Category: Big Ideas

Planet Money

Are y’all listening to NPR’s Planet Money podcast? I’m digging it, if only for (like the Thanksgiving Rickroll) finally hearing my peers in their own voices.

Demographers like to refer to my cohort as Generation X. But anymore, when we talk about our growing up, my friends and I sound like Generation Recession. We grew up in the 1970s malaise. We graduated into the early 1990s contraction. And now we’re looking at a wave of layoffs just when we’re hitting the prime of our careers. [From The Human Toll]

I <heart> Scott Adams

The balance of power has swung to the crooks and the market manipulators. Even if we could regulate away these problems, it’s already too late. There isn’t enough money left to support the planet under the current social systems, at least not when the boomers start retiring and unemployment starts climbing. [From The End of Capitalism]

Stuff

First Item:

Head on over to NPR. First to pause for a moment to commiserate with the 7% of the staff that got axed, and second to tune into their Jingle Jams. Good stuff, though I don’t see James Brown’s Funky Christmas anywhere on the list.*

Second Item:

Spam. Man, Yahoo mail seems to be full of it.

Third Item:

Have I mentioned that I LOVE to run? Tuesday’s run was incredible. Perfect weather as the temp had risen into the 50’s, the rain and wind hadn’t started. And, interestingly enough, I’d left my headphones in the car. But I ran anyway. I think I may be past using the iPod as a crutch.

Fourth Item:

I’m getting a bit fed up with Rodale. A while back, they moved Bicycling magazine to an automatic renewal policy. Which is fine, ‘cept they wanted to charge me $22 for a year’s subscription this time around, and send me some crappy new lifestyle magazine. This is a problem when there’s fliers in the dead tree magazine, and a huge add on Bicycling’s website offering a subscription for $12/year. So, I called up, cancelled the old subscription, and re-subscribed for 2 years for $21. Why is it that people feel entitled to take money out of existing customer’s pockets?

Fifth Item:

Swim Class at the Y. The boys are over the moon, ’cause their dad is going to be taking swim lessons at the Mystic Y, just like they do. They’re offering a triathlon swim training class on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 5:30 to 6:30 Mondays and Wednesdays, which is perfect with my class schedule. Things are really falling into place for Mooseman.

Sixth Item:

Training programs. I’m open for suggestion, especially for base development for January and February. I’m partial to modifying TriNewbie’s half program. It looks to be about 7-11 hours per week, which is about the volume I think I can reasonably support (I know i’ll just be squeaking to finish a half; but I’m realistic). The other one I like is Scott Herrick’s. Now, when do I sleep?

Last Item:

Looks like this blog is branching out a little bit. I’ll try to keep a fitness focus, but will likely do a bit more rambling here in the near future.

OK, so that looks like it’s about all. Hope everyone’s having as good a holiday season as can be expected. I’m completely loving life. We’ve got our church pageant on Saturday (with CAKE afterwards). One more class this calendar year; then three whole weeks to catch up on reading.

*They do have Run DMC’s Christmas In Hollis

Please Vaccinate your Children

The diseases against which vaccines protect were awful cripplers and killers of children, on massive scales.

This month a significant paper was published by Hviid and Melbye in the December 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. They examined 871,234 children in a Danish birth cohort, comparing asthma in those who had MMR against those who didn’t. MMR-vaccinated children were massively and significantly less often hospitalised with an asthma diagnosis, and used fewer courses of anti-asthma medication than unvaccinated children. This “protective” effect of the MMR vaccine was more pronounced for hospitalisations with severe asthma diagnoses. [From Bad science: It’s not what the papers say, it’s what they don’t | The Guardian] (emphasis added)

Bondi Beach

I got up at 5 this morning, with the intent of heading over to world-famous Bondi Beach for a little bit of a run along their Cliff Walk. Got there a little after 6, and was completely blown away.

First, it is an absolutely spectacular beach – perfect sand , nice arc, amazingly blue water (the first Bondi Blue iMacs were aptly named).

What blew me away was that when I got there, again at a little after 6 am, the place was packed. On a Friday morning. As in, you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting someone running, kickboxing, doing pilates, yoga, whatever. There were probably close to 100 surfers out waiting for waves. But the place was PACKED.

The other thing that was cool to see was that people were bringing their kids at the crack of dawn. Motivates me to maybe drag Jake and Nate off the couch on Saturday mornings.

Which kind of jibes with what I’ve seen while here – there are groups working out in the park every evening, tons of runners and cyclists.

Anyway, it goes a long way to explaining why Americans are beginning to look like those folks in Wall-E.

All right, one quick swim, and I’m back to the hotel. I’ll go see the New South Wales art museum, and maybe the Australia Museum, and consign myself to misery on the way home.

Fall, glorious fall

Man, so fall completely rocks. Aside from last week’s gift of sick from the childrens, things are nigh unto wonderful. A week of “rest” seems to not only have fixed my sick, but to have also helped out the wheels.

We went camping last weekend. Had a blast. Bigger kids mean dad has less crap to carry, and kids that love to backpack means no whining on the trail. Weather was spectacular – cool but not cold, clear, and a full moon. Pictures are at Flickr.com/photos/billjank – or go to Flickr and search on “billjank”. We’ll probably get one more trip in before winter. Can’t wait.

Running has been good. Saturday was my last “sick” run. I punted on the 20 miles on the sked, but did get in about 9, even though I was still hacking up a lung. Went to bed immediately afterwards.

Monday and Wednesday were brilliant. Ran up and over Cow Hill both times. Monday, the wheels were great, and I legged out about 7 before supper. Last night, I managed to cram in 5 miles in 40 minutes before soccer practice. Yeah. Soccer was fun, too.

In other news, I’ve got preliminary ok from the wife to run Mooseman Tri in June with the Amazing Hip, the Running Chick with the Orange Hat, and Salty War. Now I just need to make the decision between the half or the Olympic. Probably the half. Ouch.

Wounds Heal, Casts are Cool, and Chicks dig scars

Why are we failing at math and science? Because it isn’t fun any more. When you put safety on the highest altar, what do you give up? When fear of lawsuits — not to mention fear of technolog [From Why We’re Failing in Math and Science – O’Reilly Radar]

Amen, brothers and sisters. I think I’m giving the boys soldering irons for Christmas.

Fitness

Hi, Internet.

Hi, Bill!

I suppose you’re wondering why I’m talking to you today. Here’s the deal. I’m tired of being above what’s considered a healthy BMI, and I want to do something about it.

But Bill, isn’t that why you run?

Sure, I suppose so, but in actual fact, I’ve been running more to mitigate a lack of consciously healthy lifestyle. See, I’ve viewed running as a band-aid which lets me eat crap. When, as my gloriously fit wife has demonstrated much to my benefit, it ought to be a supporting part of eating well and sleeping well.

But enough about that, Internet. I want to, right now, dwell on the glories of running in New England in the summertime, with the breeze coming off of Narragansett Bay, the birds singing, and wild blackberries.

It’s been a good week up here in Mystic, my hometown, out there on the edge of the Long Island Sound. I’m on program for running, think I’m going to finally get on to Week 3 of the 100 pushups plan, and my folks are up to entertain the children.

Jacob and I did my long run together on Saturday, he on his bicycle and me on my extremely white pair of Asics. I’ve been alternating shoes between them and my Nikes this campaign, and my legs feel great.

Jake was a trooper, exuberant when we stopped by Bartleby’s for something to drink mid-run. It wasn’t until we got within a half mile of home that he realized that he hadn’t whined at all for 8 miles, and didn’t have much chance to make it up before we got home. So, there was a little gripe about a hill, and a little about being hungry, but his heart wasn’t in it, and he had a smile on his face while he complained.

Sometimes kids just need to feel like their existance is acknowledged.

The rest of the week has been good. I was a bit spent on Wednesday, so didn’t get the full impact I should have from intervals. Oh, and went into a presentation still sweating. Which wouldn’t have been bad, but the guy I was briefing had gotten some third channel bad information, and has a bit of a grudge against my boss’s boss. Which made the sweat look like flopsweat, and robbed me of the ability to make a joke about running at lunch.

But other than that, things are good.

Real People at le Tour

Hey, Doc – I’m all about a pilgrimage

Walking up the hill, I was aware how quiet everyone was. That is, until I turned a corner and saw hundreds of Flemish folk parked up on the hill. There were a couple of tents higher up, with a great sound-system belting out what are presumably Belgian hits from the past (or maybe it was the current top 10, I’m not sure). In any case, everyone around me knew the words, and were clapping and singing along – a great atmosphere.

The smell of burgers and onions on the barbeques filled my nostrils, and I suddenly realised that I hadn’t eaten anything today – we skipped breakfast at last night’s hotel because the place just didn’t inspire us at all and got on the road as soon as we could. I said to Ed this morning that the hotel reminded me of what a borstal would be like (a “bad boy’s school” as my mum would have called it). [From PezCycling News – What’s Cool In Pro Cycling]

Down…Up!…Down…Up!

So, marathon training is going pretty well, all things considered. I missed a couple of runs while Missy was in Houston. But then I cracked open the 20 week “official” plan for the San Antonio Rock’n’Roll marathon, and saw I was ahead of the game for where they want me to be. Worse things possible, I suppose.

This morning, I actually managed to make it out the door, ride for 40 minutes or so, and catch the commuter van. Didn’t get in a run at work, but hey – who needs bricks?

And, lastly – Missy’s goaded me into doing the Hundred Pushup challenge!

One Hundred Pushups

I think that at one time, like after getting chased around by the USMC’s finest for 13 weeks, I could probably do 100 pushups at a sitting. But that’s a while ago, and many cans of beer under the bridge.

So, you in?