What I’ve Learned So Far

I’ve had the quote below sitting around for a while now — you’ll note that the Salon item it’s from is dated May 2008 — because I didn’t quite know what to do with it.

So, what I’m going to do is (a) share it with you, (b) ask you to think generally about how it relates to your political views and the ways that you form them, and (c) await any comments you’d care to make.

Here’s the quote:

“Peak oil and climate change are fronts in the culture wars . . . Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. Sensible people could agree that well-regulated markets incorporating the appropriate prices for environmental pollution and energy consumption will provide powerful incentives to allow humanity to avoid devastating energy shocks and the complete despoliation of the planet. We don’t have to consign ourselves to totalitarian dichotomies in which vegan organic gardeners stand on one side, threatening to employ the power of the state to deny everyone else their right to eat bloody porterhouse steaks; while across the trenches stand ranks of right-to-keep-and-bear-arms, give-me-my-SUV-and-suburban-gated-community-or-give-me-death Ayn-Rand disciples, draped in the furs of newly extinct mammal species, for whom a lifetime in hell would be infinitely preferable to a government-mandated solar power water heater.”

Amen.

American politics these days is typically framed in terms far more oppositional than we need if we ever want to come to constructive solutions to our problems.

Are you falling victim to these false dichotomies? Are you engaged in a culture war that you didn’t realize you were signing on for? Do you wear the political suit of clothes that someone else picked out for you, such that if you support Policy A you must support Policy B and oppose Policies C and D?

If so, I ask you to review your beliefs. Test them. Don’t be anyone’s chump, which in my experience is far more likely when you’re moving in lockstep with anything.

Think for yourself.~

(Photo of the crowd at Burning Man by Neil Girling, a.k.a. mr. nightshade, used under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license.)

If you read this blog, thank you for taking the time.

If you ever choose to comment here, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

If something I write strikes you and you use it to make your life better, thank you for letting me in.

If you’re a friend of mine, I thank you for your friendship.

If you listen to my blatherations on Twitter or Facebook, thank you — I’m grateful that so many smart, kind people keep in touch with me this way.

If you do anything to make the world better today, thank you for your effort.

If you are rearing your children with close attention, thank you for tending to our future.

If you spare a moment to smile at a stranger today, thank you for making the world a brighter place.

If you take an extra moment of care to do something right, thank you for taking a stand for excellence in a world geared to mediocrity.

If you love those around you, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

~

(Photo by my Twitter pal Amy Palko, used under a BY-NC-SA license.)

Flexibility is not my strong suit, but I’m working on it. Besides that, there’s that certain je ne sais love-handle about my physique that I’m intent on changing. Thus this morning’s workout:

• Brisk walk in the neighborhood, through the park, etc. — 60 minutes, segueing directly to the gym . . .
• Foam roller to loosen muscles.
• Dumbbell rows (per side): 8 x 45# warmup, 3 x 8 x 60#, 3 x 8 x 50#
• EZ-bar curls: 8 x 55#, 8 x 55#, 13+ x 55#
• LOTS of stretching: runner’s thigh stretches (standing, sitting, supine), sun salutations, etc.

How did YOU work out this weekend?

~

(Image by Piez.)

My workout on Thursday was all about lifting weights. Today’s, by contrast, emphasized flexibility work, cardiovascular conditioning, and bodyweight core exercises.

• Spin bike — 5 minutes for warmup.
• Elliptical machine — hill intervals for 25 minutes.
• Foam roller to loosen muscles.
• Plank pushups — 3 x 10.
• Leg-ups on captain’s chair — 3 x 10.
• Rotator-cuff exercises — bands & tiny dumbbells.
• Back hyperextensions — 3 x 10.
• Incline sit-ups — 3 x 10.
• Runner’s stretches.
• Steam room.

How do YOU mix up your workouts to keep them fresh?

Centered on a simple squat routine:

• Spin bike — 5 minutes
• Foam roller.
• Barbell squats — 8 x 95# warmup, then 3 x 20 x 135# work sets
• Incline d.b. bench press: 8 x 45#’s, 8 x 50#’s, 8 x 55#’s, 8 x 60#’s, 5 x 55#’s, 8 x 50#’s
  . . . alternating with . . .
• Bent-over d.b. row (each arm): 8 x 45#, 8 x 50#, 8 x 55#, 8 x 60#, 5 x 55#, 8 x 50#

And there you have it.

~

(Image by Jon Tunnell, used under a CC-No Derivatives license.)

Long walks on the beach, anyone?

Here’s the thing: I’ve been happily married for many years now, but I have numerous single friends who haven’t had success with standard methods of meeting people — including online services.

On top of that, I have an extensive professional and personal network of friends and acquaintances, and it’s always been a tendency of mine to get to know people on a personal level, even if we initially meet for business reasons.

BUT . . . I don’t know everyone who’s looking — not systematically — and I don’t quite know what they’re looking for. (I know she’s Jewish, but must her eventual mate be Jewish? Does he care if his girlfriend’s taller than he is?)

So I need an app that does at least these things:

• Piggybacks on my existing networks, so I can extract all my friends from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, e-mail, and so on.
• Allows me to select or deselect people based on criteria I choose, e.g. to eliminate everyone from consideration with “Married” or “It’s complicated” as their Facebook relationship status.
• Allows friends to opt in for consideration in an unobtrusive way.
• Allows friends to set key criteria. e.g. “Must: live in Austin, not smoke, enjoy wine” and “Preferred: liberal politics, loves reading.”
• Suggests likely matches that I can review before I try to set anybody up.

Is this making any sense at all? Am I crazy? What features am I leaving out? Would there be any market for this? And, uh, can any of you build it for me for free?

Or should I just start posting personals here? ;)

~

(Photo by Brian Talbot, used under a CC-Noncommercial license.)

May I be blunt?

At some point, my blatherations on this subject bore the shit out of me.

(Good blogger practice would be to link “my,” “blatherations,” “on,” “this,” and “subject” to separate self-help-themed posts here. But in this case, I can just replace all that with a single “passim” reference.)

If I have specific advice to share with you on a specific topic, I’ll do it. For example, recently a couple of friends asked me for tips on breaking in as freelance writers. Maybe I’ll share some of what I told them here.

Pursuant to yesterday’s post, I may also give you status updates from time to time about the Grand Uncluttering that’s occupying much of my attention.

But beyond that? I think we’ve all heard enough of my mewling about my hangups.

No?

Note the date of February 10th on this tweet.

The answer: so far, no.

Maybe the idea of zero new intake is just a convenient fantasy: somehow, magically, I’ll cut off the spigot, take care of the pending stuff, be aaalllllllll caught up . . . and then shall sin no more.

It seems unlikely. I mean, when I wrote “Down periscope?” the other day, it’s not like it was a new issue. The problem has persisted.

Enough already. I’ll think of some way to solve it, pursue that solution, and share results as I have them.

Any suggestions for me?

Note: this is not a photo of me. (I don’t have any tattoos.)

‘Member how I got all saucy with my goals at the start of February? Yeah, well . . . not so much. It was another month of not much consistency and too many missed opportunities, although I did get in several weight sessions and a few other workouts.

What do you do in cases like this? You get back up on the horse, that’s what.

Yesterday’s closing-the-month workout:

• Spin bike — 10 minutes easy
• Foam roller.
• Back hyperextensions — 3 x 10
• Leg extension machine — 3 x 10 x 70#
• Incline sit-ups — 3 x 10
• Elliptical machine — 20 mins hill repeats
• Steam room.

This week: more weights, more cardio, more stretching — and more consistency.

So, how are YOUR workouts going?

~

(Photo via CelebMuscle, used under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.)

Last week’s squat workout seemed to tweak my calves a little bit — not bad, not much, but enough to make me cautious for a few days. (It’s been two and a half years since I tore the medial head of my left gastrocnemius . . . but the memories are fresh.)

Remedy #1 — I took several days off, which fit my life better anyway since the past week at work was hectic.

Remedy #2 — On Friday I got a massage in the spa at my gym. Per my instructions, the masseur ironed out my legs thoroughly. Ow . . . but in a good way.

Remedy #3 — I’m taking yet another day or two off for my legs, drinking lots of water, taking some ibuprofen for inflammation, using the foam roller to keep my calves loose, and doing workouts like this one:

• Warmed up on spin bike — 10 minutes easy.
• Foam roller.
• Incline dumbbell press:
• 10 x 40#’s
• 10 x 45#’s
• 10 x 50#’s
• 10 x 55#’s
• 10 x 50#’s
• 7+ x 45#’s
• 10 x 40#’s

alternating with . . .

• Dumbbell row:
• 10 x 40#
• 10 x 45#
• 10 x 50#
• 10 x 55#
• 10 x 50#
• 10 x 45#

• Steam room.

~(Image by WilsonB, used under a CC-Share Alike license.)