Elections Matter

This is my quick take on what just happened over in Europe.  There were elections held most notably in Greece and France that resulted in the ousting of the political leaders who negotiated most of the reforms that or attempted reforms that you may have heard about in the news.  Anytime you heard the word "austerity" you were probably hearing about something coming out of Europe.  I won't pretend to truly know what I'm talking about but this is my take on what I think is happening.  Prior to the formation of the Eurozone most of the countries in Europe maintained relatively liberal fiscal policy when it came to things like education, healthcare, and just social services in general.  This was great but most of it was bought using borrowed money, similar to how the US operates now.  Then they thought, wouldn't it be great if we could have a credit card with a bigger limit.  With the Euro that is what they got.  Then 2008 happened and they suddenly realized they were going to start having a problem paying the minimum payment.  This is when the dreaded austerity word first reared it's ugly head.  The good people of Europe were going to be forced to "cut back"?  What?  Cut back, what does that mean?  Like a teenager who just got their cell phone taken away they rebelled.  The leaders were the parents and the populace was the child.  Only in this case the teenager is allowed to vote out his parents and replace him with one of his friends.  In the hopes of what I wonder?  That the money for their socialist paradise will magically appear and everything will go back to how it was?  I would like to think that the people aren't really that dumb and that this election was merely their way of saying,"hey times are tough and somebody's gotta get fired".  I get that.  I have a feeling that situation isn't going to get any better.  This all goes back to what I've been saying for a long time.  You can't take stuff away from people.  Do it, or try to do it, and you are gone.

Train Ride

It is bugging me that I didn't run this morning.  Feels good that it is in my head now.  Need to run.

Wouldn't this be a pleasant way to spend a ride on a commuter train?

A Groove of Toughness

I used to listen to the Jim Rome show all the time.  It's a sports talk radio show.  One of the guests he had on many years ago was this exNavy SEAL who wrote a self help book and hosted a tv show.  One of the things he said that Jim used to repeat was that you should take a cold shower every morning to "cut a groove of toughness in your brain".  That sounds pretty awesome doesn't it.  It sounds awesome, but would you actually do that?  Would you do it even once, on purpose?  I've been starting to transition away from doing my circuit workouts lately and started doing a lot more running.  Since I have to take Sydney to school I really only have about 20 minutes to run so I try to run fast.  Afterward, I have 10 minutes to cool down, eat, get dressed, and get out the door.  Lately, I have started taking that infamous cold shower to try and cool myself down faster.  Whoa boy, that is not fun.  It definitely works but for the first minute or so I feel like it is taking my breath away.  Feels good though, and I'm not a sweaty mess as I'm driving Sydney to school.  Groove of toughness?  Well we'll see.