October 2003 Archives

I got back last night from the Illinois Valley Relay Race along the blufs and valleys of the Illinois River. I was the second runner of the team, running segments 2, 8, and 14: a total of 10.6 miles in 1:40:06, or just over 9 minutes a mile. That's a pace I'm extremely happy with since the course was difficult with lots of hills.

The weather was cool and rainy but perfect for running. There were times I topped a hill and from there saw vistas of valley with trees full of autumn color. It's a race I'll want to again next year.

Here's an interesting take on the popularity of blogs from The New York Times: Blog Bog and an E-Mail Pony Express. According to the article, most blogs are created, then abandoned, like the ones I created at Blogger and LiveJournal when I was first learning how to create a blog. Another interesting item is that the typical blogger is a a teenage girl who uses her blog to update her friends once or twice a month. The research that The Times refers to is limited to the popular blogging services; it doesn't take into account blogs kept on servers that use software like Movable Type, but the research does seem to knock down the myth that blogs are all the rage.

Fall is definitely here. Yesterday evening I spent a couple of hours sorrowfully blowing leaves from the back yard to the front curb so the city can sweep them. I was going to rake but the grass seed from a couple of weeks ago is growing and I didn't want to hurt the new blades, so instead I cranked up the blower and blew them onto the driveway and then to the curb. Luckily the leaves were dry and scuttled easily down the driveway.

Afterwards, I started thinking about leaf blowing and poetry, wondering if there be poems about leaf blowers or, in general, leaf blowing. No better way to find out than to google leaf blowing poetry and follow the results. Not much there though I did come across a wonderful essay comparing the aesthetic qualities of raking and blowing.

Maybe I should junk the leaf blower, use instead the rake, and fullfill my green obligations of keeping the neighborhood free of noise and pollution.