The Cupid Shuffle

The Cupid Shuffle has got to be the most mindless line dance ever invented, right after the Chicken Dance. Even the Hokey Pokey provides more variety than this stupid charade.

That's why my mind was boggled when I attended a swing dance in Pennsylvania where the organizer actually took five minutes out to TEACH people how to do the Cupid Shuffle. Good grief. This isn't the sort of dance that you waste time teaching. Rather, it's the sort of mindless crap that people should be able to observe for a few seconds and then follow along.

Then again, the organizer of this particular event wasn't known for having a lot of dance expertise.

People who are ignorant about dance

Not everyone knows how to dance, and not everyone understands what goes into preparing a good dance event. I'm okay with that, as we all have different talents and backgrounds.

It does annoy me, however, when dances are organized by people who know nothing about dancing. Now, I'm not saying that the organizers need to be professional dancers. However, when they fail to understand such simple niceties as keeping the dance floor dry and mud-free... well, that's just dumb.

What's more, they typically cater to the lowest denominator. That's why a lot of dance parties have plenty of mindless line dances such as the Cupid Shuffle and the Cha Cha Slide. Don't get me wrong; I'm okay with having some of these dances, especially for the benefit of people with no dance expertise. However, when you have these kinds of dances over and over again in the course of the night, it gets to be a bit much.

10/10/10

Today's date is 10/10/2010 -- or if you wish, 10/10/10.

Makes me want to watch a Bo Derek film.

Tuberculosis screening

I came across the following in a paper from 2003.

"ELISPOT, an enzyme-linked immunospot that detects T cells specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens, promises to be a major advance in screening for tuberculosis (TB), according to the results of a study published in the April 5 issue of The Lancet. In a comparison trial, ELISPOT was more accurate than the tuberculin skin test and was unaffected by BCG vaccination."

Personally, I would have said "The ELISPOT assay" rather than just "ELISPOT," but that's just me. At any rate, I like the idea of using this technology for TB screening.

G I Joe, a real American hero

I just love watching old reruns of the G.I. Joe animated series from the 1980s. Now that was some quality writing for a children's show.

Phil

I received a Facebook friend request from this guy named Phil. I don't want to accept, but I suppose that I should.

Batman TV series

I have been watching some old episodes of the Batman TV series. Boy. This isn't great writing and Burt Ward's acting is deplorable, but it is a bit of a guilty pleasure.

Appreciated

I received a bit of appreciation recently. I don't get that a lot, so I am thankful for that.

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.