Memorable Scenes

Errare humanum est

This huge lens was introduced at PMA 2008. It is meant for conventional photography. But even if I could afford it--its a whopping $25G before tax and shipping--you wouldn't catch me carrying it around--it weighs 35 lbs--in downtown Boston. I could be taken down by Boston Police for suspicious behavior.

Had this lens been around last year, Eliot Spitzer would have been caught doing the nasty earlier.

Ken Rockwell has a note on this lens in his website.

Spring Training 2008

Spring training actually began in early February after I had returned from India. I was done with snowboarding by that time. For me, Spring training is roughly 5 months of periodization and comprises of a GPP, a strength, a body composition (BC) and a brief hypertrophy phase. The BC phase is new for this year and I am not as interested in hypertrophy as I used to be. Let me explain.

The GPP Phase

GPP stands for General Physical Preparedness and is your ability to be prepared to do any sport on a given day. During this phase, I work on fixing imbalances throughout my body as well as attempt to recover any lost "basic" work capacity. This year, the GPP phase comprised of ice skating, some hiking and calisthenics at home.


Not I.

I ice skated about 5 times in February. I timed 3 of those ice skating sessions to be first dates as well :) I hiked 20 miles of trails in the Smokies during the last weekend of February. The calisthenics involved a lot of unilateral work--for example, lunges and single-leg squats. I hit the gym only once during the entire month. This phase is also the time when I take the least amount of fish oil--no more than 2 grams a day. The GPP phase ended March 2.

The Strength Phase

I am currently in the strength phase. This year, during this phase, I will be concentrating on a high volume of training in as little time as possible (perhaps as less as 1/2 hour per training session). I will also up the fish oil intake to around 6 - 8 grams a day. I will be using the back squat quite a bit during this phase and it will lay the foundation for the sprinting in the next (that is, the BC) phase.

Not me either.

For the first 3 weeks, I plan on doing only one movement per session for upto 3 sessions a week. As an example,

Session 1: Back Squats (10 sets of 3 repetitions).
Session 2: Weighted Dips or Push Presses (10x3).
Session 3: Barbell Rows or Weighted Chins (10x3).

The strength phase will end in mid-April and will comprise of no other physical activities. I will also take the 4th week off from training. Then the last two weeks will comprise of a modified version of the above weight training approach albeit with an important role played by Romanian Deadlifts and some direct Ab work.

I will talk about my approach to the BC and hypertrophy phases later.

Hey! They've been spiking my drink!

So...finally, our tap water is suspect. I had a date over my house last summer and she wouldn't drink tap water. We broke up.

Now I am seriously considering buying bottled water. The afore mentioned link states that some bottled water drinkers are exposed as well. The majority of my water intake happens in the office where we use bottled water. So maybe I won't be spending a fortune on buying my own bottled water. I am not sure how much better mineral water is over regular spring water. But I am going to try mineral water for a few months and see how I feel and perform overall. If I don't see any significant improvement in any way, I will go back to tap water. I like to break up with girls now and then.

To take the plunge or not

Balaji has an interesting post called The Other Side on his blog where he summarizes his thoughts on the suicide of Indian entertainers. I thought that I would respond to his post on my blog. Hey, it gives me something to write about on my blog...

Such performers face two issues:

1. A lot of them have never had good mentors. You don't have to look any further than Britney Spears or a Paris Hilton to understand what I mean. Plus, like TC writes in his wonderful Boys to Men, we do not have certain rites of passage in "civilized" societies anymore. While TC's article applies to males, females, bound by superior intuitiveness, possibly need different ways to deal with an upwelling of emotion.

2. Because they hailed from a movie background, these performers came or were under intense pressure to come into the industry at young ages well before they had had a chance to identify and cope with insecurities while they were not used to being in the limelight.

This is why working actors and those who have had a regular job before turning to show business tend to deal with public scrutiny and "scandals" much better than those who made it big at a very young age. The former would have had a chance to properly grow up emotionally.

On a side note, this post completes my first year of blogging.

A Cul-de-sac called Earth

In today's news...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7262951.stm

Old news...

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0408/excerpt4.html

Some of these animal rights groups are starting to sound like kids, who've been refused a toy at the local fair. If we didn't have so many people, we wouldn't need as much land. And if we didn't need as much land, there will be more land for wild animals to roam and, therefore, less chances of conflicts occurring between humans and wild animals. But it is a little too late to lament the high population of humans. We cannot cull humans. So it will have to be big animals instead. Why? Leaving them as they are would mean the extinction of smaller animals that compete for food and space with those bigger animals in the same habitat...the habitat that is being increasingly used by humans. And, yeah, I am quite sure hunting would be the primary means of culling. The culled animals will feed 100s of human mouths in Africa. I feel really bad for those forestry officials who care more about these animals than anyone else. They are always being bad-mouthed. I am quite sure that some have their jobs only for material reasons. But I am also equally sure that a lot of them do their jobs because they are passionate and trust no one else to take care of what is out there.


Taxi to the Dark Side (2007).

In a statement anticipating the announcement (of the cull), one of the animal rights groups has asked, "How much like us do elephants have to be before killing them becomes murder?"

My answer: "Easy. When human civil liberties and rights are applicable to elephants then, yeah, culling becomes murder. But I hardly think that I will see that happen in my lifetime--just watch Taxi to the Dark Side to see what I mean. We have enough issues amongst major groups of humans, as it is. Until then, know the difference between sentiment and reality!"

$17.99 Each?!

A Soho 7-ounce Port glass. Simple yet so totally elegant.

The only thing missing from my glassware collection is a set of port glasses. This particular brand is selling for $17.99 a piece at Bed, Bath & Beyond. It's daylight robbery! Well, maybe not. I can probably get some cheaper for a lot less at IKEA or Walmart. IKEA? Walmart? Come on. They are just not the same as Bed, Bath & Beyond. I got my Brandy snifters for $4.99 (all of 4 of 'em) at IKEA. Not too bad and they serve their purpose well. But they look nowhere like the rest of my glassware, which I got at BB&B. Hopefully, I can soon get a set of 4 of these Port glasses for a lot less. Hopefully...