Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Training.

11/7 - 60m pullup workout - wide grip 10-8-7-6-6x5=55reps, regular grip 8-6-5-4-3x3-4-2x5,2x4=54reps, neutral grip 8-6-5-9x4-5=55reps, chins 6-8x4,4x5=58reps

11/6 - no PT

Coming off a head/cold bug the last couple days, and adding in a minor procedure tomorrow with doc's instructions "no strenuous exercise" for week, which blows a hole in the 9 week Insanity protocol I've been doing.  Truthfully though, while the programs are crushers, and definitely great conditioning work, I'm finding them repetitive and missing the strength training & martial arts elements I usually have in my PT, so I'm going to cut it short here midway.  A lot of folks substitute Insanity into their P90X programming on cardio days, I might try that after the New Year if I do another round of P90X.  But for the next week at least, any exercise is moderate/play it by ear, after that, a mix of more strength training, flexibility & MMA conditioning work.






"Hugh Jackman's Five Life Lessons."

Hugh Jackman Interview | Men's Health: "Lesson Three:  First Priorities First.
“When I married Deb, I’ll never forget the minister giving the sermon. It was very quick. One of the best sermons I’ve ever heard in my life. He said, ‘Look, you’re all here. I’m just going to tell you one little bit of advice about marriage. Nothing else I’ll say today will sink in, but listen to this. At any point in your marriage, there will be times of difficulty, decision making, or some kind of crisis. In those moments, ask yourself one question: ‘Is this good or bad for my marriage?’ If it’s good, you do it. If it’s bad, you don’t.’ “ That really stuck with me,” Jackman says. "

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

"You want to know about voting. I'm here to tell you about voting."

Truth. Now off to engage in my meaningless part in the kabuki theater that is American politics.


"I simply cannot vote for a president who claims the power to have American citizens executed without due process."

Everything here.  Twice.  And in bold.  Forever and ever.  Amen.

The Heart of the Matter: You Can Vote For Anyone You Like. As Long As It's The Duopoly
"I supported Obama and voted for him in 2008. His rhetoric and specific promises were inspiring. But he's betrayed so much of that rhetoric, and so many of those promises, that I think it would be a mistake to reward him with a second term. I'm not talking about being disappointed with a president who fails to fulfill his lofty promises, or who tries but fails to implement various changes because of an obstructionist Congressional opposition (the usual excuses trotted out for what isn't really the problem). I'm talking about being outraged at a president who has in numerous key areas done the extreme opposite of what he promised. Who promised a reversal of the Bush-era extremism and instead has deliberately entrenched and extended it.

Maybe, on balance, some of it I could live with, in exchange for other things. But Obama has gone too far. I simply cannot vote for a president who claims the power to have American citizens executed without due process. It's not a question of lesser evils, of the other candidate being even worse. I just can't imagine a more un-American, more unconstitutional, more tyrannical power than the power to have citizens executed without due process. The power to have people imprisoned forever without charge, trial, or conviction would be up there, I guess, but of course Obama claims that, too.

So this unconstitutional assassination power is, for me, a political deal breaker... Now, you can argue that the power to have citizens executed is being used rarely and judiciously. But that just means you're okay with the president assuming tyrannical powers as long as he uses them only rarely and judiciously. And that's just crazy. Not least because, if Romney wins on Tuesday, those powers will be his, and what are you going to do at that point, argue that Democrats you like have the power to assassinate American citizens but Republicans you don't like don't?

I know it seems peculiar to a lot of people, but I just can't vote for a president who claims -- and who has exercised -- what strikes me as the ultimate tyrannical power, just because he seems like a nice fellow and after all, has only used that power a few times, and always only against brown people anyway. I can't. It's too much. There has to be a line, and if it's not "The president can order citizens killed if he thinks they need killing," I don't know what it is.

...My own attitude? "I don't care who you threaten to turn over the country to. Cross certain lines, and I won't vote for you no matter what." It's the same as a negotiation. If you're not willing to walk away, and especially if you demonstrate that unwillingness to the other party, you will be taken for a long, unpleasant ride.

...How many people who voted for Obama four years ago because they hoped for a better future will vote for him now because they're afraid of a worse one? Do you think that's progress? Who is to blame for that change? And should the politician to blame be rewarded? What would such a reward signal to other politicians about how seriously they need to take the concerns of their base?

If you demonstrate to a politician that you'll vote for him no matter what, you'll get… no matter what. And Obama has taken "no matter what" to previously unheard-of levels for progressives. If they reward him at the polls, the next "progressive" politician can be counted on to offer a double helping.

I recommend voting for something better. Either Jill Stein of the Green Party, or Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party.

Don't let the duopoly make you believe you have no choice. You do. Unless you convince yourself you don't."

"President Obama's fairly grim, toothless, meandering and perfunctory presidency gained excellent contrast from an assemblage of GOP candidates so demented and corrupt that even to so describe them would be an insult to the many hard-working demented and corrupt politicians extant today."

My Last Column About the Presidential Election (Really) | VICE:
"I write this about eight days before voting day in America. US Presidential politics is a favourite spectator sport of mine, and I'm sad to see the cycle end, even though this one hasn't really been a good game. President Obama's fairly grim, toothless, meandering and perfunctory presidency gained excellent contrast from an assemblage of GOP candidates so demented and corrupt that even to so describe them would be an insult to the many hard-working demented and corrupt politicians extant today. It was an array of desperate, shambling criminals (and Jon Huntsman, who presumably was there on a bet) that may have been unprecedented, even in the stinking cesspool of American politics, in its lunatic evil. The "winner" of the GOP race was always going to be the one who didn't shit themselves on stage. But the GOP itself couldn't win, because, of the bunch running, the best you could hope for was a candidate who didn't shit themselves on stage.

Which is exactly what the Republican party got. A man who's only coherent when he's lying. Any solid political points he might have made have been washed away in a tide of dissembling, flipflopping and outright bullshitting. Broad swathes of the party fail to summon enthusiasm for him. The Koch brothers, who could surely have amassed mighty forces to Romney's advantage, have provided only perfunctory support. And his mealymouthing about Big Government have put him on the wrong side of not only New York but also New Jersey, whose well-liked Republican governor Chris Christie has been effusive in his praise of the President even as Romney was being pelted with his own words about disbanding the Federal Emergency Management Agency..."

Food Log.


10/29 - coffee, half & half, supplements, beef broth, onions, ice cream, Halloween candy, brie, Diet Coke, water, coconut water
10/30 - coffee, half & half, supplements, water, coconut water, protein powder, milk, Diet Coke, chicken soup w/onions, garlic, potatoes
10/31 - coffee, half & half, supplements, water, Double Bacon Whopper w/cheese, onion rings, whiskey, Diet Coke, milk, chicken soup w/onions, garlic, potatoes
11/1 - coffee, half & half, supplements, water, milk, sliders w/ranch & mayo
11/2 - coffee, half & half, supplements, water, steak, eggs, cookies, milk
11/3 - coffee, half & half, water, supplements, cheeseburger, fries, Reeses Pieces, popcorn, rum, Diet Coke, Coke Zero
11/4 - coffee, half & half, ricotta, mozzarella, bread & butter, Diet Coke, water, pizza, garlic dipping sauce, Fanta Grape

*supplements - multivitamin pack, fish oil, zinc, nootropic, 5-HTP, immune support, pre-workout complex

Training.

11/5 - Insanity Core Cardio & Balance

11/4  - off




The "Almost Politically Correct Redneck" Meme.