Jake's Top Ten Good Guys...

There have been many memorable characters created over the years. We all have our favorites. Today I would like to share with you my Top Ten favorite "Good Guys" that have been created for our viewing pleasures. Feel free to chime in with your favs, and note that the list starts with #10 (the lowest position in my list) and ends with #1 (my favoritest good guy as it stands now). Enjoy!

#10-- The Punisher. Right off the bat, some of you may argue that this guy really isn't "good". He's not. He's more of a tweener, meaning he is kind of neutral in the whole good bad guy scheme. But the original premise of the character is a vigilante going postal on crime dudes. I'm a huge van of vigilante justice, therefore he needs to be on my list.

#9-- Dirty Harry. I grew up with Clint Eastwood movies. My Dad has all of his movies. Not only does he carry a really big gun ("Seeing as though this is the .44 magnum, the most powerful gun in the world, and would blow your head clean off your shoulders, you've got to ask yourself one question... 'Do I feel lucky?' Well do ya punk?), but again he's sort of a vigilante as well, and anti-establishment. We're already seeing a trend here aren't we? He always gets the job done, and lots of bad guys get shot along the way with that hand cannon of his. Perfect!

#8-- Ironhide. I am a lifelong fan of Transformers. I've had many different toys over the years with these guys, and now that they are on the big screen I'm in love again. Ironhide is Prime's right hand man. He's cranky, doesn't care about a whole lot, and carrys two really big guns. He's a bad ass, and easily makes my list.

#7-- Bond. What's a list without the gadget king. Plus he's just a cool guy.

#6-- Voltron. I had the original Voltron Toy growing up. A metal piece of beauty that would swoop in and kick everyone's ass. The cartoon was nothing great, but the toy rocks and the principal behind the character is sound as well. Not quite cool enough to break into the top 5, but still awesome enough to make my list.

#5-- Qui Gon Jinn. Huge fan of Star Wars I am. Qui Gon is a Obi Won on steroids. He has awesome knowledge, good conscience, and is wicked with a lightsaber. Unfortunately like most of my favorite characters in movies, he ends up dying. But while he was around, he was the man.

#4-- Jason Bourne. Matt Damon actually nailed this role on the big screen. Bourne is just cool. All kinds of wicked skills to pretty much get out of any predicament, and along the way he tears shit up. Perfect guy role. Also, he's pretty arrogant, but when you're as good as he is, you can be.

#3-- Batman. I've always said, you put another super hero against Batman, the other guy will lose. Don't give me any Superman bullshit. Batman has something either in that utility belt of his or back at the bat cave that would hand that underwear on the outside wearing clown his ass any day. Batman is also a vigilante type character, and like stated before, I likes me them law in their own hands guys. Plus his outfit in the new movies is just bad ass. Batman is the man.

#2-- Optimus Prime. He's powerful, yet also doesn't overly use it. He has a conscience and does hate to fight. But when it comes to exchanging blows, you want him on your side. He's the perfect "Good Guy" in that he always wants to do what's best for everyone, yet will back up what he believes in. He is wise yet powerful.

The #1 Good Guy according to Jake: Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, or simply "Master Chief" from the Halo gaming series. Awesome body armor look, all kinds of combat skills, cowboy attitude when it comes to fighting, and has access to all kinds of big guns. Yes please. The Chief is a fun character to play. If you really get into it, since he doesn't talk much you can almost assume the role yourself. But again, he actually does have a sound moral compass, and he's not afraid to walk alone. He'll jump right into the mix without hesitation, and all the bad guys end up dead. And like a few other characters on this list, he blows alot of stuff up along the way. In short, he's awesome, and easily trumps all other Good Guys in my world.

Honorable mention (in no particular order): The Brothers from The Boondock Saints, Blade, Hellboy, William Munny, and Hannibal King from Blade 3.

The joys of racing...

For anyone who does any sort of racing, I ask this question:

When do you ever feel good?

Think about it. For me, I do endurance races (side note: even though the events I sign up for are deemed as "recreational" and not "a race", whenever you get 2 or more cyclists together you just made a declaration of racing) and as such they involve a hell of a lot of training. So with training, the idea is to start from a good base, build off of it, and when race day comes you are in awesome shape for that event. But break it down. When you train, the idea is to push and push your body up that fitness mountain to get to the top where you are ready to go. Along the way, if you're doing it right, you occassionally overload the body and break it down. Anyone who has ever done an interval workout knowns this concept well. Unless you push your body, you're not gonna get better. So with training comes pain.

And then the big day comes, and now you go into race mode. The fast mode. The give it all you got mode. You launch from the gate and away you go, and how you go. The body is pushed and pushed and screaming the whole way.

So what about after the event. Don't you get to feel good then? Ha. If you are asking that question, you've never gotten to experience what it's like to be recovering from your body eating itself all day.

When do you feel good? Never. It's all about seeing how much pain you can put your body through. And yet those of us who do it choose to continue doing it. We are asked why, but there is no good answer.

A final thought on the MCAT

After almost 3 months worth of time, 2 of those spent in the classroom, it is over. My MCAT is currently in the process of being graded. What was it like? Quite frankly, it wasn't quite what I expected. During class, we were told that if we did enough practice tests, when it came time to do the real thing, it would feel just like any of the other practices. However that wasn't the case. I found that during those practice exams, my mind would wonder. No doubt this was due to me taking them on my home computer thus being distracted by things around me even though Elli was kind enough to leave me to my own devices during practice time. Also, in the back of my mind while doing the practice tests, I couldn't shake the thought that this was just practice, and when I came to a passage I didn't quite get right away, I didn't try too hard because it was just practice.

But the real deal was different. I found myself incredibly focused the whole way through. No doubt this was due to the fact that I knew it was go time. This being the real thing, I shut everything else off in the brain and focused squarely on this task. And when it comes right down to it and I look back now, the test itself went by quickly. It sure didn't feel like I was taking a test for a shad over 4 hours, and not once did I feel clastophobic in the room or did I get bored and want the test to be over. It was weird, I've never been in that mind set before.

Maybe it was because I did really well. Or maybe it was because I completely bombed. Who knows. One thing for certain is that I don't think I will take it again though. I've said from day one that what the Med Schools see the first time I turn in an application, that's what they get. I'm not retaking classes, I'm not doing any extra volunteering or anything like that. Take it or leave it is what my mantra is.

Thanks to everyone who supported me with thoughts or kind words during the classes and before the actual test and even some during the test. I appreciated it all! And I'll have an answer for all of you as to how I did sometime before May 11th.

The Lesson of Sara Tucholsky

Softball season is just around the corner. And although it was, shall we say, suggested by my Doctor and PT that it may be a good idea to wait a few months before playing, I choose to ignore both of them and start the season on time. Besides, I just bought a new bat and my wife would be pissed if I didn't use it.

Now, back in the day I was sort of a hot head when it came to sports. When I started pitching, since I could throw a little harder than the other kids, I got cocky. And when someone got a decent hit off of me, the next time I wouldn't rule out a pitch up by their chin. And if one of our batters got plunked, well it was guaranteed that the next hitter I faced was gonna get an inside pitch. My Dad finally cured me of this, saying that that wasn't the way to get respect anymore. "Strike them out, and it's all the statement you need." So I learned to throw a changeup, and heeded his Obi-Wan like advice.

Though even though I was a hot head, one thing I always had was a very good sense of sportsmanship. Not once did I refuse to shake hands at the end of the game. If someone hits a homerun for the other team in softball, I congratulate them on the "nice shot". If someone on the other team makes a good play, I let them know about it. Even when I was throwing at people back in the day, I still would tip my hat to them at the end of the game if they finished ahead of us.

I feel today that sportsmanship is getting less and less emphasis. Kids are getting better at sports at a younger age thanks to multiple off season sport camps, weight training being taught younger, and the "fun" aspect of the sports are getting lost at a younger age. The emphasis is all about winning, and you learn early on that you do what it takes to get to that. And with that attitude, sportsmanship is getting put on the back burner.

Or is it?

2 years ago there was a Division II fastpitch softball double header going on. It was the second game, and the teams were locked at 0-0. It should also be mentioned that these teams were 1 and 2 on the depth chart of the league, so it had postseason implications as well. Then a player by the name of Sara Tucholsky came to bat. She was a petite thing, standing a shade over 5'2". It was her senior year, and she was a part time starter due to the teams depth at outfield. Anyhow, the story goes that she had never hit a homerun in her entire career, so wouldn't you know that with 2 runners on, she goes and jacks a pitch straight over the center field fence. Her first homerun of her career was a big one, putting her team up 3 runs over their division rival. However, in her excitement she overran first on her homerun trot and went back to touch it again. In the process, she steps wrong and tears her ACL and crumples in a heap short of first. By league rules, her teammates cannot touch her otherwise she will be declared out. While her teammates are arguing with the umpires about this dumbass rule and everyone is trying to figure out what to do (Sara was adamant no one touch her so that the books would show that she hit a homerun), the opposing teams pitcher and shortstop walk over with the pitcher asking, "Would it be OK if we carry her to each base?" The umpires agree that this is acceptable, so sacrificing another run, the opposing players help their opponent complete her homerun trot. Video of all of this can be found on YouTube.

Our generation is seemingly starting to relearn the fun aspect of sports. No longer is the emphasis all about winning; it's about having fun and realizing you're playing a game. With Daven watching, I too have toned down my highly competitive streak. Yes I still take pride in the game and want to do my best all the time, but when the game is over, regardless of the outcome, I shake the opponents hand and "leave it on the field". It's the way my Dad taught me to play, and I hope to take that lesson and the lesson learned from Sara's story and teach Daven that way as well.

The Genesis of a blog post...

I have been asked more and more questions since I've started blogging:

1) Jake, how is your grammar so amazing and articulate?

2) Jake, how do you come up with all of your clever ideas?

3) Jake, how can I hope to be like you one day?

4) Jake, why do you always smell so good?

The answers:

1) My wife is a grammatical stickler and she, like the rest of her family, will gladly and swiftly shoot down any grammatical error you make and then proceed to berate you incessantly until you are nothing more than a shell of your former self.

2) Take a walk in my shoes for a day or two. It's not that hard to come up with a topic.

3) That bar is too high. Aim lower.

4) Vanilla body spray.

In all seriousness, one of the things I have had people say to me since I've started blogging is that they do enjoy reading my posts and some have indeed questioned how I write the way I do. The secret? There is none. I typically will just get the urge to write about something, then think about it for a few minutes, and then I just sit down and type. And after I'm done, I will publish the first draft of it. Forget proofreading or editing or saving drafts and what not. All of my editing is done by me reading the post a few days later (I love laughing at my own jokes) and finding errors or having my adoring public point out glaring infractions.

So I really don't put a whole lot of effort into my posts. However, I'm glad most of you seem to enjoy them, and to be honest, I'm liking it more than I thought I would. I recently looked at the stats and I now have over 1,000 views of my page. I thought that was kind of cool. But you shouldn't be reading these next couple of days anyhow. The weather is gonna be in the lower 70's and everyone should be outside. But if you happen to sneak a peak, well, I'm OK with that.

Thanks for reading all!

Just be the better person...

Spring seemingly has sprung! For the first time in years, here in MN we had a true winter. 100+ days of the snow pack, and we are all antsy to see it leave. Today the temp topped out close to 60 degrees, and with the fact that I was cooped up all day at work (which is in the basement of a hospital with no windows), I was ready to be outside. More specifically, the roads have been drying out nicely with the recent warm weather, and the conditions have turned favorable for bike riding again. Even though I have been dealing with a bad back for a while now, I decided to suck it up and go for a ride when I got home. So while Elli went running, Dav and I went over to Erik's and picked up some essentials to get the bike ready for a spin.

I was suited up and on the road by about 6:30 or so. I was almost hit by my first car of the season about 4 minutes later.

Now brace yourself, because I'm gonna stir up the old argument about where cyclists should be on the road. In MN, it is LAW that we be on the road. If there is an available shoulder, meaning that little stretch of pavement separated from the main road by a white line, we CANNOT ride on the walking path. That's why they are called walking paths. "But Jake, don't I see people riding on the Gateway trail or the Bruce Vento trails?" Yes, yes you do. However those are different from the paths that line Lexington and even Hwy 96. Those have been widened and built for use by both walkers and cyclists. The thing to take away from this paragraph is not only do we have a right to be on the road, in most cases, the law requires us to be there.

OK, now that I have all you non cyclists heated up and swearing under your breath and muttering all kinds of nasty things, I concede there are plenty of law breaking cyclists out there. First and foremost, many of us cyclists, even the ones all decked out in fancy bike attire and having freshly shaved legs, blow through a stop sign from now and then. Personally, I make a point to at least come to a almost complete stop every time. While I don't put a foot down each and every time, I never blow through a red sign or light. Lots of cyclist do, and if they do, you have every right to honk at them or yell at them. Not only is it not safe for everyone involved, it's illegal. Technically we are a motor vehicle, so we have to abide by the same laws of traffic signals. This means stop at red, go at green. If there is no one around, and I have double checked, then yes, I roll through a stop sign every now and then. But you never do that in your car right?

Now, how about the most irritating one, and the one that I hear griped about on both sides of the coin many times over. The group of cyclists riding in a pack all over the road. First, the law. By MN statue, we cyclists have a right to ride 2 abreast in the bike specific lane, i.e. shoulder of the road. I readily admit, unless there are just 2 cyclists together, this rarely, if ever, happens. When Ian and I go ride, we make a very pronounced point to follow the law. Hardly ever do we ride side by side. But many cyclists do, and it sucks. It impinges on traffic flow, it's unsafe, and it's just downright rude of them. But sometimes, there is justification for not riding right on the shoulder of the bike lane. Now before you start spewing your venom again about getting the hell off of your road, let me just say again there is JUSTIFICATION, but that doesn't make it right, it's just reasoning for why it's simply not feasible to ride right on the side of the road. For starters, especially this time of the year, there is a lot of sand and other hazards piled up on the side of the road that make running skinny tires through at a high rate of speed not possible. We try to avoid that because we want to remain upright. Glass and sand on the side of the road are hazards to us, and much like when you are driving your car, you want to avoid hazards so you move over. Personally, and I know a lot of cyclists who do this, we will try and get back on the side of the road as quickly as possible. But sometimes the sand trail goes on for a few miles. Secondly, we live in MN, the land of potholes. They are in the middle of the road, and they also occur at the side of the road. You think hitting one of those bad boys with your car sucks, try smacking one going 20 mph on tires pumped up to 120psi and see if you don't knock a few teeth out. My point here is that sometimes we don't see things until we are right up on them, and at that point we swerve out of the way so that we don't go flying over the handle bars and eat some asphalt.

There are plenty of bad cyclists out there. Those that feel that they are entitled to the road just because they are on a bike give those of us who are responsible riders a bad rap. But if you're coming up to us in a car, or even one of those jackasses ignoring you and riding right in the middle of the road, I implore you to just be the better person, wait a few seconds for an opening, and then give a very wide space as you pass. I don't care if you scowl or give us the finger or roll down your window and yell obscenities. Just please give the cyclists room. They may not deserve it, but god forbid they hit a pot hole or something forces them unsuspectingly into your path. You have a thousand pounds of metal, we have 20 lbs of carbon fiber. You're gonna win that meeting. Everytime.

Still not convinced? Then think of it this way: If something happens to me out there, Elli is widowed and Daven is young enough that he won't remember what his Dad was like. This situation will be true for thousands of other cyclists who have families.

Be the better person. Whether or not we deserve it, just give us some room. That's all I ask.

The Indignity of Car Window sticky thingys...

I was driving along a few weeks ago, and happened to notice that the car next to me had one of those old school stuffed animal cling things that you put up on your car window. Are they supposed to be decorative or annoying? Because I find them to be the latter, but I may be the only one. And isn't it illegal to have things hanging around obstructing your field of vision while driving? Next time I'm gonna do my civic duty and run them off the road and place them under citizen's arrest.

Anyhow...

As I said, I was driving along, noticed said fellon driving illegally with clingy, and instantly noticed it was Yoda. Everyone knows Yoda. If you don't know Yoda, then you are either brain damaged, or you have been raised under a rock. I mean seriously, my wife instantly knows who Yoda is and she is about as clueless with pop culture as you can get. But it got me thinking. All these clingy things are always some well known character. This one happened to be Yoda. Others I have seen have included an array of Sesame Street characters, Garfield, Peanut characters, etc... And all of them have had the characters name written on them.

Seriously people. You look dumb enough with the thing stuck on your window, but you're even dumber looking having one that has some of the most recognizable entities in the entire world with a name tag on it.

Stop it. All of you.

P.S. Welcome to the world Oliver Heggem!!!