January 10, 2010

Notes from the Surf

Moodstream
http://moodstream.gettyimages.com/
Visuals and music for different emotions.

Achron
http://achrongame.com/videos.html
RTS + time travel.

Snake on a Bus
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prosales/4219293984/sizes/o/
Impressive artwork.

Body by Victoria
http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/archives/322-Body-By-Victoria.html
You can tell by the pixels.

The economic 'experts' who stopped making sense
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/edmundconway/6914740/The-economic-experts-who-stopped-making-sense.html
"The public looked to the politicians; the politicians looked to the economists; the economists looked to their mathematical models. The upshot was the financial crisis."

Sociopathic Indoctrination? Secrets of the Economist's Trade
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126238854939012923.html
"economics majors were less likely to donate money to charity than students who majored in other fields. After majors in other fields took an introductory economics course, their propensity to give also fell... (When) students could get a higher payoff if they agreed to have their partner get less. Economics majors were more likely to go for the higher payoff"

Honduras coup protest photo presented as Iranian
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/01/444177.html
"this practice reminds on the behaviour of German media in summer 2008, when the mainstream news (ZDF, RTL, Bild, N24) used images from Nepal and India to illustrate Chinese police violence in Tibet."

Why, again, Canadian PM seeks to suspend Parliament
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/31/content_12732398.htm
"Parliament was suspended to stifle criticism of the government's policy of handing suspected Taliban and al Qaeda fighters captured in Afghanistan over to the Kabul regime, which has reportedly tortured detainees."

In the next decade, I hope to become more radical
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jan/01/goodby-noughties-radical-change
"The downgrading of Greece's credit rating by three unaccountable private companies which follow neoliberal orthodoxy is leading to externally imposed austerity, serious deterioration of living conditions and social unrest. These were the companies giving Lehman Brothers a top rating just before its collapse."

UN Gives Nod to Worker Co-Ops
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5370/un_gives_nod_to_worker_co-ops_as_cleveland_communities_embrace_model/
"the General Assembly declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives... Cooperatives have 800 million members across 100 countries and account for about 100 million jobs worldwide... The top 300 cooperatives generate as much as the 10th largest economy in the world with revenues of $1.1 trillion"

Workout log for January 4, 2010 through January 10, 2010

Tuesday, January 5, 2010: I don't know the last time I've had a run that was just this awful. I tried to run at the gym at school, which features an eighth-mile track. I know for a fact I can run at least 4.5 miles on it without succumbing to boredom. Unfortunately, I made it 0.5 miles before I had to stop because my legs felt so cramped I thought I was going to cry. I stopped, stretched, and walked a lap, then ran another 2 miles before I had to stop. Everything from my hips down was wound so tight that stopping and walking was even more uncomfortable than running, but running was impossible. It was like that moment right before a charlie horse starts to hurt. I have no idea what happened, but I don't like it at all.

Sunday, January 10, 2010: I skipped all the runs I was supposed to take this week and tried to take some anti-inflammatories, iced my shins, and drink water in preparation for another go. I tried to do a 6 mile loop with a classmate and her dog. I made it roughly 1-2 miles before I had to stop with cramps. I walked for about a minute, ran until I hurt too bad, and walked. This went on until the end, where I finished up about the last 2 miles without stopping but in extreme discomfort. When driving home I could feel my scalp fasciculating. New goal: Continue the pain meds, drink a hell of a lot more Powerade, start taking a multivitamin, and buy some bananas. Will start with a very short run again on Tuesday if everything feels all right.

Side Notes: I know I am not the first one to struggle mentally with a run. In fact, in a recent poll on Runner's World, people identified that giving up and thinking they aren't doing enough are the top two mental challenges that people face. I fought so hard on my long run to keep going, but it was nearly impossible. I tried to pace my friend, I tried to yell at myself, I tried cajoling, and the sad and unfortunate truth is that no amount of mental fortitude is going to be able to overcome severe and possible injurious physical discomfort. It is a hard lesson for me to try to not force it. The best I can hope is that if I fix my micronutrient levels and stretch out well before this week of runs, I can get back on track for my race. There is nothing so utterly defeating as the thought that all of your preparation is for nothing. So I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to do it.

Workout log for January 4, 2010 – January 10, 2010

Tuesday, January 5, 2010: Due to my recent vacation back to Chicago for Christmas and New Year, the most exercise I've had was a few brief sessions of Dance Dance Revolution with friends and relatives. Today I got back into the groove, so to speak, with 19 songs, taking 40 minutes on the clock (30 minutes by the game's dance timer which excludes the time between songs). The game calculates that this burned 253 Calories.

Saturday, January 9, 2010: After two weekends of vacation, I returned to Habitat for Humanity this weekend. It's amazing how hot you can get in below-freezing weather when you're digging for a house foundation for four hours.

Sunday, January 10, 2010: Bundled up in a sweat suit and gloves for a 3 mile run, taking 30 minutes from 12:15–12:45PM. That works out to 6 miles per hour, or 4.8 kilometers at 9.7 kilometers per hour for our metric friends. Listened to a podcast from How Stuff Works on the Necronomicon.

After 2 weeks, we still do not know if the Extroverted Feeler is being sent home from Thailand early. For this. I have not heard a word from my local Rotary, so I do not think that they know. My son keeps saying that he thinks he's going to get sent home, but they keep having meetings and no word. I sent the letter I wrote for him and got a vague letter that they were annoyed at him, but that he is a very good student. And that there are rules.

If it was in the US, I would assume by now that he is not being sent home, and that they are stalling in order to scare the kids. Oh, I mean, let them feel the enormity of their mistake and that they are on probation. And if this is what they are doing, they are doing a fabulous job of it. I'm on tenterhooks too. But it is Thailand and I don't know enough about the culture to be able to guess. As we pass the two week point, I am leaning more towards that they aren't sending him home. I think he was looking forward to coming home. It has been a rough time for him.

I've been working at a military hospital as a temp doctor for two weeks. I am getting used to the commute. So far I have been doing on-line and live orientation classes. It is useful since I will be employing people and I have to have an employee manual and think about computer security and HIPAA rules and protection of Personal Identifying Information and yada, yada. Bleagh. I am still pleased about my own clinic.

I've got my first snafu. Turns out my X never signed off on the cash settlement for his half of the equity of the house. So there is a formidable lien. Luckily we are on good terms and he is working on it. Once that's fixed, I'll have my line of credit. Yee-ha. I've already signed the lease and the building fix is underway. I was delighted to get the loan approved on December 23. I thought, "Hoorah, the bank thinks my business plan will work!" Then I thought, "but 9 out of 10 small businesses fail, so who the hell trusts banks!"

I got my first paycheck too, the temp company is paying me monthly. First pay since the severance check on May 12. Not a bit too soon, I was running on fumes.