Coke is It. But what is It?

After watching an ad for diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper during the Denver/Dallas game yesterday, we started wondering what the actual flavor of Coke is. After all, Sprite is lemon-lime, Dr. Pepper is prune flavored, but what is cola flavor, really? Someone in our group thought that it was caramel, but that seems to be only used for color. Cocaine was another answer, but does that have a taste? (For the record, real sugar Coca-Cola is the closest that I've ever been to cocaine.) According to this site, the answer could be cow. This, however, looks closer to the truth.

I guess it will just be a mystery...

Twenty Questions

Meme from VJ; I like it because it gives you an insight into those little day-to-day details of someone's life.

1. What's for breakfast? Cereal (some cheerios, some wheat chex), milk, and an orange (the bananas weren't quite ripe enough)

2. Do you read a newspaper daily? Embarrassingly, I usually just look at the Life and Arts section of the PI. I need to find a way to start listening to NPR again, without driving 90 minutes a day.

3. What do you do when you can't sleep? Lie in bed trying to think sleepy thoughts. If it's bad, then I'll read.

4. Say a word that sums up your mood. Content

5. Do you remember your dreams? If I wake up in the middle of one.

6. Name something from your dream last night. I can't remember any; I didn't set an alarm this morning.

7. Name a food that describes you. Wasabi: green, a little spicy, a little bitter, better with salty soy and raw fish.

8. Today you are wearing: jeans, black shoes, black shirt, khaki submarine sweater

9. What's in your pockets? keys

10. Did you sing in the shower today? Nope. I find myself singing on my bike more often than in the shower.

11. What's the last song you heard? Moby's Stars is playing on the iPod right now.

12. Looking forward to the holidays? Yes! Only 2 more full weeks of classes and then there's almost a 3 week break when I can catch up on work and life stuff. I'm looking forward to catching up on sleep. I'm looking forward to cooking and holiday meals, and showing Jeff wedding stuff in VA next month.

13. Where do you want to be this instant? This isn't too bad right now (the office, with good music, food, friends, and excel spreadsheets), but it will be nice to get home.

14. What's for lunch? Leftover encheritos (baked bean and cheese burritos with green enchilada sauce, onions and bell peppers). I also ate an incredibly rich dessert bar that someone brought into the office.

15. What's something you would like to do soon? See Harry Potter; this Saturday!

16. Reading anything now? What is it? Oops; didn't realize there was a theme. I'm rereading Harry Potter v. 6

17. What's for dinner? Grilled fish, broccoli, and Essential bread.

18. A favorite part of the day is: biking or running once I warm up and start having fun; preparing dinner; curling up under the covers; lunch and dinner

19. Are you happy? Yes. I'm lucky enough to have a great job, I enjoy my studies, I really like my classmates, it's a good time of year, I'm healthy, I have a great family, I'm with an amazing man, ... I have a lot to be thankful for.

20. Will your friends do this meme? My guess is no, but you never know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This I Believe

Brilliant words from Penn Jillette. Thanks to Riona for the link and to NPR for the series.

Trail Note: Back to Basics

Wednesday, I found myself reaching that point where I didn't feel that I had enough time to get anything done (studying for one class, reading for another, homework problems for a third, getting hours in for work...) and also feeling guilty about not running. After spending 5 minutes walking back and forth between the computer lab, the lounge (where someone observed that I looked upset / stressed), and my locker at school, the choice became clear: I could either sit in front of a book and not focus on it, or hit the trail.

I ran north on the Burke Gilman trail from the IMA (student gym) and I could feel myself relax with every step. The trail was littered with bright yellow leaves, and the grey skies made every tree a beacon of color. After a summer of training with very specific pace goals, it was fantastic to not worry about pace, just about putting one foot in front of the other. By the time I'd covered a few miles, I'd forgotten about the econ midterm and classes and whatever else it was that had been bothering me. As the day got darker, I turned back and picked up the pace. When I returned to school, I felt great and ready to tackle that homework that had been so overwhelming just a short time earlier. It reminded me why I run.

"It's hot today, isn't it? It's the best weather when you are training for a marathon."

Admit it: if I were a guy, you'd have an overwhelming urge to go out with me right now.

Like from Riona; also heard on NPR this weekend.

It's big and it sells books; what else is there to know?

For some reason, I cannot distinguish between Barnes and Noble and Borders. I wonder if it's just me, or is a deliberate attempt on the part of the two chains to look identical?

What's that called?

Mono-fail or Mono-bail; take your pick. Other than Eiman's "900 pound gorilla," I'm a pretty happy voter this morning.

Ordering pizza in the year 2010

Be sure that your speakers are on and the volume is turned up to see a funny (scary!!) look at our potential future.

Link from one of those fw: fw: fw: emails sent to me by a classmate.

Trail Note: November

Well folks, it's November in Seattle. (I realize that it's November everywhere, but it's truly November here. I mean, it was sunny and 70 degrees in Chicago this week; what’s up with that?). And what does November in Seattle mean? RAIN! I realize that this city has the reputation of raining all of the time, and it does rain a fair amount 9 or so months of the year, but it really rains in November, nary a sunbreak in sight. It's also very dark. Again, I know that it's dark everywhere in the US a lot earlier than it was last week, but between the northern latitude, the western longitude and (remember) the rain, it's pretty much dark here at 4 pm. None of this is all that conducive to running. It requires a heck of a lot of motivation to get on the trail.

But once you get out, it is worth it. I heard a cyclist describe biking in this weather once, and I think this holds very true for running in the winter: It's really hard to get out there and get going, and the first mile or two really sucks as you're cold and wet and tight. Then you warm up, and things start getting fun. You feel like a kid, jumping over puddles, and playing in the rain. And you feel tough, too; like you can do anything - you're a brave adventurer out in the wet and the cold. Then you start to get cold. And you realize that you're really wet; wetter than you thought that you could be while wearing clothes wet. And did I mention cold? And there are still a few miles to go and all you can think about is getting home and into that hot shower. Your knees are probably hurting right now, too, and if you're a guy, you're remembering that you have nipples and that you should have coated them with body glide before you left the house, because now they're chaffed. And then you finally finish and get home and have that hot shower and then a warm meal and maybe a cold beer, and it's the best shower and the tastiest food and the most refreshing beer you've ever had, and you earned it. ‘Cause you're tough.

We had that run this morning: 8 miles to and around Greenlake, then home to showers, lattes, and oatmeal. Good stuff.

What's in a Name?




I think my red-headed housemates would agree that this is apt (I've been just a little cranky lately).

Monster Name decoder link from Vicious Investigator-Crushing Kitten-Injuring Juggernaut from the Enchanted Arcane Necropolis.

And now another word from our sponsor. VOTE!

Just because it's an off year it doesn't mean that your vote isn't important. Here in Seattle, we've got a few exciting things on the ballot:

School board election (my office is abuzz about this one)
King County Executive election (go Ron!)
Anti smoking ordinance - if passed, would be the most restrictive in the country
Gas tax recall ('cause death by Viaduct would be a dramatic way to go)
Port Commissioner (I'm personally invested in this one)
Mayor and city council
Not one, but two malpractice measures
and, of course, the MONORAIL!

It's these more local issues that really make a difference in our day to day lives, and we've got an opportunity to influence them.

The Washington State voter's pamphlet can be found here and you can make your own local voter's guide here.

Okay, now you can return to your regular programming.