I'm really freaked out.
Remember the movie "The Princess Bride"?
You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha.. *dead*
Only George W. Bush could be a greater fool. To this day he knows nothing about economic policy. We have taken a huge portion of our economic stability and put it into a land war in Asia. 2 of them, in fact.
Back when I was a young child, the Communist juggernaut Soviet Union was trying to take over Afghanistan. They spent everything they had fighting the Taliban and Al Qaida(while the CIA funded the terrorists), and it bankrupted them. It caused the fall of the Soviet Union.
Now we have a different economic crisis on our hands, and it's quite possible that we could have money available to float our banks, fix the problems, and sell them when they become profitable -- like Sweden did.
But we don't have that money. It's now gone into the hands of government contractors, weapons manufacturers, and the black hole that is the Pentagon. The take-home pay of our ground troops pales in comparison to the aformentioned.
I hope Barack will be true to his word and end these wars quickly, not just for the sake of innocent lives there, but for the global economy as a whole. The reverberations from an employment shortage in the western world is very frightening.
And to slightly change topic, we've also spread belligerence across the planet. Instead of making friends, we've made hundreds of thousands of enemies. My only hope is that their anger will be attenuated in the future and if not, it will not be directed at those who've been trying to make the world a more peaceful place.
Perpetuation of violence has been a way of life for generations on the other side of the world. It is not something I want here. This world will self annihilate unless we perpetuate forgiveness to those who have trespassed against you.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Incredible
My old swim high school coach just sent me an email.
The state girls swim meet was just held in my old pool, and a high school junior from another team just broke 3 very old national records held by Olympic Gold Medalist Janet Evans.
I'll bet that less than 10 men in the state in my entire high school career were able to post times faster than that woman's 200yd freestyle time.
The state girls swim meet was just held in my old pool, and a high school junior from another team just broke 3 very old national records held by Olympic Gold Medalist Janet Evans.
I'll bet that less than 10 men in the state in my entire high school career were able to post times faster than that woman's 200yd freestyle time.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Things you learn over time.
Good idea: Have some alcoholic drinks, then eat. Continue drinking as necessary.
Bad idea: Eat a meal. Then go drinking.
Bad idea: Eat a meal. Then go drinking.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Comparing & Contrasting Survivorman and Man Vs. Wild.
I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but these are two of my favorite shows, and I like them for different reasons.
In case you're not familiar, both shows are filmed in exotic locations where you might become stranded, and they attempt to teach you how to survive.
Les (survivorman) gets dropped off in the middle of nowhere with just about nothing and a bunch of cameras. He films everything and is very alone -- he either finds civilization or his crew begins searching for him after 7 days.
Bear(Man vs. Wild) goes out into the middle of nowhere with his own camera crew. He usually sleeps in hotels in nearby cities, etc.
Les: My motorcycle broke, and I'm stuck here in the middle of the desert. I'm going to strip anything useful off of it and get moving.
Bear: I'm going to skydive off a helicopter onto a Patagonian glacier!
Les: I really need to get across this river in order to get to a road to find people. It's going to be really cold
Bear: I'm going to jump off this cliff into a raging canyon river to show you what to expect if you ever have to cross something like this. WoooHOOO!
Les: It would be best to have this emergency blanket up against skin, but I'm not going to get naked on a mountain peak while it's cold & raining.
Bear: Since my clothes are wet after swimming across this river in icelandic backcountry, I have to get these clothes off and get dry even though the windchill is like -20F. *Tears clothes off til he's buck naked, does pushups.*
Les: I haven't eaten in 3 days, I'm going to enjoy eating this scorpion alive. Yuuummmmm. Best meal I've ever had.
Bear: Oh my god this scorpion is disGUSTing. *Pukes*
Les: This would be easy if I didn't have to film everything for you. I have to do everything twice!
Bear: My crew helped me build this hut.
Les: A local guide told me.....
Bear: When I was in the British special forces, we....
Les: It's the middle of the night, and I'm leaving camp. I got up to pee, a jaguar came at me, and I wasn't able to scare it away. I'm going down this path hoping it will lead me to a local indigenous jungle tribe. I hope it isn't stalking me.
Bear: I'm here with a local farmer, showing you a somewhat recent kill of some of his livestock by a puma. I'm going to chew on some just to show you what it looks like for a man to chew on a carcass. This meat should still be good to eat.
Les: None of the water around here is good. I'm going to build an elaborate filter from nearby materials to make it safe, or make a fire to boil it using only wet wood and a flint.
Bear: I shouldn't have drank that murky water....I'm having to stop with diarrhea every five minutes.
In case you're not familiar, both shows are filmed in exotic locations where you might become stranded, and they attempt to teach you how to survive.
Les (survivorman) gets dropped off in the middle of nowhere with just about nothing and a bunch of cameras. He films everything and is very alone -- he either finds civilization or his crew begins searching for him after 7 days.
Bear(Man vs. Wild) goes out into the middle of nowhere with his own camera crew. He usually sleeps in hotels in nearby cities, etc.
Les: My motorcycle broke, and I'm stuck here in the middle of the desert. I'm going to strip anything useful off of it and get moving.
Bear: I'm going to skydive off a helicopter onto a Patagonian glacier!
Les: I really need to get across this river in order to get to a road to find people. It's going to be really cold
Bear: I'm going to jump off this cliff into a raging canyon river to show you what to expect if you ever have to cross something like this. WoooHOOO!
Les: It would be best to have this emergency blanket up against skin, but I'm not going to get naked on a mountain peak while it's cold & raining.
Bear: Since my clothes are wet after swimming across this river in icelandic backcountry, I have to get these clothes off and get dry even though the windchill is like -20F. *Tears clothes off til he's buck naked, does pushups.*
Les: I haven't eaten in 3 days, I'm going to enjoy eating this scorpion alive. Yuuummmmm. Best meal I've ever had.
Bear: Oh my god this scorpion is disGUSTing. *Pukes*
Les: This would be easy if I didn't have to film everything for you. I have to do everything twice!
Bear: My crew helped me build this hut.
Les: A local guide told me.....
Bear: When I was in the British special forces, we....
Les: It's the middle of the night, and I'm leaving camp. I got up to pee, a jaguar came at me, and I wasn't able to scare it away. I'm going down this path hoping it will lead me to a local indigenous jungle tribe. I hope it isn't stalking me.
Bear: I'm here with a local farmer, showing you a somewhat recent kill of some of his livestock by a puma. I'm going to chew on some just to show you what it looks like for a man to chew on a carcass. This meat should still be good to eat.
Les: None of the water around here is good. I'm going to build an elaborate filter from nearby materials to make it safe, or make a fire to boil it using only wet wood and a flint.
Bear: I shouldn't have drank that murky water....I'm having to stop with diarrhea every five minutes.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Spin Class
I'm a fairly ambivalent about Spin classes. At this time of the year, they become quite the talk of the town as the weather begins its slow downward spiral.
Spin classes are inherently intense. I would be surprised to find out that there wasn't some secret competition between spin class instructors/studios to create most gut-busting, anaerobic class possible. Intensity is fine and all for the average joe/jane trying to burn some calories and lose weight, but for endurance athletes, it has to be used judiciously.
Spin instructors are not interested in what your goals are and when you will be racing -- they just want you to feel like you are inhaling pepper spray and your quads are going to set your bike shorts aflame.
Now is the time when plenty of athletes start to flesh out goals for next year and get really psyched -- hey, july is a long time from now, lofty goals are now within reach, and preparation can begin NOW. Time to hit the pedals hard now, right?
There's a problem.
If I start hitting spin class 2-3 times a week during off-season & base training, I can forget about peaking in June-July-August for a few reasons:
1) I haven't built an aerobic worth building an anaerobic base on top of. There's a few wackos out there who insist on doing things the other way around, but they are few & far between, and tend to experiment on those who are already world class athletes.
2) How will peak weeks be different? Friel and Carmichael won't be sending their athletes up Alpe d'Huez in January....why do you need to blow your head off now? You should be doing it a week or two before your intended peak performance.
3) I can easily burn myself out by April, not to mention August. Who, other than the pros, can sustain 3 or more high intensity workouts a week for months on end? I can't. This is especially telltale when you observe the difference in gym traffic between January and April--everyone tries to lose weight that weight, overdoes it, and they can't sustain what they started. I'm beginning to come to grips with the insanity associated with trying to do the Birkie on top of a season of triathlon/cycling. It might be time to pick one or the other, or drop the priority of one way below the other.
My general strategy has been to hit the spin room when class is not in session. That way I can focus on the needs of my training PLAN, staying in target heart rate zones and avoid drifting from them when the testosterone goes airborne during those spin classes. Bring a movie or some good music -- laying down 3 hours of zone 2 on a spin bike will get monotonous. I had several such session in March.
And there's no point in going to spin class in June...I've three bikes and the city has roads! (And I have a trainer if it's crappy outside ;) )
However, I still tend to belive that consistency is more important than just about anything when it comes to training, including periodization. If you can do spin class so religiously, my hat is off to you.
Spin classes are inherently intense. I would be surprised to find out that there wasn't some secret competition between spin class instructors/studios to create most gut-busting, anaerobic class possible. Intensity is fine and all for the average joe/jane trying to burn some calories and lose weight, but for endurance athletes, it has to be used judiciously.
Spin instructors are not interested in what your goals are and when you will be racing -- they just want you to feel like you are inhaling pepper spray and your quads are going to set your bike shorts aflame.
Now is the time when plenty of athletes start to flesh out goals for next year and get really psyched -- hey, july is a long time from now, lofty goals are now within reach, and preparation can begin NOW. Time to hit the pedals hard now, right?
There's a problem.
If I start hitting spin class 2-3 times a week during off-season & base training, I can forget about peaking in June-July-August for a few reasons:
1) I haven't built an aerobic worth building an anaerobic base on top of. There's a few wackos out there who insist on doing things the other way around, but they are few & far between, and tend to experiment on those who are already world class athletes.
2) How will peak weeks be different? Friel and Carmichael won't be sending their athletes up Alpe d'Huez in January....why do you need to blow your head off now? You should be doing it a week or two before your intended peak performance.
3) I can easily burn myself out by April, not to mention August. Who, other than the pros, can sustain 3 or more high intensity workouts a week for months on end? I can't. This is especially telltale when you observe the difference in gym traffic between January and April--everyone tries to lose weight that weight, overdoes it, and they can't sustain what they started. I'm beginning to come to grips with the insanity associated with trying to do the Birkie on top of a season of triathlon/cycling. It might be time to pick one or the other, or drop the priority of one way below the other.
My general strategy has been to hit the spin room when class is not in session. That way I can focus on the needs of my training PLAN, staying in target heart rate zones and avoid drifting from them when the testosterone goes airborne during those spin classes. Bring a movie or some good music -- laying down 3 hours of zone 2 on a spin bike will get monotonous. I had several such session in March.
And there's no point in going to spin class in June...I've three bikes and the city has roads! (And I have a trainer if it's crappy outside ;) )
However, I still tend to belive that consistency is more important than just about anything when it comes to training, including periodization. If you can do spin class so religiously, my hat is off to you.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Obama's Evil Liberal Agenda
Hey Republicans! Here's a taste of the liberal agenda about to unfold!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We will rename America to "Anti-America"...or whatever that is in French.
The official religion of the country will become Islamic Atheism.
Denis Kucinich, Al Sharpton, and Noam Chomsky will be confirmed into the US Supreme court.
All women will be required to both use contraceptives and have abortions.
Official language? Any of the 55+ Native American languages.
The Bullet Free America Act will have your firearms easily removed from your law abiding hands by the US Army & Marines. Whom you support, of course.
The fence along the Mexican border will be torn down, extra footbridges built over the Rio Grande, and water stops placed in the desert. In addition, we're going to build a bridge from Florida to Morocco.
The new White House press secretary? Keith Olbermann.
Cigarettes? Illegal. Marajuana? Mandatory.
Everyone will be required to have at least 2 gay relationships. And dogs don't count, just in case you're wondering, Mr. Santorum. Sorry.
The stars on old glory will be replaced with silhouettes of the world's top 50 endangered species.
Christmas will now be now called RamaKwanzannakah.
Secretary of Defense? Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins' house keeper? Ann 'STFU' Coulter.
Orders at fast food restaurants must be placed in Spanish.
In a worldwide peace initiative, Stealth Bombers will be retrofitted with new equipment, and will be now referred to as "High altitude flower droppers."
Blackwater battalions returning from Iraq? Reassigned to protect Polar Bears from Sarah Palin's black helicopter.
A new series of Anti-crystal meth awareness billboards will be rolled out with photos of Michelle Bachman.
Secretary of the Environment? Ralph Nader
Federal allocated dollars to faith-based initiatives will be redistributed, with equal shares going to the church of Scientology and Eckankar.
The Turbo-Affirmative action act of 2009 will require all white people get a really awesome tan. In fact, your prescence is requested in the cotton fields at 7AM.
Toyota Prius's will be outfitted with mechanisms to automatically key your hummer/expedition/suburban.
A Michelle Bachman style expose? Quality Journalists, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, will be "assigned" to Guantanamo Bay to do some "first hand" reporting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't worry though. If you don't like it, you can always go live somewhere else.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We will rename America to "Anti-America"...or whatever that is in French.
The official religion of the country will become Islamic Atheism.
Denis Kucinich, Al Sharpton, and Noam Chomsky will be confirmed into the US Supreme court.
All women will be required to both use contraceptives and have abortions.
Official language? Any of the 55+ Native American languages.
The Bullet Free America Act will have your firearms easily removed from your law abiding hands by the US Army & Marines. Whom you support, of course.
The fence along the Mexican border will be torn down, extra footbridges built over the Rio Grande, and water stops placed in the desert. In addition, we're going to build a bridge from Florida to Morocco.
The new White House press secretary? Keith Olbermann.
Cigarettes? Illegal. Marajuana? Mandatory.
Everyone will be required to have at least 2 gay relationships. And dogs don't count, just in case you're wondering, Mr. Santorum. Sorry.
The stars on old glory will be replaced with silhouettes of the world's top 50 endangered species.
Christmas will now be now called RamaKwanzannakah.
Secretary of Defense? Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins' house keeper? Ann 'STFU' Coulter.
Orders at fast food restaurants must be placed in Spanish.
In a worldwide peace initiative, Stealth Bombers will be retrofitted with new equipment, and will be now referred to as "High altitude flower droppers."
Blackwater battalions returning from Iraq? Reassigned to protect Polar Bears from Sarah Palin's black helicopter.
A new series of Anti-crystal meth awareness billboards will be rolled out with photos of Michelle Bachman.
Secretary of the Environment? Ralph Nader
Federal allocated dollars to faith-based initiatives will be redistributed, with equal shares going to the church of Scientology and Eckankar.
The Turbo-Affirmative action act of 2009 will require all white people get a really awesome tan. In fact, your prescence is requested in the cotton fields at 7AM.
Toyota Prius's will be outfitted with mechanisms to automatically key your hummer/expedition/suburban.
A Michelle Bachman style expose? Quality Journalists, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, will be "assigned" to Guantanamo Bay to do some "first hand" reporting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't worry though. If you don't like it, you can always go live somewhere else.
A Goal
A goal for me, starting now, is to take portraits of as many of my friends who are willing.
They will be as creative or traditional as you like -- and of course the images will be available to you free of cost.
Let me know if you're interested.
They will be as creative or traditional as you like -- and of course the images will be available to you free of cost.
Let me know if you're interested.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Another reason I'm turned off by Ironman
Check this out.
As if Ironman wasn't already full of drafting cheaters and posers, here's a guy who's stepped the douchebaggery by bringing fins along.
To add insult to injury, he was caught and didn't even get Disqualified.
The absurdity reaches it's peak considering this guy, after being outed after 1.2 miles, swam the total of 2.4 in 1 hour 30 minutes. I could've easily done that when I was smoking half a pack of camel lights a day.
As if Ironman wasn't already full of drafting cheaters and posers, here's a guy who's stepped the douchebaggery by bringing fins along.
To add insult to injury, he was caught and didn't even get Disqualified.
The absurdity reaches it's peak considering this guy, after being outed after 1.2 miles, swam the total of 2.4 in 1 hour 30 minutes. I could've easily done that when I was smoking half a pack of camel lights a day.
Now I'm one of THOSE guys.
My computer crashed this weekend. It was 6 years old.
I purchased a Macbook to take its place.
I purchased a Macbook to take its place.
Busy Year Ahead
Big plans ahead.
By the way, this was created using Mindjet Mindmanager. It's one of the best tools I've ever used to organize this blizzard of a brain I have. I use it at work daily.
A new sherriff in town.
Well, Obama won. I feel like someone turned a lightbulb on inside me. My faith in America has been invigorated for the most part. (Michelle Bachmann did just get re-elected.)
But check this out.
Obama's campaign tricked McCain's campaign into spending money in Pennsylvania -- a place they knew McCain had no chance of winning.
This, to me, is like the Democratic party walking up from behind Karl Rove (and legions of other Republican strategists) and kicking them in the nuts, America's Funniest Home Videos-style. The democrats are metaphorically dancing above them, yellling "BOOM-Shakka-lakka-lakka!!"
They never saw it coming, and they had no idea what happened until after they were gasping on the floor.
Have some.
But check this out.
Obama's campaign tricked McCain's campaign into spending money in Pennsylvania -- a place they knew McCain had no chance of winning.
This, to me, is like the Democratic party walking up from behind Karl Rove (and legions of other Republican strategists) and kicking them in the nuts, America's Funniest Home Videos-style. The democrats are metaphorically dancing above them, yellling "BOOM-Shakka-lakka-lakka!!"
They never saw it coming, and they had no idea what happened until after they were gasping on the floor.
Have some.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
OK, This is stupid.
No news networks are calling anything yet on the election yet.
So I, officially, am calling New York and California for Obama. Take THAT, main stream media.
---------------
BTW. Computer's been acting up all week and pretty much took a fatal crash yesterday. I'm at work right now.
So I, officially, am calling New York and California for Obama. Take THAT, main stream media.
---------------
BTW. Computer's been acting up all week and pretty much took a fatal crash yesterday. I'm at work right now.
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