How do model train stores stay in business anyway? I passed one just down the road from "Rick's Discount Groceries." I guess there are enough people who want to eat cheap groceries that these places can do well. Maybe I will open a chain of "Discount Fire Extinguisher and Smoke Detector" stores.

It would be really cool if this guy would finish writing this book. Handyman Home Page Although I've found it extremely helpful to my endeavors so far.

I've decided to go ahead and use the company logo (yawn) for the van. I need to show Jim that his logo really does suck and that he should have it professionally re-done. How many effective logos can you think of that use 5 colors and 5 different fonts? Also, a wood handled hammer is so blase.

Advertising is key in this business. I am going to call the Observer to see what kind of regional (ZIP targeted) media they have. I need something that targets south Charlotte in particular.

I did get a call from Dave Ham for some under-deck improvements. Thank you Shannon for the referral!

GRAND OPENING WEEK

This week is the official grand opening of Classic Handyman Charlotte. I am still working the kinks out of the advertising. It seems like nobody wants to put stickers on my van!

On the other hand, USPS is doing great in the Tour so far!

My own triathlon training could be better. My sleep hours are too irregular along with my eating.

[ Thu Apr 10, 10:45:35 AM | Eric Banks | edit ]
BIKE LESSON #2

Michael E crashed hard on Saturday morning. Now he needs the following: New helmet, new shoes, new fork, new shorts, new jersey, and new skin on his back. It's amazing how much momentum a 150 lb body has at 30 mph. I mean that from the standpoint of just how much friction is required to stop such a body in motion. I am sure the dog he hit won't be chasing any more bikes for awhile.
[ Fri Apr 04, 07:43:59 AM | Eric Banks | edit ]
BIKE LESSON #1 (From two days ago.)

I almost crashed my bike this afternoon. I was coming down a hill in Percy Warner Park (by the driving range) and was going faster than I realized. Today's lesson is "Always pay attention to the road when speeding at 35 mph down an unfamiliar hill." You never know when the road is going to turn suddenly and it is surprising how long it takes to stop a bike (probably due to the tiny brake pads and tire contact patches.) I remember thinking (as my front tire left the pavement) that "This is going to hurt." Luckily I rolled through some gravel and into some high grass without a lot of ruts. I was able to stay upright and finally stop. It was reminiscent of Jan Ullrich's off-road excursion while racing Lance Armstrong in the TdF of 2001, except he rode off the side of a mountain at 40+ mph.

[ Fri Apr 04, 07:31:48 AM | Eric Banks | edit ]
Ran 5 miles last night. My lower legs are really sore. I wonder if the my new Asics 2080's are to blame? I have also been running harder though. I am going to switch back to the Nike Air Max's and ease up a bit to see if the pain eases.

JT park triathlon is coming up on May 3. I still need to lose about 10 lbs so that I won't be humiliated by Andy. I have a brick bike/run on Saturday I am looking forward to. Except for biking alone. I feel much safer in a group but my plane doesn't get into Charlotte until about 10 am. Everyone has usually gone by then.
[ Thu Apr 03, 03:21:31 PM | Eric Banks | edit ]
Well this is my first post to my new Triathlon-only blog. Yippee!

CLASSIC HANDYMAN CHARLOTTE DEPLOYMENT

The office location saga continues. I need to find a space for the business. The dilemma is choosing between retail space in a great location and office space in a not-so-great location. I cannot find any precedent to justify placing a handyman business in a retail strip mall. There seem to be a lot of benefits such as:
1. Spillover traffic
2. Proximity to the home center
3. Visibility to potential customers and employees
4. Amenities for employees (neighboring restaurants, etc.)

But the handyman business is a business of taking care of a home's to-do lists. It is more than repair and maintenance of one singular small job. The opportunity is to provide comprehensive home management services, a services portfolio if you will. Also, the nature of the office functions are:
1. Job dispatch center
2. Planning/scheduling center
3. Small workshop
4. Minimal inventory
5. Disposal of removed/replaced items.
6. Personnel interviewing and training

So, the question remains "Is there a tangible benefit from location in a retail strip center?" Also, "What are the drawbacks to location in a strip mall?"

The drawbacks include:
1. Cost ($1500/month)
2. Having to configure space that was set up for a product delivery business.
3. No covered vehicle parking.
4. Problems disposing of waste
5. Possible noise to the neighbors
6. Distractions

CLASSIC HANDYMAN CHARLOTTE

I spent today with a commercial real estate broker checking out properties from uptown to Pineville. Couldn't really find the right combination of facility with good frontage. The best place I found was in a bad part of town where I will get no walk-ins. But it was cheapest ($750) and allowed a sign with frontage on I-77. Still, I think I need some kind of warehouse space in a better part of town. Today I will look down in Pineville near Hebron Road.

JOHN TANNER SPRINT TRIATHLON RESULTS

I did the JT sprint tri as a kind of warmup race before the big one (Blackwater Eagleman) on 6/8/03. My results were not very impressive. Basically, I blew it on all 3 segments, but especially on the run. My run pace was 9:01 although I know it was about 8:36 on the first, flat, mile. So the last two miles were even worse. I probably lost about a good minute getting into my bike shoes, which I had clipped onto my pedals. I actually had to stop after leaving the transition area, unclip, put the shoes on, then clip back in. The swim was crowded and I could never really get into a rhythm because I kept running into bodies. The bike course was hilly and I really felt the pounds I haven't lost yet. All in all it was a mediocre performance at best but I know what I need to work on for Blackwater.

GEMS FROM MASH

"I'm sick of hearing about the wounded. What about all the thousands of wonderful guys who are fighting this war without any of the credit or the glory that always goes to hose lucky few who just happen to get shot." ....Frank Burns

"Frank, it's after six, you can stop being snotty!" Henry Blake

"We all know it's brutal up there at the front, especially those of us at the rear" Frank Burns

"You've gotta understand I'm not working on sick people here. I'm working on hurt young people, with essentially healthy bodies that have been insulted by ammunition." BJ

"I'm a life long Anglophile. England is still the only place I know where any young man can grow up to be the Queen." Hawkeye

"I've got a soft spot for Klinger. He looks a little like my son, and he dresses a lot like my wife." Col. Potter

"I've eaten a river of liver and an ocean of fish! I've eaten so much fish, I'm ready to grow gills! I've eaten so much liver, I can only make love if I'm smothered in bacon and onions" Hawkeye

MY RESPONSE TO "ONE COUNTRY SHOULD NOT GO AGAINST WORLD OPINION AND INVADE ANOTHER ONE"

The ideal situation would be for the world body (UN or whomever succeeds them) to enforce their own resolutions. Then one country will not have to
take matters into their own hands. The reality is that other interests, primarily economics, dictate political policy. That reality is why we will
not intervene in Zimbabwe. The other reality is that dictatorships, as a form of government, actually function well from an economic standpoint.
That is another argument, however.

The so-called "pacifists" are great at identifying dictators around the world. They are great at convening, complaining, and issuing edicts and
sanctions. They are terrible at enforcement. Sanctions do not work because smugglers always find ways around them. I saw a looter driving a brand new
Iraqi Government BMW 730i in Baghdad yesterday. Danke Schoen!

Accusing George Bush of being an idiot may make for good jokes, but be serious. He does not act alone any more than Saddam would. He is the point
man for a circle of advisors and policy-makers that truly set the course for US policy. Bush is more like the CEO of a company. He is the 1st US
President with a business degree (MBA) as opposed to a legal background. He runs the country like a business. He filled the key positions with
competent people (Cheney, Bush, Rice) and trusts them to do what is right. He demands loyalty and professionalism.

The fact that there may not be actual WMD's in Iraq is completely irrelevant. The vision of our leaders is one of a democratic Middle East.
How we get there may be questionable, debatable, or whatever. However, history will be the judge. What he can't ask is for people to try and use
long-term perspectives on this issue. Because the vast majority of people can't conceptualize the big picture. They say things like "It's for oil" or
"It's for revenge" and that is fine. It is pointless to debate such arguments. Some say FDR let Pearl Harbor happen so that the US would
finally get involved with WWII. A decision like that is "bigger than us." I believe that our leaders, inspired by September 11, are doing something
over there that is again "bigger than us" and that history will show it was the right thing to do.

Here are links to lots and lots of war-blogs. Many are from embedded journalists. It is amazing that all of these front-line reports can convey such a full sense of what is going on. This is in contrast to all the filtered network news reports we can only get on TV.CyberJournalist.net: Iraq Conflict Coverage Weblog -- Great Work Gallery

The Marines have opened up the assault on Saddam Airport. They drove down Saddam Blvd, through the Saddam Gates, past Saddam Stadium, turned left at Saddam Memorial Park, and there it was. Saddam, we like ourselves a little bit much don't we?

BIKE LESSON #1

I almost crashed my bike this afternoon. I was coming down a hill in Percy Warner Park (by the driving range) and was going faster than I realized. Today's lesson is "Always pay attention to the road when speeding at 35 mph down an unfamiliar hill." You never know when the road is going to turn suddenly and it is surprising how long it takes to stop a bike (probably due to the tiny brake pads and tire contact patches.) I remember thinking (as my front tire left the pavement) that "This is going to hurt." Luckily I rolled through some gravel and into some high grass without a lot of ruts. I was able to stay upright and finally stop. It was reminiscent of Jan Ullrich's off-road excursion while racing Lance Armstrong in the TdF of 2001, except he rode off the side of a mountain at 40+ mph.

APRIL FOOL?

I got an email this morning saying drafting is going to be legal at the Hawaii Ironman. Is this an April Fool's joke?

I almost stepped on a snake here in TN last week. I forgot to research what kind it was until now but I think it is a non-venomous TN water snake. Let me just tell you that trying to ID a snake is not real easy.

FRENCH MILITARY VICTORIES (PART II)

This is classic: "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." – Donald Rumsfeld

From NewsMax.com

AT LAST, A GOOD IDEA FROM THE IRAQIS

The Iraqi "leadership" has decided to encourage suicide bombers as one of their last desperate methods to lash out at people who want to liberate them. Wow. Why didn't we think of encouraging them to do this before? I hope a lot of their soldiers decide to take that way out. It will save us some ammo.

This is classic: "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." – Donald Rumsfeld

BACK ON THE HOME FRONT

Daily now we are hearing interviews with families of soldiers killed in action in Iraq. Newspapers are publishing their obituaries in the main section as well. Though heart-wrenching, I think it is important to keep these reports coming. No matter how just, the horrors of war must not be trivialized and forgotten. I only hope our politicians are taking heed of these reports and are as affected by them as I am.

"War is a continuation of Diplomacy by other means." I did not really understand that sentiment until I started tracking geo-political relations in the middle 1990's. War is also not supposed to be an abandonment of rules and guidelines. Wars should be waged according to rules of engagement. Wars are conflicts between governments, not people. When enemy governments like in Vietnam or now Iraq use their own people as combatants, hide military equipment amongst civilians, and commit atrocities to POWS they are showing a complete disregard not only for life but for behaving in a reasonable manner.

FROM THE FRONT

It is amazing to think that soldier's on the front line can instantly report back to friends, relatives, and complete strangers about their experiences.LT SMASH

Day 8 of the war and I am worried that things are going to get much worse for the "coalition" in the near future. The Iraqi's have turned to guerilla tactics, mainly inter-mingling with civilians. How does a conventional army counter such tactics and still play by the "rules of war." Like in Vietnam, how do you fight an enemy that does not play by the rules? How do you protect the civilians while rooting out the combatants? Tough, tough, tough.

51% of Americans believe Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11/01 attacks. Simply amazing. Yahoo! News - THE MORON MAJORITY

SHADES OF "THE ABYSS"

What if the massive sandstorm affecting Kuwait right now is the work of peace-loving extraterrestrials? What if they have been waiting for the prime opportunity to reveal themselves and have realized that showing themselves right now, when the US is on the brink of war, is the only thing that will avert the war. What if that happened? It would usher in a new era for civilization, history, etc. and make us forget about our petty squabbles. As I ponder that scenario I also can't help but wonder what them aliens might taste like? If its chicken I will just flip out!

DID YOU KNOW?
Sixty-seven percent of Americans eat everything on their plates, no matter how much is on it.
-American Institute for Cancer Research

WAR PREPARATIONS UPDATE

The US continues to try and build diplomatic backing for the upcoming war for peace. Yesterday, France rejected a proposal floated by the British even before the Iraqis rejected it. The latest prediction is that the official war will start on the 17th or a week later. On a comical note, the US "Human Shields" who went to Baghdad came home. It turns out that the Iraqis wanted to place them at military installations. The "Shields" thought they could hang out at hospitals or apartment buildings. So let that be a lesson to you....always read the fine print on job applications!

I was working diligently at my cube desk (I work in Dilbert Hell.) A couple of people were waiting for somebody just outside my cube. They noticed a site location plot I have up on my wall. They were discussing how great it would be if they had one. I pretended to ignore them. When they couldn't resist any longer they interrupted me to ask if they could get a copy of my plot. I responded "Who are you people?" Being blunt is great and it certainly takes people by surprise but I don't think it has the effect I want it to. I want people to realize how rude it is not to introduce themselves and explain why they want something before just coming out and asking for it. Especially proprietary information. It turns out they are with a maintenance company that is going to be bidding on a contract with Verizon. I told them no way they are going to get a copy of my map.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

In this world of high speed internet, high resolution videos, and mobile blogging, How come security camera videos still look so horrible? Everytime they show security video from a bank or convenience store robbery I can barely make out the outlines of the people through all the grainy static. What is the deal?

LIFE IN CHARLOTTE

I know Charlotte is a small town. But I just passed a traffic accident at the intersection of Providence Road and Eastover Road and the Mayor (Pat McCrory) was helping out. I didn't realize the budget cuts were so deep!

I drove in yesterday from Nashville. I got here at 10:30 pm after leaving at 2:23 pm local time. I actually saw the sun over Knoxville, TN. I think the last time I saw the sun in the last few months was either in a movie or history book.

I am very upset with whichever Armstrong is responsible for their "trial separation." The story is that Lance's triumph over cancer and his TdF victories were with Kristin's help. Where have our heroes gone?

Saddam said he would rather die than abdicate his "throne." Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Saddam just now realizing that is the whole point? That we want him D-E-A-D?

Write to your Congressman ASAP if you want to keep the wholesome sport of model rocketry alive! Yahoo! News - Explosive Regulations Threaten to Kill Model Rocketry

Dave has some hilarious things to say about Evan, Zora and Nora. Dave Barry's Blog (When he fell asleep it was Norah 48, Oakland 21.)

I am publishing this link as a service to my fellow man. Stop Alien Abductions

I never even knew Octopi liked to eat shrimp! CNN.com - Octopus gets in a twist over shrimp - Feb. 24, 2003

LIFE IN NASHVILLE

Hey what a surprise, it is snowing again in Nashville. This morning a guy driving a Camaro on I-65 starting spinning a few cars in front of me and ended up sideways across two lanes of the interstate. It is always amazing how sometimes people can avoid accidents on an interstate while other people run into parked cars, walls, and other immobile objects.

COOL STUFF MY FRIENDS HAVE DONE

From Andy: "I ate a scrambled egg on garlic toast on the island of Bali. I tried to "date" some local girl but she wanted to get married. Once I bought a sari for some hot chick in Indonesia and I think that we were engaged."

From Praveen: "I did a 20 miles uphill ride from Katmandu to a place called dakshinkalli, they have a temple there where people still do animal
sacrifices."

MISCELLANEOUS
What's going on? Well, I spent the weekend in Nashville, I think it was the second time this year. It was pretty uneventful, just did a lot of introspection. The weather was, in a nutshell, frustrating. It rained all morning Saturday but the temperature was 65 degrees. I decided to escape the rain and catch a movie (Daredevil.) When I exited the movie, it was 45 degrees and still raining. A few hours later it started snowing. Sunday morning, a layer of wet frozen snow was everywhere.

I have a prediction for today. A big fat guy I know tells me every couple of weeks that "I am going to start working out today." Well today is supposed to be one of his starting days. I predict he is going to instead eat a huge plate of cheese fries and watch TV.

The Grammy Awards were on TV last night. Watching award shows is probably just a notch higher than watching "Fear Factor" but I wanted to see a few of the performances. I thought Faith Hill was going to fall apart during her performance of "Cry." Not to mention that her outfit pretty much left nothing to the imagination. Bruce Springsteen hollered his way through "The Rising" which was pretty good. Norah Jones pretty much cleaned up as far as awards go. What was really interesting is all of the highly talented young people making a mark nowadays. John Mayer (16) is an awesome fingerstyle guitarist! Vanessa Carlton is a classically trained pianist. Michelle Branch (19) has a compelling voice and the talent to produce a lot of collaborative hits. Even Eminem, though not my taste, is pretty talented.

Let's see, as of today:

1. 85 people died in a nightclub fire when a pyrotechnic display ignited some flammable insulation. The club had no sprinkler system.
2. Some teachers in Africa were stoned to death.
3. Blood supplies here in TN are at an emergency level.
4. Several burned factory workers desperately need blood at Vanderbilt Medical Center.
5. The US wants to enforce the UN resolutions ordering Iraq to disarm but ignore the ones about Israel vacating occupied land. We also want to dismiss the opinions of the four other permanent members of the security council.
6. The record snowfall in the northeast may melt into a disastrous flood.
7. The best hospital in the country transplanted a heart and lungs with the wrong blood type into a girl. Now she has brain damage.
8. A number of folks were trampled in a nightclub in Chicago.
9. We still don't know why the space shuttle broke up on re-entry.
10. Evan and Zora are apparently on the outs.

Where is my .38?

OK I can ftp pictures to my real site. Here is proof

QUESTION DU JOUR:

I was unable to find a table at the neighborhood Caribou Coffee this morning because every table was occupied by a student of some sort or another. Where did people study before there were coffee shops?

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS A JOKE! (JEEZ ALREADY)
"Saudi Arabian police arrested seven teenage boys for leering at women. In accordance with Saudi law, the boys will be whipped and the women will be stoned to death." ----Tina Fey

NEWS OF THE DAY: Looks like we are a couple of weeks from war. Let's just get it over with. I hope that the Chinese or North Koreans don't decide to attack anyone while we're focused on Iraq. I guess if they were planning anything we would have heard about it by now.