Too hot to ride in the middle of the day

As I prepare this post we have passed the normal close of business for today without any agreement having been reached on the state budget impasse. No agreement means the government will shut down at midnight. It also means that I have several friends looking at unscheduled time off from their regular employment.

So I am going to go ahead and depart from my usual bicycling only blog and go ahead with some politics.

But bicycle first, it is hotter than Hades out there today. I took the precaution of riding early in the day. I waited until 8am to give most of the commuting types time to clear the roads. I ride early in the morning several times per year but this is really the first time I have done so this year. The light . . . the light is amazing. Anybody who doesn't like morning is missing out big time on the best time of the day (that's you TOPWLH). I was home by about 10:30, in plenty of time to watch the important group stage game at the Women's World Cup between France and Canada.

Les Bleus 4, Maple Leafs 0. Allez les Bleus.

By 10:30 the heat was definitely beginning to rise but it was still comfortable enough. I had a great ride. I took a couple of pictures. I was going through the usual post ride editing, deciding which shot most deserved publication. Joe Valentinetti taught me that, that no matter how much YOU like the photo, you have to edit. I was looking, trying to edit and decided instead that I would insert a quiz. Here comes the politics.

One of the following two pictures represents the role of state government as seen by the current Governor. The other picture represents the view of the current legislative majorities.

Discuss:
OK, I'll give my answer first. The first one is the Governor, a view of the state property that focuses on its natural beauty and attempts to preserve that natural beauty for all of us and for all that will come later. Government is not evil and it is not free. Government is all of us working together to make where we live the kind of place that we want to live. Taxes are not punishment, taxes are how we pay for where we live, how we pay to keep the graffiti off the things we own and to keep the billboards out of the state parks.

The second is the legislature. You only do the minimum amount of maintenance necessary, you commercialize the property to the maximum extent possible, their motto seems to be if business thinks it is a good idea, we think it is a good idea.

Good luck all, I hope you get back to work soon.

Here is another view of the big Hmong festival scheduled this weekend for McMurray Fields. It would be a shame to obscure the view of the boulevard flowers but the festival is the reason why you can't park there this weekend.I read through the Major League Rule 8 including the bit on what is a balk. As long as we have a comment from someone who has actually pitched I am wondering about a bit which I cannot find in the Major League rule but which I am certain is a balk. Which part of the rule is implicated and in what way to require that a right handed pitcher may look over his shoulder at the runner on first but if he turns his body even slightly to give himself a better view and then turns back towards home plate he has then balked. I am certain that this is the rule but I do not find it spelled out in Rule 8.