P-Blog

I've started P90X. Actually, I have just finished week 3. So the when was 3 weeks ago. I'm determined to catch up on journal entries quickly though. Yeah right, like so many blogs before, this will probably be the last and only post. A token attempt any way.

The what: well, what exactly is P90X? Like a lot of people I didn't exactly know much except it was an exercise program of some kind. Why would I do a program I didnt' know much about? Well, maybe I should answer the why first.  There were two facts I did know. Number one is this guy is rad, and he helped create the program. Number two is this guy is rad too and I knew he had done the program and liked it. I figured if Steve fired up the program, and Reed liked it, it was probably a kick, and very effective.

Getting back to the what, you can find people on the web pointing out that it isn't this or that. It isn't a weight loss program, it's a health program. On the cover of the guide I got it says "Extreme Home Fitness". I actually do some of the workouts at the gym, so for me it's not entirely "home fitness". The one thing I would really emphasize is that it's like having a personal trainer. I've done a couple brief sessions with a couple trainers, and I would say without hesitation that having Tony Horton as my personal trainer  is more fun, more effective, and a whole lot less expensive to boot. 

Can't believe it's almost football season again. Time for a new fantasy football season. Just a quick post to say I think it should be a very interesting year. There is so much up in the air. Just look at teams like Green Bay, or the two teams here in the bay area. A lot of teams are in transition, a lot of players have moved around, and even some coaches like Martz.

For my fantasy football strategy from last year, click on the fantasy tag.

Yeah I know. You've already seen these, don't want to be bothered with such piffle, or just watched them and slapped your forehead. Sorry about that. I subscribe to BestOfYouTube podcast, and found these to be particularly good.

If I faced this walrus in a dance-off I would go down. Hard. He has more rhythm in his whiskers that I have in my entire white body.

I just love this one. The dark, dreary cityscape of "Blade Runner" was cool enough, but I thought the more down-to-earth "Children of Men" captured the plight of humanity better, and was more along these lines.

Finally here's a bonus clip that got pulled from YouTube, presumably for violating MLB's copyright policy.

The last two bottles I had were good, and they were under $10 to boot. First up is Santa Rita 2006 estate grown cabernet sauvignon, from the famous Maipo Valley.


This is a good hearty cab without the bitter aftertaste found in so many cheap California reds. Next up is a white table wine from Italy, A.G. Ferarri's 2006 Il Bianco di Annibale ('98 label shown here).



I have seen some negative comments about this wine. It's an interesting blend that is more complex than your ho-hum buttery chardonnay, so it might be a love-it or hate-it type of a thing. I definitely love it. It's intense but also doesn't have a bad aftertaste.

I got the red at Trader Joe's, and the white at AG Ferarri's, both for $9.99. What are some of your favorite cheap wines?

The recent heat wave reminded me of one of my favorite things, the Orange Berry Blitz smoothie at Jamba Juice. If you love blueberries like I do, but find the Banana Berry a little too sugary like I do, ask for the OBB next time you're there. It's not on the menu any more, but I've yet to be to a store, in the Bay Area at least, that won't make it for you without batting an eye.

Deena just did a walk-a-thon at school. We were very proud of her. As she did in her triathlon, she really tried extremely hard. With a relatively short amount of time left to get to 20 laps, the number needed to win the grand prize, she ran the last 5 laps continuously.  Sadly, they ran out of the "grand prize", and she was extremely disappointed. But she was still happy with all of the laps she did.

Later, she asked my wife how many miles she ran. She told Deena each lap was one fourth of a mile. Deena is pretty obsessed with math, and will ask us to quiz her over and over and over. It's not uncommon for us to give her a problem and just let her try to work it out. To be honest, we have done rudimentary fractions before.

My wife informed me she went off by herself, and sure enough, figured it out. Here is her worksheet:


20 is the number of laps she ran. I presume 4 means every 4 laps is 1 mile. 14 with the box around it means the first four laps make the first mile. "58" should be "28". 312 (the 2 is backwards as well), 416, and finally 520. Five boxes, five miles. Nice work kid.

Maybe someone could offer some advice to me. I am going to start uploading photos. I've been using Picasa for organization, and I am happy with it. My TV provider, ATT UVerse, automatically links channel 91 on my TV to my Flickr account, which is sort of nice. So I tried out Flickr very briefly. My first impression using their uploader was, "I have to use the Windows file browser to select my photos, are you kidding me?!"

Maybe there is a better way to use the uploader, or other utilities for Flickr? Or an entirely different service, perhaps?

Speedo Vanquisher swim goggles. When I got into swimming I assumed goggles just sucked. I got a few different brands, including Speedo, of the $10 variety, with the flaps that go around eyes.

For only a few dollars more you can get the Vanquishers. The difference was immediately noticeable. Totally tight seal. But the best part is that I've been using them for a long time now, and they perform exactly the same as the day I bought them. The silicone on the slightly cheaper goggles wears down quite quickly, which causes leakage, and eventually the head straps themselves stretch too.

Looking at their website, I see there is a whole slew of Speedo goggles above the Vanquishers, but until they stop working I am a happy swimmer.

My niece Amy Smedira just toasted the competition (need to click on GU15) in the U.S. Open Junior Squash Championships!

I'll see if I can permission to post a photo up soon.

Quick Version
Watch Jonah in his own words display a remarkable ignorance of history and simple political concepts. Note the Heritage Foundation background. Presumably that is why no one is laughing.

Slightly Longer Version
When Jonah floats some of his "seriously intellectual" ideas in front of the Daily Show audience, he is laughed at. TDS is of course a liberal audience. Right wing viewpoints are routinely met with opposition. The audience often claps and cheers for John Stewart when he argues right wing viewpoints.

However, it is something altogether different and usual to see a supposedly respected and accepted "thinker" laughed at, uncontrollably, by the audience. Even your everyday Joe can immediately recognize the degree to which Jonah's feeble fascism arguments are beyond just plain wrong, but ridiculous.

Long Version
Scott Horton (Heavyweight) at Harper's thoroughly debunks Jonah's meritless hypothesis, and makes some great points about being more precise about using the term fascism, pointing out that fascist is not the correct term to brand modern day neoconservatism either:

What we see increasingly is a revival not of fascism, but of Caesarism. There is a rush to embrace and anoint a leader, and to follow him blindly where he will go. A lazy neglect of basic principles of conservatism, starting with fiscal and political accountability for the conduct of those in positions of authority. A turn to hazy, vaguely religious social standards that overturn the secular base on which the republic was built. A use of foreign military adventures as a tool to silence domestic political foes and unite the public. A steady appeal to fear as a mobilizing political factor.

This is not fascism. But neither is it the conservatism that served America effectively for many generations.