Have you seen the new Web site of the Week?

Can we get a ban the standing Ovation?

We went to see the Floyd Landis thing.

I thought it would be a train wreck, but it was a lot more fun and funny than I thought it would be, even though no one asked anything about the doping scandal, and Brendan and I got peer-pressured into a standing O.

As a side note--I hate the standing ovation. When I was in high school, the standing ovation happened all the time, but I think that's to be expected because the audience is entirely made up of your friends and family. (And also we, like, totally deserved them.)

But, now the standing ovation has become this completely awkward social exchange. And, it seems like for every sub-par professional performance I see, an eighth of the audience feels they deserve a standing ovation...and then another eighth are the easily-led. Then you're stuck with this awkward 1/4 of the audience who has to stare at the ass of the person in front of them...so they stand up. And then the rest of us...who really think the performance wasn't worthy of this kind of accolade...feel the pressure to stand...because if you don't, it's like you're making a political statement that they absolutely DO NOT deserve a standing ovation.

In the case of Floyd Landis, without the doping scandal, he absolutely served the standing ovation. But, you can't just sit there and pretend that isn't going on...and the only evidence at this point is saying he cheated. So, applause fine...but come on.

I still really want to believe that he's getting framed or some such thing. That some bitter french man poured some of his extra testorone into his pee cup while twisting his handlebar mustache, and saying, "Savoir-faire eez everywhere!"

But, come on.

Training Time

You probably don't want to hear how I ran 7 miles on Monday night and that Brendan ran 16...and our legs hurt (his hurt more--about twice as much, I'd say). Brendan rode 100 miles last weekend! (He's really stealing my thunder with this Ironman thing.)

We've been traveling up to Madison the past few weekends so Brendan can test-ride/train on the actual course of the IMOO or Madison Ironman...but between my "reorganizing attempt" in the house, and his assumption that everything lives in the trunk, we forgot his helmet and shoes. Aargh. That might not seem like a big deal, but on 100 mile bike ride on an open road...kind of important...and expensive. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

So, while he was getting shoes and riding all over Wisconsin, I was sitting in the hotel lobby hoping to see Lance Armstrong (and possibly his BFFs) b/c the Trek Bike Sales Meeting/Conference was in our hotel. (Trek is a major sponsor of Team Discovery--which Lance is now part owner of or something.) But...nothing. No Matthew McConaguhey (I know that's misspelled, but geez dude, get an easier name) not even a George Hincapie. But lots of guys with shaved legs and heads. Kind of like that 1st Apple Computer commercial with the 1984 theme.

And then when we got back, after we picked him up from the kennel, apparently Napoleon puked a sea of vomit all over our drapes, the window sill, the floor...AND had diarrhea.

Thankfully I had already gone to work, so Brendan had to clean it up. Picture it. It's sort of funny when you imagine the swearing that must have been involved.

Seriously, this is the kind of stuff we've been up to.