The other day I got to thinking about old TV shows from my childhood such as Family Matters, Full House, Pete and Pete, Hey Dude, Home Improvement, etc. One I particularly remember is Bozo the Clown. While I enjoyed the show when I watched it as a youngster before heading off to school, the name Bozo the Clown confuses me. With a name like Bozo, do you really need to add "the Clown" at the end? Doesn't Bozo already sound like a clown name already? I particularly remember the grand prize game where you threw ping-pong balls into buckets from distances that got further away until you won..............wait for it..............a bike! A measly bike for all the skill that was needed. I feel like lots of kids got the short end of the deal when it came to prizes. Bozo the Clown aired on WGN and was nationally syndicated, meaning it was making some nice money. The show seemed like it was run rather cheaply too and all they could afford to give the kids was a bike the few times they actually made the last bucket? C'mon Bozo, you're acting like a clown!

Swiss Army knives are world famous. The Swiss Army isn't however because the Switzerland is a neutral country. It makes complete and total sense that their greatest accomplishment other than staying neutral through major world wars is that they would develop knives with many doohickeys and doo-dads, many of which the common person has no idea what they are, myself included. The only person I can think of that knew what every thing the knife had was MacGyver (This guy). I remember my first Swiss Army knife when I was a Cub Scout. There was this white awl-type attachment and I asked my dad what it was used for. He told me it was a toothpick. Those Swiss sure know what you need when you're out in the wilderness surviving......a toothpick just in case a wild piece of broccoli gets stuck in your teeth.

Since it's winter and I do many of my workouts inside on treadmills I've developed a list of songs that I always workout to. When choosing songs I look for a faster tempo. Here is an abbreviated list of songs that I prefer to listen to on hard workout:

Linkin Park: The Catalyst

Bloc Party: Flux (probably the best workout song I have. Period)

Nine Inch Nails: The Hand that Feeds

AFI: Beautiful Thieves

Rise Against: Prayer of the Refugee

Muse: Assassin

I'm heading down to Houston this weekend to run the USATF Half-Marathon Championships on Saturday. It will also serve as a preview of the Olympic Trial Marathon course.