Writing

I have way too much writing to do. Ugh.

Bri

I really appreciate my pal Bri. She is such a sweet and appreciative person.

She is also very beautiful. That is part of why I appreciate her. Not because I appreciate her good looks, but because she doesn't put on airs about it. Some beautiful women act that way and they tend to be hypersensitive about men showing them attention. She knows that I don't just regard her as an object of beauty though, and that I respect her marriage. I am thankful for that.

Working out too little

I've talked about how some folks fear that lifting weights will cause people to put on too much muscle. These people have probably never lifted in their lives. If they did, they would know that it takes a LOT of work to pack on tons of muscle.

Most people overestimate the benefits that they'll get from exercising. They think that if they run a couple of laps, they've made a big dent in their fitness goals. Or worse, they think that they can indulge in that cheeseburger they've been craving.

I see this in our gym classes all the time. People do practically nothing in the cardio classes, scarcely working up a sweat. They probably figure that they've put in their time, and that that's what counts. No, it doesn't. If you consistently work out at a low level, then you'll scarcely see any results. You need to put in some real effort if you want to get real results.

I'm not saying that every workout needs to be intense. The occasional low-intensity workout can be beneficial, especially if it's an endurance exercise or part of one's recovery period. However, consistently working out at a low level is likely to yield low-level results and nothing more.

Rats

I sure could use a change. A real change.

This is kinda disappointing. And frustrating. And aggravating. And discouraging.

Could really use a change of pace.

Women who fear getting bulky

In my previous post, I talked about folks who fear that if you start working out, you run the risk of looking like some hideous bodybuilder. That's simply a foolish fear, unfounded in any sort of reality.

Most people don't go that far. However, a lot of women have more moderate fears. They don't want to lift weights because they fear that they'll develop too much muscle. Again, that's just a foolish concern. First of all, a bit of muscle on a woman is SEXY. Second, it's extremely unlikely that they'll develop so much muscle that they'll start to look masculine -- especially if they're generally feminine in their appearance. Third, when they do develop muscle, it will be a gradual process, so it's not as though they are likely to be taken by surprise at how massive their biceps have become.

Not bulking up too much -- oh, please

It gets a bit annoying at times. When I mention that I work out, there are ladies who say, "Oh, no! Don't overdo it! You don't want to look like Arnold or those other huge bodybuilders. That's just gross."

Oh, puh-leez. These people have no clue. They simply have no idea how hard it is to reach that level. You can't get to the grossly pumped up level by accident, folks. You have to work hard for it, and the entire process can take years, especially if you don't use steroids (and you shouldn't!).

These people are well-intentioned, but horribly naive. They must think that if you lift weights for a few weeks, BAM! You're going to get grossly overmuscled. Folks, that is NOT realistic. That is NOT how it works. Get a clue.

The 29th

September is almost over.

Stamina

Most people have rather poor stamina. Most people also allow their stamina to deteriorate dramatically as they get older. They get used to lounging around and being physically inactive -- sedentary, even -- and it shows.

I looked at some photos of my old elementary school classmates, and it was pretty obvious that almost all of them had fallen badly out of shape. And to think that I was one of the least athletic people in our class way back when.

I watch these folks who attend our cardio boot camp classes at the gym. Most of them can't keep up for very long, even when they're barely doing the moves. The worst offender is this rotund fella who barely moves at all during the exercises, and who gives up easily. I don't think it's a question of being tired, since he scarcely works up a sweat and there are no signs of exhaustion on his face. Rather, he just doesn't put much effort into his moves, and so he's never going to see any real results.

Birthday greetings, bro

Today marks the birthday of one of my brothers, a young fella who means the world to me.

Browncoat!

I was gratified to see that one of my former co-workers is a fan of Joss Whedon's short-lived TV series, Firefly. These people are known as browncoats, and they are a discerning bunch. What a terrible shame that this show went off the air so quickly.

It didn't help that Fox TV decided to air the action-oriented "The Train Job" in place of the originally intended pilot episode. It was a good ep, but it didn't do as good a job of setting up the story premise.

How to give good presentations

Most people -- and this includes college-educated folks -- do not know how to give an effective presentation. They tend to ramble, or they tend to focus on irrelevant details, or they use graphic ineffectively. Many of them also tend to read off of their PowerPoint slides, treating PowerPoint as though it were a teleprompter.

This generally indicates poor mental organization. It's one thing to use your PowerPoint slides to guide your presentation. It's yet another thing to read the content of the slides to the audience, treating them as though they were idiots. The same problem holds for those who ramble on and on, using a hundred words to explain something that should only require one sentence (and yes, I've seen my share of presentations like that).

Stupid EBAY stock

I wish that my Ebay stock were performing better. Darn. I blame Ebay's vendor-unfriendly policies for its decline. Amazon.com's second-hand stores seem so much better.

Kangaroo courts

A lawyer friend of mine says that the local municipal courts are pretty much kangaroo courts. That is, the judges are lazy and pretty much don't care about their work.

I don't know for sure if that's true or not, but I can believe it.

Incompetence

I had this encounter with an utterly incompetent person. More than one such encounter, actually. How unfortunate.

It's aggravating. This person must not be very well liked. That much is abundantly obvious.

She is in entirely the wrong line of work.

This illness sucks

Being sick stinks. It stinks to high heavens. Thankfully, all of the symptoms are above my neck.

Sneezing

I've got a bit of congestion in my nose, I have post-nasal drip, and I have started sneezing. I hate this. I hate this to high heavens.

I need my T cells to kick into high gear. Like, right now.

Gym slackers again

I'm still irritated by all these slackers in the gym. Why do some of these folks even bother coming? They take up space, they yap and yap and yap, and they put in practically no effort. If they were simply harmless, that'd be one thing, but they tie up valuable equipment and exercise floor space. What's more, by setting a bad example, they bring the energy of the entire room down. Sheesh.

Biotech

Ohio University has this here list of biotechnology companies. Good call. There's a lot of promise in biotech, so I think we should be doing whatever we can to promote it. What's more, I think that students should learn more about these companies.

AAPL

I sure wish that I had bought some Apple stock last year. Darn. At least I did invest in Google (GOOG), which has also done well.

One female attire and professional conduct

I just wanted to repost something that I read on a discussion board.

Now, if I made a point in dressing in very tight work clothes, or wearing shirts with a lot of cleavage, I'm not helping the situation at all. A gentleman would avoid comment, of course, but not all men are gentlemen, and some professional sports players are also quite young and thus not as experienced or polished as even a 25 year old man. If you're going into a male locker room then I think it's reasonable to expect a female reporter to dress in attire that, while feminine, is not overly revealing and for her to be strictly business - avoid flirting or sexual innuendo while on the clock. It makes it much easier for everyone to keep proper boundaries intact. On top of that, I think the women who adhere to those guidelines will find that respect is much more forthcoming from the men. In my experience men are much happier when the distinction between business and fun is kept sharp and clear and far more likely to conduct themselves in a respectful manner.