Thursday, December 31, 2009

Teeter Totter Bread and Water!!

One of the fun things I got for Christmas was a Teeter Hang-Ups F7000S Inversion Table. You can read some reviews on Amazon, see some Pictures from Costco (where we bought it), watch a video review (mine is actually the higher-end one and we got it cheaper!) and/or read this:
Manufacturer Description: If you're plagued by back pain or suffer from stress overload, consider the Teeter Hang Ups F7000S inversion table, which helps to counter the effects of too much time spent sitting, standing or moving repetitively. In full inversion it's also a great way to add extra crunch to exercises like sit-ups without adding painful loads to your back. The Teeter Hang Ups F7000S rotates on a pivot system. With simple arm movements (rotation is accomplished by shifting the weight of the arms), the table easily rotates to any comfortable angle. The smooth rotation allows for oscillation and intermittent traction. Adjustable roller hinges allow you to pre-select three levels to control the aggressiveness of rotation. Increase the traction and enhance your stretching experience by pushing on the EZ Stretch Traction Handles (sold separately)
It's been interesting and I'm not sure how it is working for me yet - I've used it every day since Christmas - BUT I also haven't even watched the instructional DVD yet, so I might not be utilizing it to its full capacity. While the blood rushes to the head - it does feel good to stretch your back, and I plan on doing exercises while fully inverted as soon as I DO watch the instructional DVD. Maybe I'll post some pictures or video. We'll see!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Aftermath...

Of Christmas!

Christmas was great this year, my family was in town, there was all sorts of craziness going on, oh yes there was definitely some INSANITY!!!

Insanity you say? Why yes, I did get the insanity workout program for Christmas and am very excited to have a fitness program to blog about again.

I plan on starting it on MONDAY JANUARY 4th - and hopefully I'll be able to get the before pictures taken and the fit test done before then.

The fit test basically measures how many reps you can do of the various exercises, and you repeat this a time or two throughout the 60-day program to see how you have improved. I'm very excited because one of my limitations with P90X was that I didn't have enough weights so I didn't achieve the results I felt I could have. Insanity requires no equipment, and from people I've talked to - it's great!

More details and posts on fun Christmas gifts to come.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Quote of the Week - 23

"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

- R.E.M.

Yeah... it's probably not the end of the world - but I do feel fine!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (almost)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Mario vs. Pacman

WEIRD!!!

Quote of the Week - 22

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts: To believe in heroes makes heroes."

- Benjamin Disraeli

Friday, December 18, 2009

More Trailers? Alice in Wonderland

I wasn't sure what I thought of this when I first heard about it - but the trailer looks pretty interesting!

Still... How in the world did they make Johnny Depp look like Elijah Wood???



Ah yes - it's the buggy eyes that do it. Weird.

Even more strange is that I've said the same thing 2 other times this WEEK.

I think I'm going crazy.

One week 'til Christmas!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Iron Man 2

This looks to be very cool...

New Iron Man 2 Trailer debuts

I did enjoy the first one more than I expected to!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Quote of the Week - 21

"The secret of life is not to do what one likes, but to try to like what one has to do."

- Dinah Mulock Craik

Monday, December 14, 2009

Under the Sea!


I Long To Be... by ~warlordblade on deviantART

I did this one for my Nephew - He has a mild form of Asperger's but loves these pictures! He just turned 8! :)

For some reason the picture doesn't show up in this view - you have to see the full view in DA to see it. Weird.

Friday, December 11, 2009

2 Weeks Left!!

I can't believe Christmas is only two weeks away!

So we definitely need more muppets!!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

One Finished, Two Not Really or Maybe

Probably my best title ever!


WIP: Dragon by ~warlordblade on deviantART


Halloween Fun by ~warlordblade on deviantART


WIP: Death or something... by ~warlordblade on deviantART

Okay definitely not.

Linkity Link Links!

No not THAT LINK!

The kind that leads you to random, thoughtful or otherwise interesting stuff on the world-wide-webisode we live in.

There's only two as long as you aren't counting the one above...

The first is a great little spot for those of you who end up helping people with technical issues every year when people get their new gadgets.

Computing For Dummies from Wired's Gadget Lab

"This isn’t a troubleshooting request, but it drives me crazy: watching people double-click links in web browsers. Why? WHY?"
I always die a little inside when I see people unnecessarily double-clicking...

Second is an interesting article about attempting things and failing from a 23 year old filmographer who makes me feel very old (even though 23 is the age I automatically think I am, even though I'm 30 now!)

Thoughts on Tour by Charlie Hoehn via Kottke

"I’ve failed more times than I can remember. I’ve tried starting up several businesses, tried patenting inventions, tried starting up online communities, tried building several websites, tried to win contests… and failed almost every single time. But I never chalked any of them up as failures in my head, because I learned so much in the process each time. So now, when I’ve finally reached a point where things seem to fall into place with far less effort, I can’t help but think about all those times where I didn’t succeed over the course of the last eight years. And I look back in fondness, because those lessons learned are the reason I’m here. None of this stuff happened over night — in a way, I’ve been working to reach this point since I was 15."
See? I feel old. I gots lots to do still!

Finally - I gotta include the YES! Cartwheel from MMAist Diego Sanchez:

Crazy. And he (at 27) also makes me feel a little bit older than I think I should be.

And I think I lied - there are definitely more than 2 links in this entry. Oh well.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Snickers!

I hate when more than one quote shows up on here - means I haven't been doing enough!

In reality though, the reason I haven't blogged lately is that I've been busy at work with an Oracle upgrade! Issues issues boy am I tired of all of that!

So to make up for it - I give you two really great things:

Snickers

and

Fedor!

Woohoo!



Awesome!

Quote of the Week - 20

"Make friendship a habit and you will always have friends."

- Jacob M. Braude

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Quote of the Week - 19

"The only people you should try to get even with are the ones who've helped you out."

- Anonymous

Juggling

I 'learned' how to Juggle for a family activity years and years ago, and then learned a bit more from a coworker at a University computer job I had... but I am not a good juggler by any means and would definitely like to improve.

Interesting view on juggling:

8 Reasons Normal people should learn to juggle.

"Juggling is a really good exercise for life. It has a lot of the fun parts of a soul sport (working to better yourself, non-competitive activity, etc.) but isn’t dangerous — unless you’re juggling fire or pancakes or something. That’s why I want everyone to learn."



(via Kottke)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Books

I've been reading a LOT lately. Finished some good books (if you want to see which books you can go to my goodreads here or on the right - and in full disclosure, I do not get anything from goodreads although that would be nice if I did. :p)

Anyway just saw this crazy video over on Gizmodo and thought I would share:



The papercraft is amazing, the voice-over not so much. Still - very interesting!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody!

Speaking of 'acting well thy part'

The Muppets are awesome!!



(from Wired: Geek Dad)

Quote of the Week - 18

"What e'er thou art, act well thy part."

- William Shakespeare

Thursday, November 19, 2009

On Drawing, from Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser is a well known graphic artist - he's the guy that did the I Love New York design!
Here's a great video about drawing he did a few years ago.

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.



I like drawing.

(from Kottke)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Quote of the Week - 17

"Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so!"

- Lord Chesterfield

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Trap in which I Find Myself

Very interesting article on how up until you are over $40,000 a year, a raise might actually make you earn less than you did at a lower wage.

I'm actually working on getting out of this trap myself... and it is a struggle to be sure.

Often times you hear people say that you just need to 'Work Harder' to get the results, but I think more appropriately people need to 'Work Smarter' instead.

(via Kottke)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Ducks are on the March!

Watch out!




Silly ducks. (from Zoomdoggle)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Quote of the Week - 16

"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams unless they be executed."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, November 8, 2009

New (to me) from the Dvinsk Clan

One of the first free-running/parkour videos I ever saw was by the Dvinsk Clan. STILL pretty amazing to watch today.

Via David Belle's (the founder of Parkour) website (translated) I found a new video by these guys, a lot of goofing off and not-so-good language in the music/soundtrack, and if you speak Russian you'll hear quite a lot of vulgarity... but the moves and control these guys have is pretty amazing. About 14 minutes long or so, very interesting to watch.

OUT OF TIME from Андрей Скурьят DREE on Vimeo.



Amazing moves.

I went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour with my wife tonight, (I guess last night now sheesh, I need to get to sleep!) and those dancers were spectacular! Amazing and inspiring for sure!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Prince of Persia Trailer

New movie "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" coming out next May



I must say... This looks like it could be a very cool movie!

I Love Lunch!

Today is just a day for videos!




Fun 'prank' at the Trump Towers Atrium by Improv Anywhere.

New Fuggy Fuggy! Woohoo!

I love Fuggy Fuggy!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Quote of the Week - 15

"He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Friday, October 30, 2009

More Cool Bike Stuff

I don't get the Fly part - but more cool stuff from the bike rider whose video I previously posted (it's a VW commercial)



Cool!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Quote of the Week - 14

"You can't have everything - Where would you put it?"

- Steven Wright

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Quote of the Week - 13

"Happiness depends upon ourselves."

- Aristotle

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Quote of the Week - 12

"The most manifest sign of wisdom is continued cheerfulness."

- Michel de Montaigne

Monday, October 12, 2009

Zazzle!

So I've had my Spreadshirt shop over on the side for a while... but it doesn't get much use. There isn't much there anyway, so I don't mind, plus I didn't do enough with it to expect anything.

However I've recently found a design place that is MUCH more fun to use, and I've already made a mousepad and a couple of shirts. (Really though, do you still use mousepads??)


make custom gifts at Zazzle

I've put it in the side for now as well, but will probably remove it soon. We'll see.

Anyway feedback is appreciated, and suggestions as to which art to use would be greatly appreciated.

Someday it'd be nice to make some money off my doodles, but for now I'm just playing around. :)

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Golem Costume

No, I said GOLEM not Gollum you crazy loon!

This is a sweet costume made by some creative New Zealanders (or maybe they are more aptly, Mordavians...)

Awesome!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

New Goal

I want to make a music video.

That is all.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Free Running/Acrobatics Vid



Pretty sweet moves there!

Quote of the Week - 11

"We want inner peace, but we will not look within."

- Matthew Arnold

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

TAG!

This is just a FUN video from Nike...

Made me smile.



I hope my kids play tag occasionally, but that he isn't ALWAYS 'it'. :)

Quote of the Week - 10

"What a man does, that he is. In himself is his might."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Halloween is SOON! (32ish days)

Why am I awake? Why to inform you that time is running out!!

I just joined a very cool Halloween forum because... well I love Halloween and wanted to get some good ideas for this year. I'm actually late. Awesome ideas, tips, tricks and other fun stuff there.

But to get YOU excited - here is a fun SUPERHERO video!



So, are you ready yet??

I think I am getting my costume narrowed down some, and I'm getting excited!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

More Free Running Yay!!

The guys that made this vid won a 'Reflections' video contest I guess - they live near where I live and grew up actually, although I don't know them.

Still some sweet free running!

The Barefoot Mile (x2)

I recently finished reading the book "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall.

This is a very inspiring book. I recommend it to anybody who is interested in Running or being healthier or even those who just want to read a good story, because it is full of those as well. It tells the story of a race with the Tarahumara people of Northern Mexico who live in very humble conditions yet are quite possibly some of the greatest runners on earth.

My brother has read it multiple times, and 3 years ago he ran 3 marathons and a long mountainous relay BAREFOOT. (blog hasn't been updated since then, still good stuff) The relay he ran is pretty much the main reason I'm trying to become a better runner, since I'm doing the longest and (possibly) hardest legs, so I need the training.

ANYWAY, to the point of this post - Some members of my relay team have been running weekly, I ran 7 miles a few weeks ago with them and since then my knees have been acting up. Plus I think I need more than once a week to get optimal results. So starting Monday I have been running at least a mile every day (woohoo 3 days so far) and I decided to mix it up a bit by running barefoot occasionally.

Monday was my first barefoot mile - and it was great! No problems at all except for a slight discomfort near my second smallest toe. I thought it was from the shape of that toe and stretching it more while running, but it turns out I had a little thorn up in there that as soon as it came out it was fine. Great experience!

Tuesday I ran 3 miles with the team, a great run through a wooded trail behind the local amusement park - the only problem being that it is getting darker and darker every week so we might change locations. We keep it slow and easy because a lot of us are really just getting used to running!

Wednesday, last night, I ran another barefoot mile, but this time wasn't QUITE as nice as Monday's run. Why? BUGS. There were swarms of gnat-like bugs all over, but they are bigger than the normal gnat, and they flew in my eyes, mouth, nose, hair, etc and made it quite difficult to concentrate on form (which is important when barefooting) so I ended up with a quite large and painful blister on one of my toes. When I got home and looked in the mirror there were TONS of the little beasties in my hair - quite gross.

It is nice to be running more often, and I hope that by running shorter distances more often for the next couple of weeks will strengthen my knees (and my form) enough that I can increase the distance. I also think doing this more often will help me shed the final bits of poochiness that I have hanging on!

Speaking of that - I recently completed a Health Evaluation at work so I want to go into that a bit in another post. You'll hear a lot more about my health than you might want to! Woohoo! Until then!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Quote of the Week - 9

"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Yar it be a Happy Day me Hearties!

For there be much piratey goodness abounding!

Free Pirate Games ye bilgerats (And the Monkey Islands games are hilarious)

Superpunch has a list of fun Piratey stuff, and one from last year too!

Then there be places you can buy loot or booty...

But alas I must go ready me ship for a journey on the rolling seas (or the seas opposite really...Mountains) so be jolly my good friends before'n I make keelhaul ye and toss ye overboard!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Don't even THINK about forgetting!

Tomorrow is INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!!!






You only have a bit over half a day (from this posting) to get ready. SO GET READY!

That reminds me, I need to get out me pirate flag and hang it tomorrow.

Swab the decks, me hearties! Tis time to be finding some booty!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Karma

Hilarious commercial from Kyocera.




First I've ever seen it! (I'll post where I found it later when I can link it easier!)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Quote of the Week - 8

"We carry within us the wonders we seek without us."

- Sir Thomas Browne

Monday, September 14, 2009

Halloween Ideas

If only I had a Segway!!

This is a very clever Costume inspired by the Fortune-telling Vending Machine Thingy from the movie Big (and I'm sure its been around much longer too)



Zoltar!!!

from (Make Magazine)

Now I just need to decide what I'M going to do!!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Old Project Finally Finished

A couple of years ago I started a drawing for a co-worker. Her daughter loves horses so she wanted me to do one of my drawings with Horses as the subject.

So here it is!



Who's Gonna ride...? by ~warlordblade on deviantART

Title comes from an old U2 song...

I think I'm doing better at working on these more - hopefully I can keep it up!

P90X Round TWO ... Sigh ... is dead

Boy that sure didn't last long.

Allergies, family events, and just horrible timing have sentenced this attempt to an early doom.

P90X round 2.1 WILL happen before the end of the year though!!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Always Remember, Never Forget - 9/11

While I hesitate to post this due to the very strong feelings it invokes in me...

I DO think it is extremely important to remember the events of 8 years ago.

I can't believe it has already been 8 years.

This is very hard to watch - but amazing to see a normal persons reactions, much like those of us across the country watching on TV.




I can honestly say this event changed a lot of things in my life - the way I look at life.

Peace be unto the world, especially those who suffered 8 years ago and those who continue to suffer throughout the world today.

Posted from National Terror Alert.com

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Quote of the Week - 7

"I have never met a man (or woman) who is not my superior in at least one way."

- Henry David Thoreau

Monday, September 7, 2009

P90X Round TWO

Yup, finally decided it's time to stop putting it off, and weights or no - I'm starting P90X again today, September 7th, 2009 for the second time. Time to 'BRING IT'!

One difference is that I will (hopefully) be running more, I will be replacing Yoga X with a Rodney Yee Power Yoga, (and possibly some others to mix that up a bit - I love yoga but I need to change it up!) and finally I will be replacing the Ab Ripper X program with the Ab Class I have been attending at work for some time. Of course if I miss that ab class then I've gotta do Ab Ripper X or it's no good right? Right!

So there you have it. Updates won't be as often as last time (not that those were that often anyway) but we'll see how it goes!

Before and After pictures will be after. I still have to take the Before pictures later today.

Time to sleep!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Ibuprofen While Exercising?

I know I've thought of using pain killers to prevent pain, but never TOO hard because I'm a little bit masochistic when it comes to muscle soreness/pain - FEEL THE BURN!!! NO PAIN NO GAIN!!

Now when it comes to joint pain, that's where I would have more seriously considered pain pills before exercising.

HOWEVER - The New York Times has an interesting article up on the effects of Ibuprofen during exercise. Check it out. (via biancolo)

I do think we overuse certain technologies where our bodies are concerned. These things are CRAZY AMAZING and much more advanced than anything we come up with. I'm not saying we should discount modern medicine or any of the wondrous things we've created - BUT I AM saying don't discount the amazing human body!

On top of that - most worrisome is that you are taking away from what you are trying to do in the first place! From the article:
The painkillers also blunt the body’s response to exercise at a deeper level. Normally, the stresses of exercise activate a particular molecular pathway that increases collagen, and leads, eventually, to creating denser bones and stronger tissues. If “you’re taking ibuprofen before every workout, you lessen this training response,” Warden says. Your bones don’t thicken and your tissues don’t strengthen as they should. They may be less able to withstand the next workout. In essence, the pills athletes take to reduce the chances that they’ll feel sore may increase the odds that they’ll wind up injured — and sore.
Definitely not something you want!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Free Running type Game

Strangely addicting, and quite difficult at times too!

Give it a try!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Quote of the Week - 6

"These are times that try men's souls. Tyranny, like hell, is difficult to conquer. Our only consolation is that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

- Thomas Paine

Monday, August 31, 2009

Sushi

Food.
For the most part in my life I eat to live, NOT live to eat.

But there are two exceptions to this (as long as you don't include candy).

Steak and Sushi.

Strange that for somebody who eats less than 20% animal products (most of the time we are very good about this) Steak would be at the top of my favorite foods, but there you have it.

Anyway, Steak isn't what I want to talk about today.

I LOVE Sushi! (по-русский)

Until about 5 years ago I hadn't ever experienced it and thought what many many people did about this culinary delight; "Raw fish?!? Eww Gross!"

Then I decided I should give it a try and went to the local "Happy Sumo" with some coworkers and WOW-EE I loved it, especially the Unagi which is still my favorite today. I HATE eels, so I think it's awesome that I love to eat them. We'll see if that Karma comes to bite me someday...

I read an article today about the overfishing of the Bluefin Tuna and how it was hurting Sushi-connoisseurs ability to enjoy sushi. Whatever. I totally agree with the author of the linked article - there is plenty of enjoyable sushi without the Tuna - be adventurous and give it a try!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Words cannot explain...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Quote of the Week - 5

"Worry a little bit and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can, but train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything."

- Ole Helgerson

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Happy Birthday to the Most Amazing Woman in the World


Happy Birthday My Love by ~warlordblade on deviantART

Normally I'm not the most personal person on this blog - I talk about art, I talk about exercise, (which I guess is pretty dang personal in some ways) music, movies and a bunch of other random stuff.

I love my wife. She is the most amazing thing in my life and I am SO thankful that she condescended to marry a man as weird as I am.

I drew this picture for her (and spent WAY too much buying a new iMac to replace her old G4 Powerbook, we'll see if she lets me make her keep it!) in the shortest time I've ever drawn a picture. My hands still hurt (I finished it in the middle of the night/morning yesterday)

I hope she realizes how much she means to me.

I love you, babe!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet!

This Bolt Feller is purdy dern quick...



Seriously. Insane.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Some Special Quotes

Sometimes, you read some inspirational quotes you just have to share NOW - they definitely can't wait until the Quote of the Week...

So here you go...

"I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this."
- Emo Philips (I still love him most in UHF - "Is my face RED! I think it's on the flooor some-where...")

“Sometimes, when you feel down, it helps to think of unicorns. And how they can impale people on their pointy, stabby, horns. Yay! Unicorns!”
- Dan from Shoeboxblog

Thank you for your time.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Breakin' the Law!

I think this is hilarious.

I am not nor was I ever a fan of the band Judas Priest.



Fun song eh?

Well I think it has been IMPROVED by Hayseed Dixie!



Awesome!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I Want This!

So I've already posted this everywhere else - figured I should put it here as well.



Batman Motorcycle Armor! Awesome!

I would definitely actually get that. Honest.

If only...

Quote of the Week - 4

"Knowledge is not enough, you must apply. Willing is not enough, you must do."

- Bruce Lee

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Ties

The other day I wore a tie to work.

What do you think the number one question/comment I got was?

"So where's the job interview?"

Or some variation.

I work in a laid back IT department, so it is rare to see many people (including our CIO and VPs) wearing ties. Still - all my other business casual clothes were dirty and I had an off site Oracle seminar I was going to, so I figured since I was wearing nicer pants I should have a tie to go along with it.

Funny how we are.

And of course, the next time somebody wears a tie here, what am I going to think or ask?

"How'd the job interview go?"

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Quote of the Week - 3

"To save face, keep lower half closed."

- Confucius

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Techno Viking!!!

Okay - this is not new - this is very old now - but I just needed me some Techno viking!!




Someday I hope to be that cool...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Quote of the Week - 2

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life...IT GOES ON."

- Robert Frost

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A Matter of Form

I ran for just under 4 miles today.

Overall it went well, except that occasionally I would have to slow down and stretch out my right knee do to a tight swelling feeling that would start to hurt. I'd slow and walk for a minute, try to stretch it out some, and it'd go away quick - but it wouldn't take long for it to flame up again shortly after running a bit.

I think my right foot is not properly hitting the ground, causing strain on my knee.

New shoes, or Vibram Five Fingers might help - but I know it's not just a matter of footwear (or even going barefoot!)

A couple of books have been suggested to help with this, so eventually I plan on reading them.

Chi Running - Also known as the 'Bible of Barefoot Running' to many barefooters - this book supposedly has helped many increase their ability to run and feel flow while running. My wife owns it (so I guess that means I do too ha!) so I will read this soon.

Born to Run - Story of a man's quest to find out why his foot was hurting - leading him to seek out the greatest long distance runners in the world - a remote tribe in South America. Sounds interesting!

Hopefully I'll find something that will help me with my form - I'm going to need it considering I'll be running in that Relay in 10 months or so!!

Quote of the Week - 1


"Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive!"


- Elbert Hubbard

Monday, July 27, 2009

The Fortress isn't done yet...

I uploaded it anyway as is - for now - because I want to remember what it looks like before I (probably) screw it up!


WIP: Fortress by ~warlordblade on deviantART

What do you think?

I Must Be Crazy

I seriously must have gone crazy over the past few weeks.

Somehow I've agreed to join a team for the Wasatch Back - Ragnar Relay Series next June or so...

Not only have I agreed to run in that insane 187.7 mile Relay... I've tentatively accepted the most difficult legs of the race, a total of 18.4 miles for me, with difficulties of Very Hard (3.8 miles), Hard (7.3 miles), and Very Hard (7.3 - probably the hardest leg of the entire race)...

My beautiful wife was laughing at me last night, not because she thinks I can't do it - just that this is not something I would normally agree too - since she more than anybody understands just how lazy I am.

I think one of the reasons I accepted is because this will force me to go run, and run hard. Up Hills and stuff. I have almost a year so it should be easy, right?

Only if I stick to it.

So we will see how this goes!

As part of this I'm looking into some new running shoes.

Here are my current pair, Nike Free (Ooh... shiny!):



While still shiny, they are quite old and need replacin!

I'm going to look at another pair of Frees while I'm up near the Nike Outlet in a week and a half, but I'm ALSO considering a new pair my Barefoot Bro has been using for a while.

Vibram Five Fingers!

Speaking of my barefoot bro, the bottom link Wall Street Journal - June 6, 2006 is a picture of him after his first barefoot marathon taken by my wife! Cool, eh?

Anyway - Recently every time I wear my La Sportiva trail running shoes I hurt my ankle.

In fact, the last time I wore them for less than an hour, 4 weeks ago, I did something to my ankle that STILL hurts today. When I wear my frees or flip-flops my ankle is mostly fine.

So I want to try out even CLOSER to barefoot (without going barefoot because we've already mentioned - I'm LAZY. I don't WANT to have to pay attention to every step!) and VFF's are the way to go!

If I can finally find a price I'm comfortable with (and I'll probably end up paying the $70-75 for classics anyway) then I'll update you how they are working!

Woohoo go me?!

I definitely must be crazy.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Birds

Finally uploaded my latest drawing, I'm not quite sure what I think about this one.

Some things I really like, others I don't.

It's pretty simple.

Here it is:


The Birds by ~warlordblade on deviantART

Let me know what you think!

It IS nice to put things up and people favorite or comment on it within minutes - makes me feel good. Makes me want to create more. I guess I really like feedback - and even if it is critique, as long as it isn't negative attacks and genuine ideas for improvement - I'd love to hear it!

Thanks!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Why Didn't I Think of That?

I seriously want to do this in every fast food restaurant in the area now...



(via BoingBoing, via Zoomdoggle which I've gotta follow now...)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Go Toyota!

This is just an awesome idea from Toyota.

Solar Powered recharging and wi-fi hotspots?

Sweeeet.

I really wish I was more of an urbanite.

Check out the link for more pics and info!



"Toyota uses 18-foot solar flowers to market 2010 Prius, offers free electricity, wifi"

How to Behave in the Wild New World (Teh Interwebs)

Wired.com has a great new list "How to Behave: New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans"

Some of the ones I like relate to how we act in this now very-much-online world we live in.

i.e. Facebook 'rules':
Never Broadcast Your Relationship Status - This would seem like a no-brainer, but some people just seem to LOVE to be able to instantly inform anybody and everybody that they are breaking up with their current S.O. or divorcing or whatever. The one exception I would think is notification of upcoming nuptials - as I think Weddings ARE supposed to still be a Happy Occasion! (Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who!)

Don't Lie With Your Facebook Photo - I think it is great when people post pictures of way back when - BUT it shouldn't be used as a disguise for what you look like now. At least that's what I think...

Delete Unwanted Posts from your Facebook Wall - Hello! People worry too much about offending others - if somebody puts something that could affect your career or family life or whatever because they were your idiot frat friend from when you were dumb - who cares? Get rid of it. I also think, on the other hand, you don't need to be a Post Nazi about this - if somebody tags you in a decent nice friendly picture - might as well leave it I say - people are interested in seeing you the way other people see you!

Balance Your Media Diet - HA - this is just silly to me, but awesome. (I'd increase the games a bit, but even then that's not an every day thing for me)

Remember, Online Conversations Are Not All About You - There is WAAAY too much one-up-manship in this world. Don't be one of those. You don't have to contribute if you are just trying to make yourself look good.

Use a Plausible Excuse When You Call In Sick - This is just awesome.

There's No Such Thing as Too Many Friends
- Really. It's just not possible to have too many friends!

Don't Work All the Time - I think that sometimes it is good to 'do the right thing' but why live with regrets??

Anyway, I think that is enough from me - check 'em out and see if you like any of the others. Some are a little bit inappropriate for the tender brains of some of my readers, (and my-naive-self for that matter!) and for that I apologize.

And while looking at that, I found another Wired.com list of interesting items; "100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About" - I'm amazed how many of those I remember!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Totally the Awesome!

Boy oh boy do I wish I could 'shred' like this!!

The Awesome -2009 US Air Guitar Championship SF Regional from Alex Koll on Vimeo.



I could probably do without the tights though...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Life is like a bowl of fishes...

If the fishes were the money-eating type...

I've been in a bit of a rut with exercising.

I wish I had enough money to buy a whole bunch of Exercise DVDs and review them. I really like exercise programs and trying them out, then using the best of them.

I still plan on doing P90X again this summer, but there may be some complications in that it would be more beneficial for me to find a part-time second job in the evenings and weekends to help improve our cash situation until a promotion is supposed to come up in a few months. (Anybody know of any good evening/weekend part-time jobs in Northern Utah? Let me know!)

I wouldn't have to get a 2nd job at all if I could just get 1 million people to buy stuff from my (currently not very expansive) Spreadshirt Shop linked here and over on the side! If only!

I do plan on putting more stuff in there based on my artwork (which you can also find on DeviantArt linked to the right), so if you have any thoughts, suggestions, feedback, etc I would really appreciate it!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

MUST STOP LITTLE BABY!

I don't normally like painful videos of people hurting themselves...

But for some reason this video made me laugh like crazy.
I think some of my coworkers thought I WAS crazy for a bit there...


Monday, June 22, 2009

Acoustic Covers

A friend on Facebook posted a video of a band I'd never heard of (Boyce Avenue (wiki)) doing an acoustic cover of Linkin Park's "Shadow of the Day" song, from their "Minutes to Midnight" album, which I have to say is my favorite album of theirs. Pretty cool!



It seems my appreciation for acoustic versions of songs comes and goes. I may be in an acoustic stage again - but I have a hard time listening to all the acoustic cd's I made back in the Napster Heyday... Although sometimes I have trouble listening to MOST of the music I still have from back then!

Friday, June 19, 2009

$15,000,000 anyone?

Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Ennis House to be sold

Yeah I wouldn't mind living in the Ennis House! Unfortunately the 15million price tag is just the beginning, as there are still a lot of repairs and restoration that need to be made.

More can be seen at The Ennis House Foundation's website.

Ahh to have means...

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Friends and Friendship

This weekend was a new technological first for me...

I found about the death of an old friend through Facebook.

The details of his death are still a bit sketchy, and there has not been an official obituary yet. He died of either respiratory complications of illness or a heart attack. At 30 years old he was still very young.

This experience made me contemplate life, death, my relationship with friends, the paths those friendships have taken, and how I would like them to be. It also made me realize that they can be gone instantly with no warning whatsoever.

Now in this persons case, I don't regret our drifting apart. We were friends in Elementary school and Jr. High, our common interests in Basketball cards and the Utah Jazz made us friends...pretty much the same as every boy! I remember in 4th grade trading a random (but good) basketball card to him for an old card he didn't care for much. The player in the card had hairy armpits and a huge fro (to a 4th grader anyway), and a red white and blue basketball held high over his head. Turns out this card was a "rookie" card for Julius "Dr. J" Erving which at the time was worth around $250, an unimaginable fortune for a 4th grader.

(I guess Basketball cards in general are worth less now than they used to be, so you can probably find this for around 100 bucks, depending on condition) I didn't find this out until later, and it had already been 'swindled' from me by another of our basketball card-trading friends. Ahh to be very young and very naive again... as opposed to not that old and still quite naive like I am now!

By High school our interests and activities were too far apart to really associate too much. He moved more into Baseball if I remember correctly, and I moved away from team sports entirely.

I feel for his family and close friends. I wish them comfort and healing for their loss. It was a sobering reminder and opportunity to reminisce and remember the good ol' days, and I wish his close ones all the best.

Like I mentioned earlier, this experience made me contemplate life, death, and relationships with people I consider to be friends.

I do not fear death. Not for myself at least. My biggest fear in that regard being what will happen to my family if I were to die, or what I would do if I were to lose one of them.

As for life - it is a valuable, wonderful, amazing thing that we need to take advantage of - for you never know when you will leave this stop on our cosmic journey, short as it is.

Finally Friends. What makes us friends? What keeps us that way? In some ways I feel like other than my wife I don't really have any close friends because I never see or keep in contact with anybody other than superficial things like Facebook or Instant Messaging. I love Facebook and Instant Messaging because I can then at least keep in contact with people I otherwise have no way or time to be in touch with them.

I wish I had the time and energy (and money!) to keep in regular contact with important people from my life. There are people in Russia who I would love to keep in contact with but I cannot (I really appreciate Facebook for letting me know how some of them are doing!), and close friends from High School who are in the same situation I am and are busy with work and family and LIFE.

I guess I just feel like I am not the best friend. As I age, it's something I ponder more and more and it still confuses me a bit how I cannot seem to get it. I guess I'll just continue to ponder and consider until I find a way to be satisfied with my abilities as a friend.

Friday, June 12, 2009

These Are The Days

And these days are TOO MUCH fun!

Okay so mostly there's been too much of the not fun kind lately - sickness, mortgage (refinance) ridiculousness, lack of exercise...

The exercise I've done most is the Pull up. I can do quite a few sets of 10-12 very easily now, which is really nice. However - if that's all I do it really isn't enough.

After finishing the P90X program I got used to a really active month or two where I had indoor soccer, ab workouts, and more every single day. Then indoor soccer ended, we went on vacation, and got sick right after returning.

Wednesday I did the intense 30 minute ab-class offered here at work, then played an impromptu indoor soccer game for almost two hours and I was DEAD. I went home and crashed at 8:30!! I NEVER go to bed that early. So obviously my body had forgotten quite quickly the ability to be that active. We'll see how it goes today as I'm doing something similar again!

Hopefully the weather stays nice so we can have a yard sale tomorrow and get rid of a bunch of junk. It will be nice to have less STUFF sitting around our house!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Learn to Fly

Wow awesome little game - at least once you get enough to start buying stuff!!

Learn to Fly

David Eddings

I think I've mentioned before that one of my favorite authors is David Eddings.

It is quite difficult for me to really commit to a "Favorite Book" (or series) but if I did it would probably be (and has been in the past) the Belgariad and Mallorean Series by David Eddings.

Good, Clean, Fantasy fun. Seriously awesome books.

My wife wasn't really a fantasy fan, but she loved these books once I finally convinced her to read them!

David Eddings died on Tuesday - he was 77 years old!

Thanks, Mr. Eddings, for wonderful memories and adventures!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

And a stick of buttah...

This is totally a blast from the past...



For some reason I remember it slightly differently though. Amazing what time will do to your memories. Crazy animation!

As for my 'planned post' on Competition... Yeah I'm horrible at planning posts. I think I'm much better at random updates.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Freerunning Philosophy

Sébastien Foucan is one of the founders of Parkour and considered the father or founder of Freerunning.

On his website is the following (along with lots of other cool stuff, go check it out) philosophy of freerunning that I just love:

**********

Freerunning is an evolution. Move like an animal. be fluid like water or find your own balance with a certain philosophy. This is the path of the Freerunner. Be focused within yourself more than the outside world.


The most important Freerunning advice is to follow your own path, your intuition - Make progress step by step. Don’t forget to find the path towards your own balance - Your own rhythm is essential to enjoyment and understanding Freerunning”.


Sébastien believes in the concepts of:


No violence
No violence, no destruction! Be focused on Passion and Creativity

No competition
Do not seek a prize, don’t compete against others! Competition is an illusion, where only the winners are remembered and losers forgotten you can learn from it, but it’s not The Way. In the Freerunning philosophy there is no Loser. The journey is more important than the goal.

No group
Just be one community, we can share with others,some people have more experience but we are all different and you need to find your own path.

No chief
No Leader, follow your way!
People can inspire you and you should respect them,
but you have to follow your way!


**********

My next planned post is actually related to the "No Competition" point listed here... I really like what he says.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Jump Westminster

Sorry... I've been a bit obsessed with Parkour/Free Running lately!

This is a great documentary about a program in England where they are using Parkour as a sports program to keep kids off the streets. Really cool.




At 28 minutes, it's pretty long - but even the first few minutes are awesome. Seeing this little kids practicing parkour REALLY makes me want to practice this with my kids, I think it would benefit them and me a lot!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Absolutely Still

The first song on the new Better Than Ezra album is one that I really DO like - and they have come out with a video for it that is slightly trippy but still cool.



This one is their first singles so you may hear it on the radio.

Coldplay

More and more I find that I really enjoy most of Coldplay's music, especially when I'm in more of a 'Chill' mood.

So even more awesome is that right now you can get a free live Coldplay album called Left Right Left Right Left from their website!

Sweet!

Jaded

I honestly don't know what is going on lately.

Two things have recently come out that I have been looking forward to for some time.
One, a movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The other, a new music album: Paper Empire by Better than Ezra.

(I actually pre-ordered Paper Empire throught the BTE fan emails and received an autographed copy the day before it was available in stores)

The weird thing is that while I don't hate either of them, I like them both... but I'm not FULLY satisfied. I enjoy them, but am left wanting more in a way I can't really explain.

I must say that I was actually not satisfied at first with the prior BTE album "Before the Robots" either, but it really grew on me after listening to it for a while and I really like it now.

So it is possible that for both of these, I just need to give them some more time and attention. (I honestly wouldn't mind seeing Wolverine again :) )

What is most strange about this is that it isn't just these two things that are this way for me, they are just the most immediate and big examples.

Maybe it's just a stage of life I'm going through.

I quit World of Warcraft a few months back - that took a lot of time - and while I could easily fall back into it, I don't really care to, but I feel this void since then. I think WoW was filling the void, but not really satisfying anything either.

So I am going to try to concentrate on the things I know I want to do more, but haven't GIVEN them enough time. Art, Music, Fitness, maybe even a bit of writing...

We'll see.

One thing is for sure - I do NOT want to continue feeling unsatisfied by everything, because I think a big part of that is my own choice. I will change that. I am going to be positive and I'm going to be satisfied and NOT jaded!!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Reach

From the Cannes Short Film Competition:
Reach


(via Drawn)

From those YouTube Cannes vids - "Sebastian's Voodoo" is a creepily intriguing one and "Black Hole" is a good one too.(I haven't watched them all yet, and I'm not sure if I will or not)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Punch Out!!!

Fun Commercial - I wonder how it will compare to the original being on the Wii??

Friday, May 8, 2009

The People Demand More Videos!!

And by the people I mean ME... cuz nobody else really cares that much! Woohoo!

But seriously I could watch this stuff all day.

Unfortunately I can't cuz I'z gots WORK to do!!







It's Not My Time
by 3 Doors Down also has some Free Running in it... but I wish they'd stay on the runner more than they switch back to the band! Still, not a bad music video.

And finally for those who are sick of these amazing videos, or would rather watch something else - here's a GREAT Muppets/Oceans 11 trailer!!


**Update**
Sorry... had to add one more - this one is 8 minutes long - but it's a very fun watch. I love the older people's reactions to the traceurs!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

More Free Running

I think Free Running is SO cool - and saw this post on kottke so I had to share it here.

Levi Meeuwenberg has done lots of stuff! Even some of the very first scenes from one of my favorite TV Shows - Chuck! Awesome! Check it out:


I have seen portions of the Sasuke/Ninja Warrior show and I wish they had it on my current (as of yesterday) cable plan. Those hardcore Japanese game shows always amaze me.

You can also find more info about the Physics of Free Running there at that link, interesting read.

And we need another Parkour video as well:


Now I just need to figure out what's up with my Equilibrium - since I've been getting older I get dizzier/woozier easier (those are great words) and that won't work with some moves, like the basic roll.

SO yeah. Gotta do me some research methinks.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Dumbells and Abs

Last week I started the ab workout class that is offered here at work - Yow! It's awesome!

I was able to go all 3 days last week, but Monday I missed it due to a service call with Oracle support, which went an hour and a half longer than I expected. (The call was an hour and a half)

I'm definitely looking forward to getting back into the ab class again today.

Taking that class last week actually helped save me from injury during an indoor soccer game. The team we were playing against has some major kickers - and one of those kicked the ball extremely hard right into my stomach. I was still sore and very tight from the previous days ab class so it didn't do a thing to me! It felt good that it didn't hurt - made me feel tough.

Anyway - on to dumbells! I plan on doing P90X again - maybe even kind of doubles if I can find the time (for the next few weeks this will definitely be impossible due to the energy it takes to take part in this corporate indoor soccer thing we're doing!) - BUT one thing I really want to find before doing P90X again is a bigger variety of dumbells - especially more than 25 lbs for my arms, otherwise I just won't get what I'm looking for.

So - keep an eye out for good deals on dumbells for me ok? Thanks!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

We need some Jedi...

Or we may very well be in trouble...



May the Force be with you!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Saab

I've never really been a fan of Saab cars, but while looking at some of the nominees for this years Webby Awards for Best Visual Design: Aesthetic - I discovered the "Turbo Gene Test".

Takes a while to load but so far I think it's pretty dang cool.

**UPDATE**
Finished it finally - as a warning while the overall test isn't THAT long, a few spots take a LONG time to load.

My Result:


Here was my Car result: