The Road to 2012

Once again, for the FIFTH year running, I’m on a plane, heading out to the TED Conference. It’s a conference for big thinkers, visionaries and world-shakers. This may prompt some of you big thinkers out there to wonder, how the hell did Sam get invited? I’d like to tell you all that this is news of a comeback in the flatwater kayaking world. Was I invited to give a talk on one of the most prestigious athletic pursuits currently in existence? Is one of our own finally going to get some press time, to plug USACK and the rest of the sport?

Unfortunately not. As with my paddling, I’m riding on the laurels of my past achievements; last year, I was invited to TED as assistant photographer. That was back before Dave and I had discovered our fiery passion for updating this website, and, unfortunately, the account of my experience is lost. This time, at TED’s first appearance in Long Beach, CA, I’ll be one of 100 TED Hosts, responsible for familiarizing the 1400+ Conference goers with the new venue. Dave will be holding down the fort back in frigid New Jersey, partying like the madman he is, out at Cloister, one of Princeton’s ten eating clubs. I know he’s looking forward to Two Articles of Clothing night this Thursday, so make sure to leave comments giving him some suggestions on what to wear.

Nothing of substance to say here now–only, look forward to some fantastic updates over the next few days. Here’s a sample talk to get you acquainted:

Dave and I try to bring you all the best training tips and stories on the internet–up until now, I thought that we had succeeded in holding this high office. Then, I found Club Trillion. Mark Titus, a walk-on at Ohio State, named the blog after him and two of his walk-on buddies, down at the end of the bench, all members of Club Trillion. To earn a ticket to the club, you have to get into the game for a single minute and do absolutely nothing that would add to your stat line. Your row in the stat sheet at the end of the game shows up with a 1 followed by thirteen zeroes–technically TEN trillion, but no matter.

Here’s the link:

http://clubtrillion.blogspot.com

In other news, please look forward to Dave and my upcoming announcement about the new and exclusive Club Last-At-Trials.