Just a quick post to do some updates since I have been sorta lax lately. This pic is from the Alkek Velodrome about a week ago. Pennie and I went to watch the cycling. It was a pretty light turnout so it wasn't terribly exciting.... that is of course unless you count the large dark cloud looming in the background that inched closer until the rain started and the event was cancelled. I figured I would take the picture of Pennie with a huge dark cloud hanging over her head - you never know when it might come in handy. :)



Just this last Sunday, I went to visit Tom (my brother) in the pen. (I can just hear the gasps already - wow, he has a brother in prison!) Yes, Tom is one of my older brothers and he has made a few bad choices in his life - a couple of which were driving while intoxicated and blowing off his probation officer meetings. He is really a good guy and while he wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, I do agree with the policy of cracking down hard on DWI's as they are a danger to innocent people. In any event, Pennie rode with me to Navasota to see Tom (the first time I have ever been to a prison - scary stuff!) but she had to wait outside of the place because she wasn't on the visitation list. After being thoroughly scared stiff by the guards warning that if I am taken hostage, I will not be coming out alive (not sure why it is important to tell people that), I got in to see him. Tom has a bad back so he got himself placed in what amounts to an old-folks home for prisoners - pretty smart move as it is not like the 'gladiator farms' where the young guys are kept. Overall, he seemed in really good spirits and once I got over the paranoia of the guards with the M-16s, it was not that bad. These prisoners are in wheelchairs and moving too slow to take me hostage. Tom was one of the few that really didn't look like he belonged there physically.

This is as close as they would let me get with the camera...

Anyway, pretty exciting stuff...

Well, tomorrow I leave for a week in Salt Lake City for the USANA International Convention. It is going to be non-stop activity as I put the schedule into my Palm Pilot and there is barely time to breathe. I look forward to blogging the days events if I am conscious.
- posted by Chris @ 11:45 AM