I'd be a bad parent/this seems like a good idea.

More healing power of religion - "Savagery in Afghanistan."

Savagery in Afghanistan - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine:

"Almost ten years after United States boots hit Afghan soil, substituting a kleptocracy for a theocracy, and this type of violence hardly surprises:

Stirred up by a trio of angry mullahs who urged them to avenge the burning of a Koran at Florida church, thousands of protesters overran the compound of the United Nations in this northern Afghan city, killing at least 12 people, Afghan and United Nations officials said.

The dead included at least seven United Nations workers — five Nepalese guards and two Europeans, one of them a woman. None were Americans. Early reports, later denied by Afghan officials, said at least two of the dead had been beheaded."

"When Chuck Norris goes to sleep..."

"Friends" is a fluid term.

Bruce Lee Badassery.

Language matters.

So much this/I'm clearly a work in progress, at best.

More policy in direct contradiction to campaign rhetoric.

Disappointing.

Best joke by a robot with semi-racist overtones.

Ya gotta have goals in life.

Reminds me of "Bombing for Peace is like Fucking for Virginity."

Training.

P90X Day 10 - Shoulders, Arms, Abs
Dislocates/HyperXtensions/Chest Pulls

3/29
P90X Day 9 - Plyometrics

Visuals from the new Wonder Woman TV show look promising.

I always liked Adrianne Palicki on Friday Night Lights, plus Elizabeth Hurley as the main bad guy - Veronica Cale [created by the esteemable Greg Rucka] - and the costume looks pretty sharp - the show may have some chops.  I'll definitely check it out, at least.

Pics via, and more pics at - Wonder Woman Set Pics Show A Good Look Of Adrianne Palicki In A New Improved Costume - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors

"Obama's War That Isn't a War."

"...Constitutionally, he doesn't have a right to do this sort of thing unilaterally when the country isn't facing a clear and present danger.

We know this because of Obama himself. In 2007, while a US senator and presidential candidate, he flatly told The Boston Globe, 'The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.'"

Now that's just funny - "How to help Japan."

Of course, I enthusiastically support any plan that starts with "Go to a party dressed slutty."

This - "...here is what we know: Reality is fluid, fact is malleable, cause and effect completely uncertain."

Fox News ate my nuclear dolphins:

"...It is 2011 and here is what we know: Reality is fluid, fact is malleable, cause and effect completely uncertain. We know what we don't know, but we also know the opposite. We are told multiple stories, versions, ideas, adaptations of truth that cannot be verified or confirmed, because our global media has lost nearly all credibility, largely because of, well, you, because everyone wants it all for free, the value of an engaged, highly informed populace has plummeted, and also because media conglomerates have shamelessly whored out their once-respectable newsrooms as a profit centers..."

Evil - "Supreme Court Firms Up State Immunity From Wrongful Conviction Lawsuits."

Supreme Court Firms Up State Immunity From Wrongful Conviction Lawsuits | The Agitator:

"By a ideologically right-left, 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that a wrongly convicted Louisiana man—who at one point was just weeks away from execution—isn’t permitted to sue the DA’s office that for 14 years sat on the evidence proving his innocence.

...while it’s clear that prosecutors knew about the evidence for years (a bloody piece of cloth), there are competing theories about whether they knew they had to turn the cloth over and willfully withheld it anyway, or if they simply didn’t know they were obligated to turn it over. (As Sullum also noted, it’s hard to decide which scenario is worse.) The latter seems rather unlikely, even though during the civil trial, Orelans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick and his assistants apparently couldn’t articulate the Brady Rule, the law requiring the disclosure of such evidence. Of course, the former—the willful misconduct—is also much harder to prove.

In any case, the Court’s ruling today, taken with past rulings, further illustrates how the old mantra that “ignorance of the law is no excuse” seems to apply to everyone except actual members of law enforcement..."

"Vote for Nobody."

"Hello. I'm Bruce Lee. Bad Ass."

If only for the tie alone, really.

The week in food.

We'll start with food prepped this past week for the Mrs, above.  Not too shabby for a dude fighting illnesses gleaned from adorable, yet infectious, children.  In particular take note of the middle right side of the pic - that's right - HOT DOG SANDWICH.  Fear my creativity, bitches.

Below, shared omiyage from the Brussels airport gift shop, an assortment of cheese.  Two I really enjoyed, one was "eh" and the other I was not a fan of.  But still, check out my classiness, with requisite cheese tray and utensils. 

Above, my relatively on point nutritional intake for the week, including 2 gallons of artificially sweetened iced tea, to help wean me off of all the caffeine and diet soda I threw down in Japan, 7 cups of coffee [one a day, on average,] 2 protein shakes, about 7 liters of water [need to drink more] and 3 diet cokes.

Below, my Friday eve/Saturday free/cheat day - featuring a Hawaiian pizza and Ben & Jerry's.  Good stuff. 

Which leads into the outline of my ever-evolving ever-tweaking nutritional plan as I head into Month 4 of "Get my Ass into Shape 2011."  Continuing with a mostly low-carb'ish Primal - Paleo approach with occasional intermittent fasting.   New tweaks are establishing a daily upper limit guideline for carbs - no more than 100 carbs a day [at max] - 6 days a week - but on day 7 a moderate to high carb day [like above] a la the cyclic ketogenic diet, which will allow some latitude for social events, cravings and the possible higher caloric need of restarting a run at P90X.   

Training.

P90X - Day 8 - Chest, Back, Abs
3/27 - P90X - Day 7 - X Stretch
3/26 - P90X - Day 6 - Kenpo X

As evidenced by the above, and if you were paying attention last week - and I know you were - I'm taking another run at P90X.  Tried it twice before.  First time in late '08/early '09 and again in the fall of '09.  Didn't finish either time, despite having some decent results.  Both times I burned out/got injured/became a quitting quitter who quit things - at about the 2 month mark.  What seemed like good reasons at the time now seem more like excuses in hindsight.  Though maybe I'm being overly harsh on myself.  But probably not.

Coming back from Japan just over a week ago filled with diseases, colds and snot probably picked up from my adorable former students, last Monday I still was determined to start back at PT after my two week food and alcohol gorge-fest.  And some random thought noticed that a 90 day program would fit right in between coming back from Japan and heading back stateside this summer, with a little to spare.  Plus, that I never finished always stuck in the back of my mind, and not in a good way.  So without any prep, forethought or planning - including not doing the pre-"Fit Test" - I jumped right back into it last Monday.

As they say, adaptation is specific, and despite working out consistently for the last 2/2.5 months, the P90X wkouts are still as brutal as I remember and kicked my ass all over the place.  I'd like to think that it was due to the cold I was fighting, but probably not.  Pause and Fast Forward were used liberally last week.  Today, while feeling much better, was still a struggle.  You know, for a late night infomercial program, P90X is no joke.

As the other times I did it, going to stick with my own nutrition regimen, a low-ish carb, mostly Primal/Paleo, cyclic ketogenic deal, which I'll cover in more detail in the next "Week in Food" post.

"Keep pushing play...  Do your best and forget the rest..." - Tony Horton.

Onwards.

Awesome and inspirational.  From the Facebook Album - "INSPIRATION - By Fitness Model/Writer Jamie Eason"

The answer to the meaning of life.

Am positive these are from xkcd, but found them on random boards, so don't have good links to the originals...

On occasions, I am the navel gazing introspective.  On others, the dude with the Super Soaker.

Ladies and Gents, meet my wife.

This - "What would the world be like if there was no complaining, criticizing or gossiping? Pretty good I think."

"This is not a spatula. It's a cooking wand. For a warlock."

Made of Winning - "The best way to cook a steak is with moderate, to intense, observation."

"To summarize the summary of the summary..."