January 13, 2010

I had a good run today. I took the Yak Trax off, since the streets were almost entirely free of ice and snow. I did the same course as yesterday, wanting to see if I could go much faster without the extra traction. I averaged 7:46/mile pace, versus 8:14 for 6 miles yesterday. I took a few strides until I got to the ice, and just slid my way around the neighborhood. It was exhilirating, especially at the traffic lights. Now I know how lugers feel.

The Five Best Things to Come Out of The 80s:
1. Skinny Ties. These were a reaction against the wide, comically short (above the navel) ties of our fathers' generation. It made them look like drunken clowns. Which many of them were.
2. R.E.M. and U2. Until they realized that more than three people liked them, and they started writing crappy mass-appeal songs like "Everybody Hurts," and "Mysterious Ways," respectively.
3. Mike Potts as a Sexual Dynamo. I did have sex in this decade: on New Year's Eve, 1989. I'll admit that the dynamism aspect is still being debated by Ivy League historians.
4. Short Sideburns. This was a reaction against "the Elvis look." Elvis became a joke in the 70s with those mutton chops and jump suits. This one was obvious and inevitable. Failure to recognize the trend at the time kept me from getting laid until the last five minutes of the decade.
5. Extremely Expensive Gasoline. Americans realized that they would have to reduce their dependency on foreign oil by building more fuel-efficient cars, driving less, and lowering speed limits. Just like they would, again, in 2007.

Thanks for humoring me.