Monthly Archives: April 2019

Colorado, Dogs, Exercise, Fort Collins, Horsetooth Half Marathon

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 21ST, APRIL 2019

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“Life is a series of dogs.” George Carlin

“Everyone thinks they have the best dog and none of them are wrong.” W.R. Purche

I used to look at my dog and think “if you were a little smarter you could tell me what you were thinking” and he’d look at me like he was saying “if you were a little smarter, I wouldn’t have to.” Fred Jungclaus

Well, it has been an interesting last two weeks. I had forgotten all the work that goes into raising a puppy from scratch so to speak. Our last dog passed away in August of last year at the age of 12, so we have not had the “young puppy experience” in a while. I would like to say that Janet and I are both feeling a little sleep deprived these last couple of days. Actually that would probably be some what of an understatement. Lol

This is Marvin at 8 – 1/2 weeks.

Marvin, yes we named him Marvin and he has been an an “absorbing” experience so far. But I feel that we are managing for now. We started to watch a series of Dog Training Videos a few weeks before getting him and I think that they have paid off and will continue to do so. It was interesting to see how training has changed over the years. This will be our 6th dog in the last 35 years. Wow! Just thinking about that makes me wonder where did the time go?! Oh well I am getting off track a little bit. More about Marvin, we decided to go with a mixed breed dog this time due to all the continued genetic problems of pure bred dogs. Especially German Shepherds. Marvin is what is know as a King Shepherd. They are a mix of German Shepherd, Alaskan Malamute and Great Pyrenees. Both of his parents, one a King Shepherd and the other a Great Pyrenees, were both tested genetically and received a clean bill of health. I will have Marvin tested by EmBark Vet to see if any significant genetic issues arose in the breeding.

Marvin at 9 – 1/2 weeks. He is making for great “after work” therapy. Lol

Right now as far as training goes, we are really concentrating on socialization. The current or most recent research suggest that this crucial window closes a lot earlier than first expected, some say by 12 weeks. With that said he has been to Old Town in Fort Collins, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Poudre Feed and Seed, Edora Park, Petco, the Vets office and the houses of friends. Also he will start a puppy class next week. One expert in dog behavior said that before 12 weeks your dog should have met and greeted at least 100 different people of all ages and types. That seems a pretty tall order when I think about it. Especially if you are working full time and have a family with children. For us it is not as much of an issue, so far. Lol.

The start of the Horsetooth Half Marathon, April 14th, 2019. This view is looking west toward one of the dams of Horsetooth Reservoir, about 10 minutes before the start of the run.

OK, on to other things. I did my first race of the season. Not an Ultra, that comes later, but a half marathon called the Horsetooth Half. It is a local race and has been held for a number of years. I have done it one time before and thought I would give it another try. We lucked out this year and received beautiful weather for the day. This is a point to point road race and transverse some of the most picturesque scenery around Fort Collins. There is about 1000 feet of elevation gain/loss, but 99% of this is in the first half of the race. Once you are past that half way point it is pretty much downhill all the way to New Belgium Brewing in Old Town, Fort Collins. A very nice course in my opinion.

Horsetooth Half 2019!! One big hill down and a few more to go!!

I felt really good for this race, even being a little sleep deprived with the new puppy. I finished the 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 7 minutes and averaged about 9 minute miles. This was great for me. Much faster than my first time. Lol So maybe all the training is paying off? Oh, I so hope so! Next race is the Quad Rock 50!

More of the Horsetooth Half Marathon. This view is looking North, but further along in the course. Lots of cool rock formations.

I want to give a big Thank You to the Fort Collins Running club for again putting on a fantastic event. And I have to say that the sponsors and volunteers really did a great job of handing out water and making the race fun and entertaining. Without you this event would be just another “run of the mill” half Marathon. For a full list of sponsors and information about the race check out the web site here: https://horsetooth-half.com/

This picture was taken on Monday 15th, April 2019. It is looking West towards the foothills off the Power line trail. Just another beautiful afternoon here in Colorado.

Running this past week has been beautiful. Cold mornings with warmer afternoons. Just fantastic weather and great air quality due a series of small fronts that removed most of the particulate matter from the Front Range.

This picture was taken Tuesday afternoon, April 16th. Again looking West by North West off the Spring Creek Trail here in Fort Collins.

This blog post is going to be a little shorter this time. Marvin is still impinging on sleeping so I do not have as much time to write. The dog training course Janet and I are still watching is from the Great Courses. Pretty good. There are 24 lectures in the Course, each one being about 30 minutes long. We try to watch only one each night to help absorb all the information. I would also suggest to get the course book to help with going over certain concepts in the video lecture. Once we go through the entire series we plan to watch it a second time just to help with retention. So far things seem to be going along really well. You can find the link here: https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/show/dog_training_101

So that is about it for me. I hope to get more sleep this next week!! Lol. Oh well – still need to get in running in preparation for the Quad Rock in May. It is only about 3 week away. So if I am going to lengthen my distances a little more, I need to do it in the next week and then start the taper so I am fully rested on race day. I think that I will leave you with one more picture of a Colorado afternoon. They have been beautiful. Take care my friends and maybe I will see you out there on the trail. Adios amigos!!

This picture was taken Saturday, April 20th, 2019. Looking West by North West. It was a little cloudy this afternoon. But the temperatures were in the high 70s with a light wind. Just beautiful.

Dogs, Exercise, Psychology, Religion, Science, Sociology

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 7TH, APRIL 2019

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“Science is different to all the other systems of thought… because you don’t need faith in it, you can check that it works.” Brian Cox

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.” Joseph Campbell

“Big History studies the history of everything, offering a way of making sense of our world and our role within it.” David Christian

Dang what can I say, it has been another great 2 weeks and I cannot complain too much! I always laugh at that. Truly, living here in Fort Collins and being healthy enough to do the things that I do. Wow!! There are so many circumstances, situations, decisions, people, etc.. that I am grateful for. As I have gotten older, it has become readily apparent that things could have gone a much different path in so many ways. I think that a lot has to do with just plain dumb luck. Being in the right place at the right time. Of course some things could have gone better. There are times we all wish we could have done something different, or handled a situation a little better. But right now, at this moment, things are pretty awesome.

This picture was taken Wednesday 27th, March 2019. It is looking North across Horsetooth Lake. Here you can see clouds building in due to an approaching spring storm. It was a beautiful afternoon of trail running. The temps were in the 50 to 60 range.

Came across an article the other day called “Why we need a modern origin story today.” This article was written by David Christian. He is the guy that has become notable for pushing and teaching the discipline called “Big History.” And I have to say that this was the first time I have ever really looked at the concept. I mean history is history right? I know that it is open to interpretation and all, but still what is the difference between “Regular History” and the concept of “Big History.” So I dived into it and found that it looks at a much broader picture of things. It starts at the Big Bang and goes forward. It explores all of our history and not just the last 5000 years. It is a blending of a multitude of different fields, physics, geology, chemistry, astronomy, biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc…. I mean you could pretty much say it is a history of everything, but on a much grander time scale. Big History focus on the Universe and how humanity fits into this framework and the not the other way around.

This picture was taken Thursday 28th, March 2019. Here I am looking North from the top of Horsetooth Mountain Park. Again another beautiful day. The only fly in the ointment was the air quality. It could have been a little better. The winds were from the east and there is a lot of oil and gas development in Weld County, over 20 thousand well heads. Combine this with the sheer volume of transportation traffic and it does degrade the air quality quite a bit. Compare this picture with the above picture that was taken the day before. The dullness in the bottom one was due to front range smog.

I have the firm belief that Big History is what needs to be taught in schools. And one way I see doing this is by changing our “Origin Story.” We need a modern one. There has been so much knowledge gained in the twentieth century that there is an increasing need to see and teach how it all fits together. Thinking about when some of the current religions were laid down a few things become readily apparent. Foremost in my mind, we really did not know that much about the world around us and almost nothing about the Universe out past earth. That has changed and will continue to do so at an every expanding rate. Don’t believe me. Just start following Physics.org. https://phys.org/ Heck you don’t even have to read the articles. Just follow it and see how much stuff comes out each day, each week. Unreal the rate of learning/change going on in the world today. There is no way the “old religions” can keep up. Thinking that they can is hubris on all our parts. There is an old saying that as our tools change, so does our reality. And let me tell you, our tools have changed.

This picture was taken Friday 29th, March 2019. Again, wow!! What a difference a day makes. The storm dumped some much needed moisture, but was short lived. Most of the snow was gone by mid-morning the next day. This picture is looking east from a deck over the garage of our house.

So to put this all together, to deal with the increasing complexity of the world, we need a modern origin story. A way to help people and especially young people get a sense of what their position is in the grander scheme of things when it comes to humanity and our place in the Universe. Doesn’t that sound strange, “Our place in the Universe” and not the other way around? The time for the “Egocentric View” is past. We need an origin story that is “science based” and not one that is still, please excuse the expression, “magical zoo boat thinking.” Does this mean we need to throw everything out with the old religions? I for one don’t think so. I believe that just like any good parable or story, there are some great things to be learned in the old mythologies. After all they have been modified over thousands of years to help explain human nature and behavior. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel to teach the same thing. The question becomes, why not incorporate some of this hard earned knowledge into a Science Base Origin story?

This picture was taken on Monday 29th, March 2019. What a beautiful day. Fantastic air quality along the Front Range of Colorado. Here I am looking North, by North East from atop Authors Rock in Lory State Park.

Let’s face it. Are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist, etc… ever going to get together on a consistent basis around the proverbial campfire, holding hands and singing Kumbaya? Really?! I think that most of you will agree with me that it might happen every now and then but on a consistent basis? Hell, look at all the death and destruction just in the Muslim world over Islam. You could say the same about Christianity and the other religions at different times. As the world becomes more and more complex, as science advances forward, the only way I can see humanity surviving is by working together and the first step in doing this is creating a Modern Science Based Origin Story. And teaching Big History is the first step. We need, for lack of a better phrase, a Universal Belief System, that is based in Scientific fact, that is changeable as new data is obtained and analyzed. So that people from around the world, in very different cultures, will be able to connect, cooperate and strive toward the betterment of humanity. Instead of subjugating and killing each other over frivolous, make-believe superstitions.

This picture was taken on Wednesday 3rd, April 2019. Here I am looking West by North West from an Open Space in Fort Collins called Prospect Ponds. Truly just a beautiful afternoon. Enough wind in the area to keep the air fresh, but not too much to make it chilly.

Wow! I just reread this and I am amazed how strongly I believe in this view?! What is that about?? So enough! I know that I might have offended a few that are very religious, but that was not my intent. I just want you to question the status quo.

Please do a Google and YouTube search if you are interested about the concept of Big History. I think you will find it is well worth your time and effort.

This picture was taken on Sunday 28th, March 2019. A soon to be new family member!! No, no I am talking about the puppy and not Janet. LOL I am thinking that we are going to be a little extra busy in the next couple of weeks.

Time to post a puppy picture!! It was taken at Balto Farms near Boulder. They breed King Shepherds among other things. Check them out at: https://www.7957farm.com/ or https://www.7957farm.com/kings and you can find them on Facebook at Colorado King Shepherds.

Looks like the ski season is going to be extended this year thanks to mother nature. And that is a very good thing. Hope to see you out there, either on the ski slope or running on the trails. Take care my friends. And if your trail running, watch for snakes and cats. It is the season. Adios!!