D88: Tiger soup...

LOLCats are an amusing internet phenomenon. If you've never been to the site, it's certainly worth a look. Here's a cute recent entry...



see more crazy cat pics

D87: Le Mans, or 24 Heures du Mans

image courtesy of Fabrice Pluchet

I'm not much of a racing fan, although I really do enjoy reading about cars. One of the few things I can be bothered to pay attention to is Le Mans - the famous 24 hour endurance race that takes place in Le Mans, France every year in June. It has been going on since 1923 and has a wonderful history. The excitement of Le Mans was captured wonderfully in a Steve McQueen film by the same name. Interestingly, diesel vehicles from Audi have won for the past several years - something many Americans would find mystifying. I can't help being fascinatined with cars for a number of reasons. One being that I love the lines of elegantly designed vehicles. There is an art to creating a shape that is both pleasing to the eye and the wind tunnel. I think in general, I appreciate passionate, competitive pursuits. That intersection of art and science intrigues me to no end in many fields. I love seeing how the desire to do things better is channeled by teams of talented, creative, brilliant individuals.

Note: This post was motivated by watching the "Le Mans 2007 Official Film", the 3rd or 4th DVD on Le Mans I've seen. The producers create a 2-hour review of the race each year, which reveals a great deal of the racing, the technology, the hard work and the excitement of the event.

D86: Book Club! Like Fight Club, but with books...

Tonight the book club I've been a part of for several years met to review the book I choose for this month's meeting: Three Cups of Tea, by David Mortenson. It's the true story of a man who went to rural Pakistan an avid climber and ended up promising to build a school for the children of the isolate village that nursed him back to health after he almost died trying to summit K2. His journey is a remarkable one - more so because for years he bumbled through the process of finding his destiny as the founder of the Central Asia Institute. The fact that his organization has gone on to build more than 60 schools (and counting) is really quite remarkable.



Greg is, by all appearances, a great guy. But he's not the type of person you'd think could accomplish all that he has. He doesn't seem to possess the natural abilities of a leader. What's so amazing is how the world conspired to make his so successful in his mission. The right people just happened to appear in his life to make things work. His success, and the process of having the path just reveal itself is what a former UCSD professor of mine would have called a series of happy accidents.



One of the things I loved so much about this account of Greg's many years in Pakistan and Afghanistan is how much it taught me about Middle Eastern and Muslim culture. There was such richness to what I learned and I'm glad to say it relieved me of a great deal of ignorance. Ultimately, that is what his mission is about - replacing ignorance with knowledge. He does so for us as readers and for many generations of children to come who will grow up without hatred of America. It's a great book that will teach you a lot. I hope you'll read it....



Photos courtesy & copyright of Greg Mortenson and his publisher.

D85: Herons, hummingbirds & Luke...

I live about 200 feet from the water and I just happened to be looking outside when I spied this heron on the chimney of the house a block behind me. I used the maximum zoom, then cropped the image. It was late afternoon and the light was already fading, so there's a bit of noise in the image. If I had a D-SLR, it would have been much prettier.

The photo of Luke in the box is just one I had to capture. I bought this box for about $4, not knowing what I would use it for. I had been storing papers in it. But one day I left it out and Luke adopted it. Now, where ever I leave it out, he jumps in... If only we were all so easily pleased!

D84: Monastic Monday...

Just kidding... What would a Monastic Monday even look like?

Monastic Mondays
Must I meditate all day?
My knees really hurt...

D83: Running from the table...

Sometimes the only way to stick with the plan in the face of great danger is to run. So, when I was faced with my nephew's birthday party on Friday and Easter Dinner today, I did the only sensible thing - I ran! Well actually, I did sit down long enough to enjoy dinner. But afterwards, I decided I had to hit the pavement. Since I haven't been running in a while (except yesterday of course), I took it easy. I ran for 30 minutes on Saturday and about 35 minutes today. I threw some hills in both days so it wasn't too easy. Now I'm really going to have to get stretching again. Otherwise I'll probably be enjoying the pleasure of planar fascitis soon.

And yes, it really did get up to 80 degrees today. On Easter Sunday. A few blocks from the ocean. The sky is falling..... again.

D82: A bit of a stretch...

I did a yoga stretch class this morning at the Kona Kai Club. Dinah is still teaching it and she's still wonderful. What's embarrasing is how inflexible I am. This has bothered me in my dance class as well. When I was doing Egoscue regularly a few months ago, I was more flexible. But Egoscue didn't stress flexibility that much. So I think I'm going to work on getting more limber...

D81: Women in bikinis?

Today I rode over to the Kona Kai Club for a workout. After finishing, I noticed that there were women playing volleyball in bikinis on the beach! It's the 2nd or 3rd day of spring and there's already women in bikinis! I can't handle it. Men should not have to endure seeing women in bikinis this early in the year...

Well, this just gives me that much more resolve to keep losing weight. I'm working hard to get into fighting shape by summer.

D80: Tis the eyes I covet...

I certainly have a weakness for women with beautiful eyes. But in this case, I'm talking about a gal with a real eye. If you appreciate good photography, you'll know what I mean. I enjoy taking artsy photos but I'm lazy about getting out and doing it. I also don't have a digital SLR, which prevents me from taking the kind of photos I want to take. No DSLR for me until all my debts are paid. But in the meantime, have a look at Yuki Nakano's photography....

http://www.yukister.com/

And Yuki, if you're coming to San Diego anytime soon, let me know. I'd love to take you out! But I'll bet Lindsey's your man, isn't he? Oh well... what's a little harmless flirting halfway across the world?

D79: Bench is in session...

Tuesdays and Thursdays at work recently I've been doing short workouts in the weight room with a few co-workers. I don't think anyone has really used the weight room in a long time, but we've made a commitment to do it and we're having fun. Because it's such a tiny gym, about the only think we can do is bench press, inclines, declines, arms, back, shoulders and some ab work. The room isn't much bigger than a closet, but since we've started, a number of curious officemates have come over to watch, participate and just generally be amused. But a few of us are serious and have made bets about who can gain the most strength by summertime. I have to go from doing about 165 in bench press to about 205. The other guys have to do a bit more or a bit less because of their difference in current size and strength. It's been fun so far.

D78: Dirty joke...

Here's a very dirty joke:


Do you know who likes to get fisted?

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No, who?

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Sock puppets.

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I told that at work today and got a few laughs. Obviously I don't work in too conservative an office. I heard the joke from a Daniel Tosh comedy special...

D77: The diminishing self...

A friend (Diane) asked me in the comments recently how I was doing on Weight Watchers. The answer is that after completing my first month I've lost 10 pounds. Which is perfect. Because losing much more than 2 pounds a week really isn't healthy for the body. Even if I average only a pound a week, I'll still be happy because a healthy weight loss rate is much more conducive to keeping it off. I'm down to 170 now and should hit 150 by summertime. Then I'll fit back in my 29-30" jeans. That will make me smile...

D76: More to say about religion and the brain...

I don't really think I articulated all that I meant to express yesterday. Looking back on it, I get the distinct impression that I'm conveying a kind of hostility or closemindedness about religion/spirituality/mysticism. So I'd like to say that I really didn't sell Dr Taylor's talk very well. The talk is incredible and one of the things I really love about it is how beautifully she describes the feeling of nirvana she gets during her stroke when the two halves of her brain are no longer communicating. The incredible sense of peace she describes makes me envious.

One of my favorite parts is when she talks about how the experience gave her the feeling of having 37 years of emotional baggage instantly lifted from her shoulders. Damn if that isn't something to envy!

D75: A stroke of nirvana...

I've always been curious about religious experiences from the world's cultures. At the same time, I've never been a religious person. Philosophical and spiritually minded, yes - but not religious. So upon reading about various studies in which researches using electrodes to stimulate various points in the brain caused people to have religious and out-of-body experiences, it reinforced something I've long believed - that religious experiences were rooted in the neuroanatomy of the brain itself. Just as people can have very powerful near-death experiences when the brain experiences hypoxia (lack of oxygen), religious experiences can be explained by the structure of our minds.

So it was wonderful to find this talk from a neuroanatomist who experienced a stroke. She talks about how both hemispheres of the brain work and the profound sense of peace and oneness with the universe she experienced as the chatter from her left hemisphere ceased. The talk is fascinating, funny and inspiring. Whether you are religious, agnostic or atheist, there is something to be gained from viewing it.

For more information, here are some links about her life, her book, etc.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/when-a-brain-scientist-suffers-a-stroke/?scp=1-b&sq=jill+bolte&st=nyt

http://www.drjilltaylor.com/index.html

D74: Tomorrow, for sure!

You don't believe me, do you? But I promise to post something real tomorrow. How do I know? I've already done it!

D73: I promise...

D72: I vow to stop soon...

D71: ***

D70: $%@#!

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