26 November 2010 posts

Science Humor
Here are some slaps at so-called science journalism:

Check out this cartoon about an article about a “journalist” interviewing a physicist about relativity theory. The punchline is hilarious.

Or, what about provocative magazine covers? Moral: never have a magazine cover that asks a question that has a one word answer.

Politics
I was getting ready to respond to this CNN article about, who else, Sarah Palin:

CNN) — It’s clear that we can’t go 24 hours without Sarah Palin saying something so stupid that it defies logic, but leave it to the Kim Kardashian of politics to find something wrong with first lady Michelle Obama’s effort to curb obesity in America’s kids.

In a radio interview on Wednesday with conservative talker Laura Ingraham, Palin took dead aim at the first lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative, which is all about getting children active and involved in exercise and healthy eating.

In the wacky world of Wasilla’s finest, Palin tries to cast the effort to fight obesity as part of Michelle Obama’s “different worldview.”

Emphasis mine.

My first reaction: Sarah Palin, while attractive, is no Kim Kardashian:

(note: clicking on the thumbnail takes you to the full sized poster, which you can buy from that retailer at that site)

But my next reaction was to say something snarky like “of course, being pro obese would be a hit with the tea party; haven’t you seen their rallies! And so I went searching for “fat teabaggers”.

My search brought me to an interesting and well written blog (by accident); there is a well written article about the phases of the tea party movement and another good, well researched article about how Reagan economics didn’t fare well; the blogger also points out that with time, the tax burden has shifted from corporations to individuals.

Toys For Tots 2 mile race….you have to start somewhere.

Back in May, 2001 I ran the Lake Geneva Marathon (hilly course); my time was 3:40:24. That is 8:24 a mile.

Today I ran the Toys For Tots 2 mile run (along the Peoria, Illinois parade route) in 17:02 (my watch). That is 8:31 a mile.

But there is a reality here: Since October 11, 2009, I’ve had a grand total of 39 runs:
Tried to rest my behind the knee area then:

5 in December of 2009 (all 1 to 1.1 miles)
9 in January (two of 2 miles, the rest less)
5 in February (2.2-2.5 miles each)
Stopped; the knee was getting sore.

Surgery in July.

September: 11 runs, 3 of 1 mile, 8 of 2 miles
October: 1 two mile run (focus on preparing for a hilly 30 mile trail walk)
November: 8 runs, six of 2 miles, 2 of 1 mile

Needless to say, I am (literally) hundreds of miles from being in running shape.

The race itself
I warmed up by doing run/walk on the treadmill in the Riverplex, stretching, then 7 laps of 2 run, 1 walk on the track then about a quarter mile walk to the race start.

Basically, I started the race near the back of the pack and stayed there; we ran through the parade route. Unfortunately, some people recognized me and yelled my name; I admit that I was a bit ashamed.

There were a couple of very slow “pre-military” formations and one very slow group of “young marines” running loosely together attempting to chant “gunge” slogans; they would have been a bit more convincing had they not been doing 9-10 minute miles.

Sure, there was some spandex but I was in no condition to chase it. I started off moderately and attempted to hold my pace. We started uphill, leveled off and then finished downhill to the river path. I didn’t have the confidence to push it at any point.

I can’t say that this was “pedal to the metal” but this wasn’t a deliberately slow jog either; I WAS trying. And yes, this was my fastest 2 miles in over 13 months.

AFTERWARD
I cooled down (the day was 23 F and sunny and breezy) by walking a mile. A couple of runners nodded sympathetically.
Then I went into the riverplex, changed shoes, and then did the following:
squats (no Smith Machine): 10 x 45, 10 x 135, 10 x 135, 10 x 155
Leg press: 20 x 180, 20 x 270, 10 x 360
extensions: 3 sets of 10; 2 sets on the free weight machine
curls: 3 sets; 10, 7, 10 on the free machine
glutes: 1 set of 10 each leg on the lift machine, then 1 more set of 10 with much more weight (150).

Upside: the knee didn’t hurt during the run (took a while to warm up though)

Downside: getting the bar comfortable on my shoulders is a problem with squats; I sometimes put it right on a sore spot on my bad shoulder.

Someone is a bit thin skinned….

From Sarah Palin’s facebook page:

A Thanksgiving Message to All 57 States
by Sarah Palin on Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 6:35pm

My fellow Americans in all 57 states, the time has changed for come. With our country founded more than 20 centuries ago, we have much to celebrate – from the FBI’s 100 days to the reforms that bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system. We know that countries like Europe are willing to stand with us in our fight to halt the rise of privacy, and Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s. And let’s face it, everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma and they end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a breathalyzer, or an inhalator. I mean, not a breathalyzer, ah, I don’t know what the term is in Austrian for that…

Of course, the paragraph above is based on a series of misstatements and verbal gaffes made by Barack Obama (I didn’t have enough time to do one for Joe Biden). YouTube links are provided just in case you doubt the accuracy of these all too human slips-of-the-tongue. If you can’t remember hearing about them, that’s because for the most part the media didn’t consider them newsworthy. I have no complaint about that. Everybody makes the occasional verbal gaffe – even news anchors.

Obviously, I would have been even more impressed if the media showed some consistency on this issue. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn’t resist the temptation to turn a simple one word slip-of-the-tongue of mine into a major political headline. The one word slip occurred yesterday during one of my seven back-to-back interviews wherein I was privileged to speak to the American public about the important, world-changing issues before us.

If the media had bothered to actually listen to all of my remarks on Glenn Beck’s radio show, they would have noticed that I refer to South Korea as our ally throughout, that I corrected myself seconds after my slip-of-the-tongue, and that I made it abundantly clear that pressure should be put on China to restrict energy exports to the North Korean regime. The media could even have done due diligence and checked my previous statements on the subject, which have always been consistent, and in fact even ahead of the curve. But why let the facts get in the way of a good story? (And for that matter, why not just make up stories out of thin air – like the totally false hard news story which has run for three days now reporting that I lobbied the producers of “Dancing with the Stars” to cast a former Senate candidate on their show. That lie is further clear proof that the media completely makes things up without doing even rudimentary fact-checking.)

“Hope springs eternal” as the poet says. Let’s hope that perhaps, just maybe, they might get it right next time. When we the people are effective in holding America’s free press accountable for responsible and truthful reporting, then we shall all have even more to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

- Sarah Palin

Well, gee, why would anyone think that your “slip of the tongue” wasn’t just a slip? It wouldn’t be this, would it?

John Heilemann, co-author with Mark Halperin of the wave-making new book, Game Change, told Anderson Cooper on “60 Minutes” that McCain Campaign manager Steve Schmidt claimed, “She knew nothing.” She had to be taken through World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and Palin was not aware there was a difference between North and South Korea. She continued to insist that Iraq was behind 9/11; and when her son was being sent off to Iraq, she couldn’t describe who we were fighting. (h/t Think Progress) Schmidt does say she was a quick study.

Why else might we believe the worst about Ms. Palin? It couldn’t be this:

(remember just a few months earlier…)

“refutiate”

The above were NOT slips of the tongue. So the below, where it probably is a slip, fits right in.

Fact: President Obama has proven his intelligence. Gov. Palin has done no such thing; in fact she has a well deserved reputation for being ignorant.

25 November 2010: Workout and Gym Spandex….

Workout I overslept my yoga class. But I still made it in and did some running, walking and lifting:

Lifting: (upper body)
rotator cuff raises (front, side, angled) 10 x 5 lb.
curls: 3 sets of 20 with 15 pound dumbbells
military press: 30 x 30 pounds, 20 x 35 pounds (seated, with dumbbells)
lat pull downs: 15 x 125; 3 sets
rows: different sort of machine; 7 x 70 (each arm), 5 x 70, 15 x 45.
bench press: 30 x 35 pounds (dumbbells); one set; painful getting into position.
incline press: 15 x 95 barbell.
Sit ups: 10 sets of 10; used inclines 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 8, 7

Running 2 miles in 19:05; 10:18, 8:47. An 8:20 pace at the end felt like a sprint (treadmill)
Walking: 2 miles on the track; fast enough to pass and lap a slow jogger.

Gym Spandex
I worked out at the public gym (as opposed to the university gym which was closed). Though there were other old goats and bats there, there were also some regulars and some spandex.

I’ve noticed that there are different types of spandex eye-candy which I will talk about here (photos: mostly from the blog Girls in Yoga Pants; the thumbnails link to the source at the blog or source):

The: not that tight but nice anyway:

Probably the best; and remember that sometimes women who wear these “almost tight” pants sometimes lean forward and stretch:

The: Just a hint of the outline of the glute
This might be my favorite….just so teasing:

The: I am wearing a thong underneath to show all of the gluteal cheek!
Ok, I like these too;

Here is a more extreme example:

also

and

There is “just tight enough to show the lower boundary of the glute”; the cutline that separates the butt from the leg:

(smaller version)

There is the tight but “smeared out” which can be fun:

There are the panty line shots; the subtle
,

the visible when stretching

the obvious

(yes, I had a yoga teacher who wore spandex this thin)

the “why in the hell can’t I make them out”

And of course, there is the tri-short/bike short which has a pad. That takes away some of the definition, but these can still be fun (here and here you get two for one)

and of course here

Then there is the OMG I can’t believe this

And of course, there is the “not the perfect shape but PLENTY GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME”