First Final down, fall 2007

Workout notes Jogged about 3 miles to the Riverplex (good footing most of the way) but I was overdressed (goretex top, two high-tech shirts) and got sweaty.

I then walked 1 mile on the indoor track in hopes of drying off in the dry Riverplex air (12:16) but I went just a bit too fast for a good cool down; there was a cute woman in spandex shorts who was jogging slowly and well,

Then I did (or rather attempted) some yoga and my teacher gave me a ride home.

One (of many) things that I don’t like about winter (or pre-winter, anyway) is all of the gear that you have to wear, and then dry out afterward.

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But seeing that cute woman in spandex reminded me of this article, which talks about how the human spine evolved and lordosis (the tendency for the back to arch and the butt to sway backwards)

The report published in Nature by Whitcome, Shapiro, and Lieberman reports on a longitudinal study of 19 pregnant women to show how the center of gravity moves forward as the pregnancy progresses and also identifies male/female differences in lumbar curvature or lordosis.

They make the point that this assembles into a neat evolutionary adaptationist story – females have more lumbar lordosis than males (sexual dimorphism) and this appears to be helpful for the unique demands of a pregnant upright biped. Katherine Whitcome is a research fellow, Liza Shapiro is a very experienced specialist in primate spinal evolution, and Daniel Lieberman has been very much involved in understanding the importance of long distance walking in human evolution. [...]

The article doesn’t mention that there are numerous other reports about sexual dimorphism in the human lumbar lordosis – about half of the studies found no statistical difference between males and females and the other half found a small difference. [...]

Most mammals have a lumbar spine whose architecture tends to passively resist the force of gravity when positioned in a horizontal or diagonal position. In humans and such ancestors as Morotopithecus, however, the spine mechanics are reversed so that quadrupedal stances are very tough on the spine. Only fully upright stance is comfortable. [...]

These findings further support the point that position that bipedal walking – full time bipedalism – may be very ancient in the hominoids.

The article itself is well worth reading.

There is another article about this at 3-quarks daily.

Snark: via Stupid, Evil Bastard. This is a response to a recent announcement by the Pope that atheism is causing the world’s evils.

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Politics
Redstateupdate on the last Republican debate (Iowa)

Daily Kos I was in acerbic mood and got into it with some Clinton supporters at the Daily Kos. I made the mistake on going onto one of their diaries and attacking; I should have just blown them off like most everyone else did. But she is taking a beating there.