The Boxer |
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Favorite Line(s): | |
In the clearing stands a boxer | |
And a fighter by his trade | |
And he carries the reminders | |
Of every glove that laid him down | |
Or cut him till he cried out | |
In his anger and his shame | |
“I am leaving, I am leaving” | |
But the fighter still remains | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Love And Charity |
2019 | Tomorrow Is Valentine’s Day |
Inverted U Curve | |
2018 | Still More Prejudice |
A Well Trod Path Of Hopes, Expectations And Surprise | |
2017 | …And With It Civilization |
2016 | Just Like My Mother |
2015 | All Omissions Are Mine |
2014 | Precise Order |
2013 | Uh, No. Not Really… |
Deep Regions | |
2012 | A Pre-Valentine’s Day Message |
2011 | Easy Like Sunday Morning |
May I Have A Little More, Please… | |
2010 | Valleys and Peaks |
Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category
The Fighter Still Remains
Posted in Boxing, Included Video, Lyrics, Music and Concerts, Philosophy, Quotes, Song Lyrics And Videos By Others, Videos, tagged Favorite Lines, Included Video, Philosophy, Quotes, Simon & Garfunkel, The Boxer -- music video, Vevo, YouTube on February 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
DIY: Outdoor Gym Modifications (2)
Posted in Boxing, Family and Friends, Health, Pictures, Sports, Workouts, tagged Backyard Gym, Boxing Station, Bungee Cords, Double-Double-End Balls, Double-End Ball, Family, Health, Pictures, Triple-Double End Balls, Workout Station on January 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »
My “Do It Yourself” (DIY) efforts on setting up a home workout station are proceeding. Below are some images of the yesterday’s progress… | |
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Yesterday, I assembled my “double-double”. Basically, it’s two striking targets attached at two ends. The bottom target is roughly the height of a body shot (waist to lower ribs). The top target is roughly the height for head shots (chin, front and side of the head). You may notice a few things: | |
1) the top attachment is vertical while the bottom is horizontal. The bottom target would normally be either fixed to the flooring below or (using some type of rope or bungee) attached to a weight to stabilize the target and limit random / excessive swinging movement. In this case, I had to work within the “command structure” of: “I don’t want any of your weights damaging my concrete!” So, I used a horizontal bungee (with a loop to keep the rope from sliding left and right). The practical limitation to this setup is I cannot work around the target; I am limited to the 180° on the front side. Still, I can live with it… | |
2) less obvious until you start hitting the targets… They are not “fixed” within the netting. There are gaps above and below the balls where they can move when struck. The practical effect of this is they are not staying in the same place in the netting when you try to do a double-up punch (like two jabs to the head). I will try to correct this by tying rope / paracord around one end of each ball / net to “lock” them into a more standard position within each net. | |
3) FAR less obvious, (but which I have learned from recent experience,) is that these targets hit back at you – and from unexpected angles (at least up to now unexpected). In my initial setup (prior to my wife’s objection), I had the bottom ball / net secured by weights. This tended to produce reaction motion for both balls in a relatively circular motion around a vertical axis (much like an up-right cylinder). After the modification to the bottom to include the horizontal bungee, a solid right punch to the bottom target resulted in a solid left hook by the upper ball to the right side of MY head. My wife started laughing and said: “It hits back!!” (Note: Not “Are you okay, dear?“) As near as I can tell, this is due to the back and forth (back to front) motion of the lower horizontal bungee and the circular (like a vertical cylinder) motion of the upper vertical bungee. My response: “I’m gonna need a head-guard.” Her reply: “You sure are!“, still giggling. Fortunately (for me), there wasn’t sufficient mass / speed in the basketball to knock me out, because it certainly struck me full on the side of my head at roughly temple / cheek height. | |
My next brilliant (okay, obvious) idea was to attach the original horizontal double-end target (“bag”) and see what that felt like. To my surprise, a “triple-double” and it is terrific! I now had a target (the bottom ball) for body shots, a target (the middle ball) for upper-cuts and body jabs, and a top target (the top ball) for chin and head shots. The only trick now is to find a way to attach the original double-end to the double-double which keeps them together (when used together), but which also easily separates so I can continue to use the single-double on its own. The original horizontal “single-double” works as a “slip-rope”. A “slip” is when you move your head side to side (like a metronome) to avoid an incoming punch. It is frequently accompanied by a “bob” (up and down head movement). Together, they are referred to as “bobbing and weaving”. Basically, I stand next to one post and move to the other ducking under the rope with each step to the side. When I get to the middle, I release an upper-cut. I then continue to the opposite post. When I reach the post, I turn around and start back, trying to time the steps so my next upper cut with be with the other hand. (Always try to practice every punch with both hands.) Anyway, there is still some tweaking to do… | |
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The next image is what’s happening in the background. I attached a “hook-screw” to the back post and then I just swing the weighted chain up to it and hook onto it. The lat-pulley set up is then out of the way for the boxing. It is adjustable for more clearance, but because of the angles, it (the chained weights) doesn’t have to be as far back as I initially expected. | |
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And, finally, here’s an image of the “normal” lat-pulldown. We timed the set up and take down and it takes under a minute to set up or take down! It takes longer to put on a single boxing hand-wrap than it does to set up the station for boxing. | |
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And so the adventure continues… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Posting As A Continual Exercise |
2019 | Border Security – Yes, Border Wall – No |
2018 | Supporting Survival Values |
2017 | Inauguration Day 2017 [Sometimes, I hate it when I’m right! — KMAB] |
2016 | Or A Pot Of Gold After The Storm |
2015 | One, Two, Three… |
2014 | Lend Your Hand |
2013 | Amnesty, n. |
2012 | Best Resolv’d |
The Clock Is Running | |
2011 | Magic |
DIY: Outdoor Gym Modifications
Posted in Boxing, Health, Pictures, Workouts, tagged Backyard Gym, Boxing Practice, DIY, Do It Yourself, Fitness, Health, Lat Pulldowns, Latissimus Dorsi Muscles, Outdoor Gym, Pictures, Total-Gym on January 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Some of you regular readers may recall I had a pull-up rack set up in a corner of my backyard. Image below… | |
I was always intending to use the setup as a multi-function station for working out going forward. My initial modification was the addition of two “eye-screws” to setup a horizontal double end punching bag. As you see, I made it out of an old basketball, a basketball net and a couple of bungee cords. This has worked out reasonably well… | |
The “main” goal of the setup was to have a pull-up station. Unfortunately, it turns out I am FAR too out of shape to hang from the bar, let alone try to do a pull-up. In my first (aborted) attempt, I nearly pulled my arms out of their sockets “trying” to hang. I was able to hang for just long enough for me to remember my age before letting go (aka: “falling”). Also, despite my interest in adding “DIY” boxing options, I will NOT EVER be boxing / sparring. I have a heart condition and am on blood thinners which (technically) make me a “border-line” hemophiliac (a “bleeder”). The boxing options are only for their fitness / exercise value. | |
To make a longer story short, I scavenged some parts from my old “Total-Gym” and have now set up a “Lat – pulldown” system which I can use to build up my strength until I can hang from the bar and try another pull-up. Image below… | |
A “Lat – pulldown” is an exercise which concentrates on the latissimus dorsi muscles. These are the muscles used to pull something down from above your head or to pull your head and body up to something which is above your head / shoulders. In this case, I am using four(4) ten pound weights. At the moment I have completed day four(4) of a 30 day challenge to do five(5) sets of fifty(50) “reps” (repetitions). After each set, I turn 45° and do a cross-body pull down Left to Right (50 reps) and then Right to Left (50 reps). In all, 250 reps of the double and 250 reps per side. As I get stronger (and less sore), I hope to get up to 10 sets per day. Hopefully, by the end of the 30 days I will be able to suspend myself in a hanging position for a few seconds. Then I can proceed to descending pull-ups, which will lead to actual “up” pull-ups. | |
I have an additional five(5) modifications under consideration: 1) adding a “slip bag”; 2) adding a “heavy bag”; 3) adding a vertical “double-end, double bag”; 4) adding a “speed bag”; and, 5) adding a two-grip, low level pulley systems to create a “rower”. | |
So, that’s the progress. And, that’s the future plans… (Oh, yeah. The posts and the rest of the back fence have to be painted / stained to help reduce / prevent weathering.) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Still Crazy After All These Years… |
2019 | 20 / 20 Foresight |
He Knew Damned Well… | |
2018 | Be Someone’s Kindling |
2017 | When The Moment Comes |
2016 | Changed Clothes Lately? |
2015 | Like Stone |
2014 | Resistance Is Futile |
2013 | Subtle Humor |
To Look Behind Green Eyes | |
2012 | The Path Is Endless |
2011 | Happy MLK, Jr Day!!! |
A Factor Of Ten | |
Better Late Than Never? | |
Whoops! | |
Acceptable Beginnings | |
Slow Progress | |
Useful Confrontation | |
When Phenomena Are Different | |
Creative Avoidance | |
Thinking | |
Fast And Flexible | |
Surrender Certainty | |
Techniques | |
Vive La Difference | |
Destiny | |
Completeness | |
Art | |
Boxing (Day: 3) – Double-End Target Setup
Posted in Boxing, Health, Sports, Workouts, tagged Boxing, Double-End Ball, Pull-up Stand, Sports, Targets on December 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »
After a couple of days off resting my knee, I got back out and tried to get in a little heavy breathing. | |
The first picture is of the pull-up stand I had built. It’s a fairly basic tri-pod (tri-pole?) stand with a solid steel bar running across the two front 4X6’s. At just about shoulder level, I put in two “eye-screws” to hook things to. In this shot, I’ve used a pair of bungees to suspend my punching target – a double-end ball. This is mostly on the “Do-It-Yourself” project list to save money. The basketball and black / orange nylon cord, I already owned. The two screws were about $3 each. The package of bungees was $10 for a pack of 14 assorted lengths. And the basketball net was another $3. So, all told, a functional double-end boxing target for under $20. One of my neighbors moved and he was tossing out three basketballs, so I still have two more to use to set up a “double-double-end” with basketballs (instead of tennis balls). (Reality check: a “cheap” double-end ball runs between $12 and $20 on Amazon. The “decent” ones between $25 and $40. The “pro” models upwards of $80.) | |
This target is a lot more substantial than hitting tennis balls and is fine for the “rough” motor skills of a rank amateur like me (reading between the lines: that means I miss a LOT). It’s a good target for jabs and straight punches from both a regular and southpaw stance. It’s particularly fun for practicing side-slipping and upper-cuts. I have also learned to use it to practice bobbing with following upper-cuts. That is how I “learned” about wearing a mouth-guard and the abrasiveness of the basketball hitting you in the forehead and side of the head. The image below shows the basketball in the net more clearly. | |
I’ve tried hitting the target with hooks (which are horizontal punches), but I’m not confident in the bungees ability to stay attached on the side the hook is going to. I think it may be best to wait on those punches until I have the “double-double” set up vertically. I’m also debating adding extra bungees to make the rebounding response stiffer. Finally, I’m a bit concerned the bungees might unhook or the cord simply snap off the metal hook at the end. I’m thinking of using duct-tape to secure the hooks to the eye-screws, but I haven’t yet thought of a way to ensure the cord doesn’t snap free from the metal end hook. If anyone can think of something, please let me know… | |
I’ve been trying to get in 45 minute sessions. Today’s was a bit shorter due to light rain / sprinkles. The two days off really helped with my shoulder stiffness. They still tire quickly, but they were definitely better than on day #2. If anything, it was my hips and hamstrings which were giving me the most issues. I felt like I was lead-legged and struggling to lift them in treacle. LoL! The price of being “mature” and trying to get a little fitter. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Stand Up, Hook Up, Shuffle To The Door… |
2018 | Ridiculous Idea |
2017 | Waddle On! |
A Severe Challenge — When The President Is A Liar | |
2016 | The Best Of Circumstances |
2015 | Reverberating Silence |
2014 | Wrong Again? |
2013 | Improper Faith |
2012 | One More Rung |
2011 | Sunday Morning Earlies (Hugging trees and smiling…) |
Hurry | |
Updates On Life | |
2010 | It’s Gettin’ Deep In Here |
Boxing: Precision Target
Posted in Boxing, Health, Pictures, Sports, Workouts, tagged Boxing, Bungee Cords, COSTCO, Health, Images, Nylon Cord, Precision Target, Right Knee, Tennis Balls on December 9, 2020| 4 Comments »
No practice today. I tweaked my right knee walking our dog and then aggravated it more with a LONG walk around Costco (and unloading the car). | |
Instead, I’m posting an image of the “precision” target I mentioned in my prior post. | |
As you can see, it’s just two tennis balls strung up on a nylon cord with a bungee cord and a weight on the bottom end and more nylon cord (and rope) tying the top end to a hook in one of my rafters. Simple, yet effective. There are knots tied in the cord at either side of the tennis ball to prevent the ball from moving up or down the cord. The base weight is just so I didn’t have to make any attachment (damage) to the floor. The weight is just a single 10lb free weight. I tried lighter and heavier weights. Lighter (5lbs) and when the balls were struck, the weight moved and banged into things. Heavier (25lbs) was just too much of a hassle to move around to set up and take down. | |
This type of target is sometimes called a “double-end” target (“bag” when actual punching bags are used) or a “kangaroo” target. My modification to the basic target was to add a second tennis ball. This gives me a target at roughly chin height and one at roughly rib / solar plexus height. This is the target I was using when trying on my gloves every couple of days. Although it was “safe” in this location, it wasn’t particularly useful as I could hit it without “it” hitting anything else, but I couldn’t move around much (at all). Now that I think about it, this was probably one of my earliest lessons: “punching” is hitting things; “boxing” is hitting things while you move around so they don’t hit you back. (LoL) Yes, I still learn the hard way every time! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Yet We Should Keep Trying |
2018 | Let Us Dare |
2017 | Two Good To Be Real |
Secrets | |
2016 | Learning Subtle Differences |
2015 | Dog Eat Dog World? |
2014 | And Sometimes Blogs About It |
2013 | Outside-In |
2012 | They Are All Perfect |
2011 | Delegation – The “How-To’s” |
2009 | Diet Update and Other Bits & Bobs… |
Boxing (#2): First Lessons
Posted in Boxing, Health, Philosophy, Quotes, Sports, Workouts, tagged Boxing, Head Protector, Health, Lessons Learned, Mouth Guard, Workout on December 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »
So, what did I learn from my first lesson (yesterday) and today? This is hard training. Even with a very basic session… I am old, and I am sore! I had a difficult night sleeping because both of my shoulders and my neck are painful when pressed on or when moved. Net result: I’m even more tired today from lack of sleep. | |
I slowed down my punching (attempts) as yesterday I missed the target at least a third of the time. The target is a basketball suspended with bungee cords. You would think it would be “easy” to hit something as big as a basketball… It ain’t!! Particularly when it’s moving / rebounding from an earlier strike. So, the first lesson is start slow. Learn the correct form. Form leads to accuracy. Speed will follow from form and accuracy. (Eventually.) | |
The nice thing about never intending to hit (or get hit by) anyone is I can take as long as I want to practice individual punches: left and right jabs, hooks, upper-cuts, straight punches. Standing traditional and “peek-a-boo”; conventional and southpaw. I can also practice slipping and bobbing to my hearts content. (My heart is pretty content after about a 30 second stretch.) Then, it’s pause for 5-10 seconds to catch your breath and then start something else (or do it again). | |
I learned I need to wear my mouth guard and I’m going to need to get a head protector. The ball “hits” back. Not hard, like a real person. But it’s hard enough to bite your tongue or the inside of your cheeks if you’re not concentrating. The lacing holding the ball can slice you (forehead and cheeks) if you’re not careful. And, lastly, basketballs have a course “pebbled” surface which makes them easier to dribble, but it will chafe you pretty good if it hits you at the wrong angle. It might have been smarter to start with a smoother surfaced ball, like a soccer ball. Oh, well… | |
End result: pouring sweat, exhausted, exhilarated – fun! | |
Wife’s reaction: “You’re too old to be doing this everyday. You need to start with every other day or just a couple of times a week.” When I pointed out she made me promise to use the gloves if I was going to buy them, she replied: “Yes, but you’ve already used them twice as much as I EVER thought you would.“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | A Surprisingly Good Way |
It’s Official X-mas (Tree) At Home | |
2018 | Weight / Health Update |
What’s Happening With You? | |
2017 | The Great Leveler |
Conservative Depressions | |
2016 | Election + 1 Month |
2015 | Dance And Sing |
2014 | A Measuring Stick For Progress |
2013 | Courtly Love Or Victory Over Habit |
2012 | Have We Met? |
2011 | Efficiently Useless |
You Be The Judge
Posted in Boxing, Health, Pictures, Sports, Workouts, tagged AFib, Boxing, Health, Mid-Life Crisis, Pictures, RDX F12 Training Boxing Gloves, Second Childhood, Sports, Sweet Science, YouTube on December 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »
My wife isn’t sure if I’m having a mid-life crisis or just going into my second childhood… | ||||
This year I’ve been watching A LOT of YouTube. Well, okay… It started last year, but that’s just a detail. | ||||
I was viewing a bunch of videos on working out and I found myself going through reams of “30-Day Challenge” videos. Of course, I decided to give one a shot. My choice: the “30-Day / 100 pushup per day challenge”. | ||||
Day One (Test): Zero. That’s correct. I could not do a single pushup from the floor. I could get into a plank position, (with effort,) and lower myself to the floor, but not get back up off the floor. | ||||
Obviously, some modifications would be necessary… Inclined pushup from the back of the sofa. Five. Okay. It’s a start. First day: 20 sets of five, spread through-out the day (and evening). | ||||
Days 2 and 3 were more of the same. Day 4, I was able to do 10. So, 10 sets of 10, spread through-out the day. | ||||
To make a longer story shorter, about day 10 I was finally able to do ONE pushup from the floor. By then, I was doing five(5) sets of 20 inclined. At the end of 30 days, I could do 5 pushups from the floor. (And shorter again…) At the end of 60 days, I was able to do 15 pushups from the floor. By way of comparison, Google says an “average” 65 year old man should be able to do between 6 and 16. In other words, I went from abject failure to the top end of “average”. | ||||
And then I got hurt… (But that’s another story.) | ||||
While browsing YouTube, it started feeding me boxing and martial arts videos (over and over again). So, (of course) I started watching them… Because I wasn’t able to do much other than walk, I started shadow-boxing in front of a mirror… And then I bought gloves… And then I bought hand-wraps… And then I bought focus pads… And then I started making home-made (read: inexpensive) boxing targets. It turns out YouTube has videos on how to jury rig most of the expensive kit you need to practice boxing. | ||||
Here’s some pictures of my gloves… They are RDX F12 Training Boxing Gloves (16oz.) | ||||
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And, after trying them on a few times a week for the last month or so… Today I did my first “workout” with the gloves. | ||||
Now to be fair, I did actually try them on and use them for a few minutes when I would set up a new target and once for a few minutes of shadow-boxing in front of a mirror, but until today, my wife had put it down to another one of my “phases”. When approached on the possible purchase, she did insist on a $50 limit on my gloves because she was convinced they’d be gathering dust by now. So, yes, they’re an inexpensive pair. Not “cheap”, just inexpensive. And, no, they are not leather. They are “engineered” leather. (LoL!) | ||||
Today’s workout was about 45 minutes long, sweaty and exhausting. But, it was loads of fun and I felt terrific after my hot shower. Tired and relaxed and starting to get sore in strange (and not so strange) places, but all things considered – terrific! | ||||
I’m really not sure if this is a “phase” or not, but I’m going to put up a post every now and then about this “journey”. I’ll try to come up with a way to let you know in the “post” title when I’m on this topic as I have no idea how many of my blog followers have the slightest interest in this side topic. | ||||
A final note (reality check): I am a 65 year old man, morbidly obese, with a heart condition (AFib) and on blood thinners. So, NO, I will NEVER be in a fight or EVER sparring. This is just a way to try to add some fun to my efforts to raise some sweat (and maybe learn a bit about the “sweet science” while I’m at it.) | ||||
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On This Day In: | ||||
2019 | I Think I’m Repeating Myself | |||
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like X-mas! | ||||
2018 | No Reason To Turn | |||
2017 | Talking Knuth | |||
Seeing It Through | ||||
2016 | Hoping For The Best Come January | |||
2015 | Adaptive Security | |||
2014 | Wants | |||
2013 | Side Effects | |||
2012 | Just Trying To Earn A Living | |||
2011 | Productive Worry | |||
Growth Mindset
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Science and Learning, Sports, tagged Boxing, Challenges, Fran Sands, Learning, Philosophy, Quotes, Sports, The "Growth Mindset", The Beginner Boxer Toolkit, www.myboxingcoach.com on October 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »
The “growth mindset” in simple terms means that when students believe that they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. | |
The student with a growth mindset put in extra time and extra effort and this leads to higher achievement. | |
The growth mindset student possesses the tendency to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. | |
— Fran Sands | |
From his online book: “The Beginner Boxer Toolkit“ | |
Online at: www.myboxingcoach.com | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Steps To Impeach #45 |
Science Upgrade Needed | |
2018 | Come November 6th |
2017 | Hearts And Memories |
2016 | Tremendous Energy |
Beyond Trying | |
2015 | Tell Me… |
2014 | Live Forever (To Remember Me) |
Orange October (VI) – Giants Win Game 4 | |
2013 | More Than Just Words |
2012 | Egotist, n. |
2011 | Good And Bad |
Crowd Sourced Scouting Report
Posted in Quotes, Sports, tagged Branch Rickey, Concordia Open Source Software, Crowd Sourcing, Jackie Robinson, Kate Awaard, Major League Baseball, Quotes, Scouting Reports, Sports, Wired Magazine on April 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »
[Regarding volunteer crowd-sourcing transcriptions of hand-written (formerly) personal notes…] I do it a lot myself. Branch Rickey’s papers are just awesome. He is most famous for bringing Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball, and through crowdsourcing we were able to transcribe 1,926 pages of his scouting reports on prospective players. I would never have guessed how fun baseball scouting reports could be! One of my favorite lines is “I doubt if he has any adventure in his soul.” | |
— Kate Zwaard | |
From a column: “Concordia open source software“ | |
Appearing in: Wired Magazine, May 2019 | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Only One Direction |
2018 | Respect Is Long Gone |
2017 | Dream Of Dreamers |
2016 | Dear Automakers |
2015 | And Some Not So Brave Too |
2014 | In My Lifetime… |
2013 | Democracy |
2012 | Borrowed Expectations |
2011 | Not Necessarily True |
On To Superbowl LIV (54)!!
Posted in Pictures, Sports, tagged AFC, American Football Conference, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Florida, National Football Conference, National Football League, NFC, NFL, Picture of Me, San Francisco 49ers, Sports, Superbowl LIV on January 19, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Yes!!! Today, my “local” American Football team, the San Francisco 49ers (who are actually based in the San Jose / Santa Clara area) defeated the Green Bay Packers by the score of 37 to 20 (and it really wasn’t that close) in the NFL National Conference championship game. Now, on we move on to face the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks at a neutral location (Miami, Florida) for Superbowl LIV (that’s 54 for those of you who don’t know your Roman numerals). | |
This is a hard game for me because although I’m a lifetime supporter of the “Niners”, but I was born in Kansas City and, until the 1990’s, supported the Chiefs as my “AFC” (American Football Conference) team. The 49ers are in the Western Division of the National Football Conference (“NFC”). So, either way, I can’t “lose” the game, but I sure will be rooting for the Red and Gold. Go Niners!!! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Are Your Dogs Barking? |
Dangerous Waistcoats | |
2018 | And 40+ Years Later? |
2017 | He Is Alone |
2016 | Compensation |
2015 | Charlie Redux |
2014 | The Crux |
2013 | Erosion And Rechannelling |
Alliance, n. | |
2012 | How Many Thought… (One I Know Of) |
Choices And Decisions | |
2011 | Speed Spoils |
Simply Intended | |
2010 | A Second 4 Hour Jog |
2019 49ers Season Starts 5-0!!
Posted in Philosophy, Sports, tagged 49ers Are 5-0!, Dallas Cowboys, Go 49ers, Go Niners, Los Angeles Rams, National Football League, NFL, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Sports, Super Bowl on October 13, 2019| 2 Comments »
EVERY year I say the same thing in August: “There are only two valid tests for a successful San Francisco Forty-Niner season – Did we win the Super Bowl or did we beat the Rams twice?“ | |
You see I grew up watching the Niners win one(1!!!) game against the Los Angeles Rams in ten years. In the 1980s-90s, when we went on to win five Super Bowls in fourteen years, I still had the same question? I don’t care about anything else if we don’t win the Super Bowl that year except: “Did we beat the Rams twice?” If the answer to either question is “yes”, then we had a good year. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear about appearing in the Super Bowl, winning the NFC, winning the Western Division, having a winning record – or ANYTHING else. Win the Super Bowl or beat the Rams twice… | |
Of course, anybody will tell you it’s also nice to beat the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders in the same season as either of the two above, but they are DISTANT seconds to the two defining conditions mentioned above. | |
Anyway, my point is we (the Forty-Niners) are halfway there… Today, we went down to LA and put a whipping on the Rams (27-7). We are now halfway to a successful season without even having to play in the Super Bowl. Traditionally, NFL teams which finish with 10 wins in a season, make the playoffs. We now have 5 wins with 11 games to go. In theory, we only have to play .500 ball to make the playoffs. Bottom Line: our next game against the Rams is on 22 December. Go Niners!!! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | VOTE – We Need A Wave |
2017 | Soothe, Inspire And Recharge |
2016 | Aren’t We? |
2015 | Cold Embrace |
2014 | Delightful |
2013 | Apprenticeship |
2012 | Curtain Rods |
2011 | A Living Force |
2010 | BART Rides – A Tipping Point |
Running History, But I Don’t Expect Many To Match It…
Posted in History, Quotes, Running, Sports, tagged Eliud Kipchoge, History, Prater-Hauptallee, Roger Bannister, Running, Sports History, Sub-2 Hour Marathon, Sub-4 Minute Mile, Vienna on October 12, 2019| 2 Comments »
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It has taken 65 years for a human being to make history in sport after Roger Bannister. I can tell people that no human is limited. I expect more people all over the world to run under two hours after today. | |
— Eliud Kipchoge | |
Eliud Kipchoge (the 34-year-old Olympic champion from Kenya) ran a marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 40.2 seconds, becoming the first person in history to break two hours for 26.2 miles in a special running / marathon event in Vienna (at Vienna’s Prater-Hauptallee (main avenue)) on Saturday (12 October 2019) morning. | |
Roger Bannister – mentioned in the quote – was the (British) runner who became the first man to break the 4 minutes for a mile record in 1954 (May 6, 1954, in 3:59.4). Multiple individuals were close to the record before Bannister broke it and over a thousand runners have since broken 4 minutes in the 60+ years since. Bannister’s “world record” lasted barely six weeks before it was broken and two months after the initial sub-4, two runners in the same race (Bannister was one of them), broke sub-4. A sub-4 minute mile is now considered “routine” for world-class middle-distance runners. | |
Kipchoge’s run does not qualify for the world record nor will it be “officially” recognized because it was not an “open” competition and because Kipchoge was preceded by a pace car (which provided a laser path guide). In my humble opinion, neither of these factors are significant and we have witnessed one of the greatest feats in human athleticism. | |
The quote was taken from the web and is available from many sources. This image was “snipped” off the news video at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/eliud-kipchoge-runs-1-59-marathon-first-to-break-2-hours/ar-AAIFQjT?ocid=spartandhp. I make no claim to ownership or rights to the quote, image or video. | |
I AM simply astounded at the achievement. It staggered me to wake up and read about (and watch) history in the making! I had been hoping for it (the record) to happen, but never “really” expected to see it in my own lifetime. As expected, it could “only” happen under ideal conditions: cool temperatures, flat course, little or no wind and only at (or near) sea level. The course had an elevation difference of less than eight(8) feet over it’s lap distance and (I gather) the location for the course was between 500 – 600 feet in elevation. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | 25 Days Until The November Election |
Old And Young | |
2017 | Universal Soul Sounds |
2016 | Not Rivals |
2015 | Dead Sure |
2014 | Are You Educated? |
2013 | For Myself |
2012 | And When I’m Gone… |
2011 | Complete Conviction |
Dodgers Choke AGAIN
Posted in Sports, tagged Baseball Playoffs, Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Choke Again, Madison Bumgarner, MLB, Sports, Washington Nationals Defeat Los Angeles Dodgers on October 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Let’s just get it out there… I am a Giants fan; ergo: I HATE the Dodgers! I MAY have to grant a grudging respect to one or two of their players, but it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Especially if it’s a current player… | |
There has been little sweeter for this Giants fan than watching the Dodgers lose the last two World Series at home, but this year’s playoff elimination is pretty close… (Yes, I am a small enough person to gloat about this!) | |
The Dodgers won 13 more regular season games than the Washington Nationals (their opponents). | |
The Dodgers had a regular season run differential of +273 compared to +149 for the Nats! | |
Game 5 (the “deciding” game) was played in Dodger Stadium. | |
Clayton Kershaw has been one of – if not THE – most dominant pitcher of the last decade. (Please recall: I LOVE me some Madison Bumgarner!!) | |
The Dodgers were leading in game 5 by two(2) runs going into the 8th inning. | |
And, then, the collapse… Kershaw surrenders two home runs and the game is tied. Two innings later (in the 10th), the Nats get a grand-slam and go on to with the game 7-3. The Dodgers are eliminated from the 2018 playoffs! | |
Now, Kershaw has always seemed to me to be a decent person: In victory, he shares the credit. In defeat, he claims ownership and responsibility for the loss. So, I have one request for the Dodgers: PLEASE trade Kershaw to some other team so I can root for him to win a World Series before he ends his illustrious career. I saw his post-game (series) interview and I really want to support him. But, I can’t!!! I can’t!!!! If Kershaw gets enough post-season appearances, eventually he will win a World Series… Please (Baseball Gods) let it be for anyone but the Dodgers! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Thinking About My Hil |
Remember Your Duty In November | |
2017 | Play Well With Others |
2016 | Surviving And Challenging |
2015 | On Destroying Historic / Archaeological Sites |
2014 | Magical Power |
2013 | How Awesome Would That Be |
2012 | Two Views |
2011 | Still Looking For Examples |
2010 | Giants Win Away 3 – 2!! |
Day 11: 49ers Win
Posted in Diets, Family and Friends, Health, Juice/Blend Fasting, Sports, Swimming, tagged Day 11: Juice/Blend Fasting, Diets, Family, Health, San Francisco 49ers on September 9, 2019| 2 Comments »
The end of day eleven and the morning of day twelve… | |
Morning weight: 355lbs. (on Day 12) | |
I am down / down “1/18”. As in, 1lb down from yesterday and 18lbs down from my fasting start weight: 373lbs (the morning of Day 1). | |
After walking Shiva, I went up to my brother’s (Sean) house to visit and to watch the San Francisco (actually the San Jose) Forty-Niners play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | |
I went up in the morning so we could have some time to kick it before the game started. We did that for about an hour and then spent most of another hour reviewing the movies and TV shoes my brother has been binge-ing on. He has kidney failure and goes to dialysis four times a week. Most of the remaining time he is recovering from the dialysis and watching the tube. He says half the time he is sleeping and the tube is watching him. He is really starting to get into foreign entertainment (Asian, Middle-Eastern, Indian and some European). We were joined by my sister’s husband (Art) for the game itself. The Niners won and it was a satisfying victory keyed more by the defense (two interceptions for touchdowns) than by the offense. Still, a win is a win. | |
After the game and drive home, I relaxed for a minute and then went for an evening swim (7:10pm-8:10pm), so I did get a little bookend exercise for the day. | |
I stopped drinking three hours before bed and, again, did not have to get up during the night. I’ll give it a few more days, but it certainly seems like that’s going to end up being a key to losing weight (a restful sleep). For some reason my FitBit gave me an extra two hours of sleep – including an extra hour of “deep sleep”, which started before I even went to bed. I guess it just can’t tell when you stop moving and your heart slows and when you are actually asleep. | |
As of this morning, I consider myself to be losing actual weight now. As I’ve frequently mentioned, the best estimates are that you (we / I) have between 7 and 15 pounds of stomach content at any given time. This is food “in processing” along the pipeline from mouth to bum. When juicing, most of this gets eliminated after the first few (4) days. This explains the rapid weight loss during the first few days of a juice fast. It also explains the rapid weight gain when you come off the fast and begin to refill the stomach content. From my reading, the 7 to 15 pound range is the best estimate for average adults and not reflective of obese or morbid obesity. I assume morbidly obese folks will have even larger stomachs than average adults and therefor would start off with more stomach content and more weigh to shed. I don’t know if this is a fact or just my opinion, but assuming it’s valid, this means that at 18 to 20 pounds loss I am probably finally stating to get to my non-content weight loss. I am certainly hoping that is true, anyway. | |
I’m now more than halfway through week two and proceeding day to day… And, so it goes… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Worry (x2) |
2017 | Still Working |
Gold In The Morning Sun | |
2016 | Power Inside |
2015 | Sometimes I Feel Small |
2014 | It Slipped Away |
2013 | Corollary |
2012 | Working Retired |
2011 | The Web Is Not Authoritative! (Really?) |