Maryland: On the leading edge of destroying freedom. Again.

This time, they have voted to drop out of the Electoral College by giving all electors to the Presidential candididate with the most votes Nationwide.

By not understanding why there is an Electoral College, O'Malley and his minions continue to do everything they can to destroy what's left of the Classical Liberal foundation of this Union.

But the new rules would also disconnect a state's voters from its electors. Maryland voters could vote 100 percent Democratic, but if the Republican won the national vote, Maryland's electoral vote would go to the Republican. "It's based on the proposition that, say, those of us who live in Maryland care more about the national outcome of the popular vote for the president across the country than we do for our own particular state," Mann said.

Die, Federalism. Die.

Of course, in typical Maryland fasion, they don't actually have the stones to do anything... the bill just says if other states do this, we'll do it.

Connections

Friday night, we did the Fells Point Art Loop with a group of friends, and came back to La Casa de Stagg for a dinner of lasagna and shrimp scampi (depending on your diety affiliation, as it was Good Friday).

What was cool about it? That all of the people there, we met through J's business. That says a lot, not only about how she runs her business, but how cool it is to live in an urban area like this.

Where else but in Baltimore, would you have:

A realtor
A fat guy with a goatee and an MBA
An undercover vice cop
A salon owner
A teacher/do-gooder/runner of non profit
A printing company owner
A sex toy marketer
A commercial real estate expert

All in one place for dinner, all connected via someone who sells houses.

Dissapointing

J and I have season tickets to the Hippodrome, where Broadway Across America runs a 6 show season.

This season, we've really enjoyed the tickets and the shows.

Unfortunately, next season just doesn't look very good. Not a very good mix of shows, there.

Altering your diet DOES work!

In spite of this report coming out of the University of California.

This is one of the gems in the story:

Dr Mann said: "We decided to dig up and analyse every study that followed people on diets for two to five years. We concluded most of them would have been better off not going on the diet at all.

"Their weight would have been pretty much the same, and their bodies would not suffer the wear and tear from losing weight and gaining it all back.

"The benefits of dieting are simply too small and the potential harms of dieting are too large for it to be recommended as a safe and effective treatment for obesity."

So a safe and effective means of fighting obesity is What? Invasive surgery that removes 80% of an internal organ?!?! Maybe some drugs?? How about we quit giving those folks credit for having such an incredible lack of willpower that they had to have a doctor make it physically impossible for them to overeat instead of actually eating less. (And they still never get svelte!)

How about we wake up and realise that anyone telling you this stuff is probably trying to sell you something (like surgery or drugs). Your doctor doesn't make any money if you figure out how to eat well.

This kind of thing really does drive me a bit nuts. Let me give you a couple of bits of clarification, brought to you by the Groovy Uncle Pauly School of Common Freaking Sense (tm).

1) Diets do not fail. People fail at diets
2) Long term health is directly related to the development of long term habits.

So if you go on a diet for 3 months, drop 20 pounds, and then 3 months later you are heavier than you were when you started, you screwed up. Not the diet.

Buried in the story is this:

Last night, British experts said that fad diets do not work and that the key to maintaining a healthy weight is making gradual, long-term changes.

Dr Beckie Lang, of the Association for the Study of Obesity, said: "Maintaining a healthy weight isn't about going on a diet and coming off a diet when you reach your target weight. It is about adopting skills that change your eating habits for life."

This really isn't that tough to understand. Eat less food, move a little more. Go to Precision Nutrition, buy the package, read it, and implement it. Get on a bike, go for a walk, join a gym.

And if you are physically unable to do those things, figure out a way to change that. Quit coming up with excuses, and find what you can do that works.

Workout B

Trying something I should have done years ago - getting back to the very basics. Today would have been workout 'A', but I'm a contrarian.

Plus, it's National Bench Press Day (Monday), and there were no benches. Plenty of squat racks though.

Warmup: Stuff

Squat
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x5, 4, 3

Standing OH Press
45x10
95x5
3x5 @ 115

Bent Row
45x10
135x5
185x5
5x5 @ 225

Hammer Strength Shrug (Seated)
115 per side 2x6

45 degree hypers
2x10

Lots of stretching.

Man Laws

I've always thought that people who drink Miller Lite shouldn't get to make man laws, because it's not really a manly beer. Maybe Bud or Miller Highlife, but honestly, it takes a man's man to put down some Spaten Optimator

Dan the Bar Man makes an even more salient point about people with facelifts and wigs developing man laws, along with a very effective photo comparison.

Pushin and tuggin

Yes, it's another training post. Look out, y'all.

Warmup - lots of stuff

Bench
2x12 @ 45
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5

Oh Press
45x10
95x5
115x5
135x3

Bent Row
45x10
135x5
185x5
225x5

Pressdown
4 sets of 12

face pull
4 sets of 12

Slow and steady is the route.

This is Tyrrany.

I'm astounded stories like this one don't get more attention. This is exactly why the government can't regulate speech or the press, yet the only place you see it is Reason.

"They love green technology - as long as we buy it from them, and pay too much."

Typical government environmentalism.

Traditional incandescent light bulbs use up more electricity than energy-efficient bulbs, yet many consumers still just buy the incandescent ones because the up-front cost is less. And why are the energy-efficient ones more expensive initially? Because in 2002, the European Commission, after lobbying by candlemakers, er, I mean the EU's energy-efficient lightbulb makers, imposed a 66% tariff on Chinese-made energy efficient bulbs. The justification was the claim that China engages in "dumping", by which they mean China can produce bulbs more cheaply.

According to the Financial Times, "Ending the duty would cut prices to the level of conventional bulbs." The tariff is due to expire in October but European manufacturer Osram wants to have it extended. As the Swedish commentator Johan Norberg puts it: "They love green technology - as long as we buy it from them, and pay too much."

The first real day.

Today was the first real training day of what will be many, strung in a row, towards a meet or something. Not happy at all with where I am, and I still have some nagging back pain, although I'm pretty sure I figured out it's from some tight muscles.

Warmup: 5 mins elliptical, some dynamic stretching.

Squat
45x8
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x4
Strength was there, but broke form on rep 5.

Good Morning
45x8
135x5
185x1
This was really uncomfortable. I may take these out and try SLDL. I need to get my back healthy.

45 Degree Hypers
3x12

Bench situps
2x15

Neutral grip pulldowns
2x15 @ 100

Shrugs
2x8 @ 3pps

HS leg curl
2x7 @ 90

Lots of stretching.

Trained from 3:30 to 4:30. Wiseblood never gets old.

A fantastic post on income inequality.

At Coyote Blog, Warren Mayer has an outstanding post on the Zero Sum Fallacy.

We are all richer than the richest people from 100 years ago.

Asking the right questions

Radley Balko asks one of them.

Aren't those transgressions quite a bit more worthy of congressional oversight than whether or not GSA showed a partisan PowerPoint during somebody's lunch hour?

3/29/07 Benchin"

Rap, Bon Jovi, and Briney. Makes me yearn for a 40x40 garage.

Warmup: Front and side raises, face pulls, hypers, situps, and pushups.

Bench Press
2x10 @ 45
2x5 @ 95
135 x5
3x5 @ 185

OH Press
2x10@45
3x5 @ 95

BB Bentover Row
45x10
135x5
2x5 @ 185

Lying db ext ss w/ seated hammer curl
2x8 @ 30

Face Pull
3x12 @ 100

I didn't feel good benching, but I think I'll feel better after a coupld of sessions.

Watch this one

Just to see the difference in how you and I would be treated, and how the ruling class is treated.

As I'm sure you heard, Senator Webb's aid was caught with an unregistered firearm in the Capitol.

How much would you like to bet they even get the gun back.

Of course, this also goes into the DC gun ban, and that it is illegal for Senator Webb to have that gun in DC, which he certainly did. This is the same Congress, by the way, that wouldn't vote on overturning that ban.

Oh, and isn't it neat that Federal Law says members of Congress, or 'their agents', can transport weapons to Capitol grounds.

You and I, notsomuch.

3/26/07 Squat

Monday afternoon training session. Thank FSM for a flexible job.

Warmup: 5 mins elliptical, dynamic stretching

Squat
45x8,8
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x5

Good morning
2x8 @ 135

45 degree hypers
4x10

Bench situps
20, 10

Pullups
2x4

Lots of stretching

All in all, not to shabby. My SI joint is still flared up, but it feels OK when I'm training. All poundages felt pretty light.

30 Second Bunnies Theater

From Angry Alien Productions.

Now that's freaking funny.

Via Johnny.

We need government run healthcare!

Look at how well they manage underage drinking violations!

When Adam Fried was 14 he got busted at a keg party.


"There were about 30 kids there and the police came and someone must have called for noise violation or something and everyone that was there got a citation for being underage at party with beer," Fried said.

Fried faced the music and thought he did the right thing.

"I paid it and believed in all honesty that that was the end of it," Fried said.

Now, 32, and old enough to drive, the married father of one just got a blast from the past, or more accurately the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

A letter came referring to his 1988 drinking citation, saying his driver's license is suspended for 90 days. PennDOT demanded his license.

Fried called PennDOT.

"They can only tell you that they don't make the law they enforce the law, but the law was from 19 years ago," Fried said.

So he contacted the NBC 10 investigators, who contacted PennDOT.

They said state law demands underage drinkers lose their license for at least 90 days.

"I was 14. There was no driving involved in it whatsoever," Fried said.

But the state said that doesn't matter, and if you're too young to drive when busted, they'll suspend your licenses when you get one.

PennDOT told NBC 10 they should have suspended Fried's license when he got it in 1990 when Fried was 16 and acknowledged the error was on their part.

PennDOT also said "once in a while, this happens."

But state Rep. Micheal Gerber, who represents Fried's district, said once in a while is too much.

Gerber said his office is working to get Fried's license reinstated by the end of the week.

Fried is an interior designer who said he needs to drive about 150 miles a day.

"It has been devastating just in the few days that I have not been able to drive," Fried said.

Gerber said Fried only needs to pay a $25 restoration fee. That should put the brakes on this nightmare.

Just $25, to rectify their problem. Ignoring that the law is stupid to begin with.

Educational Sex.

In Rhode Island, a woman gets probation for letting a 9 year old (her daughter) watch her and her boyfriend boink.

Rhode Island woman who routinely had sex with her boyfriend in front of her 9-year-old daughter to teach her about sex was sentenced to three years' probation, authorities said Tuesday.

Rebecca Arnold, 37, and David Prata, 33, who received the same sentence this week, told investigators they thought the practice would help the child to learn, prosecutors said.

"Basically, and I'm tempted to say idiotically, they believed it was helpful to the girl, Ms. Arnold's daughter; they believed it was helpful to her development to see them engaging in various sex acts in front of her," said Mike Healey, spokesman for state attorney general Patrick Lynch.

The pair told investigators that they allowed the girl to watch their sexual romps but did not compel her to.

Now, I'm not sure if this is or is not healthy for the 9 year old, but I have to ask - why is this the government's business? If they showed the 9 year old a porn, would that be illegal? How about talking about sex? Photos in a book?

We can talk at length about how intelligent or appropriate it is for a parent to expose her 9 year old to live sex, but do we want the government to decide for us?

And what, then, is the acceptable age?

Preparation Phase, Cycle 1, Day 1 Lower Body

Yes. It's a training post.

Warmup - 5 mins elliptical, bodyweight squats, dynamic stretching

Squats
45x10,10
95x5
2x5 @ 135

Good Morning
45x5
135 x 5

45 degree hyper
4x8

Inverted situps
2x5

Flat bench situps
2x8

Pullup
2x3

Lots of static stretching.

Everything felt good. Weights are pathetic, but I don't want to overdo it and hurt my back again or get too terriby sore, so we'll take several weeks to ease into it.

More, um, security. Or something

Becky Aikers on the futility of the TSA.

At the very least, we might expect them to divert the flight for an emergency landing. Perhaps they’d even notify the White House so it could authorize fighter jets to shoot down – sorry, protect the flight. The TSA did neither. Instead, it ordered "authorities" in San Juan to search not just Tom but everyone aboard once the flight landed.

Whoa! Obviously, the TSA knew that terrorists weren’t threatening the plane. So why was the agency involved? Because, like all Federal enforcers, the TSA seeks to control us, not terrorists. Witness the warrantless, anti-Constitutional search it requested from San Juan’s cops: we can’t have passengers getting hold of contraband, now, can we?

Meanwhile, we’ve got a plane mid-flight with a "criminal" and contraband aboard. It’s also carrying two air marshals, who, when they aren’t shooting passengers, theoretically protect them. But the TSA never told them anything was amiss. That heartens those of us who understand the real purpose of air marshals. But it should infuriate everyone who swallows the Feds’ propaganda. There reclined two of the Homeland’s sworn defenders, blissfully ignorant of potential catastrophe. Just as well: that ignorance allowed the flight to land without casualties. The passengers were groped, their bags rifled, and poor Tom arrested.

So is the TSA completely irrelevant or what? Despite the elaborate checkpoint charade, contraband made it aboard this flight – and who knows how many others. (Spokesguy Christopher White blustered that "... no weapons were brought through the security checkpoints..." Duh. No, just around them.) And not any old contraband, either, but guns, which, from the way the TSA carries on, cause planes to self-destruct. Isn’t that why its minions search us as though we’re felons entering a maximum-security prison? Yet these incredibly lethal objects, these bêtes noires so dangerous that "violations" of the TSA’s ban on them "can result in criminal prosecution and civil penalties of up to $10,000," sailed harmlessly through the air for 1200 miles.

The TSA did, however, keep you safe from my toothpaste.

An Instructional Video

How to open a beer with a piece of paper.


Via Emily.

Achievement

Dan the Bar Man, who in 2005 had a drink in 1000 bars has an article in Forbes!

How cool is that?!?!

Funny how the market works.

NASCAR has a 'Drive for Diversity' program, designed to bring more not white male people into the sport as drivers, owners, and crew members. Thus far, the program has pretty much been a failure, with only one non-white driver in any of the three major series (Bill Lester).

Leave it to a team owner, one Rusty Wallace, to add a non white driver to his development program. Why?

Austin will join Steve Wallace, the youngest son of NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace, as one of the two drivers currently competing under the RWI banner. Wallace and Austin will pilot identically painted No. 66 HomeLife Communities Dodge Chargers prepared at the state-of-the-art RWI complex, located just north of Charlotte, NC. Though he is only 17 years old, Austin has won more than 100 feature races in go-karts, stock cars and sprint cars.

How about that. He can win! We go on to learn...

Much like Rusty Wallace, Austin competed and won, in the Midwest-based American Speed Association before deciding to make the jump to NASCAR. With that in mind, Wallace, one of NASCAR’s top-ten all-time winningest drivers and ABC / ESPN’s Lead Auto Racing Analyst, is eager to help Austin become a pioneering and successful African American driver in one of NASCAR’s touring series and beyond.

The NASCAR Busch East Series features 13 races, plus the NASCAR All-Star Showdown event, at 12 tracks, using cars similar to those in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Noted Wallace, “When we started looking at ways to grow our team, NASCAR brought Chase Austin to our attention. We ended up inviting him to a test at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and we were all very pleasantly surprised at how well he did,” Wallace continued, “I believe that Chase has a real future in this sport. Not only is he fast, but he understands the sponsorship and public relations side of things, which is definitely unique for someone his age.”

He can win, and he's able to deal with sponsors, and be a positive spokesman.

Yet...

“While Chase is not a part of the Drive for Diversity program, we all definitely support it and fully believe in the cause,” Wallace said, “Right now though, Chase just wants to focus on driving for Rusty Wallace, Inc. and learning what it takes to win races at a higher level. We’re going to give Chase everything he needs to do just that. I really believe that he’s going to have a great year; if it goes as well as we hope, we could potentially be looking at Steve (Wallace) having a Busch Series teammate in 2008.”

Be good at what you do, find success. Regardless of what you look like. Without a special program. How about that.

Always pay attention.

Otherwise, the keeper will score.

Congratulations.

Today, the occupation of Iraq is 4 years old.

Boy, that's working out well. And the President, well, he's got a plan. Or something.

“If American forces were to step back from Baghdad before it is more secure, a contagion of violence could spill out across the entire country.

“In time, this violence could engulf the region. The terrorists could emerge from the chaos with a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they had in Afghanistan, which they used to plan the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. For the safety of the American people, we cannot allow this to happen.”

Because the invasion and occupation, well that didn't cause the problem.

A travesty.

As Ed Norris says, "If you aren't pissed off, you aren't paying attention."

Another Raich ruling, another blow to your rights. The Liberty Papers has a nice writeup. I won't add much to it, other than to mention that I've talked about this before. The application of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution to, well, everything is going to become a very, very big problem.

This marijuana never crossed a state line. It was never bought or sold. Yet somehow, the interstate commerce clause trumps a law approved by the people of California.

Respondents Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything-and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers.

Justice Thomas' dissent. And he's right. We keep allowing the Federal government rights it was never allowed, rights that can and will affect all of us.

It's got to stop.

Glamorous

I spent the night in Islandia, NY Wednesday night. I had an afternoon meeting in Smithtown, NY, and trying to get back to Baltimore after driving the 5 hours up there is just a bit too much.

Just in case you think business travel is glamorous:

I had dinner sitting by myself at the bar at a TGI Fridays.
I watched Return of the Jedi

Exciting, huh?

By the way, I don't understand how New Yorkers do it. I guess it's no wonder they all seem angry all the time. If I had to do that commute every day I'd be angry too. It took two hours to get from Islandia to the NJ Turnpike. It's like 40 miles. Most of that time was spent travelling a 3 mile stretch of the Cross Bronx "Expressway".

I know traffic in and around Baltimore sucks, but we know it sucks, and know exactly when and where it will suck every day. NY traffic is totally unpredictable. I've gone over the GW bridge in 5 minutes, and it's taken me 90 minutes, at pretty much the same time of day. You never know until you get there.

Blogging about Blogging

I was thinking today about how few people read my blog, and what that means.

It's not that it's important to me, I'd blog if no one read it. It gives me an opportunity to clear some thing out of my head, to make a point or two, and track my training, when I'm actually training.

I spent some time reading some blogs that are well read, and wondered the difference.

This is one difference.

What fantastic writing.

It won't be long before there is no satire.

Global warming causes cancellation of Arctic trip.

Because it was colder than expected.

You can't make this stuff up. Hopefully more people will get more skeptical.

From the groundbreaking research news department...

Human longevity is genetic.

Wow.

Who woulda thunk it?

Consent or Coersion?

Excellent read by Christian Sandstrom at Lew Rockwell.

As noted by Rothbard among others, the fundamental difference between the state and the market is spelled coercion. Human interaction on a market is based upon mutual consent: goods and services won’t be exchanged unless both parties think they benefit from it. The state, on the other hand, thrives upon coercion: taxes are collected under the threat of violence and if laws are not followed your only option is jail. Thus, state action is not based upon mutual consent, rather it is based upon the most primitive and uncivilized of human actions: violence. The Chinese mass murderer and dictator, Mao Tse-Tung, once said that all political power comes through the barrel of a gun. Another illustrative example is a poster that the Swedish libertarian association "The freedom front" produced. It contained a picture of a man pointing a rifle at you, followed by the text "I am from the government, I am here to help you."

This not only illustrates the true nature of the state, but also how preposterous the idea that someone who is threatening you would want to cause you anything but harm. If someone wanted to do you good, why then would they have to force you into doing this? The American hard-rock group Guns n’ Roses put this in the following way in their song "Civil war": "you can’t trust freedom when it’s not in your hands." Wouldn't it be strange if someone robbed you and then spent the money on you, in a way you find preferable? Why then, would the criminal have to steal the money in the first place?

To be more precise, the definition of freedom is that your life is in the hands of you, not anyone else. Though the fundamental difference between the state and the market is that one is based upon coercion and the other one on consent, there are everyday examples of coercion (related to state) that can help to illustrate this distinction. By looking at these examples and by drawing parallels to state action, the truly absurd nature of government is revealed.

Read the rest, it's good stuff.

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Recently, in the comments section of another blog, I was informed I have a 'limited point of view' when it comes to understanding the Constitution and its relevance to solving social ills.

What's interesting is that while suggesting I am not nearly sophisicated enough to understand why the Constituion implies things it doesn't say, my argument is never actually refuted. (I made the argument that the labor market is the same as the baseball market, and there is no reason to have a regulation forcing purchasers of labor to purchase labor from specific groups any more than there should be regulation on the purchasers of baseballs.) That's pretty common. You'll find the use of a simple logical question will pretty much stop intelligent debate, and instead have a discussion revert back to the crazy mean spirited Libertarian being too obtuse to recognize the nuances in an argument based solely on emotion and prior (often incorrect) legal rulings.

And the solution proposed by the Left Liberals? Why, the government.

The solution to workplace discrimination: Government
The solution to the 'healthcare crisis': Government
The solution to 'global warming': Government
The solution to income disparity: Government
The solution to obesity: Government.

Me? The guy who says there might be another more effective solution that doesn't involve increasing the power of the government and might eliminate unintended results? The guy who suggests there might be a solution that is actually better than government regulation; a solution that would make *insert minority group here* even better off, all without violating the property right of others (and, oh by the way, making sure the government doesn't have more power to violate the rights of whatever minority group in favor of some other group in the future)? I'm the one with a limited point of view.

[Edit: Just in case it isn't clear, I happen to consider Stash a good guy and a friend. He's smart, has a great sense of humor, and he's a heck of a chef, if photos are any indication. We just don't agree all the time when it comes to politics. That doesn't make him a bad person, just like it doesn't make me a bad person. The posts on his blog happened to coincide with another conversation, all together resulting in this particular post.]

Paul for President!

No, not me.

Ron Paul. He's announced he's running.

Paul, a nine-term congressman who represents a district just south of Houston that includes Galveston and stretches along the Gulf Coast nearly to Corpus Christi, describes himself as a lifelong Libertarian running as a Republican.

Paul has spent most of his career outside the GOPs traditional circles. He limits his view of the role of the federal government to those specifically laid out in the U.S. Constitution. As a result, he sometimes casts votes that appear at odds with his constituents and other Republicans.

Paul, for example, was the only Republican congressman to vote against Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 2007, which he opposed because of the war in Iraq — a war he says is "not necessary for our actual security."

He once described President Bush as "not a constitutional president" and voted against a resolution declaring that the United States would win the war on terror.

He acknowledges that the national Republican Party has largely shunned him despite his nine terms in office under its banner. He gets little money from the GOP's large traditional donors, but benefits from individual conservative and Libertarian donors outside Texas.

Will he win? Of course not. With rampant Statism the order of the day in both parties, certainly a Classical Liberal has no chance. What his candidancy will do, however, is bring to light the differences between people who say they are for smaller government, and people who really are for smaller government.

Of course, this wasn't covered anywhere by the national media... it's an AP story that I found on a couple of Libertarian type sites, and local Texas newspapers. Meanwhile, Chuck Hagel's lack of an announcement got national press. Go figure.

Oh, and to John McCain: Please don't have me arrested. This is not a campaign contribution.

Wiretapping you is secret. So you can't prove we are wiretapping you illegally.

Unless, of course, we accidentally send you a copy of the report. And you are representing a group we think are terrorists.

This is the case that has the best chance against the government, as it's the only one where the plaintiff can prove the wiretapping happened.

For those keeping score: The government tracked these calls between a lawyer and a group they think are terrorists. Then they sent them a report telling them so.

Because that's how you win against terrorists.

Spamalot

Quick review:

Not as good as the movie. Not as good as everyone seemed to think.

However, it's funny, and worth going to see.

Good gun news

A Federal court ruled that the DC ban on having a gun in your home is a clear violation of the Constitution.

It took a while, but they got to the right place. I heard briefly on the news last night that Maryland is considering loosening the very restrictive carry laws.

The most impressive argument was from a grandmother who didn't think it right that rich white guys who carry a lot of money can carry, but a poor black grandmother raising her 3 grandkids in a questionable neighborhood can't protect herself.

Sweet. Everyone has a little Libertarian in them.

Divine Presidency.

Radley Balko on God in the White House.

I had a similar conversation with a coworker over some cocktails one night last week. Rights and morality can indeed come from your humanity. I know plenty of atheists who I hold in much higher regard from a moral standpoint than believers.

The 10 Commandments pretty much sum up property rights, don't they?

The New Scientific Method

From JunkScience: The IPCC Report.

Please note:

Changes (other than grammatical or minor editorial changes) made after acceptance by the Working Group or the Panel shall be those necessary to ensure consistency with the Summary for Policymakers or the Overview Chapter.

So, the science must be approved by the politicians prior to publication.

Yeah, I'm running right out to get my Prius.

Meet the Press, For Idiots

Now this is funny.

Airport Security: Still indeed a joke.

On Monday, I flew out of BWI Airport. (I was unfortunately not delayed heading to 4 days of meetings in Atlanta). I performed the government required completely unconstitutional security procedure, including showing my ID, taking off my shoes, and putting my laptop in a plastic container, because that's clearly better than leaving it in a briefcase. Or something.

Not a problem.

Leaving Atlanta on Thursday (after having rushed to the airport to get on an earlier flight to avoid the tornadoes), I encounter an issue. My bag is stopped in the x-ray machine.

Perhaps the pins in the new shirt set it off.

No.

Crack TSA Employee: Sir, is there anything in here that might stick me?

Me, trying to put on my highly dangerous and subversive shoes: Just some pins in a new shirt

Crack TSA Employee: That's no problem. Please do not touch the bag while I am going through it... what's this? Hmmmm... toiletries. Sir, do you have a clear plastic quart bag?

Me, realising this man is about to take my highly dangerous hair gel, toothpaste, and shaving cream: No, I thought that clear zipper bag would be acceptable.

Crack TSA Employee, sternly: Sir, these must be in a clear plastic ziplock bag. I'll have to take them, unless you go get a bag.

Me, looking forward to blogging about this: I think I'll pass going back out and getting a bag. Does it have to be Ziplock, or will any brand do? And just so we are clear, the only reason you are taking those is that they are not in a clear Ziplock bag - if they were, there would be no issue at all, right?

Crack TSA Employee: Yes.

Me, gathering my stuff: Do you guys realize just how stupid that is?

What bothers me the most, beside the stupidity and the violation of basic rights, is that they still are not consistent! The same bag, with the same stuff, went right through at BWI.

Been a while

I was out of town last week, and took the weekend off from the internet (mostly to keep myself from working.)

I was out in the field today, just got home and online. I have a few posts bouncing around in my little head, including my experience with crack airline security and an update on my planning/goals post from the beginning of the year.

You'll see training posts start back up on Wednesday.

Taking on the important issues

Via Boing Boing, we find a Maryland Legislator who wants to ban truck nuts.

If this is what Republicans in Maryland bring up, it's no wonder they have so few people in the legislature.

Government healthcare sucks, so lets make sure we have government run healthcare

In the news this week is the startling revelation that care in military/veteran hospitals is sub par. At ThinkProgress, they opine about how awful the establisment is.

Why then are you trying to increase government involvement in health care?

Is it just me? Or is this just really, really stupid?

Great stuff!

George Takei has a message for Tim Hardaway.

I love seeing people not take themselves so seriously, and have fun with otherwise ugly stuff.

Process design

So I've done a little process (re)design in my career. So I thought this was funny.

Frighteningly true, too.

But then, in the business world, I've seen similar flow charts.

Heavy

Sleep. Dragonaut.

How many more people have to die?

Radley Balko wonders.

I'm scared, too, buddy.

"You are there, with air conditioning, entertaining yourself, while we are here in hell."

I just sat down this eveing with a dry vodka martini to read my Weekend Journal (the weekend edition of the WSJ.) After reading the article about high paid executives having higher brickbreaker scores than I do, I read an article by an Iraqi reporter, living in the United States.

It's called, "Missing in Baghdad: My Father". Find it and read it. If you still think what the US did was a good idea, you deserve every bit of tyrrany our government can impose on you.

I'm trying to find links online now, but I had to post this. Nothing. NOTHING has moved me more than this article, and I was against the invasion from the git go.

Edit: You have to be a subscriber, if you are and missed it, here's the link. I'm going to see if I can find text online. If not, I'll see if I can get permission to type it in myself.

I saw this coming

It was just a matter of time before insurance companies started getting out of states where the companies were forced to cover losses for which they did not collect premiums.

State Farm announced today that they are done in Mississippi.

"It is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk in a legal and business environment that is becoming more unpredictable," Bob Trippel, senior vice president of the largest home insurer in the United States, said in a statement.

...

"Current legal and business environments ... are becoming untenable," said Trippel in a letter to Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale

Insurance companies said the same things as they were getting out of California after the state decided that all homes were to be insured at replacement cost, even though they were not paying for it (and were grossly underinsured).

I know what I would do.

The governor of Wisconsin has floated the hairbrained idea of an additional tax on oil profits, which somehow they want to make sure isn't 'passed along' to consumers.

If I were big oil, I would do simply this: Call the governor of Wisconsin, and tell him if they want to tax my profits, I will not sell my product in their state. The residents of Wisconsin can go get gas in another state.

Simple, I think.

If you have some time today

Give this a listen.

It's quite something.

Via Rich, the Canadian math teacher

Edit/Update: Here's his blog

He's not the only one..

But no one has done this with Hilliary yet.

Person I just met: "So, do you have kids?"

Me, looking for the bar: "No. Do you?"

Person I just met, who has immediately judged me as pathetic or selfish: "Yes. 2. Would you like to see photographs?

"Soooo... why don't you have kids.?"

Me, wanting to smack that look off his face: "Don't want them. Why do you?"

Person I just met, confused, because they don't know the answer: "Isn't this shrimp wrapped in bacon excellent?"

This happens pretty regularly with my wife an I when we meet new people. Via Ron Smith, here's a good article on women deciding just not to have kids.

My wife and I make the choice together. We love our lives. We travel at will. We read. We go out on a whim. We also love all of the children around us.

So stop thinking we're pitiful and we're selfish, and turn the question on yourself.

Where there's smoke...

The AMA, as well as a recent poll of US adults, wants to slap an 'R' rating on any film showing smoking.

I mentioned we weren't far away from this a year and a half ago.

We keep on sliding towards emulating those we wish to not emulate.

Well, some of us wish to not emulate.

Quick training update

My back (SI joint) is getting better. I think I have identified the problem: sitting on a stool in my kitchen hunched over and general inflexibility. I'm taking one more lower body day off (today), then getting back on schedule Wednesday. I'm going to take the next few weeks to do some GPP stuff, not really structured, to get back into it, then at the beginning of March I'll restart the program in ernest.

Do you really want these people taking care of your health care?

When they can't even keep track of parking regulations.

Deja Vu

Amadinejad says he doesn't fear a US invasion. Hussien didn't, either.

A couple of things of note in that article. Not only are the Iranian leaders insane if they think the US won't invade, and won't wipe them out, because, of course, they will. However, they are wise to note that due to being mislead about Iraq, Congress and the public won't let this (or any other) administration attack another country without a metric assload of proof.

Which is yet one more little bit of damage done by this Administration by attacking Iraq. Not only are resources tied up that could be used to attack/defend against a legitimate enemy (and Iran very well may be), but when they try it, no one is going to believe them.

Pelosi's Plane

The noise on this one is just fantastic. I get to listen to Glenn Beck on the drive up to Philly, and he was going nuts about this story yesterday, and it was incredibly entertaining.

Frankly, I'm not suprised at all, and was encourged to see some consistency from the White House. Goodness knows they don't want to keep anyone in Congress from spending more money.

What I think is more important is the assumption that she needs to be safer than I do. I'm also concerned, what with all the money and violation of basic rights involved in the current security for commercial aircraft, that is still isn't secure enough for the Speaker of the House.

Also, how is it that stopping for fuel in a military plane is a security risk. They do still stop at Air Force bases, right? Isn't that where they keep the fighter planes and stuff?

Education vs. Schooling

There's a difference. This is a nice read on the subject.

The only way I can see after spending 35 years in and around the institution (53 if I count my own time as inmate) is to put full choice squarely back into the hands of parents, let the marketplace redefine schooling - a job the special interests are incapable of - and encourage the development of as many styles of schooling as there are human dreams. Let people, not bureaucrats, work out their own destinies. That's what made us a great country in the first place.

That sure seems like a good idea to me.

Superbowl

For the first time that I can remember, I did not watch the Superbowl. We have season tickets to the Hippodrome Theater, and we had tickets for Wicked last night.

I'm not really into musical theater. Ok. I'm not at all into musical theater.

But the show was really cool. For those of you who don't know, it's the back story of the witches from the Wizard of Oz. Funny in places, touching in others. If you get a chance, go ahead. It won't hurt you. (During intermission, my Blackberry and I were very popular with the other menfolk).

No dinner out beforehand, as it's restaurant week. (Bicycle on Wednesday, Oceanaire on Friday). We did go to Vaccaro's at the Canton Square after. Chocolate cannoli cake and coffee.

Stand up States

Maine, Georgia, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington. All appear to be standing up to the Federal Government against the Real ID act. You remember that, the one that couldn't pass on it's own, so the Bush Administration and Republican Leadership got it tacked on to a military funding bill.

The issue may be moot for states if Congress takes action.

Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, along with Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, filed a bill last year to repeal the law. Sununu expects similar legislation will be introduced soon.

"The federal government should not be in charge of defining and issuing drivers' licenses," Sununu said in a statement.

You'd think they would have thought of that when they voted for it.

Shocking

The new federal minimum wage will not apply to American Samoa.

Why?

Gee. I don't know.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

Republican Discontent

Joe Scarborough in a commentary shows the crumbling of Republican political strength.

It's been coming for quite some time. Listen to how critical people like Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchannan have been lately.

This is an opportunity for Libertarians. Republicans tell me all the time how I should vote for their guy, since they are more like Libertarians than the Democrats. I've responded that they are all Statists.

It's starting to get through to some of them. So we have an opportunity, that the Republican party has been in the past the more libertarian party. Maybe it's time to throw some weight behind Ron Paul, or someone other than McCain.

Dumb NASCAR move of the month

They decided to limit the use of the 'Past Champion's Provisional'. A good move, I would say.

But this quote got me:

“As NASCAR seeks to place more emphasis on competition, we have decided the time is right to limit the number of provisionals allowed,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition.

“We believe this revision brings the provisional policy in line with the continued growth of the sport.”

Why? Because the first 35 starting spots in every race are held for the top 35 in points. You know. Provisionals. So there are 7 (or 8 if no past champ is eligible) spots where you get in on speed. You know. Competition.

Like that Patriot Act, do you?

How are you going to like it when Hilliary can pick U.S. Attorneys without Senate scrutiny?

Because that's what's happening now.

And thier priorities under the current adminstration? Why, pornography and online gambling.

Because if you see boobies and play poker, the terrorists win.

It's not what you think

I didn't stop training again. I'm just dealing with that inflammation in my back, probably caused by the way I sit in my car and drive long distances, coupled with inactivity, specifically the weakening of my abdominals.

It's getting better, but still bugs me a little. I know that some prudence now will get me farther later. I'm doing some stretching and bodyweight stuff at home, but nothing worth talking about. I'll probably go to the gym and do some upper body work later in the week, then get back to my planned training on Monday.

I don't know that I'll do another 'prep' phase or just get to it, probably should keep working on conditioning and form. We'll see.

Conservtive Morals

This post just about says it all about the morals of Conservatives.

Now, would I approve of American soldiers beating these terrorist? No. Would I prefer that these Iraqi soldiers didn't beat the terrorists? Yes, because it's unprofessional and even if these guys deserve it, if you get into the habit of delivering beatings, the next person may not.

On the other hand, am I going to pretend that my heart's breaking because the Iraqi troops beat the hell out of some insurgents? No way. They deserved everything they got and much, much, more. Heck, if anything, it was great to see the Iraqi troops in the lead and showing some enthusiasm for their jobs.

PS: However, I will say this, our troops should have made sure that the embeds didn't film this. That was a mistake.

Due process? Freedom of the press? Not on my watch. Yes, this is the Conservative movement in 2007. I don't think I want to have anything to do with this. Do you?

Great quote

I have to attribute it to a commenter at Hit and Run.

At the root of all evil is the desire to control others.
At the root of all good is the desire to control oneself.

It's a party, Friday Night.

I'm getting old. No secret, no suprise I suppose. I'm not a club guy, never have been. I don't like crouds, I don't like club music, and I don't like paying $4.00 for a warm Coors Light in a plastic cup.

So when Mrs Stagg called me Friday night and suggested we go to Looney's with some friends of ours, I was a bit apprehensive. Now, Looney's isn't clubby, it's a busy bar, younger crowd, OK music, if a little loud. But I went.

No where to sit, of course, which is OK, but the age gap got to us. We decided to go across the street to Granite, which is a bit more upscale, a bit older.

And it was. Until about 11pm. At 11, the lights go down, the music comes up, and they take all the barstools, chairs, and tables away. They cover the large windows, break out the plastic cups, and the place transforms into a lame interpretation of trendy club.

I know there's a market for it, but I don't see why in this particular place (Canton) there is a draw for folks to come in from the burbs and 'dance', when there are plenty of big places to do that out there. Keep the cool upscale vibe, give us drinks in glasses, and let us be grownups. Leave the clubbing for downtown and the burbs.

But then, I don't own a bar/restaraunt, so what do I know. I guess they make more money this way. But not from me. We left.

You can't force freedom

An excellent article by Lew Rockwell on why US Iraq policy is a failure. It stems from the typical misunderstanding of statists that the national 'state' they define isn't necessarily what the people want.

This is what cannot be done, and the very possibility of a new central state is precisely what has set off the bloodshed. It is not the case that the groups in Iraq cannot get along. What they cannot do is get along under a central state ruled by some other group. This is the basis of the bloodshed.


So what should happen? The US should abandon Baghdad. It should, in effect, allow the country to "fall apart" in the same way that Gorbachev let his empire dissolve. Iraq would split into many states, some of them noncontiguous. Governing units of all shapes and sizes would appear. The main reason for the ghastly killing – fear of the rule by one group over another – would vanish. Here is the highest hope for peace in Iraq.

So long as the US insists that Iraq be a single nation under one government, it will inspire chaos and killing. Bush was wrong, but in a way that is usually not understood. His mistake was not in overthrowing the state but in hoping to create and control a new one.

I don't think abandoning Baghdad is the answer, but I do think letting the people of Iraq split up the country as they see fit is.

How far will this go?

I'm not much for watching TV any more. I like Dirty Jobs, and the Food Network is cool, but I've never seen the show Grey's Anatomy.

I also, generally, don't pay attention to Hollywood news. I don't care who Britney showed her genitals to, or who is divorcing whom.

However, the story about an actor on Grey's Anatomy using the word 'faggot' struck me as odd. Not so much that an enlightened thespian would utter such a horrid attack, but the reaction (his) to it. Apparently, he's going into residential counseling. Because he called a gay guy a faggot.

Seriously?

I'm not a fan of the word, or disparaging hurtful language toward any particular group. But residential counseling? That's what you do when you won't stay on your meds and keep trying to kill yourself, not what you do when you call someone a name.

What if you say something worse?

What a ridiculous overreaction.

Found the zone

A number of lifters describe themselves when training as being different people, or in different places. I don't really experience that (which is part of why I don't have impressive numbers). Tonight I did. I'm not sure who I was, but I wasn't Paul.

1/24/2007 ME Bench
Warmup: 1x15 of face pull, pushup, ext rotation, 45 degree back raise

Floor press
45x15
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
245x1
3x1 @ 265

Close grip incline
3x5 @ 155

Side lateral raise
3x8 @ 30

Hammer Strength Seated row
45/side x 5
2x5 @ 135/side

HS pulldown
2x10 @ 90/side
Hammer curls
2x15 @ 30
Light band pressdown (2 hands)
2x15
Cuff stuff

You'll notice I skipped a workout. My back is getting better, and I didn't want to put it at risk under suboptimal conditions - lots of driving, not good eating.

I also think I'm going to do another 3 weeks of a prep phase before I really get going. My conditioning and work capacity is coming up, but I'd like to get a bit more.

End of week two

Finished up on a positive note. Today was one of those days... I didn't feel like going, and was a bit out of sorts. But once i got to the gym, I felt great. I flew thruogh the session, and felt more energetic than I have since starting back.

1/21/2007 DE Bench

Warmup: 1x15 face pulls, pushups, ext rotations, 45 deg extensions

Bench Press
2x15 @ 45
2x5@95
20x3 @ 135
Did these with less than 45 secs rest. Felt great.

DB Ext
4x10 @ 25

Rear lateral raise
3x10 @ 20

CSR
45x5
90x5
3x5 @ 160

Cable Rows
2x8@150
Hammer curls
3x6@40
Pressdowns
2x15@150
Situps
2x15

All done in under an hour, too. I may go ahead and squat tomorrow, although I should take a day more to rest, I really feel like I could do it. We'll see. I'm out in the field tomorrow and Tuesday.

Ouch.

Been dealing with some back pain. Looks like just some imflammation, so we're doing 800mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day (that's prescription strength, so I hope the government isn't looking). Moved the workout to today as my chiropractor did a number on me yesterday

Eating has been decent, but not great. I'm now at 5 non compliant meals for the week (missed two on Thursday, lunch and dinner on Thursday were also non comlpiant, and I had a non compliant meal yesterday.) I'm trying not to get obsessive about it.

1/20/2007 DE Squat
Warmup: 5 mins elliptical, level 10

Box Squat
2x6 @ 45
2x3 @ 95
20x3 @ 135
Did them in under 18 minutes.

Pull thru
3x10 @ 120

Pull Down abs
2x15 @ 150

Good mornings
3x10 @ 95
See: Back pain

Pullups
2x6

HS Seated hamsting curl
2x15 @ 45
Smith Shrug
barx15
+90x12
+180x8

Stretching and out.

Turns out, Corrosion of Conformity's Wiseblood is outstanding for more than just cardio.

Pop/Rap is not. Ever. For anything.

Ahhhh... Freedom

In Arizona, not only can your car be siezed if you are accused of being drunk and/r driving on a suspended license, but if you transport an illegal alien, say, to the hospital.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, those drivers are committing a crime by transporting illegal immigrants.
"It doesn't make any difference whether you're taking them to the grocery store or taking them from the desert to the hospital," said Jesus Rodriguez, a spokesman for the agency's Tucson sector. "There is no free pass."

You mean, there is no freedom. Your government in action. Read the following, and tell me if this is how you want to live.

"Are they saying we're supposed to check somebody's immigration status?" asked Cecilia Gutierrez-Arce, a real estate agent and legal permanent resident whose extended family includes U.S. citizens, illegal immigrants and a Border Patrol agent.
"It's like McCarthy days. Are we supposed to be spying on our neighbors? On our relatives?"
Absolutely, according to Chris Simcox of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
He said people have a "civic duty" to check the immigration status of passengers and alert authorities if they suspect someone is in the country illegally.
"It would certainly have a chilling effect on employers," he said.
The debate on transporting illegal immigrants was set to play out during the trial of Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz, two 23-year-old volunteers with the aid group No More Deaths who were arrested in 2005 while driving three illegal immigrants from the desert to a medical clinic in a Tucson church.
But a federal judge in Tucson dismissed the charges last month. The government had given No More Deaths volunteers reason to believe their actions were legal, and therefore could not prosecute them, U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins ruled. He did not address the legality of their action.
"That issue must wait for another day," Collins wrote.
Lawyers for Sellz and Strauss argued that the two were innocent because they were trying to get medical aid for the three men and were not transporting them "in furtherance of" illegal entry into the United States, as required by federal statute.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the district of Arizona declined to discuss the specifics of the law.

Declined to discuss. Nice.

Hat tip: Hit and Run

Good Wal Mart News!

Yet another court struck down Marylands asinine 'Wal Mart' bill.

Of course, if you read The Sun, you get the impression this is just a minor setback.

Maryland's first-in-the-nation law to compel Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care suffered another setback yesterday, providing fresh incentive for legislative leaders in Annapolis to explore ways to boost insurance coverage that do not involve the retailing giant.

Nah, they aren't letting editorial content sneak into news reporting.

With the future of the so-called Wal-Mart law in doubt, state legislators are planning to resurrect a host of other possible health care solutions during the 90-day legislative session that began last week, including an expansion of the Medicaid program to low-income adults, a reduction in insurance premiums for small businesses and a requirement that the state's highest paid workers buy insurance coverage.

They just don't get it. 50 years of creeping Socialism, and the 'problems' still need 'solutions'.

Coming along nicely

I like my gym. But sometimes the environment is just tough to take. Today, we has skinny guys flexing in the mirror, Britney Spears blaring, and awful form. Thank the FSM for MP3 players and Pantera.

On to the workout!

1/17/2007 ME Bench
Warmup: 1x15
Face pull, pushup, ext rotation, 45 degree back raises

Floor press
45x12, 12
95x5
135x5
155x5
185x5
203x3
2x3 @ 225

Close Grip Incline
45x6
95x6
3x6 @ 145

Lateral raise
3x8 @ 30

Hammer Strength Row
45x6
3x6 @ 115 per side

HS Pulldown
2x8 @ 90 per side
OH EZ bar ext
2x10 @ 40
EX bar curl
barx 10
+20x10
+40x6

Work capacity is coming up, this felt kinda easy. Diet has been 100% compliant so far this week. Tomorrow will have at least one non compliant meal.

The Constitution is not confusing.

Yet Congress has a hearing on data mining.

Mr. Leahy warned that the potential for abuse requires oversight. "A mistake can cost Americans their jobs and wreak havoc in their lives and reputations that can take years to repair," he said.

This is why the Constitution clearly states the Federal Government can't do it.

Former Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican who recently became an activist for the Libertarian Party, told the panel that data mining poses a "serious threat" to the First, Second, Fourth and Fifth amendments to the Constitution.
"That is nearly half of the Bill of Rights," he said.
"Adding insult to injury, there is no scientific proof that data mining to identify terrorists even works. No scientist has ever demonstrated that the government can predict who will commit an act of terror at some future time. Yet the government spends tens of billions of taxpayers' dollars on data-mining programs each year -- collecting, manipulating, retaining and disseminating the most personal and private information on unknowing American citizens and others," Mr. Barr said.
James Jay Carafano, a senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation, defended the practice of data mining but agreed oversight is needed.
"The federal government's use of data-mining technology should be strictly limited to national security-related investigations," Mr. Carafano said. "Congress should also require agencies to report on their intent to establish data-mining programs and require annual reports on their implementation, as well as their compliance with federal guidelines."

There is no exception for 'National Security' in the Constitution.

Sad news

Benny Parsons died today at 65.

He was the voice of racing to nearly a generation of fans.

Spontanious solutions

Don Boudreaux on why markets work, in spite of people who make irrational choices.

If you don't let people make irrational choices, there is no incentive for them to correct them, is there? Let the system work. It does.

Look who's coming to dinner

Obama says he's running for President.

From one perspective, I like that someone who is apparently not a career polititian is running for President. I'd rather see someone come out of industry who has no political background, but I doubt I'll see that in my liftetime.

However, from a political standpoint, I think this is a bad move for a number of reasons. He's going to lose. Yes, he's charismatic. He's smart. He's a regular guy. Whatever. He's not going to be able to get through the Democratic primary and win in a General Election. If he stays in the Senate for another 4-8 years, he'll have a chance to replace someone who will probably make our current President look spectacular. Further, he will have been able to build a resume of creating consensus (if that's possible), he'll have a bit more political credibility.


It also shows he's really not in this for us. He just wants to be President. If he's in it for us, he would be much more effective 'brining people together' as a leader in the Senate than as president.

Week Two of Prep Phase

Stating out at 216 pounds, feeling good. Got in today before the resolutionists.

1/15/2007 ME Squat
Warmup: Elliptical

Low Box Squat (hole 2)
2x5 @ 45
95x5
135x5
185x5
2x3 @ 225

RDL
45x8
135x7
4x7 @ 205

Spread Eagle Situp
4x8

45 degree back raise
4x8 @ +25

Pulldowns
2x8 @ 160

Leg Ext
2x15 @ 50
Calf Raise
2x15 @ 200
Lying leg raise
2x8

Stretching and out

Brutally humid, I think I sweat out a pound. All meals today compliant.

If by progress you mean making something worse..

Then yes, you could call it enormous progress.

If progress means:
Destabilizing the Middle East
Taking out Osama's enemy for him
Creating an Islamic State
Starting a civil war
Getting 3000 US troops killed
Getting 600,000 Iraqis killed
And not making anyone in the United States safer...

Then yeah.

A good first week

Training and nutrition all went fairly well. 28 meals (so far) 3 non compliant (so far). I haven't used tobacco since last Monday, and I haven't beaten anyone (yet). Did some benching today.

1/14/2007 DE Bench

Warmup: 1x15
Face pull, pushup, ext rotation, 45 degree back extension

Bench press
2x10 @ 45
2x3 @ 95
20x3 @ 135.
Less than a minute between sets. This wasn't so bad, but it's boring.

DB Extensions
20x12
30x12, 6
20x12

Rear lateral raise
3x10 @ 20

CSR
45x5
90x5
3x5 @ 135

DB Flye
2x8 @ 30

Hammer curl
2x12 @30

Pressdown
3x15 @ 100

Getting thru a little better. ME Squat tomorrow.

There's always next year

Boy, this was a bad time for the Ravens' offense to come out flat. But they did, and thus a 15-6 loss to the Colts.

I thought this might be the game that healed those old wounds; a win would satisfy those of us old enough to remember, and finally take the city past it.

As usual, the defense did what they had to do. I guess it's encouraging that much of the same team is returning next season, so there will be another shot.

Three in a row!

Yes, three training sessions in a row... it's like a record or something. I'm out of shape, and struggling a bit to get through them, but that's the point of a preparation phase. The real work comes in a couple of weeks.

1/12/2007 DE Squat
Warmup - elliptical

Box Squat
2x3 @ 45
2x3 @ 95
20x3 @ 135, less than one minute between sets.

This is harder than you would think... mosttly because I'm out of shape.

Pull thru
3x12 @ 100

Pull down abs
2x15 @ 100

Good morning
3x12 @ 45

Yes, 45. I was exhausted, and I didn't think I could actually put any weight on the bar.

Chins
2x5

Stretching and out

My lower back is tight as hell - I need to stretch a couple of times a day to get it loosened up; I have a chiro visit scheduled on Wednesday.

Eating continues to go well.

Records?

Brandon Berg has a nice easy reading post at Catallarchy on why record profits and record Dow Jones levels really don't mean all that much; and how easy it is to use 'records' in a story to make it sound more meaningful or more sinister than it really is.

Another point in light of what Congress is probably going to do to Evil Big Oil by taxing 'windfall' profits... consideration of return on investment and profit margins should be paramount. All we hear is 'record profit of 89 bazillion dollars,' we don't hear that's the same profit margin as pretty much every other successful company out there.

Second day of prep phase

Eating is going well. So far, all of my meals (14) have been compliant. One of my 3 non compliants will probably be later today... my sister had a baby today (number 4), and we'll be off to see her later.

On to the training!

1/11/2007 ME Bench
Warmup: 1x15 face pull, pushup, ext rotation, 45 deg back raise

Floor Press
45x15
95x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
2x5 @ 185

Close grip incline press
45x6
95x6
135x6,4,4,3

Lateral raise
20x8
3x8 @ 30

Hammer Strength Row
3x8 @ 90

Not too bad; about where I expect to be. DE squatting either tomorrow or Saturday, depending on work tomorrow.

A quick lesson

If what you do is worth less than the new minimum wage, what happens?

Hint: You don't make the minimum wage.

The good news: a very small percentage of workers and business owners will be affected by a minimum wage increase (because so few workers actually make that little). Those who are, however, face catastrophe.

Economics is simple, yet the vast majority of people don't get it.

Day 1

Back at it. I can't make fun of the resolutionists this year, since I seem to be one of them. I decided not to do a before/after photo and not to track bodyfat and weight, mostly because I'll know success when I see it (in the mirror and on the lifting platform), and, frankly, you don't need to see my pasty fat photo. We all know what works.

I did change my diet (as of today), I'm using Precision Nutrition as my template. It's pretty easy, Berardi has written about it a great deal.

Eat every 2-3 hours
Eat complete lean protein at every meal
Eat a vegatable at every meal
Do not eat other carbs (wheat, sugar, etc) other than meals immediately preceeding or following training.
No drinks with calories (booze, cola, juice)
Fruit anytime.

I adjust it a bit - one glass of wine a day is OK, and I will drink V8 to get vegatables in (in a pinch).

It's ok to break the rules 10% of the time. For me, that's 3-4 meals a week that I can skip, or eat bread, or have a cocktail.

Anyway, on to the training.

ME Squat
Warmup - 5 mins elliptical, level 10
Low close stance box squat
45x5
95x5
135x5
2x5 @ 185
Shold have used smaller jumps

RDL
45x8
135x8
4x8 @ 185

Spread eagle situps
4x8

45 degree back raise
4x8

Pulldowns
2x8 @ 150

Stretching.

Other than being weak, not too shabby. Benching tomorrow.

Huge!

Ravens vs Colts next Saturday. All the Colts history aside, this is a heck of a matchup.

But the way the Colts are playing, I'm not sure they'll put on much of a show.

Ravens 27, Colts 20.

Abandon Ship!!

Pat Buchanan on the Neocons leaving President Bush holding the bag.

Is he responsible? Sure. But so are they.

This just in: Wolves vote to eat sheep

An alternative title: Poll shows 78% of the people in California aren't particularly smart.

A poll shows that 78% of Californians support forcing companies to provide health insurance to employees, or to pay into a state fund to provide health insurance.

How is it so many people don't understand the following:

Health care is not a right
Health care is expensive
Employers provide health care benefits as an incentive to attract employees.

If we are going to mandate this, why not go all the way and mandate salaries, too?

Read this

As predicted, the government is trashing the Constitution via the Patriot Act. Here's an example.

Not only does it cost us our rights, now it's costing the taxpayers damages.

Today is the warmest day in the last week...

Clearly, a sign of global warming.

But wait, you say. That's silly. You can't make such a determination based on just a day in a week.

Actually, you can. And the U.K. government weather forcasting division has.

Because the only thing that matters is the last 160 years. The 10 warmest of those years have all been in the last 12. No matter the previous several million.

Thing is, this sort of thing hurts their cause, because it makes people like me (certainly a minority) more skeptical.

As Predicted

The Democratic control of the legislature has inspired the President to suggest not spending so much.

Too bad he didn't do that for the last 6 years.

Q: What is the best way to make a free newspaper worth what you charge?

A: Hire Michael Olesker.

Yes, the alternative to The Sun has hired ex Sun columnist and apparent plagiarist and known fact maker upper Olesker to write 4 columns a week.

We already don't take The Examiner seriously, now we can just pick it up from the front door and put it directly in the trash without bothering to do the Soduku.

Don't quit!

Lew Rockwell makes the case for Libertarian hope.

He's right, of course. Classical Liberalism has stemmed the tide of the State, and will continue to do so. We are all responsible to make it so.

First. Round. Bye.

The Ravens did what they had to do, beating the Bills, sewing up a 2nd seed and a bye next week.

They still get no respect, though. It's all about how good the Colts are. They aren't. They have a virtually unstoppable pass offense, and one of the most talented QBs ever. But they don't have a great running game, and the defense is awful.

At home, outside, the Ravens defense is better than the Colts offense. That's assuming the Colts win next week, which isn't a lock.

I'm more concerned about New England than anyone else. But I think the Ravens can go all the way.

Happy New Year!

We did more than we usually do, and it was a heck of a lot of fun. I'm not one for crowds and the whole New Year's Eve thing - been there, done that, I'll leave it to the youngsters now. But we did want to have a nice dinner, and spend some time with friends, so out we went.

First, we got gussied up and went to dinner at Charleston. Now, I'm not Spamwise, but I do want to give you a run down of what I had and what it was like.

I had 'The Season' tasting menu, with wine pairings. $150. (Mrs. Stagg had 'The Sea'.)

Amuse Bouche

Green Lentil Soup with Gamebird Stock

Champagne, Pommery "Brut Royal" NV

It's like a spoonful of soup and 3 ounces of bubbly. What I found interesting is they were fantastic together.

First Course

Phesant and Rabbit Terrine with Torchon of Foie Gras, Roasted Walnuts

Vouvray Moellus "Le Mont" Gaston Huet 1997

My first Foie Gras. WOW. The wine with the food was like an explosion of flavor (all good).

Second Course

Grilled Hearts of Romaine with a Reggiano Tuile and Sweet Garlic

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Marram "Anima" 2004

Again, the wine and the salad were just perfect

Third Course

Pan Roasted Duck Breast with Root Vegatables, 50 year old Balsamico

Rioja, Valsacro 2001

Duck medium rare, again, the wine was perfect. Interestingly, neither the wine or the duck blew me away on their own, but together, fantastic.

Fourth Course

Frilled Lamb Rack Chop with Prot Wine Reduction, Pommes Puree, Black Truffle

Zinfandel, Surh Luchtel 2004

Again, outstanding. I loved both the lamb and the wine on their own.

Dessert

Chocolate Trio: Chololate Baked Alaska, Bloor Orange Tart, Chololate-Caramel Creme Brulee

Banyuls M Chapoutier 2004

Decadent.

I'm usually not particularly expirimental with my food - I'm a Ceasar Salad, Rare Tuna, Steak eating kinda guy. I rarely eat duck, and had never eaten rabbit or Foie Gras. Cindy Wolfe makes being a little experimental with food fun and nearly risk free, helping folks like me open up to new things.

9.5 out of 10.

Afterwards we came home, walked the dog, and went to K's house for a little more food and drink with friends. Then to Gecko's, where I ran into two old friends, folks I hadn't seen in years. We planned to either go back to K's or back home to see the fireworks at midnight, but stayed - we were just having to much fun with everyone else. The bar wasn't too crowded, yet lively enough to make it a heck of a lot of fun.

Off to my parents' today for some of mom's cookin' and football.