guilty by association

It's not often that you something or someone and pipe up with "hey, I know him!". Unless you're from a huge metropolis it's not often you can point to X and say they're from your hometown. Omaha leads one to Malcolm X and Gerald Ford's birthplace. A sort of association with Johnny Carson comes to mind. More importanly to me is that the Saddle Creek Record label has taken Omaha to the front of the music world. (And by important I don't belittle Mr. X...just how my life is affected.) Now (again) we get to claim Mr. Buffett and his forward thinking. I read the article in Time about the Gates Foundation, Bono, Buffett, and the meeting in Omaha earlier this year...and so wanted to be a part of what's happening. Funny how you can curse Bill Gates' business practices and suddenly throw out some forgiveness because the man and his wife are contributing $40 billion to the world. ($40 BILLION) That money is not going to symphonies, museums, Harvard University... but to the World. With his mindless need to succeed it can only do good. Now Buffett is on board and pushing $1.5 billion a year in contributions to solve AIDS, malaria, other diseases, American inner city shortages, and the mankind that needs help. It's not a half-hearted effort...the rules are strict, and money will be dispensed. There is no bad side to this. As I type on my Apple I've got to say that I truly hope the competition amongst the money becomes something like "taking the great wealth of the world and doing good". I can see what I want to do...maybe no monetary but with time. Apparently Buffett said during his news conference that his kids would have enough money, but not too much. He said something like, "They'll have enough to to anything they want, but not enough to do nothing." I think we rarely find someone of his mind. Well done.

really running

My first input from the South...not the Deep South, but the South nonetheless.

If you know what 'business casual' means than this will be VERY funny. If not, maybe it'll seem off-the-path. Washington D.C. (and it's warm cloak of suburbs) is strictly business casual dress tossed gently with piles of unidentifable laminate badges. The badge things is funny because it reminds me of a salad full of unnamed types of greens. Is that chicory? What's that, spinach? Hey, you're arrugula! Why do people wear badges after they've left work...or on their way to work? If I can see something around your neck it better be one of two things: a Metro SmartTrip card or a monthy bus pass. Nothing screams dolt quite like the "Department of Homeland Security" all-access Van Halen pass.

Oh. The point. Coming. I ride the bus on days that I'm too tired to ride the bike (take the 23A from Ballston Common to Tyson's Center/Westpark Transit Center...preferably the 6:06am). I admit that maybe I'm in the minority here, but if I think I'm late for my bus....if I can see my bus, then I need to effing RUN! Not some half-hearted business casual trot...but a RUN! Follow me here. I"m talking about tie flapping over your shoulder. You're running late and you see your bus sitting at the transit corner; here are your options: run like a madman to catch it, or, just be cool and walk your merry way along. Anything in between is just a pallid effort to make everyone think you're so important that you need to....trot. I want to see some dude in business casual hauling the groceries (fast!) to the bus. Really running. Christine claims she saw some guy in the Metro just hell bent for leather one day; trucking to the train; his wallet popping out of his pants as he ran. Solid! Someone called out that his wallet was on the floor and he stopped like a cartoon character...ran back, skidded to a stop, grabbed his wallet, said thanks....and proceeded to haul ass to the train. That's my guy. RUN!

It's been wet. It's deathly humid.

My two pimps for this post: Neil Young's new CD and Unity08.com

Peace

Todd