Too Fit to Be President? - WSJ.com

Facing an Overweight Electorate, Barack Obama Might Find Low Body Fat a Drawback

| Marshall Butler 6:36 PM | | (0)

UPDATE: After being in the family for over 50 years, my father sold the dry cleaners today and is officially retired. It is bittersweet, but I am very happy for my Dad. He has worked hard since his father opened the business and is now going to get to rest and enjoy some time off. He warned the buyer that he might still come up every now and then and sit in the lobby and visit with the customers. This is also a good thing for my mother. She has worked right along side Dad and is also looking forward to retirement. My sister will continue to work at the cleaners until she finds something else to do.

| Marshall Butler 2:43 PM | | (0)

If numbers are missing on gas station signs, it should be assumed to be 0. Gas stations must honor that price.

| Marshall Butler 2:11 PM | | (0)

View Larger Map

| Marshall Butler 1:42 PM | | (0)

The keywords are:
Alps
Green Jersey

| Marshall Butler 1:21 PM | | (0)

Yasso 800s

You can predict your marathon time based on how long it takes you to run 800 meters. Don't believe it? The secret lies in Yasso 800s.

| Marshall Butler 11:17 AM |

Run - 519 miles
Swim - 74750 yards
Bike - 1854 miles

Here are the extrapolated out for the year:
Run - 916 miles
Swim - 134404 yards
Bike - 3358 miles

Run mileage will probably top 1000 since it will ramp up at the end of the year in marathon training. Consistency on the bike is paying dividends.

Need to remember that for the swim. Consistency. Repetition. Get in the #@$! pool!

| Marshall Butler 11:06 AM | | (0)

The cabin we are staying in is very near the Benton MacKaye Trail.

| Marshall Butler 4:28 PM | | (0)

Following me on Twitter? I don't recommend doing that...

I disagree. But just like one of his commenters said, "There might be circumstance(s) where something like Twitter is useful."

One of those circumstances is one of the Twitters I now enjoy following. Team Slipstream's race director, Jonathan Vaughters, is sending out updates realtime during the Tour de France stages. These bits of information are really cool to receive. I also think Tweets could be helpful in broadcasting messages to groups.

I agree following a bunch of Twitter feeds to find out what a bunch of people are doing at any given moment is noise, but you have to be selective in the Twitterers(?) you follow.

| Marshall Butler 1:12 PM | | (1)

We had a great time and the weather was terrific. Here are some photos.

| Marshall Butler 7:15 AM | | (0)

More Saab Fly to the Finish keywords:
Jet Engine
Bicycling

If anyone wins anything, let me know.

UPDATE: From the Official rules:

Odds of winning an Instant Win Game prize depend on the number of eligible Instant Win Game plays divided by the number of prizes available on a particular day.

| Marshall Butler 10:06 AM | | (0)

My friend Tom Drell is in Boston this week on vacation. I sent him the Charles River running map to map a run for this morning. Just received this e-mail from him:

Thanks for the tip Marshall!!! I would have missed a beautiful place to run and a new way to experience Boston.

It was tough to get up early on vacay and take the train into the city, but I was glad I did when I arrived. I started at the Science Museum and did the ~6.5mi loop around the river....very peaceful. Looking forward to doing other parts of the river on future visits.

Sounds like he ran from the Science Museum to the BU bridge. I'm jealous!

| Marshall Butler 8:24 AM | | (0)

Americans for Tax Reform

On July 16, Americans mark the national Cost of Government Day (COGD), the date on the calendar year when the average American finishes paying off his or her share of federal, state and local spending, and the regulatory burden.

According to the chart on the above link, Florida taxpayer's won't finish paying off our share until 2 days later on July 19. I always thought Florida had a lower tax burden, especially since we don't have a state income tax.

| Marshall Butler 7:15 AM | | (0)

Podium
Descent
Attack

| Marshall Butler 8:54 AM | | (0)

I might sign up for a subscription if they do. And maybe they will add cool extensions?

MotionBased TrailNetwork Map Player

Firefox will eventually be our recommended browser.

| Marshall Butler 2:42 PM | | (0)

Don't believe me? Check out at the Chipolte website.

And if anyone is missing the Saab Fly to the Finish keywords for the last 4 days, they are:
Echelon
Aerodynamic
Efficiency
Born From Jets

Anyone have the keyword for Day 1? And does anyone really win this game?

| Marshall Butler 1:47 PM | | (0)

Garmin-Chipolte is posting the information for one rider daily on the Motionbased website. Here is David Millar's data for yesterday. Would be really cool to see his information for today's time trial.

The other cool thing the team is doing is sending Twitter SMS updates during the stages. I think Jonathan Vaughters, team CEO and race director, is sending out most of the updates. The funniest one was today:

Ooops... I just dropped the F-Bomb on Versus, live. Sorry to all the parents out there. It was just really intense today... JV

| Marshall Butler 12:04 PM | | (1)

DAVEZABRISKIE.COM

It always amazes me that, for as non-polluting an activity as cycling is, we certainly do leave a large footprint on the earth (thanks in large part to all the vehicles it takes to make a race happen).

| Marshall Butler 11:11 AM | | (0)

Garmin took over as sponsor for the Slipstream-Chipolte team days before the race started. The goal is to increase penetration in Europe, where Dutch-based TomTom owns the market. But while watching the Tour on Versus, there are a bunch of TomTom commercials. I wonder who is wearing the GPS mindshare yellow jersey?

| Marshall Butler 9:41 AM | | (0)

Tasty way to end a holiday.

PS The ribs were awesome.

UPDATE: Here is the Fried Twinkies recipe. I can't remember where I got it from.

Deep-Fried Twinkies

Ingredients
# 6 Twinkies
# Popsicle sticks
# 4 cups vegetable oil
# Flour for dusting
# 1 cup milk
# 2 tablespoons vinegar
# 1 Tablespoon oil
# 1 cup flour
# 1 teaspoon baking powder
# 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight.
2. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer to about 375 degrees.
3. Mix together milk, vinegar and oil.
4. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Whisk wet ingredients into dry and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate while oil heats.
6. Push stick into Twinkie lengthwise, leaving about 2 inches to use as a handle, dust with flour and dip into the batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake.
7. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float, so hold it under with a utensil to ensure even browning. It should turn golden in 3 to 4 minutes. Depending on the size of your deep fryer, you might be able to fry only one at a time, two at the most.
8. Remove Twinkie to paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow Twinkie to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6.

Berry Sauce

Ingredients
# 1 10-ounce jar of seedless raspberry preserves
# 1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries

Directions
1. In a saucepan, heat preserves over low heat until melted.
2. Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen mixed berries.
3. Heat until sauce just simmers.
4. Cover; refrigerate until served.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

| Marshall Butler 9:01 PM | | (0)

| Marshall Butler 8:49 PM | | (0)

So here's the plan:

Smoked BBQ Ribs
Smoke at 220 degrees for 7 hours (or 200 degrees for 9 hours).

Here are the tasks broken down by hour.
1:00 Spritz, add wood
2:00 Spritz, add wood
3:00 Spritz, add wood
4:00 Spritz, add wood
5:00 Spritz, wrap
7:00 Pull and carve

I'll probably start at 1000 so I can pull the meat at 1700.

I'll be spritzing with apple juice and using black cherry soaked in water overnight..

| Marshall Butler 4:02 PM | | (0)

Ran for an hour yesterday afternoon, leaving the house at 4:30. Legs felt springy at first, but then the heat starting bearing down and turned them to lead. I forgot to take my endurolyte caps before I left and was only drinking water. Probably wouldn't have been as bad if I had taken them.

Turned around early this morning and rode 36 miles. Was worried that my legs would not have recovered. Surprisingly, they felt pretty good. My heart rate stayed within a comfortable range. Only one incident of road rage. Some redneck punk pulled up right behind me on Old Plank and laid on the horn and then passed me. Guess he was showing off for his sister/girlfriend in the passenger seat.

| Marshall Butler 2:33 PM | | (0)

Received this yesterday. Glad they reconsidered!

Dear Marshall,

You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are.

We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you.

-Your friends at Netflix

| Marshall Butler 2:28 PM | | (0)