Of Gum, Skating and Nuclear Power Plants

How do people convince themselves that it is both acceptable and appropriate to spit their gum into a drinking fountain and leave it there? And similarly, on the little shelf in the showers at the gym. What gives?

Speed skating is by far the coolest looking Olympic sport. Of course, watching it includes all of the same appeal that one finds with Nascar. That's not a complement. Although, graciously, it's somewhat more abbreviated. And the viewership demographic probably skews considerably less towards redneck, pickup trucks, overalls, missing teeth and beer.

Besides, just like with all sports, considerable time can be saved by just reviewing the end result on the day following the event. I wonder how much weight is on their inside hands.

I love ice skating but I prefer roller skating (with quads; and I have this beautiful pair of Riedell speed skates, which, I just noticed, have gone up in price by $160 since I bought mine some years ago; strange.), but the ice skating rinks don't make you play limbo and skate to that grotesque Downtown song.

I suspect that roller skating rinks would find a business up-side to ceasing their decades-long endeavor of appealing strictly to eight-year-old kids. Just a guess though. When they all finally go out of business I'll have to subject those wheels to concrete. Or build my own rink. Next to the pool house, of course.

We're going to get two nuclear power plants in Georgia. And not just any nuclear plants: the first two new nuclear plants in the US in decades. Exciting. They'll be in Burke County - which is, I'm pleased to see, something around 150 miles from Atlanta. No immediate need to be concerned about sterilization.

Lastly, this guy is insane. Watch the video about his custom-constructed, redbull-funded, snowboarding half-pipe in Colorado.