Laughing Wolf
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday Was Good, Today…
Yesterday was a good day. I went to the doctor for yet another immunization and I think by the end of April I will be good for Hep A, Hep B, Tetanus, Typhoid, Meninngoccoal (sp?), Yellow Fever, Polio (had an update), Rabies, Japanese Encephalitis, and Rabies. Dengue fever is being discussed as an add on… The gym then beckoned, and I spent about an hour and a half working out. Shower, then hit Lafayette Brewing for a late lunch, a special Irish ale, and some down time.
I then went to St. Patrick’s central for the area, Nine Irish Brothers. There was already a crowd, but a nice one overall. Corned Beef and Cabbage, a couple of pints of Guiness (one of which was raised to brother Grim, he being unable to raise one himself being in the sandbox), and some good conversations made for a delightful afternoon. I left before the rush truly began (and the amateurs arrived), meandered through a coffee shop and a bookstore, then made my way home.
No offense to LBC, but I go there on St. Patrick’s Day simply because of the special glass they do. I’ve gotten one about every year I’ve been here, and like to keep the tradition alive. Other than brewing up their Irish stout, they just don’t do much for St. Patrick’s Day, and don’t even do special food for it, just pretty much their normal stuff. Nine Irish, on the other hand, pulls out all the stops and is THE place in this part of Indiana for Day. They do a variety of food including corned beef and cabbage, good Irish coffee, ales, shots, and more. It is one of my favorite places anyway, but on this day…
Well, today has been interesting, and I just lied to the boss. When asked how I was doing, I did my usual great-bright-eyed-bushy-tailed-ready-for-whatever-you-need-sir. Actually, the vaccination yesterday has given me that wonderful beaten-all-over-with-baseball-bats feeling and flu symptoms. Beats spasms and convulsions that some people get from that one, but really didn’t expect it after last Monday going so well. Bleh. Think the six inoculations cancelled each other out. Would prefer to be hungover than the faux flu… Well, except that in my younger days I never did get hungover no matter what I did. Don’t care to test if that still holds, either, thank-you-very-much.
LW
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Current Work Out
I’m still surprised by the interest people have in my workouts. So, below the fold I am going to go into details for those who are interested, and the rest of you can skip it if you like. I have run into my personal trainer, and I hope to be working out with him again in a month or so at least one day a week. Before I can do that, however, I need to build back my base.
Your base is your base level of muscular and cardiac conditioning. Of the two, the cardiac is the most important, IMO, as it controls what you get out of the workouts, and how soon you get it. Simply put, the first few weeks of working out really amounts to getting your heart in shape to do more. The heart is a muscle, and it responds to exercise. The better shape it is in not only means good cardiac shape, but also sets the stage for serious fat burning. At risk of gross oversimplification, you have two cardiac workout zones. The low end tends to burn fat more than anything else, while the high end makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart most often (but not always) equals lower pulse rate, more efficient operation, and lower blood pressure. It also means your pulse doesn’t shoot up into the higher zone as quickly. Think of it as the heart looking after itself first, and then looking out after others/other things.
Right now, I am re-building my base and have just completed my second full week of same. I am looking to get my heart rate back to where it was when I went to Iraq the first time, so that I can then work on serious fat burning and strength building. As a side issue, I am working to get my basic muscle groups close to the same level I had before the first embed. Doing that means a routine of:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Stretch and limber. Leg lifts. 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer on a cross-country program, max “height” at the max elevation of the machine, the lows at the lowest the program will allow, and a moderate level of resistance. Machine leg press, machine back extension, machine crunch forward and to each side.
Thursday, Friday: Stretch and limber. Crunches. Upper body workout consisting of Free Motion machine Row (overhand, underhand, cross body, alternating), Free Motion lat pull downs, Free Motion pec fly, Free Motion up and down axe chops, barbell work, incline lifts, bench press, misc. physical therapy work.
The Free Motion are a brand of machine, and I rate them highly, in the same way I rate Precor brand ellipticals and treadmills as about the best out there. The FM machines don’t have all the guides and limits (hence, free motion) so you do need to be trained in how to do the exercise as well as how to use the machine.
Since I am trying to keep to exactly one hour, I may have to start breaking up the upper body work, but that is okay (though I admit I don’t like it). The goal is not massive strength training, but more toning and getting the body back to the point where it can get the most out of real strength training.
The good news is that the cardiac portion is coming along well. I am showing a drop in peak pulse rate and a very good improvement in recovery rate. Yes, I am tending to use the upper training zone and not the “normal” training zone most charts show. The advantage of using a personal trainer who does the necessary tests is that you can get customized normal and upper training zones worked out for you.
To see where I am, I use a heart measurement system from Polar. This way, I can monitor things and tune my workout so that I am using pulse rates to determine when I do rather than just time between sets. I’ve just done the yearly battery change as I had starting getting erroneous readings of zero pulse (I’m not dead yet!) and up around 220 beats per minute—it was only off by about 100 beats per minute. Having learned my lesson several years ago, I do periodically run manual checks of the pulse rate to verify the accuracy of my readings.
On the elliptical trainer, I am trying to maintain at least 140 strides per minute no matter the elevation without breaking my upper limit. Not quite there yet, but getting there: at which point I will try for 150 strides per minute. Doing it this way not only helps the cardiac, but also my overall endurance. When I get where I can do the 140-150 comfortably, I will probably up the resistance a bit and am also checking to see if I can move into using a weighted pack and then move into full kit. That’s still a few months away, not to mention getting permission to violate the dress code and such…
Once the base is back, I will probably switch the endurance portion to two days a week, strength training to two days a week, and make the odd day the one with the personal trainer.
LW
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Attention On Net: Er, Nevermind, That Was Quick
Angela Madsen is a veteran of the United States Marines and has rowed across the Atlantic—as a paraplegic. She became ”differently abled,” as she puts it, following failed back surgery in 1993. Like any Marine, she has adapted and overcome and works hard to help others—including those injured in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as children—do so as well.
Yesterday morning, this started as a very different post. My friend Val Prieto at Babalu Blog contacted me with the story of some low-life scum stealing the trailer from her van as it was parked overnight at a motel. The result is that she has had to cancel all planned events. This was something that neither Val nor I were going to let stand. What this did to my blood pressure I leave to your imagination.
That was yesterday morning. By just a bit after lunchtime, the situation had changed completely. The trailer company stepped forward and was building a custom trailer for materials costs. Another group had stepped forward and taken care of the materials half, and a new trailer was being made. Angela was in touch with a number of other groups, including Soldier’s Angels. A lot of good has come and is coming out of this despicable act, and not only is my blood pressure down, it reminds me (and you) of the good people out there.
Angela will soon be travelling from Florida to California with her boat on a new trailer. She is interested in the possibility of meeting up with groups and people as she travels. You can reach her via her blog and be sure to check out her and Frank’s site.
To all who stepped forward, our thanks.
Val Prieto
Laughing Wolf
Angela Madsen
See also Val’s post and Blackfive.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
This Is Gonna Hurt…
As in, I think I’m going to feel this tomorrow.
Yesterday, I bought two bicyles. I’ve been wanting a couple for some time now, and things came together. Yes, two. One will be kept at work and one will be at home for some long-distance (at least 100 feet!) riding.
First up, I wanted them for exercise and getting around sans gasoline. I let things slide a bit after my first embed, and am now working out regularly again, and bicycles are a good way to augment that workout. A bicycle is also the fastest way to get to the workout.
Secondly, if you have a bug-out plan, you need to think staging. I can think of several situations that can find you having to move on sans car/truck/similar-vehicle. Having bikes that can handle road or rough gives you a good option other than shanks mare.
Third, I have agreed to take part in/blog about the Face of America Bicycle Ride. It’s been a good twenty years since I did any serious riding, and I suspect doing some before the event is a good idea…
That said, I can already tell I am likely to feel it tomorrow. Yesterday saw me riding one bike around downtown Lafayette checking it out and getting things adjusted. Today has already seen three bike trips on the other bike running errands and going to the gym to work out. I think that the word of the day tomorrow may just be “ouch.”
LW
Time-Sucker
Hey, Thanks Mike and Ace for this, er, time-sucking entertainment (NSFW). Not sure if that thanks was sarcastic or not…
LW
Hey Fiserve Health: A Quick Insurance/Automation Rant
My patience with voicemail systems has been sorely tested this week, as such systems have caused things to take close to an hour versus five minutes dealing with a real person. Anyone who tells you that such systems are for your convenience is either stuck-on-stupid or a liar. They are for the convenience and cost-cutting of the organization using them.
This morning, I had the fun joy of dealing with such an automated system that would not put one through to a person. My insurance carrier somehow got the idea that one of the immunizations I was getting was because of an accident or injury. Even if you indicated that it was not such, it persisted with a line of questioning as if you had said yes. All this after a lecture on how any incomplete, incorrect, or otherwise dishonest answer (including apparently hitting the wrong button on the menu list) would have the fraud unit after you and you will burn, burn, burn. I’ve answered the questions, and would love to talk to a real person about why and such, but that apparently can’t take place, at least not yet. The funny thing is, the inoculation that appears to be causing the frantic notices and threats cost all of eight dollars.
Here’s a hint for the folks at FiServe and other insurance companies: you get inoculations to prevent diseases and getting them saves you the insurer money in the long run. Smart companies know this and encourage them, even if they seem exotic. They don’t threaten the person getting them, they encourage it. They also are not penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to automation. It may save you some money because you can can a few more people, but if you don’t serve the customers with it, it really doesn’t help. Feh.
Sorry, had my fill of “helpful” automation and am tired of insurance companies that presume you are up to something because you try to prevent problems.
LW
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Obligatory Spitz Take
Elliot Spitzer is stepping down. Good. There were manifold reasons to dislike or even cordially loathe the man; so much so, that I am almost sorry to see what did happen. Most of all, I am sorry for his children who do not deserve the derision and such that are sure to come their way from so-called friends as well as strangers.
Personally, I would have no problem with his using prostitutes save for two things. First, as a prosecutor he swore oaths that required him to prosecute same, so he is an oathbreaker there. Never mind that as governor he signed into law an act increasing the penalty for those who used prostitutes; and, if that comes back to bite him in the butt I will find that delightful poetic justice. Second, I presume that his wedding vows were standard, which means he broke that oath as well. If he was a patron of that service at the same time he was prosecuting others, possibly including their competition, he may well be a lawbreaker as well as an oathbreaker.
The fact is, I think that prostitution should be legalized. On a philosophical level, the one true thing we own is our own bodies: for others to control them is slavery, with the degree of control being the degree of slavery involved. If that gift be consensual, that is one thing; but, if it is forced by person or institution to any degree, then that be wrong. If what you do with your body harms not another, then why should it be the concern of anyone else or any law? On a practical level, the current system facilitates and continues a system of denigration, degradation, abuse, and worse to prostitutes. Prostitutes of any gender or orientation often find themselves as slaves and chattel with no recourse to reclaim themselves or break the vicious cycle being perpetuated. To continue our present system of laws and codes is to condone non-consensual slavery, rape, and abuse; and, I find that to be reprehensible.
Do I think prostitution is good? Define good. Would I want my daughter to be one? No, it would not be my first or even my hundredth choice; but, then again, it would not be my choice to make. Have I used a prostitute? Define. Do flowers, food, jewelry, and other “luxury” items count the same as cash? If not, why not? Would using such a service be better and more honest than using lies, deceit, trickery, or more to get a target out of their knickers? Just some food for thought…
What I do know is that I have talked with prostitutes, and even broken bread with a few. Some were low end, some high end—and it is amazing the talking you can get people to do just by starting the conversation as a person, not someone who is going to save them, fix them, rescue them, etc. An acquaintance/friend actually married an “escort” (one of several very interesting wives). Short version is that such conversations are why I think the current system needs a radical rethink and thoughtful legalization. Don’t pull that harm society as a whole bit either: society is an artificial construct, and only individuals can be harmed. What direct measurable harm to you would legalization do to you, or to the prostitute who is currently subject to abuse and far too many to defacto slavery? Again, some food for thought.
If I had my dreams realized, it would probably be in line with the Guild from Firefly, pulling from the best parts of the Geisha and related traditions, or any of several systems (quite similar to the Firefly system in many respects) put forward by Robert Heinlein. I will settle for something that allows people to make their own choices for their own reasons free of potential abuse and those being abusive.
Elliot Spitzer is a power-hungry civil-master wannabe, who sought power long and hard in as many forms as possible. He was something of a rogue prosecutor, with several prominent cases that crashed and burned after he moved on up the political ladder. His administration has been mired in and marred by scandals. As I said, there were many reasons to loathe him and to see him gone. Were it not for the oaths he swore, his use of prostitutes and alleged liking for unsafe sex really wouldn’t matter to me. As it is, I am glad to see him go and hope he stays gone. My sympathy is with his kids, who will pay a price for his actions. What I would love to see come out of this is a rethinking of prostitution and many blue laws.
LW
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thank You Gene Simmons
Okay, words I never thought I would say. It has been an interesting mix of a day, and I ended up flipping through channels not finding anything worth watching until I hit his reality show. The only reason I stopped was that the info bar that pops up when I switch had the words “Camp Pendleton” and they caught my eye. It seems his daughter had to do a paper on the armed forces, and Gene decided she needed to really do some research—so he arranged for them to go through a taste of Marine boot camp, visit wounded at a VA hospital, and a bit more. The finale was a concert Gene and friends gave for the troops. Gene seriously got choked up visiting the wounded and veterans, and thanked them for what they did, and did so in the right way. I did get a good laugh when there was a Q&A before the concert, and a female Navy rating asked him how many women he had slept with—and when he whispered a number in her ear, she got big eyed and said “Holy SHIT!” and asked him if he was joking. Don’t think he was.
Thank you, Gene. Thank you for caring enough to expose your daughter to all that service means, and showing her what respect means and is. Thank you for taking the time to do the extra things you did, for your child and most of all for the veterans of all ages. Thanks.
Got to clean up the house now, can tell it’s been too long as dust kept getting in my eyes…
LW
who cordially loathes most reality (or any other) programming, but is glad he watched this
UPDATE: Does anyone else think Gene’s son has a strong resemblance to a young Jim Morrison?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Human Pincushion Am I
My travels resulted in my doctor and I getting serious about inoculations, to the point that she referred me to another doctor who specializes in such. Turns out, he is a former military doctor and we had a very nice visit today. Well, nice for all of me but my arms, which got three shots each. On the plus side, I should not have to worry about Yellow Fever, Typhus, or a number of other delights… Just glad it wasn’t upper body day at the gym, and that I have nothing strenuous planned for the evening.
LW
Thanks to a Special Reader
Recently, I had an interesting week given a nice bit of brightness when someone sent me three Good Eats DVDs. I’ve sent a thank you note, but in case it doesn’t make it, thanks!
LW
Sunday, March 09, 2008
CPR and Preparedness
While I am disappointed that the English Werewolf and the Borzoi were not able to make it up this weekend as planned, it was a very good Saturday. The worst of the weather stayed down at Indy and further south, and while that area got slammed we had mostly sunny skies and what passes for very nice weather this winter.
I went ahead with one activity we had planned, which was attending a CPR course at the local Red Cross. This time of year, the Red Cross in many areas offers CPR certification classes for a token fee, and being a cheap b*****d Scot I take full advantage of it. As it turned out, yesterday was a two-fer as they did a follow-on session for child CPR after the adult CPR certification. Making up for the absence was the presence of some of my Wolf Park friends, who stayed for the first part before having to leave.
Add in a lunch at Nine Irish Brothers as long as I was in town from the wilds of NW Indiana, and a bit of shopping/browsing for supplies, and it was a good day. I hope yours was good too.
LW
Monday, March 03, 2008
The Great Stoned Jenny…
WIth thunderstorms predicted for today, I’m trying something new to help her with her dislike (severe understatement) of loud booms. So, after talking with her doctor, I hit her with a dose of melatonin (sp?) this morning. I wrapped the capsule in some cheese, and was amazed when she actually chewed some, clearly cracking the capsule. She ate it though.
I would love to know how fast that stuff acts, for a few minutes later I took her out to put her on her (repaired) lead system. She normally is very good about it, but today got very interested in her treat. So much so, she went back, and back, and back, and eventually over onto her back (fall down, go boom!). I did get the lead on her, and gave her the treat, but that was quick—and funny.
LW
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Updates Underway
After far too long a time, I am starting to update and re-do the blogroll. If you want to nominate someone for a category, let me know. If you have been dropped, and aren’t dead yet, let me know. If you think you should be in a different category, make your case. There is still a long ways to go, but it has started—and I am giving the pebbles a chance to vote.
LW
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Think I’m Happier Not Knowing
There are days when I honestly believe that I am far better off not knowing what goes on at the lair when I am gone.
I had to go run a few errands around lunch time, and per usual hooked Jenny up to her lead system before I left. When I got back, Jenny was on the porch, and then rapidly down to the fence and gate. Excited. Extremely excited and talkative, to the point I was concerned she might just figure out she can go over said fence and gate. My first thought that someone had let her off the lead was dashed when I saw it still clipped to her collar.
Well, rather, part of it was there. It looks like she somehow managed to snap what was supposed to be aircraft rated steel cable a couple of feet up. No signs of gnawing or such, just a good snap that may have been building for some time judging from the coloration.
Looks like my plans for a quiet afternoon are going to have to be put on hold for a quick trip to the hardware store for repair items…
I knew I shouldn’t have gotten her the home metalworking kit…
LW
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Spanking Leads To Risky Sex?
Huh. I find that spanking someone usually leads to good and fun sex. Oh, wait, this is another attempt to demonize any form of corporal punishment I think. Feh. Prefer my first take based on the short headline…
LW
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