Bikes and Fall

As many of you know, I've been an avid biker for a while now. I try to do about 200 miles a week as a way to stay fit and sane. Fall is my favorite time to hit the rural bike trails. Not only does the color start to pop around now, but there is just a great quality of light. I snapped this picture early in the morning west of Blue Mound on the Military Ridge Trail.

I like having my camera with me because it seems I'm always seeing something worth recording when I'm passing the world by at about 14mph. This morning featured that certain quality of light you only see in fall. It was a magical sight and the camera was able to capture it for the most part.

I've been doing a bit more road riding than I usually do these days as I just got a new road bike after wearing my 14-year-old Trek out. I replaced it with another Trek which is far more advanced. It's got many carbon components and can really scream. I still have my trail bike which I use on the dirt courses around here.

Happy cycling this fall. It works, I'm down 162 pounds as of today.

JT Does It Again

Sweet baby James does it again with his new release "Covers." This guy just keeps getting better and better with age. This album features covers of older songs, but the arrangements that Taylor comes up with keeps them fresh as a daisy.

One of the reasons this disc sounds so good is the way it was recorded. There is no over-dubbing which means everything was recorded "live" in the studio. It's music recorded as it's played instead of a bunch of studio magic imposed on the original tracks. This recording method really makes the disc pop. The entire CD was recorded at Taylor's studio in Western Massachusetts.

As usual Taylor has a bullet-proof band of some of the best studio side players in the world. This disc would be a great addition to your collection.

It was released today on the Hear Music label.

Oh Baby

Interesting story out of the Republican camp today. It turns out that Sarah Palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. The proud grandparents to-be announced that Bristol Palin will have the baby and marry the 18-year-old father. They also announced that Bristol will have their unconditional love and support and that's good too.

When asked about this turn of events, Mr. Obama said that families are "off-limits" in the campaign and he would not be commenting. I certainly understand his reluctance, but I couldn't disagree more. Once a candidate uses the family members for political gain, I feel he or she has then injected them into the political process. When Michelle Obama opens the Democratic Convention she then becomes fair game. When the Obamas decide to trot their children out on stage, they have made the decision to use their family for political gain.

When Sarah Palin decided to make her all-American family part of the campaign, she opened the door to those family members being scrutinized.

In the case of her pregnant daughter, I'm glad that they will support her. But what happens in the thousands of cases where the parents can't or won't support the child? That responsibility falls back on the society as a whole in many cases. I think his would be the perfect opportunity to discuss the many programs that the Republicans have cut that are designed to reduce unwanted teen pregnancies and provide for children in the aftermath. I wonder if Ms. Palin and her GOP buds will be champions of these costly social programs.

Will this girl now serve as a role model for other teens? Will she be the poster child for having a baby when you are still in high school without consequence because either your parents or the state will step in to get you that unconditional support?

I couldn't disagree with candidate Obama more. Not only is this an issue for the campaign, but it's an issue for society at large. Oh baby!