With the election just weeks away and most people being completely overwhelmed by information and attacks ads from shady politicians (regardless of which party they represent), the other stuff on the ballot is easily overlooked and lost in the shuffle. So in order to help clear up some confusion, I thought I'd write up about one of the important issues on the ballot here in Ohio.

Issues 4 & 5: These two are always mentioned together since they both have to do with smoking, and both proclaim to be anti-smoking, though that is really not the case. One would actually overturn existing smoking bans in over 20 cities across Ohio, such as Columbus. So here are the real simple truths about Issues 4 & 5:

ISSUE 4: This issue, if passed, would amend the Ohio constitution to allow smoking in many public places such as restaurants and would overturn the 20+ city bans on smoking (including the one in Columbus) and prevent future bans from being put in place, and would overrule Issue 5 even if it passed. This issue has been almost entirely funded by the tobacco and alcohol industries.

ISSUE 5: This issue, if passed, would ban smoking in restaurants, public places and workplaces throughout Ohio. This issue is backed by the American Cancer Society and over 500 organizations and businesses.

So hopefully that clears up a bit of the confusion, most of which is being intentionally created by the big corporate backers of Issue 4. To read more about Issue 4 from it's supporters, visit SmokeLessOhio.com. To read more about Issue 5 from it's supporters, visit SmokeFreeOhio.org.

I will be going to bed shortly for the last time as a 27 year old. So I guess I'm officially entering my "late 20s" now. That term actually has a nice ring to it. Kind of like having a bit of a distinguished air, yet still young enough to be sort of cool. But it's what is lurking just around the corner that is the scary part. Hopefully the late 20s go by a lot slower than the rest of my 20s have so I will have time to enjoy it.

Things have been pretty busy lately and I'm begrudgingly adjusting to the fact that summer is over. Normally I am a big fan of fall, but the early cold weather always arrives like a sharp slap to the face, along with the first snowflakes of the year which were witnessed last week. Besides that, I enjoy wearing sweaters again and the changing colors of the leaves.

Another thing I like about this time of the year is the awesome running weather. I did a 14 mile run through the park this past Saturday and it was probably my best run of the year. It was nice and cool and the scenery was great. Hopefully I can keep the running momentum going as I am now less than two weeks away from running the Detroit Marathon.

Last week I ventured out on a weeknight to check out two great comedians, Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black on their current tour (dates here). It was a great show, despite the fact that I had to stand out in 30 degree weather outside the club for over a half hour waiting to get in, wearing just a long sleeve shirt. How is it that a club advertises a show for 7:00pm, but doesn't even start letting people in until 7:45? (I'm looking in your direction, Grog Shop). Anyways, once inside and defrosted, the show was very funny. I surprisingly actually enjoyed Showalter's set more than Black's. Showalter stuck to a very non-standard comedy routine like other more "indie" comedians, while Black's set was more along the lines of the average comedian. Still very funny, but just a little disappointing as compared to when I had seen him live before (as part of Stella, w/ Showalter & David Wain).

Besides that, I've also been enjoying:
- playoff baseball (go Cardinals!)
- East Coast Original Frozen Custard
- Last Call Cleveland (great local comedy group that performs at the House of Blues)
- Woodchuck Draft Cider

Today was a mostly sports-filled day for me. I started off with a run this morning of 20 miles. Following that, I pretty much felt like laying on the couch the rest of the day, which is mostly what I ended up doing. I was flipping back and forth between a couple of early football games and the final Cleveland Indians baseball game of the season. They ended up winning, and in the process won like 9 of their last 11 games or something crazy like that. Too bad they couldn't manage that last year, when they did the exact opposite to miss the playoffs. I'm not sure what to make of their chances next year, especially since there are 3 better teams than them just in their division. But I will keep an eye on them over the winter and hopefully they add to the team, instead of subtract like they did last offseason.

After that, I ended up watching a good portion of the Cleveland Browns football game against the Raiders. I skipped a bunch of the 1st half after they got off to a very lackluster start (as usual), but the 2nd half was pretty good. I'm not a huge fan like I was when I was younger, but I like to see them do good. I just haven't been able to really get back into them since they returned back in 1999(?), but maybe that will change in time.

After that, I went out to dinner at one of my favorite places, Aladdins Eatery, out in Hudson, home to quite possibly the world's best hummus. Their menu is full of delicious Middle Eastern themed meals, and I have never had something there that I haven't really enjoyed, and tonight was no different. It's always good to eat knowing that you burned about 2,500 calories earlier. Takes away the guilt.