Sweet video from our friends across the pond

Bike Commuter Act may pass

Bike Commuter Act, “Hummer tax loophole” up for House vote tomorrow

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on February 26th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

Blumenauer, shown here at the National Bike
Summit last year, hopes his Bike Commuter
Act will finally fly with lawmakers.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On the heels of record profits by the big five oil companies, U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) will once again try to enact a tax benefit for bike commuters and close the “Hummer tax loophole.”

The bike commuter tax benefit (a.k.a. the Bike Commuter Act and the Conserve By Bike provision) would amend the IRS code to include “bicycles” in the definition of transportation covered by fringe benefits. The Hummer tax loophole would fix what Blumenauer refers to as “a serious mistake” in the tax code that provides an additional tax break for business purchases of luxury SUVs weighing over 6,000 lbs.

According to a statement from Blumenauer’s office announcing vote, several weeks ago Exxon Mobil reported earning $40.6 billion in 2007 — the largest corporate profit in American history — equal to $132 for every U.S. resident (or $1,287 of profit for every second of 2007).

The bike commuter and Hummer loophole provisions are two of four provisions introduced by Blumenauer that are part of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act (H.R.5351) that the House will vote on tomorrow.

Both provisions were part of an Energy Plan that passed the House back in August, but were later stripped by the Senate before passage of the Plan.

What happens to your body if you stop smoking right now?

CBS Early Show features Chattanooga as a Green Vacation Spot

The report noted that “Memphis loves to sing the blues, but in Chattanooga, the tune is ‘Go Green.’ The river town has come a long way since being designated America's most polluted city in 1969. Today, 22 miles of once inaccessible riverfront have been reclaimed for public use, and revitalization projects have made the city a model eco town and tourist hotspot.”



Thanks businesschatt

Bottled Water Is the Enemy

I've heard this argument before, but it appears it's gaining significant traction making it to the NY Times. Basically, it takes a SIGNIFICANT amount of petroleum to make the plastic for water bottles and then they fill up the land-fills. Exacerbating the environmental impact is the fact that these water bottles are carried around and distributed by large gas (or diesel) guzzling trucks.

Here is the article:

By Freakonomics

Mayor Ken Livingstone of London is urging his citizens to forego bottled water in light of the drag it puts on the environment. Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York has done the same. Others, meanwhile, have taken the further step of an outright ban on bottled water. Your thoughts?

I loved some of the comments so I'll post them here:

We’re calling on people to stop drinking exhorbitantly over priced bottled water and donating the money saved to finance clean water infrastructure in undevelopped and developping areas of Africa. We’ve only been around about a year but we’ve already started making a difference and we continue to expand the area we are serving.

Municipal water supplies in this part of the world (North America, I’m referring to) are under far more scrutiny than any water bottling company. Municipal resources fall under strict government controls that do not apply to private industry.

In any case, all the information you need is on the website. http://www.Thewaterproject.com

— Posted by Alex W

More idiotic enviro-fascist lunacy. It does seem to bother these dolts that things like the London congestion charge are expensive and useless.

Then again…these twits are making it far easier to be rebellious. Be a rebel…drink bottled water.

— Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge

“Similarly, public water systems are required to test for chemical water contaminants four times as often as bottled water companies. In addition, loopholes in the FDA’s testing policy do not require the same standards for water that is bottled and sold in the same state, meaning that a significant number of bottles have undergone almost no regulation or testing.”
http://www.allaboutwater.org/regulations.html

— Posted by Phil

Prentice Cooper...Mullins Cove Trail Run

This isn't my photo, but it is a photo of the trail I ran on Sunday. It was one of the best runs I have had in a long time. My friends kept telling me about all this fun they were having running trails, and I honestly didn't think it would be that different.

I was pleasantly surprised. I would compare running to trail running like I would compare climbing on the top of my roof every year to clean the gutters to climbing El Capital in Yosemite. It didn't feel like I was running at all. It just felt like a great day in the woods. It was mid-60's and I found some great views.

The only bad thing about the day was that I couldn't bike there and had to borrow my wife's car. (arrggghhhh) To make matters worse I had to climb one of my favorite mountains in a nasty pollution machine instead of a nice bike. The reason I couldn't was that there is a 6-mile gravel dirt trail that I had to use to get to the trail. Last weekend I climbed the mountain on my bike, with my running shoes slapped on my back and thought I would just hump my bike 6 miles to the trail. I would have done this, but I was constrained by time.

So on Monday, I plan on registering for the Rock Creek River Gorge Trail Run which benefits the Cumberland Trail Conference.

Progress...

My biggest goal for this year is for people to know what I am about and what I'm not about. I absolutely love Tom Peter's books and blog. The one thing he constantly talks about is "Brand You"

First and foremostI definitely do not hide from "hot issues" like national health care, taxes, and the economy, but I also respect everyone's educated opinions and embrace them as well.

Who am I? A question I constantly ask myself on long runs, bike rides and infinite laps in the pool.
I care about my spiritual growth. I have a solid foundation, but I am definitely still growing and evolving, and hope I always am.

I care about my family. Nothing comes before my wife and kids. Period.

I care about my body. Whether it be the fresh air (or lack there-of) that I breath, or the food that I eat. So I guess you could call me an environmentalist that is also very worried about the obesity epidemic in America, particularly with kids.

I believe being accountable to others is the best way to live a joyful life, surrounded with caring and loving friends.

So to leave on something that I don't believe in or that offends me: Macaroni and Cheese at Macaroni Grill on the Kids Menu!

1210 Calories
62g Fat
40g Saturated Fat (200% daily recommendation for an ADULT)

Daughter of a Runner

Daughter of a Runner
Originally uploaded by moncrief.brittany

So I haven't been out there enjoying the weather like I hoped but I have the excuse of excuses - My wife and I just had our first baby!

I know I'm partial but I really do think she is the most beautiful little baby I have ever seen.

And talk about being a proud dad - she came out 1)doing the breast stroke (note - I worked with her while she was in the womb on her freestyle, which definitely says something about my coaching abilities), 2) with RUNNERS FEET! 3) Triathletes Body long legs, long arms, long toes and long fingers, and 4) showing off some fiery red hair and gorgeous blue eyes like her mother.

Have a Great Weekend

The weather looks AWESOME again for cycling and running so I'll be out there and I think you should be too! Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

Funny Politics

You have to laugh! If not, you would end up manically depressed if you took a serious evaluation of American Politics. For full disclaimer, I don't "lean" left or right, I'm just a middle of the road American.

We have Republicans spending more than any other politicians in the history of America and now they are putting bills forward that would make it illegal for restaurants to serve fat people. Aren't they supposed to be the small government, power to the people party?

We have Democrats campaigning on cutting spending

And as for local politics, we have a mayor who want all young professionals to move to downtown in-between two chicken plants and next to the new homeless shelter. This is funny enough, but a couple of days ago the sheriff just got caught with 5 kilos of cocaine.

Oil Spill off South Korea

Click here to view high-resolution version (5.1MB)

In this image, the dark oil covers the coastal waters of the Yellow Sea southwest of Seoul, South Korea. More than 10,000 tons of oil from the tanker were reported to have leaked into the sea after the ship collided with another vessel on Friday, December 7, 2007. As the image shows, the oil washed onto the beaches. The South Korean government declared the coastal regions shown here disaster areas.

Image and interpretation courtesy the European Space Agency.

This has nothing to do with triathlons but I just thought everyone would be interested in what an oil spill actually looks like. I would definitely recommend for everyone to check out the high-resolution image.

1962 Bike Safety Film

This is very odd stuff...

Note, I got this from BoingBoing.net

Roger says: "Here's a review of an extremely weird vintage bicycle safety film from 1962 in which a group of kids show us the dangers of disobeying bicycle safety rules - all while wearing some of the creepiest monkey masks you'll ever see."

The typeface used in the title is excellent.

Link | Link to YouTube video

Metabolic Syndrome is tied to Diet Soda

I found this article today in the NY Times and I have to honestly say it scared the crap out of me given the number of friends I have that are addicted to this dirty water.

Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels — and elevated blood pressure.

The scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years.

Over all, a Western dietary pattern — high intakes of refined grains, fried foods and red meat — was associated with an 18 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, while a “prudent” diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry correlated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk.

But the one-third who ate the most fried food increased their risk by 25 percent compared with the one-third who ate the least, and surprisingly, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none.

“This is interesting,” said Lyn M. Steffen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the paper, which was posted online in the journal Circulation on Jan. 22. “Why is it happening? Is it some kind of chemical in the diet soda, or something about the behavior of diet soda drinkers?”

Motivation for Ironman Louisville 2008

A good Ride, a good Run, and some Inspiration...

I had a great ride on Saturday up Suck Creek Mountain. I was going to do some trail running at Prentice Cooper but it was a pretty muddy trail to get there so I opted out and got some work done around the house.

This morning I did intervals, my total time was slightly slower but I definitely felt like I had a harder work-out. Hopefully, I can get some speed work done later in the week.

I finished Eiger Dreams last night and I think it was a great book that offers a little perspective on a lot of different facets on life. I highly recommend it and for those of you in Chattanooga, I will have it back at the main library soon.

Motivation for cycling in the winter

This guy is really making me look like a wuss in bike short and a short-sleeve bike jersey.

Overall, it hasn't been very bad this winter except for early last week when it dipped into the low teens.

This weekend I'm going cycling and then for the first time ever doing some trail running. So I'm pretty excited. Chattanooga has some great trails for running, and hopefully I will utilize them more to escape the streets and save my knees.

Have a great weekend!!!