to use or expand their use of data will benefit from this course. No particular previous knowledge needed.


text:
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Running, Life, and Stuff
More than anything I want to say thanks to everyone for the passionate responses. This post generated more response in every regard than I ever expected. Thanks to many kind donations my Iditarod Invitational Entry Fee is almost certainly going to be in the mail next week! The supportive comments have been very appreciated, but also the critical comments have a lot of value to them as well (at least most of them do).
My response is this: It's not as black and white as many people would like it to be. A life that is based upon financial ambition works for many people. I have no problem with that. Where I do have a problem is when people try to make others feel guilty for not having that same financial ambition. Striving to make a lot of money is not a duty or a responsibility, it is a choice. If you do not have that financial ambition it does not necessarily mean that you are lazy and unmotivated. There are many ways for personal drive and ambition to manifest themselves that have very little to do with money. This direction is of course not for everyone either, but that doesn't make it wrong.
As the comments on my previous post would indicate people fall all over the spectrum on this issue, but none of them are wrong. What is wrong is when people try to diminish or disrespect someone else because they don't place the same value on financial ambition. It might be hard for some people who do feel very motivated by making money to understand, but the truth is that I just don't care if I make a lot of money, that's just not something that's important to me. Trust me, it's just as hard for me to understand those of you who do have a strong drive to try to make a lot of money, but that doesn't cause me to disrespect you or diminish you. We're just different and there really shouldn't be anything wrong with that.
As far as where I am at specifically and how my running fits into my life I could go on for a long time but I will try to keep it short. Ultra running is something that I've been doing for almost 3 years now. It started out on a whim to run a 50k and has now grown to the point where I base many of my decisions in life around my running.
I love racing. I love being out in all the places that my running regularly takes me. I love being good at racing and I love the satisfaction I get when I perform well. I'm still regularly embarrassed by the attention that this sometimes brings but I'm slowly learning how to accept this as part of it. I love when I finish a race and there are 2 or 3 people gathered at the finish line. That is comfortable. I'm still a bit uncomfortable about races in which there are hundreds of people gathered around at the finish. This doesn't mean that I don't want to run big races, but I'm still working on becoming comfortable with this. More than anything I love running with all the people that I get to run with. I thrive on the competition. And it has very little to do with winning. Having the opportunity to line up with other people who have trained for the same event and then going out and racing with them is what keeps me motivated the most. I love when I get to see other people win, and the energy I get from this. At Crow Pass this year I finished 4th (the first time I'd finished that far back in a running race in two years) and yet I was about as content with what I had gained from competing in that race as any race I've ever run. Eric Strabel won that race and I felt just as pleased with that than if I'd won myself. He was rebounding from a long injury and I think I learned as much from his accomplishment that day as I would have had I been able to win myself. That's the way it works. Running can be about individual accomplishment but the satisfaction one takes from their own accomplishments is so much greater because of what others are accomplishing as well.
Anyway, the point is that my running is a huge part of my life. I don't feel like it has anything to do with running away from something, but rather I see it as a self perpetuating passion that gets stronger everytime I go out for a run. I'm still getting faster and that is a huge part of the drive for me. I feel very motivated and passionate about pushing myself to see how much better of a runner I can become.
I have been a runner since 8th grade and I'm quite certain that I will be a runner for the rest of my life, but the passion that I have right now for ultra running goes well beyond what running was for me when I was younger and what it will likely be for me when I am older. Running will always be there to help me keep in shape and get out and enjoy the outdoors, but the drive I currently have for competing at as high a level as possible is something that I feel relies upon my ability to get better and faster. If I am lucky I might have 5 more years in which I'm able to do this. After that running goes back to being more of a hobby and less of a lifestyle. The last thing I intend to be doing 5 years from now though is thinking that maybe I could have been a good ultra runner had I put more energy into it.
Anyway, enough about all this... Time to go out for a run.
29 comments:
Excellent entry Geoff.
ALthough I am not familiar with your sport, I certainly appreciate and respect the pursuit of your passion and living life on your own terms as best as possible.
Best wishes and thank you for sharing.
Kazimer - "Kaz" - October 18, 2008 at 3:21 PM
C'mon Geoff, don't try and blow sunshine up our butts. You resent people who make focusing on money a major point in their lives. I've seen your attitude in previous posts over the past year. You also don't like urban sprawl or today's consumer society as a whole. Don't sugarcoat it by trying to change your story now.
And what's with this crap of not caring if you win or not when you enter races ?. Do you seriously expect corporate sponsors to pony up with the bucks just so you can go out and have fun ?. Now you ask for blog donations to support your hobby. People support winners, not losers. If I were to donate money to you I'd be out at the races chasing you with a bullwhip to make sure I got my money's worth.
This just makes things look worse for you, not better. To ask for donations in order to win some big prize money at a race is one thing. At least people might get the satisfaction that they helped support a winner. But to ask for money, then say it's basically a hobby you're pursuing, and you really don't care if you win or not, is mind boggling. I think I'd be better off donating my money to a worthwhile charity instead. - October 18, 2008 at 5:06 PM
- Jennoit said...
Well, your last post (and Jill's most recent too) sure brought people out of the woodwork, eh Geoff? I just wanted to say that I hope you sustain your running and competition to the extent you want. I loved Jill's comment that "he won't be fine if gives up running." Good on you for trying to figure out just how you're going to manage.
I sure as hell enjoy both your blogs and I think you're both striving to live the "right" life; right for you I mean. Keep it up. I continue to read and continue being inspired to lead my own "right" life. What else can one do?! - October 18, 2008 at 5:14 PM
- Neve_r_est said...
Right on Geoff. Pursuit of happiness does not equal pursuit of fame or fortune. Happiness is time spent with simple pleasures, gaining wisdom from experience. Those that learn to live simply will not be bound by commerce.
DG - October 18, 2008 at 7:05 PM
I think you and everyone should have the option to pursue what ever they want in life; whether its having fun or working toward a financial goal.
BUT, I take issue with you begging for money. You are asking people who work hard to support them selves and to support their hobbies / interests to support you??? It seems really inappropriate.
I have expensive hobbies and I work for them. I would rather not work, but I have to. It's a reality that most of us have to accept at some point. I also give a decent percentage of my income to charities (roughly 12%), but there is no way I'm going to give any to someone who can work, but chooses to play rather than support him self. - October 18, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Holy S**t, so don't give him any money. or get a blog so that you can have a forum to discuss your philosophies on life, or when it is appropriate or not appropriate to donate money.
- October 18, 2008 at 7:33 PM
- Fonk said...
First, let me say that I appreciate where you're coming from, and that I hope you find a way to pursue your ultra-running dream to the fullest extent possible. You have a level of talent (combined with serious training, of course) that most of us could only dream of. You should do the most you can with that while you still can.
That said, I can see where some people take issue w/ the "begging for money" (though I don't see it as quite that extreme, myself). You try to distinguish yourself from those of us with work-a-day lives by saying we're only after financial ambition, with the implication that you're above that. I think you oversimply your audience when you do that though.
I have no great desire to be ultra-wealthy either; just dont' see the point in wasting my life in the pursuit of material things. However, that still doesn't mean that I can just abandon reality and think that I don't have to work for things. I have to work to earn money for food, utilities, mortgage/rent, insurance, etc.; not just for me, but also my family. And with what's left, that's how I also pay for my race entry fees and travel. No job means no bikes and no racing. No one's going to give me a handout to do it.
I don't say this to criticize or discourage, but rather to just give you some food for thought. Look at the top 10 (or 20 or 100...) races you'd like to do next year. Then cut that list in half, forcing yourself to choose the ones you REALLY want to do. How much will it cost to enter, travel to them , etc.? What's the cheapest you can live (rent, food, etc.).? Add it all up, then find the job that will pay for that with the least amount of hours required, allowing you the flexibily to still train a lot. And with any luck, hopefully you'll get some donations rolling in, too. I don't think you can realistically expect to keep riding the credit train forever though, and I doubt you'll be able to make it off donations alone.
Also, think of how it would sound if put in a different context. Let's say I wanted to check out of the work force to spend everyday playing with my daughters at the park, as they're growing up fast, and I'll never get those years back. I love 'em to death, and would give anything to spend my days doing that. However, do you think anyone's going to send me donations so that I can live my life that way, while they keep slugging way, not getting that same time with their kids? No, because just about everybody else wishes they could do the same thing, but also can't. Why should they send me money to do it?
I know you said it's not your thing, but maybe you should give the road races a thought, given that they pay out. They could fund your trail running habit. May not be ideal for you, but still beats working a desk, doesn't it? I know if I had the talent, I wouldn't mind making a living that well.
Also, I think all of us that follow your blog really enjoy reading about your races afterwards. It's not just hearing about the race, but also in how you tell it. You have a knack for putting us right there in the experience. Could you write about the sport you love for some trade mags, and possibly make some cash that way? Something to think about...
Anyway, best of luck to you. No matter how it ends up working out for you, I hope that it does indeed work out for you, and you can really go at it full steam. I know I, and many others, can't wait to hear about your future training and races.
Ryan - October 18, 2008 at 7:56 PM
- Karen Travels said...
I had zero problem donating money to Geoff, even though I don't know him personally. I enjoyed following his and Jill's Iditarod experience last year. I do not feel like he was "begging" for money but reaching out to people like me who want to see others succeed in what they love no matter their background.
There is no set path folks. Just because you didn't follow your heart doesn't mean you can be angry at others for following theirs. - October 18, 2008 at 8:37 PM
if the comments are read correctly, those comments from the other anons, perceived as negative or however they're written...don't look to be written out of jealousy for the success Geoff has gained over the last while competing, but more as a wake up call. Geoff has managed to not work(much)and train and race by footing the bill with credit cards, no? Then gets applauded for the sacrifices he's made? Not sure what they are, we all make sacrifices in our lives, not sure why he has to quit running outright to fix his situation, racing(on the scale he has for sure though maybe)...which is why his "donation" box won't get clicked by me...yeah, I think it's a bummer he's in debt, but he make the choice, not a sacrifice, as it wasn't his money to begin with...nothing inspiring about that, wake up people, maybe the US wouldn't be in such a hole if folks could exist on they're own means, this is just another sad tale....
as other s have said maybe start looking for some sponsors...howabout a credit card company? could kill 2 birds with one stone.... - October 18, 2008 at 10:53 PM
I read in your blog that you did not except a pacer during the Wasatch 100 because you wanted to beat the course on your own. To me life is the biggest most brutal race there is and you do not mind mulling at all. In fact you are asking for the help. If you need people to carry you through life then you might as well use it in a race. Jurek and the other top guys all work jobs and succeed at the next level. AJW had a pacer in the Wasatch but he didnt need help getting to the start line. Which one is tougher? Just a thought.
TJ - October 18, 2008 at 11:54 PM
- Jill Homer said...
Wow. I had an Iditarod fund last year and no one gave me this much crap about it. Well, I guess a few people did.
The way I see it is this: Donations are a personal venture. Some people like to donate to cure cancer (I've donated a fair amount to cancer research this year, through others' awareness races and also Internet drives.) But while this is an extremely important cause, does this mean no one should allocate money for "frivolous" humanities ventures like PBS, NPR and artist foundations. Geoff's running may be frivolous to some, but to others, maybe not so much. Does it really benefit everyone to belittle their contributions?
As to his financial situation, he is a few K in dept. He was before he moved to Alaska, and has largely managed to live within his means for the past three years. He extended himself a little thin this summer. He confronted that in this post. He recognized that this may prevent him from running the Iditarod in 2009. He could either give up on that dream or reach out, so he reached out. I think those who want to give find inspiration in that pursuit, the same way the person who gives to a local theatre company finds inspiration in their plays. The admonish them to give up or cut back their art and get a real job has merit, but I think misses the larger picture.
Anyway, that's just my view about it, as a person who views running and cycling as an art, not a science (and I know many, many disagree with me.) But I should let Geoff defend himself if he chooses. - October 19, 2008 at 1:10 AM
- Fonk said...
I went back and read the previous post, which has prompted all the reponses, and I just realized I commented on something other than you posted. You're asking for donations specifically for your Iditarod attempt, not for living/racing in general. My response was really reacting to the later scenario, which isn't even what you proposed. My response might still be food for thought going forward, but doesn't really apply to this specific situation. Sorry for wasting "ink" on that... :)
Jill, you make a good point regarding non-charitable donations, such as NPR, PBS, etc. What those organizations all have in common though, is that, even though they're accepting "donations", they still offer something in return. They have different "rewards" for different donation levels, and even if you choose to forego that bonus, you get something in return in that you know what quality programming you'll get in return. You yourself have even followed this model. With your Iditabike fund, you offered a photo CD with all your wonderous photos in exchange for a donation. Beyond that, people also felt pretty much guaranteed that they'd get quality daily (or almost daily) postings from you, with great writing and great photos. We pretty much KNOW that with you we will get a quality race report as soon as humanly possible after one of your epic races or tours. Likewise, we get all the great training/life stories nearly daily up until the big events.
I'm not against what Geoff is doing here, but just playing devil's advocate. You have to at least be able to understand the flipside of the coin... - October 19, 2008 at 6:58 AM
"Jill said...
Wow. I had an Iditarod fund last year and no one gave me this much crap about it."
The difference between you and Geoff is that you have a steady 9-5 job to support your hobbies. Also, you don't have the attitude that he does about people that having to work for a living are in it for the money only. That's what kills me the most about him asking for money. He has the attitude that "I'm not living my life chasing after money like some people, I'm living my dream and pursuing my lifestyle" basically. What he's doing is insulting the very people he's asking for money from. His attitude is that we're all 9-5 whores chasing a buck, while he's better than everyone else because he hasn't sold his soul for money. He should have been an Art major in college, because that's the same attitude they have towards life in general. The "Trust fund bitch" comment in the previous blog really hits home here. He doesn't work enough to support himself, so he asks for handouts, then he criticizes the people that he asks for money from that DO work to support themselves.
Personally I wouldn't send him any money to support his hobby. I have several hobbies including cycling, hiking, and photography, and I've busted my ass over the years working hard to support myself and my hobbies without asking for outside assistance. I've worked 60+ hour weeks, and 12-14 hour shifts in physically demanding jobs to support myself and my hobbies. There's no way in hell I'd send Geoff money if he's only working 10 hours a week in a dead end job as a cook. Get a real job, or get a 2nd part-time job, to support yourself if you need money so bad.
I see Geoff as an exercise addict. Now he's asking for handouts to support his fix. He's not even 100% fully functional in the world, as he said he can't find the motivation to do simple things in life that need to be done outside of his running hobby. He has no real job, he's not making enough to support himself much less his hobby, he's relying on outside help from others to get him by, and he's become a one-dimensional person with a single minded obsession with getting his "fix". He has no clear goals or focus in life outside of his races, and his personal relationships take a back seat to his running hobby. Those are signs of an addiction. - October 19, 2008 at 7:04 AM
Michelle (sis again).
So few people ever even find passion in their life, let alone pursue it. Just wanted you to know that you are an inspiration to me.
You have given up a lot in your life to live the way you see fit, and as far as I know, have never asked for any help along the way. You had plenty of opportunities to live that "dream" everyone seems to think we all "should", but you saw the person you wanted to be at a young age and you became him.
People seem to think you're being selfish and spoiled, or a lazy miss- manager of funds. But I have always seen you as the polar opposite of that. You have given gifts to me, my family and others that will never be measured in dollars and cents, but will always mean more than any you could have bought.
You have an amazing talent and the drive to get there. There are plenty of amateur athletes (think olympics) who train so hard and have so much love for what they are doing and only a small window of time to accomplish their goals. Yet, we give to olympic funds to finance their success. Is it only acceptable in those venues?
Anyway, you're a hero to me......... - October 19, 2008 at 7:17 AM
The whole argument is an ancient one. Been going on for a long time in this world. Nothing new here. The key to life is balance, and Geoff's life is out of balance. It is fun to live simply, run like a spirited child, and ask for alms...but it will not make next year's Iditarod race as pleasurable, to have gained entry through begging. It is like wanting more and more toys at Christmas. Sometimes one toy is enough. Maybe skip Iditarod and work hard, and then race it the following year. Maybe volunteer at races all year and not race a single one, even though your legs are in their prime. Legs in themselves do not make a full human.
- October 19, 2008 at 12:23 PM
- Geoff said...
(yes you, the one who's left about a half dozen pathetic comments here and on jill's blog this weekend. no wonder you aren't posting with any name attached to your comments so as to avoid it being fully obvious just how obsessive and over the top you are being... as though anyone reading these comments has any doubts as to the fact that you've left more than a few of them that end up more or less saying the same thing over and over),
i get the point very clearly, you think i'm a loser. you have thought that for some time and you will continue to think that no matter what i say. (because you have not once responded to anything that i've actually said but rather to things that you want me to have said to make your case stronger).
i do have a couple questions though (and yes, these are rhetorical questions that aren't intended to be answered, but somehow i find it hard to believe that you will refrain from doing so):
1) if you feel that i am such a loser what exactly does that make you for spending so much time trying to convince me of your case? maybe you have something you could be doing with your time that has a positive effect on something?
2) you don't know me and you make that glaringly obvious by the things you try to assume about me, why then do you find it so important to pretend that you do? why exactly do you care so much that some random person on the internet has different views on things than you do? especially when the things being discussed have nothing to do with you personally. i have no problem with you voicing your opinion about things that are actually being discussed in my posts, but i'm not so sure why you feel the need to take it to a level of personal attack that has nothing to do with anything that i've actually talked about on my blog.
3) why do you find it so hard to accept someone asking for some help? when most people are driving down the highway and they see someone with thumb outstretched trying to catch a ride they either stop to pick them up or they drive on by. perhaps you slow down and throw something at the hitchhiker?
4) and lastly, why do you feel so convinced that me asking for help has to have so many implications? that because i'm reaching out to people to help me come up with money to be able to pay for one specific race that i'm hoping to run this winter that certainly you must know everything about me. almost every specific assumption that you have made about me is off base with reality. one thing that you may want to start with and work around is the fact that i am 32 years old, i have financially supported myself 100% since i was 18 years old. rent, food, car payments, car insurance, utilities, etc... the whole 9 yards just like everyone else. i have worked full time jobs for a good portion of my life and when i'm afforded the luxury i work less than that to enjoy my life as much as possible. i will be working full time again as soon as i have the oppurtunity. i'm only working 10 hours a week because that is all the hours my job is able to give me currently. on top of this i could not work last week because of a back injury which pretty much didn't allow me to stand in one place for more than a few minutes at a time, and i'm not really in the position to get another job right now because i am going to be moving away from juneau at some point in the next several weeks. in other words my financial situation is tight right now because of specific factors - primarily the fact that i came back to juneau hoping to be back working at least 30 hours a week right away but instead after being here for 10 days I have not yet worked a single shift. for these reasons it became very clear to me last week that i would not be able to get my money together in time to enter the iditarod invitational and i choose to reach out to people to help me with that. of course i would not be in this situation if my life were more focused on obtaining financial well being and all that, but i take full responsibility for that. i'm not asking for any help with paying off my debt (and never would ask for such help) or with paying for things going forward. the simple truth is that there is a race that i really want to take part in and without the help of others i would not be able to. lucky for me other people have been very generous about this and i'm super excited about getting a chance to run that race again. if you have a problem with that then fine, but please give it up with trying to turn it into some broader issue of me not ever working for anything and having no responsibility and no direction, because you clearly don't know me and are unwilling to hold anything i say at face value anyhow. - October 19, 2008 at 1:26 PM
- FixieDave said...
G if I wasn't in the same boat I'd help you bail :)
Keep at it! - October 19, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Geoff says in this post that it's hard for him to understand people who have a strong drive to make a lot of money. He also says: "a life that is based upon financial ambition works for many people. I have no problem with that"
Then various anonymous responses follow both here and on jill's blog:
"You may think you are "better" than other people because you spend your entire life focusings on your hobby of running, but I see the bigger picture of how things really are."
"Your "holier than thou" attitude about how you feel morally superior to other people because you're doing running races might work with your mom, your girlfriend, and your friends, but it doesn't work with me".
"You think just because you live a non-mainstream "alternative lifestyle" and your sole focus in life is your hobby that you think you're somehow better than everyone else"
"You resent people who make focusing on money a major point in their lives"
"That's what kills me the most about him asking for money. He has the attitude that "I'm not living my life chasing after money like some people, I'm living my dream and pursuing my lifestyle" basically. What he's doing is insulting the very people he's asking for money from. His attitude is that we're all 9-5 whores chasing a buck, while he's better than everyone else because he hasn't sold his soul for money"
Anon, don't you see how much of a stretch there is from what Geoff has said and what you have heard? A little paranoid about this are we? I mean come on, you think that Geoff thinks a certain way about you because of your drive toward financial wealth? Did you consider for a moment that perhaps he disrespects you instead for the following things that you have said about him?:
"He's not even 100% fully functional in the world"
"he's become a one-dimensional person with a single minded obsession with getting his "fix". He has no clear goals or focus in life outside of his races, and his personal relationships take a back seat to his running hobby"
"at least Geoff found a woman (however temporarily) that would put up with his actions and his lifestyle. Any other woman (besides his mother) would have kicked his ass to the curb a LONG time ago. I don't know how you put up with that crap as long as you did. Most women would be looking for a man with career prospects and a definite idea of the future ahead of him"
"Geoff on the other hand, I don't know WHAT the hell he's going to do, shack up with some trustafarian chick and sponge off her ?. And a job as a "cook" ?.....did he even go to college ?. WTF is he going to do when he gets older ?"
Of course he doesn't like you or your comments. You're an ass-hole who is stating horrible things about him that you know nothing about.
I can assure you that his opinions about you have nothing to do with the fact that you have worked hard your whole life to earn a lot of money. I too have worked hard my whole life and am quite well off financially. I've known Geoff for a long time and he has been nothing but caring and respectful to me since I first met him. Then again I've never jugded him or looked down upon him because he doesn't share the same ambitions for "mainstream success" that I do.
On top of that don't you think that if he were so resentful towards people who worked hard day in and day out to earn a good buck that he probably wouldn't have been dating Jill for almost 8 years, in which time she has worked a 40 hour week virtually the entire time?
Face it Anon, you're pathetic and you have serious issues. And it's time you stop trying to project these issues onto other people who you don't even know. - October 19, 2008 at 8:24 PM
- Doug said...
I call it Blogger Rage...what this Annon is doing. It's a lot like Road Rage, but is perpetrated online. Road Rage is committed by an individual that is usually over-stressed and/or doesn't have the coping skills required to handle whatever is going on in their lives at the moment. They get behind the wheel of a car and take it all out on other users on the road. There is two ways to deal with this type of person. Rage back, or ignore them. If you realize what they are saying has nothing to do with you or anything you did, you can let it bounce off of you and move on. That's my advice. I'm not going to name call or address this individual because you can never win. This person has issues, we all have issues. This person is choosing to handle it in a negative way. Geoff, it has nothing to do with you or your life. Ignore it.
- October 20, 2008 at 6:42 AM
Well, after reading all the comments on both of these posts, I have to say many of the "negative" comments are anything but.
The facts are the facts, and in your 30's, with some recent physical problems, living a lifesytle of grueling long runs is perhaps not the best way to make a living. That isn't the remarks of a hater, just a realist.
Regardless, if that is what Geoff wants to do, it is his body and his life.
There is a bit of vitriol here, and I think it is a bit misplaced. If anyone can prove Geoff is collecting welfare and/or food stamps then provide it. Otherwise, seriously, go get yourself a nice big cup of shut the F up and have a nicer day.
Unless he is taking handouts from the government, he is in no way hurting you. People who can work, but choose not to while sucking off the taxpayers' teats are despicable.
People getting by on their own, whether that be a job, trust fund, or handouts are nothing to get your panties is a twist over. - October 20, 2008 at 8:05 AM
- Tim said...
I clicked over to your blog to catch up on all the action since hearing about it during yesterday's group ride. I've gotta say that I agree with much of what the anons have been writing -- it's just too bad they don't have the cajones to sign their names.
Here's my take on athletes who solicit donations: If you're good enough to be worth a sponsor's investment (and you show that kind of potential) then you should work hard to become a sponsored athlete. That doesn't mean they hand you checks and you blissfully pursue an easy lifestyle; it means you work hard as a representative of their products or services in return for money that allows you to compete as you wish.
But to ask strangers to pay your way is little more than panhandling. I never give to bloggers, or anyone else, who ask others to pay their equipment or event fees. I'm one of the millions of amateur cyclists who would love to travel to events, buy new bikes, etc. whenever I damn well please, but that's not how life works. I do what I can, when I can afford it.
I completely respect the lack of desire to pursue money as a central life goal. There are more important things. But one must be adult enough to live within his means.
You wrote, "the truth is that I just don't care if I make a lot of money, that's just not something that's important to me."
But spending money on travel and race fees is clearly important to you.
So, the question is, who is responsible for funding your lifestyle?
If your friends and family wish to do it, that's their business. But you have to be willing to take a little heat when you start hitting up strangers for their spare change, because they work for it to support their passions, and they've learned the realities of sacrifice and compromise.
I wish you all the best in your running career. You obviously have an abundance of talent. More than most of us will ever have. But I won't be funding your dream.
There are millions of people in the world with far bigger problems than getting up and going to work. And they're way farther ahead in the donation line than you are. - October 20, 2008 at 8:30 AM
- Wild Imagination said...
I think Jill's post relating Geoff's current situation to NPR/PBS is particularly apt. Those of us who read these blogs do so because we enjoy the content. Would I frequent these pages were Geoff relating stories of his day job? Unlikely. If people want to donate so Geoff can generate more experiences, run more races, and thus provide more interesting reading and inspiration for us, more power to them.
- October 20, 2008 at 3:35 PM
- Dave said...
OK... add my comments to the mix.
I'm 45, I have 2 kids, I run about 60 miles/week. I have a full-time job - and basically have supported a family of 4 for the last several years. I've also run a number of ultras. Finally, I'm posting under my name and not "anonymous".
I support Geoff's efforts in spirit, although I'm not sending him money either. He's welcome to do what he wants, in his best interest, and canvas people who read his blog. After all, people reading this likely have some interest in his pursuits. So... it makes sense to give it a shot.
I don't believe Geoff is whining, just facing some new realities. He's still at a spot with no kids and finding he can be a top notch ultrarunner and wants to see what his potential is.
I waited to have kids until age 33, even though I got married at age 22. I wanted to find out what I could do in running (including ultras) and do some traveling. I never asked anyone for money, but I never had an appreciative audience either. I'm glad I did things the way I did.
Right now, I work hard for money for my family. I'd prefer to spend more time with my kids; yet I'm also not willing to give up my 60 MPW of running. In general, I go out for an hour each morning at 6 AM before anyone is up. Then on one day on the weekend, I get a long run in. Allows for a good balance. I work as much as I need to do provide a good home for my family; but not caught up into making more and more and sacrificing family and things that make life worth living.
For those that say to Geoff, well gee, the rest of us don't have the luxury of not working all that much - that's fine - I identify. Yet Geoff's an adult who can make his own decisions and the consequences. Some people here are providing helpful ideas.
For my thoughts? I can't presume to know Geoff's situation. The idea of focusing on a small handful of top notch events seems, on the surface, the best way to go.
Finally, I think the "anons" need to have the wherewithal to post under a real name. - October 20, 2008 at 4:07 PM
- WynnMan said...
Hey Geoff, hope the back is feeling better. Try a ball and sit on it where your piriformis is and do lots of kickbacks to strengthen the glutes. Maybe tight from sitting on the bike seat??
If you're looking for an epic and ridiculously challenging 100 that is pure rugged single-track and as beautiful as one can imagine, no frills like we both enjoy, you should give the Superior Sawtooth 100 a shot in the fall/first weekend of September. Let me know and I can help with transportation/lodging and crap.
I plan to move to Wyoming in the summer, hopefully Sheridan to call my new home.
Good luck with the rest of 2008. Don't be affraid to rest up either. Hopefully see you at a race next year.
oh yeah you should give Arrowhead 135 a shot sometime. You would love that race!
when I was injured I spent a lot of time X-training on elliptical/strength training, but the biggest help was lots of time fishing.
-hang hawg - October 20, 2008 at 5:25 PM
Anon is just jealous because Geoff has a hot girlfriend. All Anon does in his free time is play on his PC. Anon, go outside, get a life. Thank you very much.
- October 21, 2008 at 7:18 PM
All I'll say is her sister Lisa's husband got the pick of the litter.
- October 22, 2008 at 3:06 PM
- Vito said...
This is all totally out of &%$#ing control. Get a grip people and get out and enjoy life.
- October 22, 2008 at 5:32 PM
- June 2, 2009 at 8:24 AM
- June 4, 2009 at 8:57 AM


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