It's always a challenge to pack the right amount of stuff for my trip to New York City. The marathon is on Sunday. The temperature could  range from almost 70  tomorrow to the 30's for the race.

I have a tendency to take too many clothes. I packed a bit lighter this year, but you can't put it on if you don't have it. 

We never have any control over the weather. Things can happen at the last minute. I saw that two years ago when Superstorm Sandy forced the cancellation of the New York City Marathon two days before the start.

I'll be running the race again on Sunday. I never like to look at long range forcasts. It might be in the 60's on Wednesday and then down to the 30's by the weekend. There could even be some snow flurries.

So much can change in a matter of a few days. 

It's hard to believe that some rural areas of America don't have indoor plumbing. The federal government is trying to make bring fresh water to isolated parts of Alaska, Alabama, Maine, and New Mexico.

Some of these residents are forced to collect pond and rain water or break chunks of ice in the winter. They need to use a bucket system in lieu of a toilet.

This is something seen in undeveloped countries. Every American should have running water in their residence. 

Most ads use models who pose for the best effect. It makes sense to have control over the finished product.

A local billboard has two interesting ads. One features two employees from a local bank posing at a desk. They are both young attractive females who appear very vibrant. I have no doubt that they work at the bank. I'm not sure of their positions.

The other one featured a local hospice. That one looks like they are using models. I can't imagine any family or individual posing for pictures of such a sensitive nature. The patient looks pretty real, but  must be a model.

I think most people will be happy once the election is over. The attack ads on television and radio have been over the top.

It takes a certain personality profile to run for public office. The election campaigns are filled with nonsense. It's easy to see why people don't run.

Political signs are a blight no matter where they are. There are too many of them. It reaches the point where no individual sign stands out. It gets pretty chaotic.

It will be all over in less than two weeks. The winners can break the pledges they had no intention of keeping.

Most government contracts go to the lowest qualified bidder. We saw that today when the MBTA selected a company from China to provide new subway cars. Their bid came in at $295 million, while others were as high as $1 billion.

The company has links to the Chinese government. The car parts will be made in China, but they will build a $60 million assembly plant in Springfield, Mass.

It would have been nice to buy a product made in America, but the cost is too prohibitive.

I have no doubt that these cars will never be delivered on time. I also expect them to have problems once they get here.

The cheapest way isn't always the best. The MBTA has a long history of bad contracts. 

I drove by Rye Beach today and saw people surfing out on the stormy waters. The wind was blowing and the rain was coming down, but they wore wetsuits on their boards. I even saw a couple get out of the water and walk towards their car.

I can't imagine doing what they did, but they have so much passion for it. I have a great deal of respect for that.

It's probably not a good idea to surf by yourself in a storm.

Everyone has heard the "Press 1 for English" option when they dial an 800 number. It's part of the American scene now.

I was surprised when I called about my Verizon account and got the option of "Press 1 to speak to a male or press 2 for a female".

Why are they doing this? The decision must have involved a great deal of thought and focus groups.

What difference does it make who you speak to? It was only going to involve a series of voice prompts. There was nobody live on the other end. 

Voters are being inundated with commercials for ballot questions in Massachusetts. Both sides are spinning their view.

Casino advocates have deep pockets to prevent their business being outlawed. I don't believe all they say about jobs and revenue to the state and host community.

I will vote to let the casinos go forward. They need a chance to fail like everything else. It might take 5-10 years for this to happen. 

I'll never figure this weather out. I played golf in short sleeves earlier this week and dressed light for the UMass football game yesterday.

Today it was in the low 50's, cool with an overcast sky. It felt like a Sunday in autumn. Leaves are on the trees. One big rain storm will bring them down.

UMass has an incredible marching band at football games. They have over 300 members. They are loud and do an awesome job at  the games.

Today was Band Day at Gillette Stadium. They had over 3,500 high school band members sitting in the end zone seats.

They went out on the field at halftime. They had over 3,800 band players on the field. They were really loud, but did a great job with their music.

Getting input from the public doesn't always work out. Local officials attempted to determine the date for Halloween Trick or Treat.

In recent years, it has been on the last Saturday of the month. Parents are upset because it falls on October 25 this year. They want it on Halloween, Friday the 31st from 5-7pm.

There is too much energy being spent on this decision. Everyone won't be happy in the end. Why do we even need Trick or Treat?

People should not feel obligated to answer their doorbell and give out candy. 

How old should kids be before they start running in organized races? I ran in one last Sunday that had a kid in the first grade. He ran with his mother and was able to finish the five miles.

I know another woman who posted a story on Facebook about her son's cross country exploits. The kid is in the third grade. His team will be traveling to Kansas in November to run in a national event.

I think these kids are too young to be running races. Their bodies are still developing. So much of this is driven by the parents. 

My slow reading rate caused me to bring a book back to the library that I never even started. I was in a queue for about three weeks to get it.

I had a great book to finish which took longer than expected. I'll wait a until the end of the month before I put my name back in the queue. I still want to read it.

I have too many other magazines to read right now. 

It was great to get out golfing today, especially with the temperature in the low 70's. I wore a polo shirt and jeans, but could've worn shorts. The foliage showed a spectrum of color. 

You never know with the weather in October. Temperatures change so quickly in New England. I plan to play again before Thanksgiving.

Hopefully, it will be a warm day.

The New York City skyline is becoming inundated with thin high-rise towers. Most are residential, with some partial hotels. They soar into the sky and seek domination of the city view.

They will be impressive when finished. More will get built. The cityscape is changing. It's a very exciting time. Neighborhoods are being gentrified at the expense of many residents and small businesses.

Some say this is better. 

I started going through my AOL email account with some going back to early 2009. I sorted by sender to make it easy. I deleted 1,000 this morning. I'm not sure how many I actually have.

There are some that I will save in folders, but many need to be deleted. This should have been done a long time ago. They are like weeds in the garden. 

I always thought Halloween was overrated. I never got into it as a kid and think less of it now. It's a multi-billion industry in America, embraced by adults and kids.

Pumpkin pie has an awful taste. I would never drink any beer that had "pumpkin" on the label. The same goes for any other product.

The holiday keeps getting bigger. I'll need to put up with it. 

There is no doubt that carbonated drinks with sugar are not the healthiest ones to consume. At what point should the government step in and regulate them? 

Voters in San Francisco and Berkley will soon have the opportunity to decide whether these drinks should be subject to a special tax.

I recognize the problem we have with obesity in America, but I think this is too heavy-handed. What will they regulate next? Should they put a special tax on fried food? 

I don't understand why the federal government isn't more proactive with the Ebola virus outbreak. The first American has died, but nothing seems to happen to prevent further infection here.

Our goverment reacts very slow to any crisis these days.  We are being destroyed by political correctness. We need to do better than this. 

I always thought that roadside billboards were a blight on the landscape. They disappeared for many years.

Now, we have the obnoxious HD message boards that ruin the scenery with their nonsense.

The local city council approved a plan to allow a company to build a gigantic one along Rt 495. The city will get a minimum payment of $25,000 annually over the next 25 years. Meanwhile, drivers will be forced to view this monstrosity with messages we could live without.

The owners of the board claim that it won't be an eyesore. Based on its location, they are totally wrong.

Should a tenant in a privately owned building be allowed to rent out their extra rooms through Airbnb? This involves an ongoing lawsuit in Manhattan. The tenant has been hosting paying guests in multiple rooms.

They are running a personal hotel on private property. This is wrong and I support the building owner. This violates terms of the tenant's lease. The neighbors are forced to put up with strangers in their building. 

This entire concept is getting carried away. Airbnb has enjoyed more success than anyone expected, but doesn't belong everywhere.   

I finally decided to thin the herd when it comes to my running shoes. Like most runners, I have too many old pairs in the closet. What do you do with them? I finally found a group that collects and sends them to Third World nations.

I decided look at all the shoes that I save. As a result, I'll be donating nine pairs to the charity. However, I have fifteen that flunked because of deterioration of the shoes. The heels crumbled in my hands. They suffered from "dry rot". Some of them might have been over twenty years old.

The shoes didn't age gracefully. I still have some pairs of Adidas going back forty years. They had different materials.

A newspaper article proclaimed that there have been no hurricanes so far this year. We are past the peak season, but it's never too late.

In 2012, we had Super-storm Sandy during the last week of October. It was a devastating weather event. It could happen again. 

It seems like no country wants to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.  Norway withdrew, leaving Beijing, China and Almaty, Kazakhstan as the only options. 

China has the most money to squander on building the infrastructure and venues needed for the Games. Let them do it. They will do a good job.

It's hard to believe that anyone could be that selfish and stupid enough to drive 100 mph on Beacon St in Boston, but a BU student did it the other day.

In spite of having no license, he drove a Maserati sports car like a maniac during the afternoon. Somehow, he managed not to kill anyone or cause property damage. 

Why would anyone be that irresponsible? It defies logic at times. How do people get to that point? 

Public security is always a focal point in New York City. The MTA plans to install security cameras on 940 new subway cars to be purchased from 2016- 2019.

I appaud their effort, but it will be another five years before this is completed. The entire system will not be fully covered.

Things seem take forever in government. You can have the greatest idea or project, but the wheels move slowly for approval, funding and execution.

The local newspaper did a story the other day involving interviewing about 50 people to determine their opinion on what's going on in the Middle East. Some of the responses were shocking.

So many people don't follow the news. One woman cited her upcoming wedding for not paying attention. Several said the news was too depressing to watch.

These are poor excuses. There are many bad things going on in the world. People need to be aware of them. They might care, but they don't want to know. Everyone has a responsibility to be informed.