Football Epilogue

As mentioned in  “Part I” , my original intent was to write something entirely different than what I did. I apparently needed to get the content of the previous post out of my system. My original intent was to write about the “Golden Rule” as it pertains to one’s self. That is, instead of looking at it as treating others as you would want to be treated, what about “treating yourself as you would want to be treated”. On the surface this looks like the  antithesis of the rule proper. Ambiguity can arise from the concept of “treating”. Here I mean it in the exact same way as the law of reciprocation. The Golden Rule suggests treating people with respect, decency, compassion and love. What I am getting at is how often do we offer ourselves those virtues. I’m not meaning like cessation of a child with candy, nor giving into carnal desires, but taking the realization that our most tragic flaw is that we are indeed human. Subject to our own weaknesses/defects of character. We d...

by J. Davies   "The golden rule" As taken from the bible, it is mentioned in several books and the Gospels. Simply put, "Do to others what you would want them to do to you." --Luke 6:31 Also called, according to  Wikipedia , the law of reciprocity it is the basis for much of modern civilization. Interestingly, versions of it predate the biblical references. In reality it could even be boiled down to evolutionary survival skills. We as humans survive partially on account of social kindness to one another. Economically, in being kind I get social approval and increased chances of kindness passed my way when I might need a helping hand. These days it is difficult to see how people could possibly be living according to the rule. From the election, to Syria, to our deteriorating relations with other countries, to belligerent blogs and facebook posts that essentially say "if you're a ________ supporter/believer, then you're a ________(insert Sha...

There are certain parts of me I wish I could transplant. Not really the usual "body image" kinds of things like my gut, but parts that occasionally cause me significant pain and discomfort. There are: The inner areas of my knees that generate sharp pains from "partially torn ligaments" Headaches that largely seem allergy related My right shoulder which always seems to be biting down on the tendons that run over the top of it. My big left toe which seems to have some calcification and is leftover from football My neck that gets stiff when I sleep on it wrong  and... My back. I remember first "tweaking" my back doing squats in high school. Lifting much like the #TBT I showed off previously.  That resulted in nerve pain sharply traversing up and down me, but was mainly centered in my lumbar region. In all honesty I don't think that pain ever really left me. Every day I feel it in one form or another, particularly down my right leg and int...

Every now and then this gets in my head.

I was watching some old Minnesota Vikings footage and saw the goalposts on the goal line, instead of their current location on the end line. This resulted in a quick Google search and so ensued a quick football history lesson. According to Wikipedia (I paraphrase here): The end zone was introduced to American football in 1912. This was due to the introduction of the forward pass, requiring a location of limited extent for receivers to catch the ball. Before this, the goal line and the end line were one and the same. Goalposts remained on the goal line, however they interfered with game play so were moved to the back of the endzone in 1927, but back to the front in 1933. They weren't moved back again until 1974, perhaps partially to reduce interference and injury and in response to ever stronger kicking legs. Indeed the game seems to be a perpetual strength and stamina arms race. Note, that goalposts in Canada are still on the goal line. And just for "kicks", Here...

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/18/chuck-berry-comeback-album I remember being taught in elementary school music class the "Elvis invented rock and roll". Pardon my French, but that ended up being a load of bullshit! It was Chuck Berry who brought R&R to the tipping point. He had the speed, the drive, the rhythm, the blues and like any raw origin he had the chip on his shoulder to give it his music an edge. Johnny B Goode still blows a lot of music out of the water. It's edge can draw a straighter line to hard rock and metal than Elvis or the Beatles. So happy 90th and new album, Chuck (the real king) Berry! I look forward to it.

After work today, my girlfriend and I took a walk around a nearby lake. The days are getting shorter and tonight's air is was cool and brisk. Still there was moisture on the path left from last nights heavy rains. The hills of the local ski area and park overlooked the small lake and shown shades of bright yellow, orange and brown. Fall has peaked and the trees and shrubs, once laden heavy with the colorful leaves were showing signs of finally giving out to barren dormancy. Overlooking it all, the peculiarity of a lone ski jump sets an atmosphere of the impending winter. It's a sight I missed during my years in California where the Steinbeck-ian browns of tinder dry summer grasses would gradually heed to wave upon wave of storm system and reveal a brilliant green that makes Dublin, CA a true sister city of it's European namesake. Storms that are slowed as they beat up against the precipitous rise of the Sierra Nevadas. The dropping temperature and diminishment of lig...

Here's a simple back workout I've been using the last couple of weeks. Often there's over emphasis on chest work (bench press, etc.). Try making the back and shoulders a priority! Here's a .pdf for easy printing:   Click here

One of my weekend loves is being able to cook a hot breakfast for myself. Here's what is becoming a favorite creation. Shredded zucchini hash from the garden. I cook it in a little butter, minced garlic a touch of salt and pepper and dehydrated minced onion. Zucchini has a high water content so I wring it out and even drain the pan during cooking. I then cook two over-easy eggs and several cherry tomatoes, cut in half and fried cut side down flipping towards the end until the skin is loose. I sprinkle over with a little feta cheese and add in some fruit (raspberries today) and of course my old friend coffee . :)

Salsa-Part Deux on the food page. Check it out.

After the game. Alumni full-contact football fundraiser. High school guys from the 1990's (Navy blue jerseys) versus guys from the 2000's (white jerseys). Us old dudes lost and my arms were one big bruise, but it was a lot of fun and personally I think we looked better than the kids.

I want Ice Cream too! Last night my son and I engaged in our new routine. We hit the weightroom at the local activity center while my daughter is at her gymnastics class. The first few weeks went well. I had to cancel some expectations of having a fervent training partner for the realization that he's a kid and wants to explore and do some of the things he wants to do. This has resulted in the dynamic of me performing my workout and him on his favorite pieces of equipment: assisted pull-ups, the StairMaster, the back extensions machine and the cable-cross machine. Yesterday was a little different. His school was having a fundraiser at  Chipotle  and one of those build-your-own frozen yogurt stores,  Yogurt Sundae . I caught him after the dinner part of this combination and promised we'd get the Ice Cream after the workout. I guess the kids really likes the ice cream as he proceeded to complain how bored he was and kept asking to go to dessert during the workout. I...

I was going to post a different Megadeth song, "A Tout le Monde", but in doing a little web surfing found out that former drummer Nick Menza had died a few months ago. Apparently I don't pay as much attention to rock/metal news as I used to. Anyway, here's one of my favorites from the "Nick and Marty" era.

I'm traveling for work over the next day or so. Attending a workshop in Washington DC on the topic of magnetic tunnel junctions. It's a collection of many of the usual suspects that I see at conferences and is a good venue for industry/academia. I love that I get to come back to DC every so often. I feel it puts me in a minority of people who do. However, after working as a postdoc in the area in, what is nearing a decade ago, I see the charm of the place. Not to mention there are familiar faces that I can meet for dinner and drinks. Sitting in here in this workshop I was trying to think of a tidbit on DC that's somewhat related to the (initial) intent of the blog. Then I recalled, "isn't this one of the fittest areas in the country?" Indeed, at least according to the American Fitness Index website. It's number 1. Interestingly, the Twin Cities are number 2! Now what does this mean? The reports summarize data across a number of areas from the ...

I have a number of food weaknesses. Items I just can't have in my house because they won't last long in my ...house. Chicago mix popcorn is one such item. It's almost like some weird addiction-like phenomenon. I walk by the person handing out samples at Costco. I have a sample and think that was good. I decide not to buy the popcorn because I know it's no good for me. I try to not even look at the display, but I do need the aisle as I buy tortilla chips. The tortilla chips are good, but I can just have a few and be satisfied. Still committed to not buying, I walk passed en route to the Mission corn chips. "Damn, there's an "event sale" and the $6.00 (USD) bag is only $4.50."  At that moment I knew they had me. How can I pass such a good value? I mean it's an enormous bag for the price of most peoples' Starbucks. I take the bait. If there was any progress in this is it's that I waited to get home before opening the bag. Now, ...

What can I say? It was a laundry weekend.