Mediocre - A Manifesto/Meditation/Ramble (Part I)

Striving for excellence is bunk. What in Satan's name does it matter if I realize my full potential or not? What on earth does it mean for a carbon based life form to have "potential"? That a project was completed on time and under budget? That a race was won? That a cure was developed? That disaster was averted? That dreams were realized?

Do you know that M31, the Andromeda Galaxy is hurtling toward us at several hundred thousand kph and will collide with our Milky Way Galaxy within the next few billion years? ...And I'm supposed to get worked up about how well I'm going to do in the next race? Or that the guy next to me in the paceline isn't puling his weight. In a couple billion years the Sun will start fusing Helium nuclei to form carbon to generate energy, wiping out all life on the earth...And Somehow I should be concerned about the fact that I haven't won a race in years...Or cared that I haven't?

People are an odd thing; smelly, selfish, violent, hairless monkeys. Why are we so impressed with ourselves? So we can write, talk and make fire. Big deal. So people have split and fused atoms, and gone to the moon. This is important why? Oh yes, and we've constantly improved on techniques to blast our fellow hairless monkeys into chunky kibbles. What innovative, inventive, potential realizing monkeys we are.

New Arrival

Say "Happy Birthday!" to my new chick-magnet prop niece, Brianna McLaughlin. She was born at UM Hospital in Ann Arbor at about 6pm on 3/5/07. The proud parents, Marty and Pauline, are doing well. The grandparents are absolutely beside themselves with joy. The kitties, Storm and Shadow, are somewhat nonplussed.

Personally, I was hoping for a lizard.

More Commuter Chronicles

Well, about a week and a half ago it was a stunningly beautiful afternoon and warm (albeit w-i-i-ndy) so I went tooling around before heading home. And I thought to myself "Why don't I get on top of the High-Level* bridge and snap some photos.

(*Also called the Anthony Wayne bridge. It's a suspension bridge built in 1931-ish. It's locally called the "High-Level" bridge because it's the highest road-by far, sadly-in NW Ohio.)

So, Up I went. Here's what I took with my puny phone camera:
This is a view of East Toledo from the highest point of the sidewalk. The resolution is poor (what can I do? It's a phone camera fer cryin' out loud) but those shiny stacks in the center of the photo is the Sunoco refinery. I used to cross this bridge every morning, by bike, to get to work there. Easily recognizble at night because of the flare stack shooting flames. A little bit of "Blade Runner" right here in Toledo.
Here's a view looking North. What I wanted to capture in this photo was the "Glass City Skyway" in the distance. Right now there's a drawbridge that I-280 uses, this new cable-stay bridge will render it obsolete. Which is good. Have you ever been less than a mile from the office only to be stopped on the interstate because a drawbridge is up...And you have to pee? No fun let me tell you.
This is a pic of the Maumee still iced over. It was 40F when I took this pic, butit had been so cold so long that the ice wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. A couple of years ago there was a fire at that grain elevator. I saw it as I was riding from the refinery one afternoon. Too bad I didn't have a camera.

Oh, and two gratuitous kitty photos. My brother's cats are moggies but they have strong Maine Coon traits. In order to get them in touch with their heritage we like throwing them in snow drifts occasionally. Unfathomably, they hate it. I don't get it. Don't they know they're descended from a proud line of snow cats?

manamana