February 11, 2007 — 10:53 PM
So these days it's all about the 2.0. I thought I should join the crowd. (I've always been a late adopter.)
Welcome to my new and improved site. Many thanks to my good friend Tim for all the work he has done to make my 2.0 outing so cool looking (and also functional).
The look may be new, but the content will still be true blue Leslie. I hope you enjoy. Please check out my most recent sermon "God made a quilt...". I preached it back in mid-January at Calvary Presbyterian in San Francisco. And please feel free to leave a comment. I'm trying them again and hoping for a little less spam. We'll see.
Here's to new beginnings.
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February 15, 2007 — 2:07 PM
This weekend is Presidents' Day weekend. In the Bay Area this marks the beginning of "ski week" for those lucky enough to go to a school that observes such a thing. But last year, this weekend took on a new significance for California: It marks the beginning of the Amgen Tour of California.
Last year I was able to follow four full days of the eight-day race. I was completely psyched to be able to experience so much bicycle racing in person. The fact that I was able to do this came primarily from two factors: (1) I was unemployed, and (2) the route stayed in the Bay Area for the first four days.
This year I will not be so lucky. I am now a full-time employed member of society and the race course has changed to head over to Sacramento on day three. But, lucky for me, Presidents' Day is one of the many holidays I get off. This means I have the opportunity to follow the first two days of the tour. The Prologue on Sunday is in my fair city (San Francisco) and Day One starts in Sausalito (just north of the city) and ends in Santa Rosa - an easy drive.
Let the cycling season begin!
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February 18, 2007 — 9:01 PM
This afternoon, the Amgen Tour of California began for the second year in a row in downtown San Francisco. And, like last year I had the chance to wander around the staging area and see the riders up close and personal.
Of course, the one I wanted to see most was one Mr. George Hincapie. I was wearing my biking sweater with his name brand sewn across my chest.
And I was not disappointed. I was able to marvel over him while he warmed up near the team bus. Later, he passed by me several times as I was standing near the entrance to the starting area. I tried to take a photo of him then too, but I was a little slow on the draw and only got the back half of him.
While I was wandering around the starting area I overheard this snippet from a conversation between two guys: "My wife is over by the Discovery Team area. She is a total fan of George Hincapie." I can certainly understand that.
Tomorrow I plan to follow the Tour as it heads up the coast and into Santa Rosa. That should give a few more opportunities to see George in action. I'm loving it!
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February 19, 2007 — 8:16 PM
Saturday night I went bowling with friends. This is not something I do with any regularity and my body is reminding me of that. Yesterday I felt a little creaky. But today my muscles are full-on complaining! I run a ton, but that doesn't translate into any kind of fitness for my non-running muscles. And bowling uses all kinds of those.
So today as I was following the Tour of California up the coast to Santa Rosa I was feeling a little sorry for my sore self. I was gimping along as I walked to get a good position both on Mt. Tam in Marin and then again at the finish line in Santa Rosa.
But then I got a lesson in relativity. I had a second row position to watch the whole huge group of riders come through the finishing area for the three circuits around downtown to end the race. On the beginning of the second circuit one rider fell just past where I was standing and took out a large chunk of the 144 riders with him.
Now that's something to say "Ouch!" about. I'll just shut up about my sore msucles now.
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February 21, 2007 — 4:39 PM
I'm hopping on a plane tomorrow heading for Austin, TX. I'm going to attend a small gathering of folks who hold similar positions as I in the other Presbyterian seminaries across the country. It will be good to connect with these people since I am a newbie to this "industry".
While I will be in Austin a couple weeks too early for any of the SXSW conferences, I will be there at the right time to attend a rally for Barack Obama. He will be on the campus of UT Austin Friday afternoon. I have a ticket to attend that rally and a break in the schedule of my gathering that will allow me to do so.
Austin has always treated me well. Here's hoping it does again this time around.
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February 23, 2007 — 8:09 PM
It's a rare day when I get to say that I was there when the actual event was taking place. But today was one of those days. Now my friends who helped with the Democratic National Convention a couple of years ago will beg to differ and they have the "Obama" signs to prove it, but I am still going to crow about my own "been there, done that" moment.
Today, I was at the rally in Austin, Texas for one Barack Obama running for President of the United States of America. My new colleagues and I braved the on-and-off rain showers to say to all of our friends and family spread through these United States that "we were there." We witnessed this moment in history.
And that is exactly what Barack Obama wants us to do. That, and give $5 or $10 to his campaign! To which I say, "Gladly!" He has given me hope, as his latest book's title proclaims, to believe in the political system once again. I haven't been able to read about, much less talk about, the political landscape for the last several years. And I finally feel like I can. I feel like there is actually something to talk about.
I must admit, I am an American for Obama. And I am proud to be such. You should consider being one too. Let's bring hope back to the American continent. Let's be bold enough to do so.
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February 25, 2007 — 7:58 PM
Last night as I was returning from a great trip to Austin I made my way through SFO toward the area outside where taxis line up. As I passed by the baggage claim area a man in a suit caught my attention and asked me if I needed a taxi. To which I responded, "Huh?!" I've never had taxi service pushed on me in SFO. I have in other airports, especially in foreign countries. Since I knew the drill of where to go to get a taxi I declined the offer and continued on my way.
Once I got to the taxis I decided that I should tell the taxi coordinator (the man who directs people to waiting taxis and calls for more when the bank of available taxis gets low). The whole thing felt suspicious to me so I it passed along. My cab driver overheard what I said and couldn't stop talking about it all the way back to the city. He was angry that the man was standing inside doing that but he was glad that I not only did not take him up on the offer, but I also reported it.
Apparently town car drivers will often park near the airport and send a person to stand inside and solicit riders. When someone agrees, the person calls for a car to come and pick them up. It is not suppose to happen, but it does unless police see what's going on and put a stop to it. Which, according to my driver, rarely occurs.
As we pulled up in front of my place the driver thanked me again for being considerate of taxi drivers and wished me a nice welcome home. I guess I really made an impressionon him.
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February 27, 2007 — 12:45 PM
It used to be that research into health issues was done generically - focusing mainly on white males and applying results to everyone whether they were white and male or not. Then people began to realize that gender and race matter when it comes to health issues. The diseases and illnesses that were affecting one group often were different from those affecting others.
When this became clear, our government stepped in and encouraged (read: gave money to) the study of health issues for specific groups - not only males, but also females and people of non-European decent. Great strides were made in combating health problems in non-white male demographics once this type of study began.
But that era appears to be over. We seem to be going backwards in our thinking. Today, Washingtonpost.com is reporting that the money budgeted for the Women's Health Office is being cut.
Well... it's not so much that it's being cut as it's being reapportioned. According to the article: "the FDA intends to withhold $1.2 million of that, apparently for use elsewhere in the agency." And what exactly does that mean? "The office must effectively halt further operations for the rest of the year."
It's only the end of February!
That means 10 more months of this year without funding. So sorry ladies. You'll just have to suck it up and look at the studies put out on men's health to get answers on what doses of medicine to take and what treatments to seek for your illnesses or diseases. If it's good enough for them, it should be good enough for you.
I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that. For years I have not felt that the U.S. government represents me or my views. And I have definitely felt that it wasn't looking out for my best interests in the area of family planning. But now, it's not even looking out for my basic health care. Unbelievable.
Welcome to America.
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