emptyage

Custom Research Papers

Need More Help Cheating? Try These Fine Agents. Forget everything I said before. If you are in the market for Custom Research Papers, then look no further than the previous link. Everything else was just a canard. As I have noted, sometimes things must be left unsaid. Or, in this case, unwritten. But you can always pay someone to write it for you. To say what you cannot. (It is worth noting that sometimes you don't even have to pay them. I gave nothing away on the one before this, and yet still you read between the lines.) And this one, Masterpapers.com, is quality. The very best. Why, just look at their guarantee: "It is never a practice to neither put up on sale paid papers nor reuse any paper on site. " By jove, you can tell this is a quality operation. One that will get you an A. Also, look at they smiling face of that guy in the "Reasons" box. He's not laboring at home, working on his paper. He's out being cool, and smiling, and wearing a tie. Wow. Impressive. Have I said too much? Or not enough? That won't be a problem with these agents. Provide them a word count, and they will write for you. Exacting! Are you with me? Isn't this entertaining?

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

My blog is too meta

I just don't know who's telegraphing what to whom, anymore. Do you think that this some sort of secret message, just to me?

"Be careful when buying an essay and choosing between the alternatives – beware of too cheap sites and do not fill in someone’s pocket when buying way overpriced services – the golden equilibrium between the price and quality is what you should strive for. Remember, when it is too good to be true, it usually is."
Emphasis original

Wow. I think I should just go to bed now. Otherwise I'm going to end up one of those guys with a message about Stephen King and John Lennon painted on his truck.

This is just filler, by the way. Just some filler. Cleaning the pipes. They can't be back to back, you know. The one last night was just for five bucks and I'd like to earn a few more. But you can't do two in a row. So, I'm writing this last night. Huh? It's not live, dummy. Filler. For when I need it later. I'm looking at this as part of the job. Hence the thing about going to bed. It's nearly midnight. And I also had to update some old posts. You see, sometimes certain things must be left unsaid if I am to become monetized. Right. Just some filler. So. Get ready because here it comes.

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

If you need to cheat on a term paper, here are some agents who will gladly help

Dear Reader,

College is hard, but it shouldn't have to be. It's really just a formality these days. Nobody actually learns anything. But there it is, anyway. A barrier between you, and the job you want. Or (if you're planning on going to graduate school) the job you're hoping to avoid for a few more years.

So why not cheat. [Wink-wink, nudge-nudge]

No, seriously. Why not? No one will ever know you've cheated. They might suspect, but as long as you're careful they won't be able to prove it. Unless you admit it.

Yeah, you do some idiot thing like sneak in a calculator or turn in a plagiarized paper, then you're getting busted. But what if you just, say, hire someone to write an essay for you? An original one. A good one. One that hasn't been plagiarized, so it's not going to turn up in some machine-readable trap.

What you need to do is buy essay. Excuse me, I meant to say buy an essay. I would never simply say "buy essay." That's bad grammar. If you have a term paper due, don't stress; buy an essay, from the best. Custom-Writing.org.

And, take my word for it, these guys are good. The greatest; absolute quality. Check out what they have to say about thesis writing:

Thesis writing is complex. Thesis is acquisition and, at the same time, dissemination of new knowledge. A well-written thesis reveals knowledge of author; it also shows understanding and appreciation of the field. Thesis is a critical rather than descriptive work. Thesis writing is culminating point of years of preparation. A successfully written thesis must be original, appealing, and be an important study in terms of other researches. At Custom-Writing.org, you can be certain that your thesis meets all necessary requirements and is a quality product delivered by real professionals.

Semi colons; yo. That's deep, right? So, see, let them do all the work. Go hit some golf balls. Have a drink. Relax.

After all, it's all just a huge sham. Look at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, those guys never went to college, did they? You get my point?

Do you? Aren't I clever?

See, I'm being up-front here. And yet I'm not. It's all very self-aware. In fact, it's post-modern. I think. I actually paid somebody to write a paper on post-modernism for me, so I'm only vaguely aware of what the term means. But you get my drift and I think you'd agree; this has been an entertaining post.

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

links for 2007-11-14

• Leaked: The SNL iPhone Sketch that Never Aired
  (tags: apple iphone humor)
• The Truck
  Harper asked me to tell this story again recently. I should at least bookmark it.
  (tags: mth mathonan truck kuwait story)
• Hair and mushrooms create a recipe for cleaning up oily beaches
  (tags: sanfrancisco sanfranciscobay oilspill)

Oil Spill Volunteer Certification Tonight

Cleanup Crews, originally uploaded by Anna L Conti.

There's a quick four hour certification this evening from 6 - 10 PM at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. This is part of the Kill The Spill group I wrote about earlier. It's probably the easiest way for you to get some training to get out on the beaches and start cleaning up.

Don't Leave the Dog: A Cautionary Tail

Dogs: We have a special bond with them. And yet, when you go out of town, you leave them behind, with only a semi-responsible fifteen year-old neighbor to see after then while you galavant around the wilds of The Hamptons or San Francisco or Miami or Tucson. A neighbor who cares only for his life of delinquency, who shall be shoplifting beer from the local 7-11 rather than tending to your beloved animal. Worse yet, you board them, leaving them in a wire mesh ghetto to suffer the barks and yelps of a dozen other pooches, equally abandoned who cry out without language and howl into the never-dark night of a fluorescent-illuminated concrete block prison.

Does this sound like you? It does? Then you are a terrible pet owner. A horrid person, unfit to hold the looped end of a leash. I loathe you. I curse you, and your firstborn. I shall dig up your corpse upon your death and cast it, swollen and putrid, into the streets of Kuala Lumpur. You should take your dog with you. Take him with you! He does not want to be alone! He will bark and cry. He will be sad. He will not understand. He will think you have abandoned him. And since perception is reality; you have.

Allow me to digress, and make a point with a story, which might prove dear to your heart.

A friend of mine once travelled from Charleston, South Carolina, to Houston, Texas, some 1,100 miles, with only his trustworthy dog, Bailey, to keep him company. This was a long time ago, in 1994. In those days, traveling with a canine was an arduous task. Yet Steve is an extraordinary fellow. By day, he drove his decrepit 1986 Bronco II (which had 185,000 miles at the time and no air-conditioning, only windows) as fast as it would go (which is to say, not very fast at all) until, exhausted with weariness, he had to stop for the night in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

And yet upon his arrival at the hotel, there was nowhere to lay his head. For he could find no innkeeper to take both himself (and it is not because he is in any way unacceptable, Steve is both an intelligent and a charming man, cultured and clean and fine to gaze upon) and his trustworthy labrador. And so on he drove. Through Pascagoula to Gulfport, where his problem was repeated. And so on he went, past New Orleans, over the Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, with its pistol-shaped ornaments, on through Beaumont and Baytown until at last he arrived, fatigued beyond belief, a victim of canid-discrimination, at his parents' home in Houston. His beloved Dog, Bailey, safely delivered, he passed out upon his childhood bed, and awoke days later, tears still in his eyes from the pain of species-ism.

I may have some of the details and facts of that story confused, but the essential truth of it remains. That is the way that it once was in this country.

Fortunately, today there is a better alternative, thanks to the Miracle of the Internet. All over the country, and globe, you can find Pet Friendly Hotels that will take you, and your little dog too. Many are high class establishments. In San Francisco, for example, The W, The Argonaut, and even the legendary Westin St. Francis allow pets. You shall never again have to suffer the indignity of the 17 hour road trip, nor the irresponsible neighbor who may or may not drink directly from the milk carton in your refrigerator while you are out of town, nor leave the howling sad mutt behind in a torture kennel. No! Instead simply log on to OfficialPetHotels.com and bring your dog with you.

He will thank you. Woof, woof.

This has been a sponsored post.

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

Why, are you looking for something to do in San Francisco?

Because if you are, this gentleman seems interesting.

Kill The Spill

Everything you read about the oil spill suggests it's going to be around for years to come, and that there's little to be done by you and me (other than writing a check). The volunteer opportunities are all seemingly full ("thanks, but we don't need anyone else at this time") and yet, we've got an ocean full of petrochemicals. It's discouraging.

But, this being a resourceful city, people have started taking matters into their own hands. Ad-hoc groups have started cleaning on their own with hairmats and kitty litter scoopers. A lot of this is being spearheaded by Surfrider members and other ocean-centric groups. Check Kill The Spill or Matter of Trust to find the next (un)official meet and cleanup.

Printer Cartridges--YOU CAN'T PRINT WITHOUT THEM!

Printer cartridges: they are the razor blade refills of the computing world. You buy your printer for, like, $99, only to find that refilling it is going to set you back $120. Even worse, you get to the office supply store, only to find that you can't figure out exactly which cartridge among the thousands on display will fit your machine. But you need not pay those exorbitant prices or have the confusions. There is a better way, namely, Cartridge Finder. With more than 10,000 cartridges on offer and an easy-to-use interface, it's the bees knees. Plus, since it pulls data from PriceGrabber, you can be assured of low, low rock-bottom prices.

With the proper cartridges, you can print anything. Books. Term papers. Manifestos. Delights.

This has been a sponsored post.

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

Against the 80s

Last month, I spent some time visiting my mother in New Hampshire. While there, I had some time to sit and go through old photos. This was a lot of fun. It made me nostalgic, it made me laugh and it made me sad. But mostly, it made me ask what the hell was going on in the 80s.

Now, okay, granted. The 70s. Sure. But at least I just had normal little boy haircuts the entire time. Around the time we got to the 80s, however, I was just getting to the age where I took control over my own hairstyle, and fashion sense.

I entered the decade with the classic down-the-middle, butt-cut. This was accompanied by a Member's Only jacket, not so bad. I mean, the haircut is bad, but the clothes are okay. T shits and jeans. Normal jeans. But shortly thereafter, apparently, I started watching MTV. I got into hip-hop and punk, or thought I did. It was actually new wave, of course. But what did I know, I was eleven. It was 1983. I lived in Alabama. None of the shirts have sleeves. Most seem to have some sort of Japanese writing on them. And before long, up went the hair.

By 5th grade I was sporting a spike. Sometimes in conjunction with a rat tail. Scratch that. Often in conjunction with a rat tail. God help me, what was I doing in a Michael Jackson jacket? I favored camouflage pants, Army surplus. I was break dancing. Break dancing? What the fuck. I can't believe people ever thought hip hop was just going to be a fad. Little white kids in suburban Alabama were break dancing in 1984. That's huge. I really dug Van Halen, L.L., Run DMC, Prince, The Cars, and 101 other bands that I can't be bothered to remember now. And, of course, Michael Jackson. I thought Madonna was hot. I did like The Clash, but I never would have heard of them had they not been on MTV. David Lee Roth was a god to me.

In the sixth grade, a friend of mine really got into skating. I tried to also, but I only had a J.C. Penny board, and was quite frankly too chicken-shit to try anything cool. This moderately improved what I was listening to, but took a dramatic toll on my appearance. Everything became Brighter and More Torn. Do you remember what Gator looked like? That was terrible. But me. I looked like his redneck cousin who shopped at Gayfers. But not as classy. I wore a painters hat, and lots of things with checkerboards. I bleached my hair.

And then, in middle school, there was R.E.M. Unlike all the other bands I knew of, these guys weren't in California, or New York, or London, or even Minneapolis. They were in Georgia. Southerners. Like Me! Puffy shirts! A vest! Unfortunate hats! Bangs Bangs and more Bangs!

This was thankfully short-lived. Sometime around eighth grade, I figured out that no girls at my fascist-preppy junior high were going to talk to me as long as I was sporting the J.C. Penny version of the Michael Stipe. Besides, I was tired of all the guys calling me a fag.

In with the 80s preppy! Bring out your pink! Bring out your purple! Bring out your whitest whites and stonewashed jeans! Feather that hair! Turn up that collar! Peg those jeans! Hand me the J.Crew catalogue and bring me a rugby shirt. My jeans grew splotchier and whiter. I had issues with bleach. Polka dots, yo. Polka dots.

And then I started smoking pot, which must have explained the hair: A curly poof, all one length. It looked like someone had draped a poodle over my head. By now I was listening to respectable music, a lot of it is stuff I still listen to today. But I was far from finished with my unfortunate fashions. You know how today, all the teens and early 20-somethings dress like the 80s? Well, in the 80s, they all dressed like the 60s. Or at least a lot of them did. (Hint to fashionistas: if you really want to dress like 1988, you should buy some hippie crap.) Tie-dyes. Paisley shirts. Oh, help. It was just awful. And yet: perhaps the best look I had all decade, which should tell you something about how utterly loathesome 80s fashion was.

By 1990 I had seamlessly transitioned to torn jeans, ragged t-shirts with obnoxious slogans, and flannel shirts. This was before "grunge" was invented as a marketing term, by about a year or so. Yet people were already kicking that look anyway. Especially dirtbag not hippie not punk not preppy not skater not metalhead not really much of anything other than disaffected college-bound kids like me. It was a welcome relief from all that neon and, um, neon. Which is why today, when I see the kids with their Vuarnet Cateye-style sunglasses, painters caps, and checkerboard everything I grimace, and think of them as victims. And then, flipping through Radar, you see the Art Bears, and realize, oh! Grunge! It's back, slightly re-packaged. And then you cry, and order another wine from the stewardess.

Shop to Benefit Alzheimer's

Okay, so I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but surely you're already thinking about Christmas shopping. I know I am. And what better place to do your shopping than at a store that also does something good.

Alzheimer's disease affects about 14.4 million people worldwide, 5 million in America. Most of these are over the age of 65, but it can strike much younger people as well. As our population continues to age, it will affect more and more Americans directly. It's a terrible disease. At its onset, patients simply find themselves less energetic and it's typically undiagnosed. As it progresses, the short-term memory loss and spatial confusion are often the first noticeable symptoms. Eventually, sufferers lose all independence, needing help even with tasks such as eating, walking and going to the bathroom. It's a terrible progression that ends in death. There is no conclusive pre-mortem test for Alzheimer's.

November is Alzheimer's Awareness month, while next week, November 13, is National Memory Screening Day. Thus, it's a good time to think about Alzheimer's. While it's important to search for a cure, what's immediately vital is to ensure quality of care for those who suffer from it today. The Alzheimer's Foundation eStore raises money to support the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. If you are looking for a holiday gift that also benefit a worthy cause, it makes a good place to start. All proceeds benefit the Alzheimer's Foundation.

The Foundation is working to ensure quality care for those who suffer from this terrible affliction. (Among the items it offers on its store is a DVD provides instructions and guidance for families who must care for a family member with Alzheimer's.) Furthermore, it has a fairly low overhead, so that most of the money it raises goes to its mission--according to the 2005 annual report, only 13 percent of its total revenues supported fundraising and administrative expenses.

So, again, if you are looking for a place to do your holiday shopping that also supports a worthy cause, be sure to look into the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's eStore. Or, you can contribute directly to the Foundation to benefit Alzheimer's

This has been a sponsored post:

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

links for 2007-11-12

• About | LOL CArTer
  Oh man.
  (tags: lolcats jimmycarter wtf)
• Waxy.org: Daily Log: Outgoing
  Andy calls it a day at Yahoo!/Upcoming. Whatever he's up to next, you can be assured it will be great.
  (tags: andybaio waxy upcoming.org yahoo)
• Mic to Mic: The mashed potatoes sample revealed!
  If this is going to be that kind of party....
  (tags: beastieboys music culture)

links for 2007-11-11

• Cheering On the Tech Stock Crash - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog
  A linkbait take from the Times. It worked.
  (tags: stockmarket technology business)
• PopSci's Best of What's New 2007
  The magazine isn't out on stands yet (or it wasn't yesterday still) but this year's BOWN is out in PopSci, with two stories bymth. I really enjoyed working on this one on Midomi.
  (tags: midomi popularscience popsci singing humming bymth)
• Where Are the Most Bicycle-Friendly Cities in the World? | Autopia from Wired.com
  (tags: bike cycling transportation sanfrancisco)

links for 2007-11-09

• Jumpcut - Blue Angel # 5 low pass
  Unbelievable.
  (tags: planes sanfrancisco blueangels via:torrez)
• Google Map of the Oil Spill
  This is horrible. I was to compete in the Treasure Island triathlon this weekend. I'm leaving town, so I can't anyway, but I'm sure there are a lot of athletes who are crushed.
  (tags: oilspill sanfranciscobay sanfrancisco)

How to Cook: A Guide For Gentlemen

1. A meal is not easy to cook unless it is also easy to clean.
If a recipe calls for more than three pieces of cookware, total—that includes anything you use for preparation as well as what goes in the oven or on the stove top—fuck it, it’s too complicated. Always cook with an eye on cleaning. This has nothing to do with making KP easier. Rather, if something doesn’t require much clean up, odds are it’s not going to require much work to prepare and cook either.

2. Treat your cookware correctly
Metal baking pans? Put down foil or you’ll ruin them. Iron skillet? Add lots of oil first, then seasoning, then your main ingredients, and always cook over low heat. Not only will this keep you from ruining your expensive cookware, but it will also keep you from ruining your meal, and making a mess.

3. Mix and cook in one step
If a recipe calls for you to mix wet and dry ingredients in a bowl; it’s probably not a weeknight dish. The only time you should use a separate mixing bowl is when you have more than an hour budgeted for meal prep. Instead, look for dishes where you can combine ingredients in the same pot that you’re actually going to cook in. It will make clean up easier and cooking faster. There’s a broader corollary here: combine steps whenever possible. Why use a colander if the sink works? Oh. The sink’s nasty you say? Well, there are exceptions to every rule.

4. You only need three ingredients
It’s true. Even the most complex meals tend to be based around three core ingredients: salt, garlic and oil (or butter). Add these three Super Ingredients to any dish to max out your flavor. Looking for something a little different? Other flavors to try include onions, honey, hot sauce, lemon, miso, or Italian dressing. Mix and match these basics and you’ll never go wrong.

5. First, find the time
Plan your meal so that all your dishes will be ready at once. Start on the dish that’s going to take the longest first. You may or may not want to do al your prep work ahead of time based on cooing times. For example, if one dish will take 30 minutes and another 20, you probably want to do all the prep initially. But if the latter is only going to take ten, it’s probably best to do that prep after you’ve dropped the first in the oven.

6. Have fun
Enjoy what you’re doing and it will show up in the finished meal.

Vacation Rentals: THEY ARE WHERE YOU WILL SLEEP

There's nothing I'd rather do than travel around the world for months on end. And if you're planning an extended trip, there's not better way to stay in style than to stay in a vacation rental rather than a hotel. Vacation rentals by owner lists thousands of vacation rentals around the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean where you can stay, like a native.

Not only do vacation rental often give you more bang for your buck than you get with a hotel room, but they also often are located in places where there might not even be a hotel. Furthermore: fat cribs! Blenders! Daiquiris! OMG, how lovely. No matter what your travel plans enail--whether you intend to kite surf in Monterrey or wrestle brown bears in the Colorado wilderness (armed only with a smile, fistfull of berries, a coonskin cap, and a loincloth in an oily homage to the king of the wild frontier)--there is a Vacation rentals by owner out there where you can lay your head while you spend your days shopping for throwing stars in a SoHo haberdashery. Indubitably! I dig staying in them because I can't stand it when people judge me. Anyway, you should check out a Vacation rentals by owner the next time you travel. I know I will. Now bring on the bears, my edible flower.

This has been a sponsored post

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

Yet More On Carter

As usual, Andre has a great and thoughtful take on things.

But really, I don't want to defend what he did, it was stupid. The first rule of guns is never point it at something you don't intend on killing. Every 8 year-old kid getting his hunting license knows that.

What I wanted to say about this was Jimmy Carter when confronted with his own stupid mistake wrote a letter(!) admitting such: "It may ease your grief somewhat to know that the cat was buried properly with a prayer & that I’ll be glad to get you another of your choice." and "I called & came by your house several times."

I think what he actually wrote says a lot more about him than one dumb mistake. He could have done any number of things to shirk responsibility but he admitted it and even allowed it to be displayed in a museum of his letters. I hope when I'm facing a situation like that I have even half that amount of decency as he did.

That really captures how I feel about it. Carter did something dumb, and then did the honorable thing and owned up to it. He could have (literally) covered it up. This reminds me of when Carter was ridiculed for stating that he had lusted in his heart. It's again more evidence of his general honesty; admitting something he need never have. What's more, he even put it in writing, on letterhead no less, surely aware of the possibility that it would become public. He's a former president. Few people are more scrutinized. We celebrate George Washington based on the apocryphal cherry tree story in which he says he cannot tell a lie; it's meant to attest to the strength of his character, coming forward to own up after he did something lousy. No matter what you think of Carter's politics, we could certainly use more politicians with that kind of integrity.

CityPass: Start Spreading the News

Last year, we were attacked by horrifying, fleshless monsters:

Okay, so, not really. Apparently they're "dinosaurs," and we saw them--along with a lot of other great exhibits that any self-respecting science nerd would love to check out--at the New York City Museum of Natural History. That's a T-Rex pictured above (he may look terrifying but he's just a jeepster for your love). He's one of several fantastic exhibits.

I live in San Francisco, one of the great foodie cities, so I don't visit New York for the restaurants. I'm not really into Broadway, and most of the big shows that are any good eventually travel. Nightlife? Please, I'm old and without hipness. So it stands to reason that one my favorite things about visiting New York is hitting the museums.

In fact, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMa, and the American Museum of Natural History have all, on separate trips, represented my favorite thing that I've done in the City. I can think of nothing better to do when you go--and I have a vast imagination, impenetrable as the outer limit of the universe itself.

Of course, New York's expensive to visit, especially if you are planning on hitting a bunch of museums and sights. But while a dinner in Manhattan might set you back a bundle, you can still save money on the museums and sights. How? New York CityPass The pass is $65 for adults, and $49 for kids 12-17, and has tickets to many of the city's best museums that if purchased separately would set you back $130 and $89.50, respectively. Each booklet has a ticket to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the new Greek and Roman galleries, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. Plus, a trip to the top of the Empire State Building Observatory and tour of the Manhattan skyline from the water aboard a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise, along with a map, public transportation information and insider tips on the best time to visit each attraction.

Oh, and about those pricey dinners? There's even a discount on them, and Bloomingdale's as well. It's enough to exhaust even the most indefatigable tourist in the best possible way.

Word? Word.

This has been a sponsored post

NOTE: This post was composed for research purposes for an article for Wired magazine.

links for 2007-11-08

• Container ship hits Bay Bridge tower - fuel spills, but span undamaged
  (tags: commerce sanfrancisco sanfranciscobay boat ship)
• Hip Hop explained in charts
  (tags: hiphop music humor)
• The 'Winners' of the Wired News Saddest-Cubicle Contest
  I could have won this in 1997
  (tags: humor wired working office corporate)
• Photos: Spill closes S.F. beaches; oil washes up on Marin Headlands
  Wow, I had no idea how bad this is.
  (tags: oil oilspill sanfrancisco sanfranciscobay)
• NYGirlOfMyDreams.com
  This is beautiful. Guy sees girl on train. Guy makes blog about her. Girl finds boy.
  (tags: culture newyork nydreamgirl)
• BlackBook: Patrick Moberg’s Crush is BlackBook’s Camille Hayton! BlackBook
  (tags: nyc new york nydreamgirl)

Housekeeping

On that Carter Letter:
Hello visitors from Waxy, Kottke, StumbleUpon, Instapundit, Lucianne, and The National Review. I closed comments in the other post due to hosers with keyboards, but to answer a couple of questions:
1. Yes, it is genuine.
2. No, it is not mine
3. Yes, I took the photo.
4. No, I do not know any more about the incident.

On PayPerPost
I've gotten some private feedback on my PayPerPost blogging, and I want to address that. While I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep it up, I am going to give it a shot for a while and see how it works out. Yes, they are sponsored posts, which means that they are written for a fee. However, I'm trying to only write about topics that I find interesting, and at the very least I hope to make them just as entertaining and/or informative as anything else you might read here.

On Why My Nike Plus Isn't Updating
No, I have not quit running. I logged five miles this morning, in fact. But I haven't been running with my Nike Plus sports kit lately because, well, I just haven't felt like it. In September, I was testing several HRMs that tracked speed and distance, and filling out spreadsheets and logbooks every day. Prior to that, it was my triathlon season, and I spent seven months training and tracking my progress. It's been nice to just go out and run, for a change, purely for the enjoyment of it. I'll likely start updating again this month. Next year, I plan on doing Wildflower Olympic distance, Alcatraz, Vineman 70.3, and Sandman, plus maybe another sprint or two. There will be plenty more to come.