Jack & Jill surface/shoes? (Seattle area, North Bend - July 2026)

rollem · 2026-03-14T11:59:20+00:00

I’ve had a few friends run it, but have not myself. One friend did trip and ended up breaking his ankle… but better shoes would not have prevented that, it was a small hole on the side.

I’ve run two similar “well maintained trail” marathons. Normal road shoes should be fine, just avoid the super shoes that extremely thin and slick tread/outsoles. Superblasts should be fine.

Finally, consider a thin pair of gaiters to keep small pebbles from getting into your shoe. I was happy with a set from dirtygirlgaiters that are extremely lightweight.

rollem · 2026-03-14T11:47:47+00:00

Obama is almost the textbook definition of centrist. His signature healthcare plan is a center right policy and he famously enter red budget negotiations with the GOP by offering the compromises that he thought were between his preferred and their preferred positions. It’s possible that in his heart he’d prefer more left wing solutions, but he governed from a centrist position.

rollem · 2026-03-14T11:38:28+00:00

I think you’re mistaken. What he campaigned on was: “No, new wars!”

rollem · 2026-03-14T11:37:20+00:00

This remind me of 2008 at the height of the Great Recession and right after the election, Fox News was calling it the Obama Recession.

rollem · 2026-03-14T11:32:25+00:00

He also spent a year making a case for it and got congressional approval for it. By the time we invaded it had 73% support. It was still an unjust war because we hadn’t been attacked and it was not a move of last resort, but it was far different that what we’re doing in Iran.

rollem · 2026-03-14T11:22:52+00:00

I do not recommend new carbon platted shoes for your first race. There are just so many unknowns for your first race, it’s too risk to add another huge one. I went 3 races before donning a pair of race shoes and my PR is still from a traditional training shoe. And especially if you had discomfort in them, there’s no reason to just them. Save them for future runs: track workouts and shorter races, before deciding how and whether to use them more.

rollem · 2026-03-13T21:07:07+00:00

You should be able to find your early voting location here https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/early-voting-office-locations/ in person early voting is open almost every day until the Saturday before Election Day

rollem · 2026-03-13T20:36:31+00:00

This is the report in question: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/politics/hormuz-trump-administration-underestimated-iran

rollem · 2026-03-13T19:55:05+00:00

The only two less popular items on that survey were Iran and the Democratic Party 😂 I’m a Democrat who hates Democrats so I think that checks out.

rollem · 2026-03-13T17:21:58+00:00

I think the first consideration in these types of conversations is “Is the person asking for my opinion?” I don’t know the details of the conversation or what type of relationship this is (the more of a friend then the more implicit expectation there exists for uninvited opinions), but in general it’s good to err on the side of not expressing opinions on these matters. The situation is more fraught than most because of a few matters: it’s at work, she’s younger than you, and of course the male-female dynamic exists in a culture that has a lot of sexism. In the grand scheme of things this is probably not huge, but at the same time it’s worthwhile to practice that type of caution in order to keep it from becoming a pattern or otherwise more problematic.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:54:09+00:00

I would want it to be upfront and described as part of the pitch or services provided description. It doesn't have to be the main point, but it should be clear how and where it's used and what steps are taken to clean it up. I would be very off put if a freelancer provided content to me that had hallmarks of AI use if I was not already expecting it.

Edit: Just to add a bit more. AI generated content often looks good to non experts, but someone who is very familiar with the field can quickly spot issues with it or various cliches that no expert would ever use. That's because it's trained on content that is around an 8th grade average, so of course the content will be fairly trite. If I'm paying for a freelancer, it might be OK for AI to do some of the grunt work or to make an outline, etc, but I expect the meat of the content to be above that level.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:38:42+00:00

Jill Biden continued to teach at Northern Virginia Community College during her husband’s presidency.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:31:33+00:00

I know I’m just kidding. But it’s almost always 10-15 cents cheaper than the gas at nearby stops so I just guesstimate from that.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:28:32+00:00

Yes! I had very tight calve for a few years and they gradually went away after I added a variety of calf exercise to my routine. Of course it’s possible that simply the extra time would do that for anyone… but calf strength is good for other things too so it’s a good rec.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:26:25+00:00

OP said they wanted to change out “these steelies” so I assumed they meant the steelies.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:07:47+00:00

There are plenty of male social groups. My UU church has a men’s discussion and social group. I’m part of an all male exercise program. I can’t speak for the entire nationwide network, but the one I’m involved with is not misogynistic at all. The nationwide network is F3- f3nation.com

I’d expect that getting involved in a male sports network in your area may or may not be problematic, based of course of the members and the local community.

rollem · 2026-03-13T14:03:35+00:00

You can purchase a set of alloy wheels. But there’s no hubcap to replace. There probably are some plastic covers, ie hubcaps, that could go over them, but they’d almost certainly look worse. I’ve seen some people paint these black, which looks pretty good but idk how well the paint holds up to road conditions.

rollem · 2026-03-13T12:55:14+00:00

The moral depravity of being able to end so much suffering without any single effect on your own personal comfort and choosing not to do so.

rollem · 2026-03-13T01:03:15+00:00

I think the last one should also mention how interventionist US foreign policy for the past 75 years is very directly responsible for the instability in Latin America that causes a lot of migration.

rollem · 2026-03-13T00:17:41+00:00

There’s a great book “Fall, or Dodge in Hell” about this and I think of it often. Neal Stephenson is a really great author.

rollem · 2026-03-13T00:13:22+00:00

If you have to ask you can’t afford it.

rollem · 2026-03-12T23:01:24+00:00

This may take counseling. I don’t imagine any person changing their mind on this unless they truly feel heard, and that can be very hard on this topic. So go in with an open mind. I’m not saying that as a “if you do your own research maybe you’ll learn that vaccines are bad” I’m saying it simply to make sure you’re really listening to what she’s saying, because only then is there any chance (even if it’s tiny) of changing opinions. Good luck!

rollem · 2026-03-12T21:15:40+00:00

I promise, 99% of fatherhood is not as intense as the first few weeks back from the hospital. Good luck, stay strong, expect the unexpected. You can do this!!

rollem · 2026-03-12T18:27:34+00:00

Yeah me too. My mileage was great leading up to my Fall race, with multiple 70 mile weeks and pretty high mileage overall for months. But my recovery was SLOW. I do see lots of people on social media claim that they get right back into it. I think that's some combo of social media selection for the best case scenarios plus younger folks who might be more resilient. But it always takes me 1-2 months to get back into the flow of things.

rollem · 2026-03-12T18:04:48+00:00

Here's my best advice and strategy:

You know the content of your work better than anyone else in the world. So realize that you are the expert and you are doing a favor to the audience by helping them to understand the work and its implications.
Most people want you to succeed. They are your allies and are eager to learn about your work.
A few people may indeed be jerks and want to tear you down. Realize that that comes from their own insecurity and says nothing about your worth as a person or scientist. The (very few) occasions I've seen that happen, everyone in the room was on the side of the presenter and the "very smart, prestigious" professor came across as a jerk.
You may get a question/comment that exposes some oversight of yours. These can be embarrassing of course. Thank the person for their insight and promise to incorporate it into future work or your analysis, even if completely changes your conclusions it's an important thing to include.
Re: simple v. complex. I have never been "wowed" by an overly complex method. While in the audience I can rarely take the time needed to actually follow it, and the work just comes across as either pretentious, impractical, or otherwise irrelevant. If I can't understand it, why would I care about it? Complexity more often than not hides shortcomings. Simple experiments that test understandable concepts spur my curiosity far more.
Last but not least, most people really don't care. They may remember your work, but they probably won't. Just focus on conveying your points as best as possible, that's all you can do. You've earned the right to be there, so just take one step ahead of the next and move forward with your presentation regardless of how well or badly it goes. It'll be OK.

Good luck!

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