Dennis B Murphy >>>>>>>>>>

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October 2008

10.23.08 Long time, no post! Quick general updates

Biking- not much biking.. I've really tapered back. I helped at the Cannonsburg KissCross a week ago then did a lap on the Cannonsburg Ski Area trail. I also rode one lap with Mario (from Mexico) there last Tuesday. Other than that I've been pretty busy most days with family and personal stuff- as well as election oriented volunteering - and not able to go home and simply go for a ride. Addtionally, the temps are dropping and it gets darker sooner- so I need to set down a system to ride when I get home- jersey's and gear ready, lights ready, etc.. Which I haven't done adequetly. My plan at this time it so assess what I want to improve for next season and how to approach it. My endurance isn't too bad- I can ride all day at 10-14mph, it seems. But I am NOT fast. My hill climbing improved this year but needs bigger improvement and- and- I need to get faster ON the hills! I am considering buying a prepackaged training course from Danielle Musto's coach - actually two- I emailed her and she suggested using one, then another after that- they must build on each other's regimens. Each course is $100.00. It doesn't provide feedback from the coach to do this type of training, but I'm not a pro and can't really afford that at this time. For spring, I'd like to work on getting that Cyclocross bike I keep not being able to afford each fall- if I get it in the spring I may get a decent price on a previous year's model. I can also consider the extravagence of a power meter on the cross bike since that will be my primary training vehicle if I buy one.. stay tuned in February. Anyway, in November after some work related travel and after the election, I will be back at the training.

Election- things are shaping up for OBAMA! I think he has the possibility to be the BEST president we've had in my lifetime. We might finally have a president that actually THINKS about issues before making decisions. Obama is more pragmatist than kneejerk liberal. I was three when Kennedy was shot and remember watching the funeral in television. The rest since then have been mixed success-good at some things, horrible at others- some are downright despicable. GWBush? his only good items are sense of humor and being a mountain biker- otherwise he's been the worst we've seen in office ever. I've been volunteering and canvassing- trying to ensure people VOTE on Nov 4th.

Job- busy busy busy- JCI is going through some cutbacks at the corporate level but at our plant levels, not so much- though some plants are specifically hit hard by the big guys' closing facilities. I am taking a once a week japanese conversational language class- fun and interesting. I can add that to my smattering of Spanish and German LOL

Website- I am actually going to work on migrating this blog over to BLOGGER. I have a log-in and have a site there but until now I haven't really used it. But I can blog while traveling from my new beloved Blackberry 8830. This is the sweetest gadget! It does NOT have a camera, which I could care less- camera phones stink for the most part. But it does all the email and web stuff, POPs my email in from Google and has instant messaging from Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google. It comes with Telenav GPS navigation (which I used once to great benefit), as well as all other PDA type activities- oh, and it has VOICE DIALING! I can press one button and say "Call son brenden murphy" and the phone will dial without me pressing any buttons- this, with a blue tooth earpiece, means nearly hands free operation if used when driving! Anyway, I think I can blog to BLOGGER from my Blackberry, which will definitely make my posts more frequent. Using Macromedia Dreamweaver means having to use the computer simply to post comments. Most of my website is fairly static and would not be affected. So look for this change in the next few weeks- when you click on Blog, it will take you to BLOGGER and there will be a link there to bring you back to my domain website. My archived blogs here will stay here for reference. (Too bad Dreamweaver didn't have Blackberry application!).

Speaking of Blackberry- I will soon get a micro-SD card for it (probably after the first of the year). This SDcard then expands the memory allowing for video and music downloads to the phone- the video is especially interesting if I could download a TV show or even a movie to watch while traveling, then simply delete it. Also, Documents-to-Go have great document applications for PDAs, and now Blackberry which mean fully functional Word, Excel and Powerpoint on a handheld unit! I had a "Doc2Go" suite on my old Palm Tungsten-C and it worked fantastically- It should be even better on the newer improved screens and power of the Blackberry. But if you have some other handheld PDA or PDA/phone, check them out- the program is the best I've seen in this PDA format.

More later and watch for that update to BLOGGER.