Photography

One of the best things about living in modern times is the ubiquitousness of photography. Digital cameras are excellent and inexpensive, and even telephones are capable of better photos than you could get from your old Instamatics just a few years ago.

So why do I find myself sitting here typing, without the photos I want to use to illustrate my main topics of the day? After all, I possess multiple cameras, a couple of which are pretty high quality -- but none of them do me any good when they're sitting in a bag at home while I'm out and about, wanting to take pictures. Sigh.

Perhaps I'll take some appropriate photos to illustrate my topics in a future post. But the things I wanted to share are these:

For some reason, I've worn the "N" label off the keyboard on both my home and office computer. I know that "N" is a pretty common letter, behind T, S, and R...but the T, S, and R keys appear to be pristeen. What is it, then, about the N that makes it susceptible to typing-driven erosion? I have no idea.

The other news is that I received my Nike "Go the Distance" mesh bag in the mail. It's a nice bag, and I'd love to show you a photo, but you'll just have to take my word for it. I received it as a reward for swimming 250 miles so far in 2012. I'll get a new swimsuit if I make 500 miles by the end of the year. I'd like to do that, but it'll mean increasing my swim yardage significantly throughout the remainder of the year.

Earlier in the year, I was thinking that I'd get a yardage bump from lake swimming during the summer, but it hasn't worked out that way. I've only been out to Chatfield a handful of times. The weather has been a factor, and so has work. There might be a teeny tiny contribution from "laziness", as well, but whatever the cause, the anticipated summer yardage spike hasn't materialized. So, for the rest of the year, I either need to swim more days per week, increase yardage on the days I do swim, or both.

Anyway, the point is that swimming 250 miles is a small price to pay for earning a $9 bag to hold your wet swimming gear. Right?

It's a good program. If you haven't joined "Go the Distance" this year, you should definitely sign up when the next period begins in January, 2013.

OK. I wasn't planning to say anything about it, since it's so obvious...but several people asked me to explain the connection between Jim Phelps and Ben Franklin. (By the way, can anyone explain to me how the smoke coming from inside the tape recorder resulted in the "self-destruction" of the tape itself? I never quite got that.)

Sorry, but the connection is not that Phelps is played by actor Peter Graves, and that Ben is dead, and therefore also in a grave. That's not good Kevin Baconing, since every dead guy would therefore be related to Pete. The real connection is that Peter Graves is the brother of James Arness (aka Matt Dillion, aka CarrotMan from "The Thing"), and the Franklin Mint (which was named after Ben) features a lovely collectible plate featuring Mr. Arness. You may purchase one here.

As for our Olympic graphical challenge, well, people didn't do very well. I'll admit that this one may have been somewhat challenging, especially for the younger folks. But as always, the fact that you tried has stretched and strengthened your brain, and you're a better person for having made the attempt. Right?

Row 1 contains Misty May Treanor, a volleyball star with amazing reflexes and acrobatic ability. Next to her is the perpertually endangered Aunt May Parker, whose nephew is the Amazing Spiderman, who could easily win volleyball gold if he weren't so busy saving the world from Lizards, Octopi, Goblins, and other sundry beasties.

Row 2 features speedy Jamaican Usain Bolt, along with actor Robert Brown in his role as Jason Bolt, the eldest of the Bolt Brothers, who were romantically challenged lumber company proprietors in the TV series "Here Come the Brides". You may also recognize Brown from his Star Trek role as "Lazarus", a questionably-bearded alien who fought an eternal interdimensional battle with his evil doppleganger.

Row 3 features Gabby Douglas, the charismatic Olympic gymnast, and George "Gabby" Hayes, the prototype for the grizzled old coot sidekick that became a staple of cinema westerns. Hayes appeared with Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry, among others, and was the inspiration for the passionate courtroom speech in Blazing Saddles.

On Row 4 we have Katie Ledecky, the gold medalist in the 800m freestyle, and one of my newest swimming heroes. At 15, she was the youngest member of the US Team, and her 'damn the torpedoes' attitude was truly inspiring to watch. To her right is Colorado's own inspiring distance role model, Katie Oglesby. As an ultra-running enthusiast and evangelist, she motivates people by tackling incredibly difficult 100-mile races, and then writing about it in her blog, runlongkatie.com.

And the final row contains hurdler Lolo Jones, and singer Eduard Khil (aka "The Trololo" guy). I don't know why the song that made him famous became known as "Trololo", since it's actual title translates as "I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home", but I do know that if I ever get drunk enough to try karaoke, that's the song I want to sing.

If that ever happens, I'll be sure to remember to take a camera, and then post the video on YouTube. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the Olympics, and have a great day!