Harley, go away

That Harley guy pisses me off no end. He's a loudmouthed jerk, he's a poser, and he's all talk.

I usually don't mind the folks who struggle in the gym. Some of them work really hard and want to get back in shape. (Admittedly, a lot of them don't. A lot of the just coast through the workouts and have no determination, no fighting spirit. Some of them genuinely want to undo years of poor health though, and they work hard to do so.) What I don't like are the folks who just talk the talk and don't walk the walk. The ones who hoot and holler like idiots, trying to make themselves sound all bad*ss, even though they're working out as though they were nine-year-old girls.

These folks aren't quite girly men. They can actually be in halfway decent shape. It's just that their mouths get much more of a workout than their bodies do.

And Harley is the worst offender by far. Shut up or go away, jerk.

Jobs in China

I found a site called "Jobs in China." What in the world is that about? It doesn't seem to me that a whole lot of people would be interested in finding jobs there -- certainly not the kind who would be drawn to an all-English site. So what the heck is that about?

Rachel from "Cardholder Services"

You suck. You dishonest, robocalling scammer. You thief. You deserve to be kicked out of the country.

More on laziness

Oh, and speaking again of lazy people in the cardio bootcamp class... I've often spoken about the loudmouthed poser who keeps whooping and hollering during the class, even though he's barely doing the moves. Well, he was in exceptionally rare for this week -- and by that, I mean that he was exceptionally lazy. He kept doing the moves in a wimpy, girlish way, even as he kept on hollering "Whoooooo!"

Go away, fella. You're trying to impress the ladies, but only an idiot would be taken in by your tactics.

Miggy and Migdalia

I'm not a big fan of "The Biggest Loser," but I sometimes tune in. Why? Because the physical challenges and last-minute workouts help motivate me to work hard at my own physical training regimen. Also, quite frankly, I sometimes find myself astonished at the ways in which people rationalize their obesity or their poor exercise and dining habits.

I normally fast forward through a lot of the show. It just doesn't capture my attention that much. However, I was riveted to some of the drama that surrounded Miggy and Migdalia, this mother-and-daughter team. Talk about delusional. Talk about unhealthy suppression. These folks are quick to blame other people for their own failures and they don't understand how much they're hurting themselves.

Miggy protested that they were there to exercise and learn proper eating habits, not to have their personalities changed. She failed to understand that when your personality traits foster obesity, then you MUST learn to change those traits. Suppressing one's emotions will make it vastly more difficult to trim down, due to the way one's body handles stress.

Speaking of lazy...

Let's revisit yesterday's blog entry.

Speaking of lazy folks, I remember when we were lining up outdoors to start the exercises. We were instructed to form a straight line. Instead of going to the end of the line though, a couple of stragglers decided to squeeze themselves into the other end. Why? Because that way, they could stand under the shade of a tree.

Get this? They packed themselves tightly into that part of the line, just so they could stay out of the sun. This was at around 6:45 p.m. Oh, boo hoo. Talk about being wimps.

What's more, it was pretty obvious that we were going to be moving around on the grass; otherwise, why bother going outside? So even if they could stay in the shade for a few moments, that wasn't going to last for very long. So what was the point of trying to squeeze their way in there -- and by necessity, squeeze other people out?

Lazy, lazy, lazy.

Lazy gym folks

Okay, get this. I take a cardio boot camp class every Monday. It's a class that's designed to push people hard so that they can get real results. This week, the instructor decided to take the class outside. We were to run around on the grass, spring, perform various calesthenics, and more -- all for the sake of varying our routine.

Things did not go very smoothly though. First, it took a long time for the class to get going. We performed the warm up routine indoors, after which we headed outdoors for the main exercise routines. Some of us headed straight outdoors, but we wound up standing around for nearly ten minutes while waiting for the stragglers to get out there. Apparently, a lot of people decided to slooooowly saunter their way outdoors instead of moving briskly. Another guy and I couldn't help but wonder, "Do these people want to get a workout or not?"

Second, a lot of people weren't paying attention to the instructions. As a result, we had long waits while the class instructor tried to explain the instructions everyone.

Third, a lot of folks did not push themselves very hard at all. A few of them gave up after just one sprinting exercise. Others moved very slowly, which meant that the people who were working hard had to stand around waiting for them to finish, for pity's sake. (Me, I decided to do squats and lunges while waiting for these folks.)

I realize that some of these folks were probably going as hard as they could. Looking around though, I don't think that many of them were. There was no look of determination about them, no expressions that indicated they were trying to push themselves. Heck, I'm not a fast runner by any means, but even with a 20 lbs weighted vest on my person, I still moved faster than just about any of them.

It's sad. These folks are not going to see results if they keep lollygagging through the exercises.

Nearly ran out of gas

I look at my gas gauge this morning and discovered that I had burned nearly a full tank of gas last night. Yeow.

At first I thought that somebody might have been siphoning off the gas. I have a locking gas cap though, which made that unlikely. After crunching the numbers, I realized that this amount of gas consumption was not unreasonable.

Still, it was a lot. Yeow. I'm glad that I didn't run out without realizing it. What can I say? It was late at night.

Sage

It is a wise man indeed who appreciates the value of sage.

Mental Floss

This page mentioned this Mental Floss book. A great book, and the magazine is great as well.

I wish that I had more time to read these things. Sigh.

MS PowerPoint

I've probably ranted about this before, but... I really, really hate it when people read their PowerPoint slides out to their audience. It's ineffective, it's stupid, it's insulting, and it's a sign of both laziness and incompetence.

The thing is, this SHOULD be common sense. For whatever reason though, a lot of people don't realize that.

Cage Fitness

I love the Cage Fitness program. It's tough, it's demanding, and I wish that I could do it every single day.

On a related note, I was going to take this Zumba class today. Unfortunately, the regular instructor was away and the previous instructor was filling in. Her moves tend to be way too feminine for my tastes, though, and she doesn't break the moves down as well.

Yeah, I like the regular gal a lot more.

More lindy moves

A few more lindy hop dance moves that I've been taught:

- RJ with a turn. The key here is to start the turn at the tail end of the "5" count.
- RJ with a follow (I'm not sure how this should be most properly called).
- Outside turn with a dramatic pause at the end of the "6" count. Shift your weight into the normal position during the "8" count.

It was also good to see Dan and Stephanie at the lesson this week.

Vinyl siding -- cruddy tactics

I remember when I was trying to solicit quotes for having vinyl siding installed on my garage. One of the people I spoke to was a Sears representative. His quote was outrageously expensive, so I told him that I couldn't afford his prices.

His reply? "Sure you can. You can take out a zero interest credit card if you need to."

Now that was a scummy thing to say. You don't advise customers to go into debt unnecessarily, and you certainly don't assume that they can afford something. Frankly, that's none of your business, bozo.

Fat acceptance

I came across the following statement which has been reproduced on a variety of "fat acceptance" blogs.

[Y]ou do not have anything interesting to say to someone who is struggling with obesity. You do not have better willpower than they do. You do not “care about myself” more. You are not more “serious about a healthy lifestyle” because you took off the eight pounds you gained at Christmas. You are no more qualified to lecture the obese on how to lose weight than I am qualified to lecture my short friends on how to become tall. You just have a different environmental and genetic legacy than they do. You’re not superior. You’re just somewhat thinner.

My reactions?

First, I'm somewhat sympathetic to the whole fat acceptance movement. I think that fat people are unfairly marginalized and aren't treated very well. I must confess that I'm guilty of that as well, as I occasionally realize that I tend to treat more attractive people better than I treat the chubbier ones. It's not fair.

However, I think that a lot of people in the fat acceptance movement go way too far. The aforementioned quote is a perfect example. For example, the author insists that skinnier people are NOT "more serious about a healthy lifestyle." Now that's just foolish. Sure, some fat people are doubtlessly more serious about health than some skinnier folks. To say that trimmer folks are absolutely not more serious about their health, however, is sheer denial.

Ditto for the steadfast denial that trimmer folks care about themselves more. I realize that combating obesity is not simple, and that some people will struggle far more than others. People who deny this are oversimplifying greatly. However, when somebody denies that trimmer folks do, on the average, care about their physical well-being more... well, that's simply over the top.

Those are two objections to what the author said. Both of these can be chalked up to exaggerated rhetoric. On the other hand, when this person says that thinner folks "just have a different environmental and genetic legacy than they do," then that's completely wrong. Environment and genetics do play a major role -- a very significant role, in fact -- but so do physical activity and dietary habits. Let's not deny that.

Therein lies the problem. Fat acceptance proponents are absolutely correct to demand better treatment of the overweight. However, this does not justify denying that one's eating and exercise habits play a major role in their condition.

Ace Ventura

I remember when "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" came out. I thought about watching it, largely because of Courteney Cox. She had faded into the background at around that time, and this was her first prominent role in a while.

An acquaintance of mine said that it was a pretty good movie and that I should watch it. Well, I was disappointed. It was a piece of crap with utterly idiotic humor. What was this woman thinking, recommending this piece of tripe?

New dancers

I've been asked to keep an eye out for the following newly minted lindy dancers. I could use the practice, and I'd like to help them feel welcome. Of course, I'm only going to dance with the ladies.

Zdenka, Deb, Heather, Shannon, Caroline, Allie, Chandra

Bill, David, Norm, Steve, Michael, Chris, Kirk

Let this serve as a reminder for myself.

Quick and easy side dishes

Earlier, I complained about how a lot of people simply bring a bag of cookies to these singles socials that I've attended. That is, regardless of what they were actually assigned to bring (a side dish, for example), they take the easy way out and bring a bunch of cookies.

I should be fair, though. Some of them bring chips instead. Sigh.

This contributes to the nation's obesity problem. People are WAY to enamored with pastries and other unhealthy desserts. Personally, I stay away from them for the most part.

The thing is, preparing a side dish doesn't have to take a lot of effort, and it doesn't have to cost much money either. I often bring a bunch of sliced apples or pears, for example. Slicing them up doesn't take much time, and it makes for a healthy side dish. Or if you wish, how about a bag of baby cut carrots? These are cheap and quick alternatives to the fattening baked goods.

Too many desserts

I've attended a few singles socials recently wherein people were assigned different kinds of foods to bring. This was done alphabetically; for example, people whose last names start with the letters A to L might be asked to bring a side dish, whereas people with names from M to S might be asked to bring desserts and T to Z would be asked to bring drinks.

What typically happens, however, is that there is an overabundance of cupcakes and cookies. Is it because there's a disproportionately large number of people whose names fell into the corresponding range? I seriously doubt it. What happens -- and of this, I'm absolutely convinced -- is that a lot of people just decide to bring a bag of cookies regardless of what their surname initial is. After all, it's simpler and easier to do that.

In most cases -- and again, I feel confident in saying this -- it's also lazy and inconsiderate. I don't want to judge any individual on this matter, as I'm sure that some people were legitimately pressed for time. Knowing human nature though, I don't doubt that many people simply decided to take the easy approach.

Is it disastrous? Not really, but it does create obvious problems.

Andrew Fenlon

Some people just don't get it.

I can be fairly negative at times. In fact, I often use this blog to vent about stuff that bothers the heck out of me. It's a way of pouring out frustrations that I can't really voice elsewhere. However, Andrew Fenlon carries this to a whole 'nuther level.

If you've seen his little snitty fit on "American Idol," you know what I'm talking about. I don't blame Kara DioGuardi for telling him that he should just walk out if he didn't change his attitude. Nor do I blame the ever abrasive Simon for saying that he should stop being a smartass.

How did this fella even think that he could get away with that kind of 'tude?

A rediscovery

Today I rediscovered the Science Advisory Board. I had forgotten that this organization existed.

Their mission is to improve communications between (a) medical and life science professionals and (b) the companies who provide this community with products and services. In other words, its a way to hook researchers and their colleagues up with companies that can provide the stuff and services that they need.

So they conduct studies about the products and services in question. Companies can then use this information to improve existing products and services or to develop new ones that better meet the needs of their customers.

About Chloe O'Brian

I thought this was amusing. It's from an earlier version of the Wikipedia page for a certain "24" TV character.

For a time, her character nickname on the website Television Without Pity was "Potato Face." In various TV appearances and print interviews, Mary Lynn Rajskub has mentioned that she now avoids Internet discussions about her character because somebody said that she had a face like a potato. More recently, other nicknames have been proposed, such as "Hot Potato" (a reference to the fact that many fans have found her increasingly attractive).

Clueless gym gal

I try to avoid referring to gym newbies as being "clueless." I recognize that we all have to start somewhere, and that it sometimes takes people a while to understand proper form, good workout techniques, and even the fine points of gym etiquette.

However, some people truly are clueless. I was reminded of this when I saw the following on someone's blog:

"Machine Hogs. These people will hog one machine and won't let you work in with them. I can understand if you're using a machine and you leave your towel on it to show it's in use. However, if you are doing lunges up and down the room and the machine is sitting there, you can at least let someone work in while you are lunging. Yes, this goes out to the woman who hogged the leg press machine today - you could have shared. Other people have work outs they need to do too."

Last week, I was trying to use the lat pulldown machine. However, somebody had left her gym back and water bottle on the seat. That wasn't very nice, but I figured that this person might simply be between sets. I waited around, even trying out a cable row machine in the meantime. The bag just sat there.

I tried to work around this by using other machines. I also tried to stand behind the seat and use the lat pulldown machine that way. Eventually, the owner of the bad did show up. She said, "Sorry, I should have moved my stuff."

YA THINK!?!?!? Apparently, she had been using this machine as a table while she worked out on another station. I wanted to give her a piece of my mind; instead, I said, "Yes, that wasn't very nice. Other people want to use these machines too, you know."

Now that is just pure cluelessness. I can understand someone not understanding how to use the machines properly. I can understand them not being familiar with how to get an effective workout. However, how can you possibly think that it's okay to dump your stuff on one machine while you work out somewhere else? Do you think that you're the only person who could want to use the machine in question?

I think that my reply to her was quite restrained. What I really wanted to say is that she was being very rude. I wanted to say, "You do not own this machine, lady. Don't treat it like it's your personal property."

Some new exercises

I watched Jillian Michael's "Last Chance Workout" DVD. It's very much a beginner's workout and won't be challenging for people who are already fit. However, there are two exercises there that I liked and that I think are worth incorporating into a workout:

Staggered pushups, in which one hand is placed more forward than the other
Up and down planks, in which we alternative raise ourselves up on our hands and go down onto our forearms

I also liked the idea of doing certain weight exercises while balancing on one leg. This causes the body to engage more muscles.

Dancing well

Earlier, I talked about how I wish that people who enjoy dancing would learn how to do so. That is, I wish that I could get my friends to take a few lessons, or to break down some dance moves from TV, or to learn some other interesting stuff.

Some would point out that when most people dance, they're not performing for other people. That's true, but it's also beside the point. It can be fun to just shake one's booty around, but I guarantee that dancing -- even for one's personal pleasure -- is vastly more gratifying when someone learns some real stylings.

I have attending this monthly singles "dance" party where almost nobody knows how to dance. Oh, they know a few line dances (that wretched cupid shuffle, for example), but nothing that requires real skill. A few of them know some country steps, and there's one couple that knows a little east coast swing, but nothing really impressive or energetic.

Heck, I remember trying to lead a couple of them through a turn. These folks were so sluggish that they couldn't make it all the way around, not even at slow speed. I swear, it was like they were walking through molasses. Ugh.

I wish that my friends would learn to dance

I wish, I really really wish, that I could get my friends to learn how to dance.

They enjoy dancing, but to my frustration, they don't really try to learn. Oh, they'll make a token effort at going through the complimentary lessons at our community swing dances, but they don't pay much attention and they don't try very hard. Nor do they try to learn any really interesting moves, not even the simple ones. They just kinda like to wiggle and shake around.

The politically correct response would be to say that it's all dancing, and that there's nothing wrong with just shaking around. In a very real sense, that's true. However, it's not "real" dancing as far as I'm concerned. Some call it freestyle dancing, but really... good freestyle dancing involves much more than just wiggling around to the music. Yeah, I know. Some people think it's fun to just wiggle around, but frankly, it's kinda dumb.

I like what a friend of mine said. This friend of mine pointed out that it takes time and effort to learn how to dance. People want quick gratification, so instead of learning how to dance well, they just wiggle about. Have I mentioned lately how dumb that is?

A skinny gal's response

In the past, I've written about the poor way in which overweight people sometimes get treated. I've also written about the fat acceptance movement -- both the good parts and the parts on which certain elements go way overboard.

Today, I'd like to post the following remark from someone who's been treated poorly because she's NOT overweight.

I find these discussions depressing at best. I'm a "skinny, little bitch" according to quite a few people. The disgust and nastiness shown towards me is far more than I have ever expressed internally or externally to someone overweight, but hey, it is ok, 'cause I'm skinny and I deserve it.

I've been overweight (briefly) and got a great view of how overweight people view skinny people, it isn't nice, it is not attractive and frankly, it pisses me off.

My husband is overweight, always has been. He also has horrible eating habits. Several of his family members are overweight also, they have the same horrible eating habits. The two skinny ones? Well, they don't eat like the others, nor do they weigh like the others.

If eating less didn't work, then bariatric surgery would NOT work. Sure, some folks regain the weight by stretching their stomachs back out and doing exactly what they aren't supposed to do.

I work with a girl that is about 5'2" who is probably close to 400lbs. She swears she never eats. I guess all the times I see her helping herself to the ice cream cooler don't count. Or my friend who swore it was "genetics" and was a vegetarian who would eat cream cheese by the container, or the friend that was a "vegan" but would binge eat anything, once by eating about 4lbs of shepard's pie (yes, there was meat in it).

Now, I have an unhealthy relationship with food, but I adore it. I also understand that it is impossible to create something out of nothing.

We, as a world, are fatter now than ever. Obesity is rampant. The food we eat has more calories per ounce than it needs to, our portion sizes are out of control, what we consider food is laughable. I'm perfectly fine accepting someone for who/how they are, just don't sling bullshit at me.

The amount of people who have actual medical conditions that are responsible for their weight are in no way even close to the majority of obese people.

Some freestyle (hip hop) dance moves

I picked up some "freestyle" dance moves from a Christy Lane DVD. Based on the context though, I'd say that she's using the term as a synonym for hip hop.

The ones that I most want to remember are the following: hot spot, pump, electric kick, the box (basically, a box step with some funk thrown in), and the reggae chop.

Science revisited

In an earlier post, I mentioned that some bozos pride themselves on being scientific in their day-to-day activities, yet they have a poor grasp of what science is. Far from using real science, what they're doing is using a severely watered down version thereof.

In that post, I described how one of these guys would claim to use science in evaluating relationships. Interestingly enough, this guy is an ardent atheist who ridicules those who believe in the power of prayer. Now I'm not about to argue for or against prayer or God right now. However, I would like to reproduce the words of one bright fella who made an interesting observation.

The point I'm trying to make... is that your definition of a "scientific approach" is not what most people would recognize as science at all. Let's suppose that somebody said that they prayed to Jesus for a miraculous healing and their request was granted. The objection will immediately be raised that the healing might have occurred naturally, and that the only way to determine whether prayer works is to conduct a study with many people suffering from a certain condition, split into two groups, one using prayer and one not. This response is given all the time on this board and elsewhere. In other words, the assertion is that a single person evaluating his or her own experiences cannot be scientific; it's only scientific when you're studying a group.

But then here you are saying that a single person making conclusions based on unique circumstances can be using a scientific approach. In other words, the exact approach that people usually blast for failing to be scientific, now is scientific.

Great answer!

Kathy Griffin is an embarassment

Some comedians seem to think that dropping the f-bomb in their act makes them funnier. No, it doesn't.

Kathy Griffin did this a lot during her CNN appearance on New Year's Eve. She also made certain off-color jokes that were decidedly shocking. Frankly, she should have known better. It was CNN, after all, a network that carries a certain professional demeanor.

I've never liked her act, and this incident makes me dislike her humor even more.

What a disappointing NYE celebration

I had to decide where to go on New Year's Eve. I could have gone to this one singles group, but the folks there tend to be older than I am, and they even act much older than they are. I could have gone to this ballroom on the west side of town, but I suspected that it would mostly be older people as well. (Indeed, I later found out that it was mostly older folks and a lot of couples. Not a great environment.)

So I went with some friends to a singles dance about an hour away. That was very disappointing as well. It was a "dance" where people mostly just wiggled around on the dance floor. Were they having fun? Certainly, and I won't begrudge them that. I was really hoping to see some people with actual dance skills though, especially partner dance skills.

One problem with these singles groups is that there are often good reasons why these folks are single. I'm not trying to disparage them, nor do I wish to minimize their worth as human beings. Like it or not though, very often these groups tend to be filled with people who are badly out of shape or who otherwise lack physical ability.

That's not the entire problem, though. One of my friends is pretty athletic, and she's even quite pretty. She just can't dance, and I don't know why. I think that ultimately, it's because she lacks confidence. She could do it, but if you throw something unexpected her way, she panics. She also doesn't put in a lot of effort, which is disappointing. I know that a lot of guys would want to dance with someone like her.