Hey! It’s Friday!

You know what that means?

It means that here at the Morning Coffee, we thought it was a good time to remind you that quitting can be good for you. Particularly, we think, with a weekend ahead.

Russian Orthodox Vader is by, or at least from, Dmitry Dyachkov. (Warning – that links you to Facebook, which is likely safe for work, but definitely evil.)
Webcomic is Dinosaur Comics.

We mentioned it back in June, but it’s worth mentioning again now — on Sunday, exactly one year after her first night back at home after giving birth, Karen will run a half-marathon.

It’s very impressive stuff (you should support her), and I’ll be there cheering … and taking photos.

I took some photos at a 10 km race this past summer — I meant to snap some photos of a friend, but of course I somehow managed to completely miss him running by. There were still plenty of photos of other runners, however. With the race coming up this weekend, these photos seem a suitable lead-in to this weekend’s race.

When photographing a race, of course, I first get the lead runners:

Once the leaders are photographed, I continue to snap away at those following. These photos are usually thrown out, but sometimes I get something pretty good:

Men and women usually race together, but are counted separately. I keep my eyes open to get the leading lady, though sometimes she can be lost in the crowd:

Once this is done, we get to the masses, and I begin looking for interesting people and situations.

For instance, some people insist on running with their headphones in. I understand why people do this in training, but a race is about more than your own running — it’s about the course, the fans, and the other runners too. It seems wrong to wear headphones while running. But some people do. And for some reason, I found a group of these people clustered together:

Of course, most of the remaining photos are of runners in costume (“fancy dress”, as they say here in England).

First, you get those in lightweight costumes that are unlikely to much impact their performance:

Then you move on to those with more elaborate costumes:

Finally, towards the back of the pack, you find people racing in costumes that make you wonder how they do it. I admire these people:

One last photo before we’re done — the obligatory black-and-white arty photo with the runners out of focus:

Don’t forget to donate to Shelter in support of Karen by clicking here, and come cheer her on in Hyde Park this Sunday.

All photos by Mr. Topp. Photos were taken at the Ascics British 10K London Run on July 10th.

Ever wanted to look like Princess Leia? Ever want to listen to rocking tunes while looking like Princess Leia?

Then you’re in luck — Princess Leia headphones are here!

Kind of.

If by “here”, you mean “in a photo on Reddit” and “not for sale” and “certain to be hit with a lawsuit from Mr. Lucas if they ever do go on sale”.

But still … awesome.

Crayons carved into Star Wars characters by Mark Merlot.
Webcomic is XKCD, by Randall Munroe.

Karen and I have a lot in common, as you might expect, us being a couple and everything. But there are areas in which our interests diverge.

Take television programming, for example. While we both like cheesy, and we both like reality dance television, and we both hate Paula Abdul, I prefer a heavy dose of geekery while Karen prefers crime drama. I can watch the most wince-inducing Smallville episode and come back for more. Karen can endure more back-to-back episodes of Murder She Wrote than you or I would otherwise believe humanly possible.

What can bridge the divide?

How about a crime drama set in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld?

I think we have a winner.

Photo of Snoop Dogg and Darth Vader from Hollywood Grind. Actual photo credit unknown.
Webcomic is Professor Hobo, by Justin Young and David Rothwell.