New Predictions

Here are the predictions for UFC 92. Quick and sweet, the fights are about to start.

Main Card:
CB Dollaway wins
Al Turk upsets Cheick Kongo
I say Silva wins again for the 3rd straight.
Mir in an upset...that will be a nasty fight.
Griffin wins by TKO.

Fascism in Reading....bastages...

Here is a letter to the editor that I wrote this past week. I was quite frustrated about the city of Reading implementing surveillance cameras in the downtown area of Reading.

http://readingeagle.com/blog.aspx?bid=3&id=19041&t=Cameras-violate-civil-liberties

Brief History of Our Financial Crisis...

Since 1913, the US has been involved with speculative bullshit lending. Woodrow Wilson ruined the US (he actually admitted this) by signing the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which privatized the bank and sparked our reliance on money creation out of thin air. As we have seen, this system thrives off wars. We have constantly been in a military struggle because war and the threat of war are most profitable to this system where the more money the government borrows, the more profits the banks make.
All of these issues started with privatized banks, led by the Bank of England in 1694. Now, the global magicians (picture a god in the sky with a wand) continue to increase fascist control everywhere at the detriment of workers, national/regional economies and the environment. By next year, the US may even have to default on our own national debt, which will cause a global outrage. Consumers are finally “maxed” out on their fake money cards and with no extra credit; the wheels on the economic axle are falling off.
Prior to 1913, the US was the land of real money and a real economy. By the 1760’s and even a bit of the 1770’s, the US was flourishing with trade, IOU’s (insert lame jokes about IOU tablets here) and the colonial scrip. The authoritarian Brits outlawed the sound currency in 1764 and a major recession eventually struck the colonies. The Continental Currency even flourished until British counterfeiting caused mass inflation. These methods were successful because the money was based on real objects: I.E. gold, silver, food, land, goods, etc…Not “credit.”
The public banks of the early American government were used as a weapon against financier tyranny. Dead Prez’s like Jefferson, Madison and the Van Buren boy fully supported the banks and it forced them to cut expenditures and balance the budget, an American ideal that has been forgotten by modern leaders. We can thank Thomas Jefferson for his proper lessons in real federal management. These sound methods kept the government out of the hands of bankers, political cronies and corporate fascists.
With the Federal Reserve Act, the bankers gained control of the government and formed more power by instituting the Federal Income Tax. The economy became a bubble growth/bubble burst market. This pattern continued through WWI and WWII and locked us into the Keynesian tax and borrow credo of public finance.
Throughout the 1970’s to present day, we have seen bubbles growing and bursting. We had the inflation from induced oil prices, the Paul Volcker crash from ’79-83 courtesy of interest rates being raised 20%, then the merger-acquisition bubble of the late 80’s through ’92 and the Dot Com bubble of the 1990’s. Now of course we are dealing with the housing, commercial real estate, equity, hedge fun, derivatives, and commodities bubbles…a fucking mess but we continue to allow our economy to run on a Reserve system. We need to stop loaning trillions of dollars to unknown individuals and Henry Paulson’s friends. How much money did Paulson actually loan and to whom? This is a travesty.
People laugh but small farmers and the industrial sectors (the little bit that is left) still barter with certain objects. We can coordinate a modern system similar to that of the 1750’s and 1760’s. It would be fair and more of a democratic economic system based on a higher rate of public participation. Reagan destroyed the family farms and railroads but these can make a comeback and inspire more practical, economically and environmentally efficient methods to spark a REAL economy. Let’s get rid of the guy in the white suit who throws lightning bolts and dollar signs from the clouds.

(Side Note: The world’s GDP is 55 trillion dollars. Our intelligent derivatives market has lent out well over 540 trillion dollars….FANTASTIC!!!)

New Blog

I have created a new blog on my GarageStrength.com site. I will continue to write here but this will be mainly political, social, etc..rants. The other blog will focus on issues of training.

http://www.garagestrength.com/?cat=1

GarageStrength.com

My gym is doing pretty well so far. I am still looking for a few more athletes to train. I also recently got a part time job to help supplement things while the gym continues to grow. If anyone is interested, I also printed tshirts for the gym and they have arrived. Hopefully, I will have some photos up on the website in a bit.

KPMG Champs

Just so you guys know. Nate Bauer, Andy Carl and I were victorious this past weekend at KPMG 7. It was quite possibly the most dominating performance at a games. Well done, to us. We are amazing and we own the bucket for a year. Can we be great in eight?

Training Video

Here is my first training video. For some reason the quality is not as good after I loaded it onto Youtube.

Garage Strength

I ended up throwing alright in New Jersey. I started gliding about three weeks prior to the meet and threw 55 feet+ and then went 48 meters in the discus when just throwing it for fun. That was fairly amusing. It was a good time because I got to see a few throwers I had not seen in quite a while.

Right now, I am setting up a website based on Garage Strength. Garage Strength is the name of the website because of the garage at my house and the fact that I grew up training in there, haha. I am only training about two-three kids right now but hopefully things grow over the next few years. I need to put things in perspective and be patient.

Training

Now that I am back home, a few things have been decided in my life. After reviewing my financial situation, I decided that it was time I attempted to make some money on my own. I have chosen to stay home in Reading and train at my house while trying to make a business out of training local athletes. Hopefully, I will be able to morph a training system that uses Dr. B's philosophies as well as the ideas from other past coaches I have trained under. I will then use the system to train numerous different types of athletes in numerous sports. I will be creating a website shortly so hopefully things get up and running and turn out for the better. I will certainly miss living in Kamloops and the great friends I made while there.

Sup Playa

I am not back in Berks County. I find it difficult to gather the urge to write a blog, especially since my parents decided to put as much shit on their computer to make it as slow as possible. Sometimes, I think that when they get a new computer, their sole goal is to make it as slow as possible.

The drive back from Kamloops was fairly decent. I made it in very good time and actually woke up the last morning by being "front-ended" by a tractor trailer. No damage so that was fine. Being back in Reading is nice and I have gotten back into training for a meet at the end of July. Should be fun. It is significantly humid here but it is still beautiful. I still have a fair amount of people I need to see and not much time to see them. I think I may end up flying back to Kamloops instead of driving. I am not sure if I can afford the gas and the insurance each month.

This weekend is Otto's wedding. I think it is going to be a great time. I have been working on my speech and toast as the best man. I am nervous but hopefully it goes well. I will be keeping it as short as possible...if Honest Abe only took 2 and a half minutes for the Gettysburg Address, I should not need much more time than that.

I found a good supplier of raw milk and things have been going well in Chiyo's garden.

Cereal...Finally!!

Finally, there is an excellent article on cereal and how absolutely absurd it can be. The article does a good job of laying down history and providing important details for eating whole foods. Cereal, organic or normal is a stupid idea. I believe the process is called extrusion, not positive but I know it is the same process that metal workers use to move steel and iron into smaller holes by altering the molecules. Basically, it is the same principle with cereal. Put forth half an effort and start making breakfast just like the old days, it will provide more bodybuilding nutrients and energy for a better day.

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2284953,00.html

Also, I leave for Victoria today. I have a meet there tomorrow and then a meet in Vancouver on Saturday. Yesterday I threw really well in training. I also picked Jesse up two days ago so it will be nice to compete with him, Dylan and Justin. The Harry Jerome will be sweet because there are 4-5 top notch discus throwers competing.

Seattle Meet

I just got back to Martin's house from my meet in Seattle. I threw ok, it was only a four throw meet and I went 17.64 and 17.60. My hand was hurting but it held up. I was rushing absolutely everything and just felt out of it in the circle. It did not help that it was just me throwing against a 45 year old dude that was throwing 35 feet. Oh well, next week I have two big time meets that I know I will throw far at. Justin, Dylan and Jesse will be there so hopefully I will launch one. This is definitely the most disappointed I have been after throwing 58 feet...not because I want to pretend I can throw far but because I know have a much better throw in me. I just want to go out and throw right now. Hopefully, next week I will be hitting my peak condition and will connect on a big throw.

Ford and I went to the Pike Market today in Seattle. That was quite a treat. We got some good fish and good food and good a great meal for lunch. It was fun and it is neat to see a market like that. If I lived here I would definitely spend one or two days a week shopping down there. It was a fun atmosphere and good food with cool crafts. They also had cheap organic peanuts that taste significantly better than the Planters bullshit nuts. This is also my last week of work so I cannot wait to finish this week out, train hard, PR and go back to PA. I need to throw far so Brooks does not throw me in a Carl Moyer headlock.

Work and Bayer

This upcoming week is my last week of work at the bar. Exactly two weeks from today is when I will begin my journey back home. I am excited to throw this Wednesday and finish my work up on Saturday. Today I threw fairly shitty but was a bit tired from a late night at work. Hopefully, tomorrow I throw far before my trek down to Seattle.

Today I was reading through some more information on the government and further increased my distrust for our "leadership." Basically, I have concluded that very rarely is the modern government actually interested in the peoples interest. Instead, they are more interested in profits and control. This weekend the Bilderberg Group met in Virginia and of course Ben Bernanke was in attendance, along with other government officials and countless media and corporate fascists looking for better ways to control us. I know this is all crazy radical stuff but I challenge someone to have a decent debate with me and prove to me that the government is actually looking for our bests interests. Here is a perfect example of how the FDA knew shit was happening with a medical company and instead of disallowing a company to disperse their medicine, they told them to sell the medicine elsewhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg-52mHIjhs

I am just really flustered lately. One question I would love to have answered is this....Why do people spend more money to get a job than they would actually make over that same time span in the job that they are campaigning for? It is ludicrous. I wouldn't go out of my way to spend 100,000 bucks to get a job that only pays 50,000 bucks. Ridiculous.

Also, lately at the bar people have been fighting much more often and just doing stupid things. People are no longer individuals who have cultivated their character and individuality. Instead, people have taken a nice plunge into false machismo to prove to others that they are tough and by doing so, they have become needlessly violent and plain old idiots. There are no more values that lead people to a rite of passage and teach individuals toughness and true traditional values. Everything has become a game of trying to prove to people who you are, instead of people knowing who you are based off of your individual actions. This really bothers me and I am currently thinking up ideas for my niece and nephew to pass through a rite of passage, haha. At least it may teach them traditional values for the future. SON!!!

Long Time

I have not posted for quite a while. My throwing has really started to improve but I am getting run down by work. Luckily, I work tonight and train tomorrow and Monday and will have Tuesday off before I throw Wednesday. I am really, really excited to throw. Ford might actually be coming with me to Seattle because the Weston Price Foundation is putting on a fermentation clinic the same night I throw. Should be a fun time and I will get raw milk again.

The fighter I have been training won his fight last night by rear naked choke. I am pretty excited for him. He seemed pretty happy but his conditioning was not up to par and hopefully he may realize that he needs to train harder. Not only does he have to train harder but he also needs to train more consistently and on a more regular basis. Anyway, a win is a win and I happy for him.

RZA Video and Throws

My trip down to Seattle was awesome. Mike threw a new best in the hammer and I finally got to compete with my injured hand. We stayed at Martin's parents house and I cannot say how much I appreciated them. They gave us great directions and helped us out with food and everything. I also bought a ton of raw milk while I was down there and also realized how expensive Whole Foods is at times. Raw milk at Whole Foods was four dollars more than at IGA. It was a good time and Seattle reminds me of a cooler version of Pittsburgh. Washington actually reminds me of PA. It was a fun time.

I did not throw any spectacular throws and the meet was only a four throw meet. I still threw 55'7 which sucks, but after missing a month of training and feeling like absolute garbage in the circle, I feel better mentally about things. I am probably going to head back down there in two weeks and I am willing to bet I may throw a meter more just because of the reps I will get in the circle. I also found out that I got into a meet in Victoria and the Harry Jerome meet. Both meets are pretty big and should be pretty fun. Those will be my big meets before I head home. I am excited just to get back to training hard and throwing better. My hand is about 85% right now so hopefully it continues healing.

Here is a sweet video of the new RZA song...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p22Xzq5RzUc&eurl=http://therapup.rawkus.com/

The U Dub

Yesterday my "buddy," Michael and I arrived in the homeland. It was quite nice to get back to the US. We had to get out of our car at the border to enable Michael to do the proper paper work to legally get into the US. He is from the Cayman Islands and needed to fill out some form that he would not be there for longer than 6 months. It was funny because he was very nervous and at one point the patrol officer asked if we were together. Michael's response was, "We are traveling together but we are not family." You may not find this as amusing as me but my response was, "Obviously." It is obvious because I am white and Mike is black so it was fairly amusing.

The best part about going into the states was that, literally 40 meters from the Canadian border was an IGA. At the IGA they sold raw milk. So what is illegal in Canada is sold in the everyday grocery store in Washington. I was quite excited. Anyway, we went around the University of Washington and saw some of the really nice places, including the area where Bill Gates lives. We also got to eat some Indian food and some local pizza place. It was a decent evening.

We are staying at Martin Bingisser's parents house which is very nice. It is in Bellevue which is a very nice area and his house is pretty sweet. They have a weight room at the house and I was even able to do my laundry, hahaha. It is also nice because we are watching TLC and they are at Natural Acres which is an organic farm in PA. Pretty sweet.

Seattle and RZA

I am training again but my hand is still hurting. I am going to try and throw in a meet this Wednesday in Seattle. I will be staying at Martin Bingisser's house with Michael Letterlough. It should be a nice trip back to the homeland. Hopefully, my hand holds up for the meet. Work and everything else is going alright.

I have been training an MMA fighter for the past three weeks. He actually just got back from training with BJ Penn. Penn just annihilated Sean Sherk, so it is pretty cool that I am working with this kid. He is 3-0 right now and has another fight in two weeks. I am probably going to head to the fight, hopefully that goes well. He trains pretty hard and it is exciting to be a part of his camp.

Also, RZA just came out with a new track that is unreal.

Jerseyland

I spent the past three days at my buddies Uncles' farm milking cows, picking up shit and gathering tons of eggs. It was an awesome time. The farm is an organic dairy and it was quite enjoyable to gather raw milk right out of the steel vat. Milk straight from the cow is unreal. The place was super clean and the area around the farm was very beautiful. It was so fun to visit Ford. We also ate like champs. In one night we had a good Helles beer, raw salmon, coffeed lamb and bison heart stuffed with a potato and cheese concoction. I also brought back some raw milk. My training is also now starting to pick up again. I am excited about that and will be throwing next Wednesday. Hopefully, I do well.

Here is a decent video that does a good job providing the evidence of how shitty the factory farming situation currently is in the world. The moral of the story is that I feel it is very important to know where your food comes from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpbtBgLfl90

Hand and Heat

I have thrown this past week with my glove on. My hand is finally starting to feel a bit better, now I just need to get a better feeling in the circle. I threw ok two days ago but I felt awkward and out of touch with the throw. Hopefully, the next few days will provide me with a better feeling. I decided not to throw this weekend and to avoid competition until May 28th. There are Wednesday meets in Seattle which I will compete at probably 3 times. My buddy Martin, lives in Seattle so I can stay at his place and since the meets are on Wednesdays, I will avoid missing work. Plus, my training partner Justin Rodhe will travel with me to make things more intense. This should also give my hand plenty of time to get in shape for throwing without a glove.

It is finally getting hot up here. Today and yesterday it was about 87 and 90 degrees. The heat is much more tolerable here than back in PA. The humidity in PA is absurd and here a 90 degree day feels more like a 75-80 degree day back home, so that is nice. It was quite amusing to see Dr. B dressed for warm weather and a straw hat and to see Dylan throwing with his shirt off, sporting his giant pregnant stomach. Hopefully Dylan goes 21-21.50 this weekend. He has looked great in training.

Bill O'Reilly Goes Nuts

Loomis sent me this. I have not posted in quite awhile and this is a lame post but I think this is absolutely hysterical. I like his hair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbKUQiRwaD8

Injured Hand and Koller

My new apartment is quite enjoyable. I have been tearing up the kitchen by making numerous beverages. Yesterday I made haymakers quinoa water, ginger ale, honey kombucha and a peanut butter/butter/honey concoction that I have been putting on my rye sourdough. It is quite tasty. My hand is not healing too well. I have been getting ultra sound at the local university and they have been massaging my palm but my hand is still fairly sore. Hopefully, things start improving. I also ordered a rear quarter of bison. Should be a nice 100 pounds of high quality meat.

I put a new blog entry up on the Heartland Quality Foods blog. It is a fairly interesting analysis of a new study issued by the World Bank. Hope it interests someone.

My Mom told me about Eric Koller's service last night. It is quite difficult to wrap my brain around the fact that someone my age has died. He was a friend of mine and a nice guy to see around Leesport. The perfect personification of Leesport, was Eric Koller. He was the new generation of Leesport and everything that Leesport stands for, the good and the bad. People like Koller make Leesport such an interesting place. That is why I love being at home and hanging out and just seeing people around town. Whenever I would see him out, it would always make for a fun and enjoyable evening of laughter. My thoughts are with his family and anyone that was very close to him. I will miss the days of playing Run Down with him at the playground...I will never forget the welt he gave me on my back with a tennis ball. That was the day I tracked him down and threw him in my own version of the Carl Moyer headlock. I hope everyone at home is doing well. Rest in peace, Jay Leno.

Funny Graphic

My crazy Canadian buddy sent me this graphic. Clearly, he is anti-American!!!

Last of the Mohicans and Star Trek

This has to be the greatest video on youtube...well, aside from my lifting and throwing videos, hahaha. Nothing beats a Picard/Crusher video set to the Last of the Mohicans theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvxI3Of8Sv8&feature=related

Throwing

Training was going well but my hand has not really recovered from being destroyed by a 19.2 pound shot. Dr. B has cut back on my throwing volume in hopes that my hand heals up. I threw ok this past weekend, I was pleased with it because of my health situation but when my hand heals, I fully expect a P.R. I threw 17.21 which is not great but good for having no hand.

I am now house sitting for an older guy that comes into the bar. His place is sweet and he has a ton of wild salmon that he personally canned in his pantry. Tomorrow I move into my new apartment. It will be nice to have a permanent place, now.

Again, I highly recommend reading "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration." It is quite amazing.

The Patriots once again made the greatest draft picks in this weekends draft. The Eagles once again stunned their fans by drafting Dean Kuhar and Nate Bauer in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Why PETA can Blow Me.

http://www.slate.com/id/2189676/

Who in their right minds would find this to be a sound alternative? Clearly PETA does not find properly raised, grass fed meats as a way to promote healthy eating. Instead, they would rather grow meat in a test tube powered by fossil fuels, not the natural energy that powers grass...the sun. PETA most likely has little to no understanding of the healthy product that comes from a balanced food system that produces grass fed meats and they would also instead promote something that would have significantly less nutritional value. Sounds like a grand idea, let us all eat test tube meats and then rely on artificial supplements to cure our nutritional deficiencies and degenerations...at least no animals would be killed...

Bolivian Cocaine

Recently I have been reading and listening to discussions on the state of the coca plant in Bolivia. The Bolivian government decriminalized growing the plant in 2005-2006. Now many regions are growing the crop and it makes for decent money to be sold at legal auction and the crop can also be harvested about 5 times a year. The Bolivian government attempts to promote the usage of the leaf with treating diabetes, arthritis, among other ailments. Now, the middle class and elite of Bolivia and the US government are complaining and bitching about what is going on and that only about half of the plants are used for "legal" reasons. The rest of the crops are being used for cocaine production.

My problems are these...First off, the rural poor need continue to grow other fruits native to their land to prevent the soil from becoming complete crap. Otherwise, over time the soil will never get a rest and they will need to start using artificial fertilizers to grow the crop. In regards to the middle class and elite...these people may be pissed because the rural poor are actually gaining money. Really though, why should they be pissed? Most of the middle class and elites are the ones who either turn it into cocaine or actually use cocaine. Why is the US government worried about this? It is a Bolivian issue and if the Bolivians voted someone into office who supports these methods, then so be it. Let them have the freedom of choice. Also, why does the US insist on attacking the growing of cocaine? Why don't they actually address the problem of cocaine use and abuse? Or here is a novel idea. If someone wants to use coke, then let them.

Now I find out that the US has numerous authorities in Bolivia investigating and taking down crops and what not. Why the hell is the US blatantly involved in another countries domestic issue? It is just ridiculous. Oh well. It is starting to warm up here in Canada.

Snow

It has actually been fairly warm here since the end of February. I kept telling people it would snow again but no one believed me. Of course, yesterday it was 65 degrees and now today it was 30 and snowed for about 3 hours. Oh well, hopefully it heats up in the coming week. Training has been going fairly decent and work has been alright. Tomorrow the farmers market begins so I am quite excited about that. Here are my predictions for the upcoming UFC event.

Main event: St. Pierre over Serra. Travis Lutter upsets Rich Franklin. Kalib Starnes beats Nate Quarry. Michael Bisping. He looked great at weigh ins. Danzig over Bocek. Doerksen over MacDonald in a good fight. I like MacDonald but I have a weird feeling. Ed Herman is an easy win and Sam Stout is victorious in a tough fight. Kuniyoshi Hironaka also wins.

Also, I think Joe Calzaghe will win by TKO in the 10th. He throws too many punches and he will avoid the pot shots of Bernard Hopkins.

Hello Again

I have been away from the computer for quite some time. Since moving I have been running around, training, coaching, training an adult and volunteering at the co-op. All these things and the lack of a solid internet connection in my place puts me in a bad spot to blog. Anyway, I am spending this next week at my old place, house sitting for my crazy ass landlord. After that, I will be back near the center and about to move into a new apartment in May.

Since I last wrote, the Sens have gotten absolutely owned in their series against the Pens, Kermit Cintron suffered his second knockout loss to Antonio Margarito (who I absolutely despise), I was interviewed for a throwing website and the Phils are an average 500. I also started reading "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" which I highly, highly recommend and challenge someone to come up with a firm rebuttal against the evidence of degeneration and diet.

Here is a link to my interview...http://www.athleticscoaching.ca/default.aspx?pid=1&spid=81

Also, I finally got a new training program and have been throwing fairly well. I am excited about this. I am still annoyed that the temperature has not changed in Kamloops since the beginning of March. It is quite weird and annoying.

Modern Day Prophets

How are people still being conned into following "prophets". It is really freaking weird. Prophets were so 2000 years ago. Gosh. Here is a fundamentalist Mormon prophet and their craziness.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/05/texas.ranch/index.html?eref=rss_latest

Ron Paul vs. Bernanke "Corporate Socialism"

I finally got my computer fixed and should be up and running on the internet shortly. I am currently at my friends place but hopefully I can get everything running in my laundry room. Anyway, things are going a bit better in regards to training...I finally started to hit some decent throws and hopefully it all starts rolling in a positive direction. I have been eating very very well and sleeping well.



Because I have no internet, I have not been able to keep up on some current events but I found a video that is very informative. Listening to Ron Paul discuss the economy or government will always provide for a very informative occasion. Here is a video where he really gives it to Bernanke and basically schools him on the principles of Corporate Socialism...otherwise known as the American Economy. Perhaps Karl Marx would be proud of the direction the US has gone in their economic relations with the government. Hopefully things improve and eventually move further away from the socialist/fascist economy that we currently find ourselves involved with.



In sports news, Kermit Cintron defends his IBF title next weekend against Antonio Margarito. Should be awesome.

Move and Interview

I just moved closer to the training center and I am quite pleased about it all. I am a 10 minute walk from where I train and about a 5 minute drive from everywhere, including work. It is very nice. The new place is fairly nice and it is a cave at night so I get a decent nights sleep. Perhaps I will stop throwing like absolute shit now.

Throwing has just been brutal as of late. It is really frustrating. I have had no reaction to this cycle and hopefully after I get a new program things start to click for me again.

Here is a link to the interview I conducted with Dr. B. It is fairly long and extensive but very good nonetheless. I am quite pleased with how it came out and hopefuly it turns some heads in the US throwing community.

This website is awesome and my interview is the last article under General Concepts. http://www.athleticscoaching.ca/default.aspx?pid=7&spid=35&sspid=71

Crackpot Religion

I am almost completely healthy. This week has been long and tiring. I am nearly fully recovered but still throwing mediocre. Dr. B also told me he thinks I touch my penis too much, hahaha. Oh well, looks like I have to stop. I am now eating more food and hopefully will gain back the 10 pounds I lost.

Ford and I made our first kombucha sales to the co-op. That was pretty sweet. In regards to training, I have an article that will be published this coming Tuesday...should be pretty cool.

Here is another example of some crazy ass Christians claiming to have the end of the world nearby...Can anyone say Ellen White?

http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=w032878A

If Man Made it, Don't Eat It

Here is a good article from one of the meat-head websites I enjoy visiting. The website can be fairly annoying and only about one out of every 15 articles is actually worth the time it took to write but this is a nice summation of stuff from Michael Pollan. The author uses Pollan and his research to support the type of diet that is clearly best for healthy living and healthy performance. Many of the ideas also come from Weston Price's research. Good stuff.

http://www.t-nation.com/article/most_recent/atomic_dog_eat_food_not_much_mostly_plants

Parents and Anton

I had a nice stay with my parents this past week in Kamloops. It sort of sucked because I got really sick on Wednesday and the rest of the week sort of laid around and did nothing. I felt bad for them since I was a dud but at least we still got to spend time with them. It was great seeing the Old Man after his shoulder surgery, his arms were not as small as I expected but small nonetheless. Hopefully, he packs some muscle on before I come back home.

Dr. B's wife made me an authentic Ukrainian cake for my birthday and it was quite tasty. Of course I got sick and did not eat the second half of it but it was still quite good. I am still sick but hopefully I will get over this illness by Monday. I hate being sick. More cod liver oil.

Anton flew home with the rents. I believe he is easily the most traveled dog in the Miller family, Kesey included. He went home with them and I will really miss him a lot but at least now I can move closer to the training center and save a ton of money on gas since gas is at 420 a gallon up here. Now, I will be able to ride a bike everywhere.

Bubba Jenkins got 2nd for PSU at NCAA's for wrestling, Phil Davis is in the finals and hopefully he takes the cake for the 197 pound title. The results are not up yet but hopefully he wins.

Haitian Training

Here is a sweet article on make shift Haitian training. This article makes me want to stop being a pussy. It is similar to the Miller Gym and how we use some make shift things...the only difference is that we are not financially poor as the Haitians. Yeah well, at least they are having fun, that is all that matters aint?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/world/americas/18bodybuilders.html?ex=1206504000&en=c3e4b4f38652126d&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Mom and Dad

My parents showed up today. It is pretty nice to have someone here to hang out with and not deal with my brain all day. It is good to have them around, especially since my mom brought cookies and chocolate covered eggs. We went to Costco and got some good food and then I made a nutritious meal for dinner. The only bad part was my Old Man buying 2 liters of coke, holy moly haha. I took them to the track center (centre in Canada) and we had a nice day. Tomorrow they are heading to Banff and Lake Louise and will be back Tuesday evening. In the meantime, I will be training and then working tomorrow (St. Patty's Day). Should be a good week ahead and hopefully I really start hitting the throws.

Speed and Dynamic Strength

Here is a quick lesson on athletic and speed training. Do it fast and do it often. Power sports are about speed strength and rate of power development, the only way to improve these aspects is to train these things quickly. Below is a quote from a Soviet coach that most likely studied the research of Dr. B and they probably knew each other and their training techniques. Also, loaded is a video of me doing bounce benches, this is probably the slowest movement we have in our training.

"There is no correlation between the ability to display great strength and the ability to display it quickly."

— R.A. Roman, Soviet weightlifting coach

Food and Water

Here is a must see food documentary. I came across this a little over a year ago and just thought I would post it on the blog. It is extremely informative and very well done. It is a two part set and I forget if the link below is for the first or second part. Either way, I suggest watching both parts. The article link below is in regards to healthy drinking water...which is a rarity in the states. People need to get past the whole global warming aspect and realize that pollution intoxicates our body through drinking water, air quality and through food quality. Think about your body and perhaps the world would be a better place for it. Or don't think about it. I will be posting a training video tomorrow or Wednesday.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5774892958354867332&q=dispatches

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/10/pharma.water1/?iref=mpstoryview

Ner's Laser Gang

Here is a link to evidence of the Ner Laser Gang existence. http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0621886420080307?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69

I remember the days, walking around State College and hiding behind dumpsters lasering homes. That is where Ner's attacks began, hahaha.

V for Vendetta

I recently finished the book V for Vendetta. It was absolutely amazing and along with Watchmen, it is another top five book that I have read recently. The movie is quite different from the book and excludes a lot of different things. I still think the movie is very good but nothing rivals the book. Now I am reading Fahrenheit 451. So far it is also intriguing.

Rowe, I did see that PMAC is the new Reading coach. Perhaps you will be an assistant and snap the football into his face again...then he will make you do 20 up downs and you will laugh at him because you are a much better RPG player than he is. FINAL FANTASY VII baby!!!

I have been eating very well lately and I am also excited because my parents are arriving here in about two short weeks. Should be fun. Anton will be heading back to PA with them which will suck but then I am going to move closer to the track center.

The past 6-7 weeks I have been in a huge rut in regards to my throwing technique. This past week I have had about 3 good solid days and today I had a small reaction with the shots. Hopefully, I will continue the progress and really start ripping them shortly.

UFC Predictions

I need to be quick because I am starving and need to get to work. I am taking Dan Henderson over Anderson Silva as the big time pick. Evan Tanner will show up and beat Yushin Okami, Jon Fitch over Chris Wilson, Leben over Sakara in a terror brawl and Cheick Kongo in a bore over Herring. Arlovski is a guarantee on the under card as well as Luke Cummo. Sanchez and Koscheck are also guarantees.

NHL Trades, Prozac and Flat Tire

So the NHL deadline trades were crazy this year. The Eastern conference did not see much movement except for the Pens who freaking loaded up hardcore and if things work out, really have added some firepower to their roster....this pending that Hossa actually performs in the postseason. The Avs picked up Adam Foote to go along with their Forsberg addition which will make for an interesting change to their lineup. For the most part it seems that the Western conference made a bit more wheeling and dealing. Also, I see that Myers is going to start over Hamels for the Phekkin Phils come Opening Day.

I just read/heard that numerous unpublished studies (I wonder why they were unpublished?) have been confirmed to be correct in regards to Prozac. The studies prove that Prozac does absolutely nothing for depression except rid the brain of crucial mental health chemical (seratonin maybe?). In reality, Prozac was simply a huge money producer that helped people through the placebo affect.

I had a flat tire on the rear drivers side of my vehicle today. Jesse and I ended up taking it to get fixed and then after it was fixed the shop owner let me leave for free. It was pretty cool, their computer systems were messed up so he did not want to leave me hanging around waiting to pay. It was very nice to get a tire fixed for free.

Absolute Gluttony and...Love is Wicked

Today I reached a new level of fatness. As many of you know, most of my carb intake is limited to quinoa, sourdough bread, certain seasonal veggies or fruits and of course a good beer. My diet really does not focus on carbs and I seem to think this helps me out with my energy and with keeping my weight at a nice balance and it also seems to help me recover from my workouts very well. Anyway, what I am getting at is this...tonight, Dylan's mom made us a massive dinner and it was spaghetti with a good meat sauce, lots of salad and then Dr. B and his wife brought over some sweet ass cake. I ended up having 3 plates of salad, 3 plates of spaghetti and then 2 large pieces of the cake. The cake was great and a Ukrainian special with figs in it. So, I ate a ton of food and then got super thirsty and downed two glasses of water. At that point I decided to try and relieve pressure from my stomach and went into the shitter. Got some stuff out but then started to feel lightheaded and started sweating. Well, I went outside for some fresh air and puked all over the front lawn. I felt so great after I puked but also felt like a giant turd, haha. I made up an excuse that the puke was from all the carbs but Caitlin claims it was simply from me overeating once again. I am not sure what it was from. I overeat all the time and never puke...I even ate a Taco Bell Grande Combo meal with the Mexican Pizza and nachos in 35 minutes and I did not puke. So, I am not sure if I am buying into the overeating...all I know is that I was ready to pass out after the food went down.

We started a new training plan. My program is the same but now instead of training twice a day at 3 days on, one day off, 2 days on, one day off...Dr B has changed the work to 3 days on, one day off, 3 days on, one day off. This is the first week of our change and on Tuesday we will be going back outside which I am excited about. Also, I taught Canadians how to do donuts in a front wheel drive car...I was flooring the car backwards and then whipping the front end around on the snow. It was quite amusing for everyone involved, haha.

I know this is fairly corny on my part and shows what working at a club is doing to me but...I think I actually like that "Love is Wicked" song from Brick and Lace. I am not going to lie, I think it is cool. Oh well, haha.

Watchmen Image

Rorschach the bastage. Here he is, this is an image from the movie coming out in 2009. I am excited. At least he was trying to save the world.

http://rss.warnerbros.com/watchmen/image_021908.html

Economy and Pussy Bernanke

So ole Bernanke has amazed me once again...this time because he sounds like the author of Revelations predicting the downfall of the credit system. His recent speech, I believe it was given yesterday, basically proves the countless problems with running an economy on credit and subsequently soft money. Here is a nice piece from his recent blabberings that actually make sense:

"Bank balance sheets have swollen further as a consequence of the sharp reduction in investor willingness to buy securitized credits, which has forced banks to retain a substantially higher share of previously committed and new loans in their own portfolios. Banks have also reported large losses, reflecting marked declines in the market prices of mortgages and other assets that they hold. Recently, deterioration in the financial condition of some bond insurers has led some commercial and investment banks to take further markdowns and has added to strains in the financial markets.”

Imagine all these things...the true cost of capital is going through the fekkin' roof, banks are not giving out new absurd loans because people cannot pay their bills (see rates of house and vehicle repos), this in turn is forcing banks to tighten up the credit issuing which will further slow down the artificial economy...so, what happens? The banks tighten up with their money and the economy heads to a halt.

Banks = beaten up over their subprime liabilities
housing = in the ceramic bowl
manufacturing = down
food and energy = up
unemployment = rising
consumer spending = shriveling like George after swimming in the ocean

At this point it seems that the Feds will continue to cut rates until they resemble the same situation that occurred in Japan. Bernanke will pray that eventually the rates will funnel some type of money into the people's pocket because he knows for sure that the government will not lower spending (see Reagan, Bush, Clinton and G.W. Bush's spending increases). I guess I should stop badgering Bernanke because at least he is being somewhat honest with the system and basically proving that it should have played into the credit system, instead working with some real, hard money that is actually worth something.

A final quote from the B-dawg (Bernanke) himself: "It is important to recognize that downside risks to growth remain, including the possibilities that the housing market or the labor market may deteriorate to an extent beyond that currently anticipated, or that credit conditions may tighten substantially further.”

Dane's interpretation: "The financial system may be headed for a heart attack and I am ready to shit my pants because all of the administrations since Woodrow Wilson are airing their dirty laundry on my watch. Please excuse me while I go write another piss poor text book ignoring the Austrian school of economic thought."

So, what does this mean? I don't know. Maybe I should move back home and get some cows ready for 198 Slater Road and get working on a sustainability plan...oh yes, I should probably buy some guns so people cannot steal food from my family. Just kidding, but really something should change or at least people could attempt to wake up for the better. Mistakes have been made, now all we can do is learn from these mistakes and move on.

Sammie Adams

I have been gassed the past week or so from practice. I must say that I have not had a training program this brutal. The difference is also in that it is a completely different type of training. There is no real heavy lifting but there are really heavy shot put specific movements and they are killing me. Anyway, yesterday I spent a lot of time looking at film of my throws and figuring out why I have been sucking so bad. Honestly, it seems to be one problem coming out of the back of the circle and I will spend most of this week fixing this problem.

I don't really have much to say this week. Ford and I made some Kombucha that tasted really good and we are in the process of making another batch. We also made some extremely good sourdough rye bread and sauerkraut that was loaded with way too much salt. Hope all is well back home.

Oh, here is a nice quote from Sam Adams. Take it as you wish: “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.”

Professional

This weekend's trip to Saskatoon was quite the experience. I learned a few good things, one being that Dylan is the most unreliable person when it comes to knowing times to arrive at certain destinations. He is very similar to my Dad, haha. We drove to Kelowna and barely made our first flight. The first flight was a bit bumpy and I was all paranoid but did survive the trip. We landed in Calgary and then immediately flew out of Calgary into Saskatoon. Upon arrival, Saskatoon was windy, cold and it was snowing. The temperature was -45 C with the wind chill and on Saturday it was - 48 C with the wind chill. It was so cold when I went outside I would end up coughing a bit prior to adjusting to the temperatures. It was definitely the coldest I had ever felt.

Jesse and I roomed together and had a nice place and pigged out Friday night. Saturday morning we woke up and all three of us went out for breakfast and then came back to the hotel under the impression that we were throwing at 3. Around 12:35 I was looking at the meet schedule and noticed that we actually were throwing at 1. So, after a few choice words for Dylan we quickly got dressed and got a ride to the track. By the time we got to the track, we warmed up and threw and finished the competition in about 25 minutes.

I threw terribly. I just felt super super flat and had no juice. I also got a bit mental because I had not been throwing well in practice and was still adjusting to things. Jesse threw very well while Dylan was pretty mediocre. Although I threw terrible, I took some good lessons from it. Today Dr. B told me he was worried I would come back and flip out on him for throwing so poorly. I am not too worried and hopefully will get my act together in practice over the next few days and put out a decent mark next month. We will see.

I did get to meet up with the family I stayed with in Saskatoon which was a nice thing. We hung out at their house and then Trent the guy who picked me up, took me out for some wings and drinks at a bar. We had some good talks and then he took me back for the banquet in the evening. I got all dressed up (polo shirts are dressing up for me) and went downstairs to the bar where Dylan and Jesse were. They ended up playing a joke on me and convinced me I had to sign up for the banquet. After about five minutes I found out I was signing up for speed dating, so they enjoyed that prank. We had a few drinks and then went up to the banquet.

The banquet was fun and the food was good and we were recognized for our throwing. After the banquet Jesse and I got to hang out with Dennis Mitchell (Olympic champ) and this guy named Anton who is a linebacker for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. We hung out until the wee hours of the morning listening to stories and telling stories about our home worlds and how we all ended up in Saskatoon in the bitter cold weather. It was quite entertaining.

We then fell asleep and woke up around 6 and headed back to Kamloops. We got back to Kamloops safely and recovered from our travels. It was a good experience and a fun time. It was also sweet because we all got paid for going to Saskatoon. They paid for the flights, hotels and food and then I made 200 bucks for throwing like crap. I was so amped up to get paid for throwing. So, I am officially a professional athlete, hahahaha. I am not going to lie, I feel pretty cool about that. Anyway, now I am training hard again and hopefully things end up throwing well.

Saskatoon

So, today (Friday) I have to fly again. Ahhh, I hate flying so much. This time I will be flying from Kelowna to Calgary and then Calgary to Saskatoon. I am driving Dylan, Jesse and I to Kelowna and then we are flying out of there. At least the flights are paid for and the hotel rooms. That makes me pretty happy. Dylan claims they have prize money at this meet...so, if I do not shit the bed and throw a decent mark maybe I will get something, who knows? I arrive tomorrow afternoon and then we throw on Saturday, have a banquet Saturday night and then depart Sunday morning and come back to Kamloops and train in the afternoon. Should be a cool weekend.

I have not been throwing very well in practice for the past week because of my new program but today I felt pretty loose. Just thinking about competing makes me so excited so I am hoping for something interesting, if not...oh well, it is not a huge meet. The cool thing is that Dr. B had us train through this meet and is just telling us it is for fun and that the real meets start at the end of March and last until June/July...not now. Today I threw the 10k and then did some other easy things in practice. If nothing else, this will be a fun weekend.

Saskatoon is a pretty neat city. I was always infatuated with the place and even was thinking about going to school there for university and then possibly for a graduate degree. When I hitched across Canada I ended up staying with a family for a week in the town and I got to know it fairly well. It is a clean place but at this time of year it is brutally cold. About -30 F. It is so cold in the winter because it is on the plains and then in the summer it tends to get quite hot. Probably similar to Fargo. I called the people who I stayed with and I am hoping to meet up with them tomorrow or Saturday so that will be a good time. I also told Dylan and Jesse that I would much rather hitch to Saskatoon than freaking fly, oh well.

My favorite professor in University, Bill Petersen did some graduate work in Saskatoon. The odd part was that I did not find this out until I was going across Canada. He and I were working on an independent study together prior to me dropping out of school. We became very close and he told me about the city also. It will be cool to go back there just to see where he went to school again. He had passed away on December 20th of 2006 from prostate cancer. It was shitty since he was by far my favorite professor and really taught me a lot about critical reading.

I am also hoping to meet the University of Saskatchewan's track coach for the second time. When I passed through on my first trip, he was kind enough to meet with me and show me the facilities and take me around the campus. He was a very nice guy and I think it will be cool to talk with him and just talk about how I have made this roundabout path back to Saskatoon.

One of the guys who picked me up and took me to Edmonton also works in Saskatoon so Saturday night I am going to go to the bar that he may still work at and see if I can talk with him. He was one of the cooler and funnier guys that I met on the trip and was very intelligent and it will just be neat if I can talk with him again as well. It should be a fun weekend.

The only part that sucks is that I have to fly, hahaha. Anyway, Mom...if I die make sure you get Anton and my Star Trek dvds back home. Also, give Brooks my timberlands so he can use them for work. Kai can have my books but give Brooks V for Vendetta. Give Anton to Kai so he can piss all over her apartment and wreak havoc with Copper. Alright, hopefully I survive this weekend otherwise...I will see you on the other side...hahahahaha!

P.S. If we die in a Bombardier plane, make sure you sue their asses. I have been reading a lot about how they have a lot of technical problems and what not. Then start a farm and training center in my name, haha. Again, I love you all.

Ner for Prez in '08

I am certain this has been said before but I would appreciate if someone could answer the question for me specifically. Why is the government so involved in the baseball/steroids saga? Who freaking cares? I feel like American taxpayer revenue should go to much more important things than investigating steroid use in baseball. Let's be honest. Steroids make baseball more interesting and if they did not want steroids then they should have had testing throughout the 90's and up until 2003. This is just lame. Now the government is getting involved with the NFL and the "spygate" crap. This stuff happens all the time....why does Arlen Specter or any other senator really care about the NFL. The NFL can run itself and clearly it has been for quite some time now. Maybe we are socialist. It all makes sense, especially with George Bush's pending budget of 3 TRILLION dollars. Maybe Republicans could spend more money and then pretend that they do not spend money. And cut taxes which will in turn screw us over 10 years from now when we are 10 trillion dollars in the hole. Where the government leads, the people will follow...hence 95% of Americans having some form of debt. Oh well. I am writing in Fekkin Ner for president in 2008.

Why hath God foresaken me?

Sorry, I know that may offend some people but I am depressed about the Pats losing tonight. Right before Eli Manning had that ridiculous play and got out of the grasp of Vince Wilfork and Adalius Thomas a few words were uttered where I was watching the game. Two girls were saying how it was a good game and it was over and I of course notified them that indeed it was not over and the Giants could still win. Then that play happens and I buried my head. In reality, the Patriots could have easily won that game but I will be honest and say that the Giants played a better game. They simply executed better than the Pats. The Pats o-line was crap and this prevented Brady from every getting into a rhythm. Maybe the undefeated season started pressuring them, I do not know...pisses me off. At least my prediction at 3rd and Spruce from the beginning of the year held true that the Pats would make it to the Super Bowl. Now I am just disgusted that they did not finish it off. Yeah well, the Sens and Phils can still win championships in 2008.

UFC 81

Quick predictions. I have Nogueira over Sylvia...should be a good fight. Lesnar over Mir but Mir could catch although I do not see that happening. Almeida over Yundt in a lopsided victory. Jeremy Horn over Marquardt...this might be the fight of the night. The breaker will be Lytle over Bradley. I hope I do not suck as bad as I did the last UFC.

Word Play

I am probably making this up but I swear I read that one of Confucius' philosophies is to call everything what it actually is. That is when government's came be completely truthful and society is honest with itself. For instance, back in the day we had the Department of War. Now, it is called the Department of Defense. Well, this is stupid because any war has both offensive and defensive aspects. Here are a few things I have thought about changing...

Police Officers/Law Enforcement: Perhaps the new force could be, "Prevention of Law Breaking." This is due to the fact that police officers patrol and hence are looking to prevent people from breaking laws.

Organic Vegetables or Fruit/Conventional Veggies or Fruit: Why is it designated as organic? Probably so the prices are raised. In reality, organic (meaning they are not sprayed with chemically based pesticides, most are still sprayed but with natural pesticides) should be called fruit or vegetables. Conventional veggies and fruit are normally called veggies or fruit but in reality they should be callled...."Chemically Sprayed, Cancer Causing Vegetables or Fruit."

Garden State Parkway: Let's face it, we all know New Jersey is not a Garden State and the parkway is not where you park but instead drive. I have thought that maybe the name could be changed to Suburban State Driveway...or Chemical Factory State Driveway. Something to that extent.

Circumcision: This one strikes close to home, haha. OK, so maybe circumcision actually means cutting of the foreskin or something to that effect (Moerder, language help please?). I think that when a couple gives birth to a new born son and the doctor asks if they would like the son to be circumcised, instead the doctor should say, "Excuse me, would you like your son's penis to be mutilated or unmutilated?" The new societal moniker would be penis mutilation.

Health Food Stores: I must admit, I am a sucker for health food stores and love going to them. But let's be honest, 75% of the products in these places are absolute crap. I guess it is similar to every other supermarket. It seems that every grocery store sells tons of crap. Anyway, back to the health food stores. These could be called, "Stores for people with more money than you." Or maybe, "Supplement stores for people who think modern medicine is bad yet take every 'natural' supplement known to mankind." Ok, so that one is a bit long. I am not the most creative of people.

Body Zone: The new name could be, "Creepy Zone: Where middle aged men gawk openly at women."

I am not the greatest with this game but I was hoping that some people could comment and make up their own examples of poorly named things in the world. I was going to go off on government names but decided that I rip on government too often.

In other news, Ron Paul received one third the amount of question that John McCain and Mitt Romney received in the California debate.

Veggie Oil, Pedro Feliz and New Program

Kai, I have no idea how I forgot about Copper and Anton trying to maul that guy and how Copper literally jumped up and just pushed the guy into the bushes. That was so funny. Of course I get locked out with Anton and Copper, the two most annoying dogs to walk together seeing as though Anton is about 1/10th the size of Copper and they are both pain in the ass dogs to begin with. I also remember that this was another experience with sleeping in your place with Minja. I remembered waking up to her laying across the top part of the bed and how her head was resting on my chest. That crazy woman, she was stuck inside the apartment with Maisy and those two basically just sat around wondering where Copper and Anton went. At least Copper and Anton were not left inside to piss on everything.

I got a letter from Miller and Anna and it had a sweet picture with Kaj, (my nephew) and him smiling for a few pictures. It was sweet to see him and now I have a picture of him and Devin in my apartment so that made me happy. Brooks' Mercedes Benz is now officially running on veggie oil...I suppose it is called greasel. So, he will be saving a ton of money and although this is not the way to fix the world's problem, it is nice to see that people can live a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle. I am also happy for him since he has a young family and saving any money is a positive thing...especially since Brooks, Anna and Kaj are moving to a new farm in March. March 15 to be exact, the ides of March, haha. Should be good.

Well, I wanted to write about Pedro Feliz but for some reason the baseball prospectus website was not working for me. Moerder, can you assess this signing?

I hope you all enjoyed the State of the Union and hopefully the US will improve for the better of society over the next few years...or for a while for that matter. Any snide remarks toward me or anything else I have addressed are more than welcome.

Happy Birthday Devin!!

Tomorrow the 27th is Devin's (my niece) 2nd birthday. It is crazy to think that it has been two years since she was born. I remember it fairly clearly. Andy Schell let me borrow his Jeep and I drove it down to Washington and back in a matter of about 18 hours. I also drove back and competed in a meet the very next day. I threw alright in that meet and that is when I realized that I would not want a Jeep as my main vehicle...I believe the gas mileage was somewhere around 14-16 highway miles to the gallon. I hope Devin's party went well today, (I tried calling but no one answered their phones) and I really wish I could have been there and thrown her around a little.

I am on the downswing of a program and that has been frustrating. I cannot stand when I am not throwing very well. On Monday I begin a new program, throwing the 5.5k and the 7.26k and then rotating that on opposite days with a 10k. It should be fun because the lifting is more intense again and I enjoy throwing the heavier implements. I am also fairly nervous to see my results with the 7k shot since this is the first time I will be throwing that shot since arriving in Kamloops.

This past week I found out some more promising information in regards to working and that I will be receiving a few more hours again. My good friend Ford has also passed on some helpful news about my living condition and that I will be able to move in with him and his roomie in April. Hopefully, this does not fall through. I am sick of living with a crazy woman and yappy little dogs that I would thoroughly enjoy punting.

Ford and I also made some sauerkraut on Wednesday evening and we are hoping that it will be ready by this coming Wednesday. If successful we plan on making kimchi and Latin Kraut and then starting a booming business that will ferment all of Kamloops. I hope all is well back home.

Frank Duca, you really need to stop throwing the weight. I am saying this as a friend, training partner and consultant. Throwing 53 feet is not a building block. A building block is throwing 54.70 in the hammer with piss ass technique. You need to stop lifting so heavy and worry more about specific strength and throwing the hammer 15-20 times a day, 5 days a week with different weights. Push the ball and you are bound to throw the hammer far. Forget about the weight. Seriously, along with Dylan and Kalnas I would say that you are one of the best training partners I have worked with and it is sad to see you wasting your time on this event. For what? What are you doing this for? For nothing. You have potential in the hammer, realize this and you will see big results.

Banks and Asians

Caitlin left today. It was a sad day. We had a splendid time and also watched a bunch of movies. We watched V for Vendetta, Batman Begins, Why We Fight, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Idiocracy and What the Bleep do we know? They were all very good although What the Bleep is rather annoying and could have been summed up in about 25 minutes without the lame ass drama and the psycho "Ramtha" who channels through JZ Knight. Give me a freaking break. The other problem I have is that "Ramtha" gets all this time while the two dudes who make the most sense get about 5 total minutes...figures that two out of the three directors/writers were followers of Ramtha/JZ Knight/con-artist. She can shove her botox face back into the ancient times that she claims to be channeling.

I have also noticed some weariness in the stocks. My buddy Bernard Bernanke is doing his deal to ruin the American dollar once again and today the US and European markets took a major hit. Well yesterday I guess. Now today, the Asian markets took a severe blow and it seems that in Europe and in the US we are going to see a similar pattern. I guess a good way to deal with this would be for the US government to go into deeper debt, borrowing let's say...9 trillion dollars more...and then pretend that it is ok to be in debt. Then the big central banks like IMF and World Bank and all the other bull crap institutions will come to our rescue. I cannot wait...I love when people and the government spend money we do not have. Also, Republicans are fiscally conservative right?...Oh wait, no they are not. I forgot, that went by the wayside when ole Ronnie Reagan decided to spend his ears off and that is what led to the fall of the Soviet Union...actually, no it didn't. Gorbachev is what caused the Soviet Union to fall. Alright, I will stop now.

At least Ron Paul got second in Nevada (?). I think it was Nevada, maybe New Mexico. I forgot and I am too lazy to look it up. Hopefully Rudy drops out after he blows again in Florida. I love that Ron Paul has beaten Rudy four out of the five times and yet Ron Paul was not invited to the New Hampshire debate. Oh well, enough of my coincidence theory.

I noticed that when Caitlin was here she definitely kept my craziness in check and questioned my odd ways of deductive reasoning. Now that she is gone it seems that I may be back to my ranting. I think I said this before but I highly suggest watching "Why We Fight," it seemed to be a very well researched documentary and has some very interesting perspectives that are not overly radical.

UFC, NFL and Caitlin Browne

So, this week Caitlin has come to spend time in the Loops. She has been exposed to everything that is my life, haha. The first two days I literally farted about 100-150 times and at one point even woke myself up while we were sleeping. She made it through those tough days and hopefully will not break up with me for smelling so bad. It has been very nice to have someone to spend time with in Kamloops. She also made some really good mexican food tonight and her being here has provided me with a good excuse to go out to eat fairly often...Indian food two times in 3 days, baby!! She leaves on Monday afternoon and I will not have any visitors until the rents come in March. We have also watched some decent movies, including "Why We Fight" which I believe is a must see for anyone from the US of A. Very interesting perspectives and it shows both sides and is not a radical conspiracy movie like most of the crazy stuff I watch, hahaha.

As for this coming weekend, we have UFC 80, Trinidad vs. Jones, Jr. and Pats vs Chargers, Giants vs Packers. Along with those events, Dylan has his opener in Edmonton and Kalnas is throwing at PSU this weekend...should make for some big throws. Also, congrats to Codi White (a wrestler I trained this summer) for getting 3rd at the Berks County Championship. On a side note, Canadians do not wrestle folk style in middle school or high school. Instead, they wrestle freestyle in middle school and high school, something my dad and I have talked about the US switching over to freestyle at these levels. We would definitely own the Olympics in wrestling if that was the case.

Onto the predictions. Football first: Pats over the Chargers (I have to stick with my team) and the Pack over the Giants. Eli has been killing my predictions but I cannot go against Favre. Dylan goes 19.87 at Edmonton and Kalnas hits 19.12 at PSU. Duca hits 52'7 in the weight throw at PSU and loses to Thieleman again. UFC 80: I hope to god that Bj Penn whoops Joe Stevenson and will take him as the victor. Gabe Gonzaga avenges his first loss to Fabricio Werdum and wins in a stunning fight. Marcus Paul Davis will beat Jess Liaudin in the second. Wilson Gouveia (Carmelo's last loss) will get cut up by Jason Lambert...a possible KO victory for Lambert. Kendall Grove will show some more of his lackluster promise with a mediocre victory over Jorge Rivera. I will not lie, I would love to see Grove get wrecked by Rivera. In the undercard, I would like to see Sam Stout come out victorious and Antoni Hardonk to get beaten by Colin Robinson. Hopefully, my prediction percentage is a bit better than last week. Oh....last but not least. I have Jones Jr. beating up on the washed up Tito Trinidad. Jones has been fighting as of late and he looks decent...meanwhile Tito has been out of fighting for 2 years and after his lashing by my boy Winky Wright, he has not looked very good. Jones, Jr. in 9.

25%, here I come.

Ben Heins, Suck an Egg

So, I am clearly not good at predicting football games this year. I still make great predictions in regards to individual players (we will see Braylon Edwards when I slice his quad in half). I did indeed go 25% in regards to football but I thought about predicting the Giants to win. Eli kills me. I was also wrong about Duca, he shit the bed and threw 4 feet less than I had already predicted...53'10 is a terrible throw to begin with and he goes 50'2. Then the PSU wrestling team decides to crush me even further. A terrible week of predictions. I need some fights to predict again. Heins, you got me with your comment but I will continue to destroy you with Tabata intervals and other secrets to training/conditioning. Walborn, why don't you stop being fat and stop smoking and start working out...your new name shall be...John Daly (the Walrus). Rowe, Hoffman is at PSU and I did make a prediction and he did not throw as far I said either, haha.

Oh well, so I suck. At least Caitlin is coming here tomorrow. That will give my mind some ease.
Also, Tom Brady gave me a good showing. He played a perfect game with perfect reads. He had 26 completions out of 28 attempts and his two incomplete passes were both drops. Probably the best playoff performance ever by a QB. I am sick of all this Manning hoopla. If Manning had the mediocre talent that Brady had back when they won 3 Super Bowls, Manning would not have done crap. Look at Deion Branch now...what has he done for me lately?!?!!? NOTHING!! Tom Brady is the greatest QB ever and Billy B is the greatest coach ever. As my good friend Adam Moerder once said, "All hail Brady."

All hail my predictions. In other news, Dr. B showed us his Olympic Champion picture of him on the podium in Munich. I asked him if Brezhnev told them not to smile. He has the classic Soviet drone look on his face.

Lameo

Ok, nothing has really happened since Monday. Training has been going well all week and I am really ripping into the 12 pound shot. Actually, a few things have happened. I got my food pick up from the co-op and the food is great. I got some lamb loins which were amazing and some pork chops that should hit the spot as well. Their eggs are awesome, similar to Miller's eggs. Good sizes and very colorful. Sunshine yellow is how I would describe them. On Wednesday I played Yahtzee with a bunch of the other throwers and represented PA very well. The entire night I was calling it the PA roll and telling them that I am so good at Yahtzee simply because I am from PA. This was not overbearing at all. Anyway, it was fun. And Stamm, I went to A and W and got Papa Burgers instead of the infamous Teen Burger.

Apparently I can claim to be a professional athlete now. Haha. There is a meet in Saskatoon on February 8th and they invited Dylan to come throw at the meet. Dylan wanted to come and ended up telling the meet director that he would only come if they would invite Jesse and I. The meet is for the Knights of Columbus and Dylan says it is a decent meet and afterwards there is a huge banquet with a bunch of food and drinks. So, on February 7th they are paying for me, Jesse and Dylan to fly to Saskatoon, paying for our hotels and then flying us back home on the 9th. It should be a fun time, Saskatoon is an awesome city and I might even meet up with the family that I stayed with back in June of 2006.

I have some more lame predictions for the weekend football games. I am actually going to pick Seattle to upset Green Bay. Seattle is looking good and it is going to be an interesting game. Of course I can definitely see Favre ripping it up. I still take Seattle. The second game I am staying with my team, the Patriots to beat the Jags. This will be a tough game but the Pats have had two weeks and I am hoping they come out blazing. The Jags do indeed frighten me because they have looked very good and all the analysts said the Jags would beat the Pats in the playoffs. I am looking for a Pats victory. Sunday's games are also very good match ups. I have the Cowboys romping the Giants. I cannot see Eli playing this well for this long. Romo has been in the playoffs before and as much as I do not like him, I can see them coming to smack the Giants around on Sunday. Tough call but I have the Boys in a close one, winning by 3-4 points. Indy is going to beat the Chargers. Peyton is amazing and although they are with some ailing players and missing Dwight Freeney, I see them beating the Chargers. However, I would enjoy a Chargers victory.

In this weekends track meet at Penn State, I have Frank Duca throwing the weight 53'10 and losing to Adam Thieleman again by a foot. Hoffman goes 19.65 in the weight. For the national duels, I have the number one ranked PSU wrestling team taking down the team title. It will be a brutal tourney but they will come out on top under the guidance of the great Phil Davis. Should be a fun weekend.

Ozymandias

At times I consider myself similar to Ozymandias. When he ate a ball of hashish and decided to protect the world based off of his journey and experience throughout a particular region of the world (middle east I believe), it makes me think about how stupid I can be when coming to certain conclusions. Maybe I like to think I am similar to Ozymandias because I want to think I am saving the world or can save the world or will make significant difference at some point.

The thing that sucks about being up here is that I read all of this shit and I am studying tons of crap but I rarely have anyone to bounce my ideas off of and clue me in. This can be a problem and today I noticed it during a conversation with Brooks. I have a lot of ideas, many are sane and logical but at times I think of things that family members or friends would tell me they are stupid and clue me in. I have decided that I need to stop reading as much as I am, especially on the internet. I need to start doing more things. Writing things down helps me out and clues me in...I also am going to start training my friend Ford. He stopped throwing because his torn pectoral muscle was not healing so now I will train him as a weightlifter/strongman. This will help out my brain.

Also, with my portable dvd player I have started watching Star Trek again. This can be positive or negative. Star Trek really makes me think about the world today and it makes me question myself and what I am doing...so that is good. But again, at times I may become too unrealistic because of the scientific happiness that exists within the Federation.

You know what else pisses me off...Why is it that we live in a Christian nation yet our own government and people who claim to be Christian do not act as Christians should (or any logical being for that matter). It annoys me that Jesus Christ himself says to turn the other cheek in Matthew but for some reason Christians throw that verse out the window in favor of a verse from Romans...written by Paul who never actually met Jesus. Not that I follow this stuff but it can be used as a guideline. One of the churches up here had a sign on it that said, Jesus would not seek revenge so why do we? That is a good question, why do we? At times perhaps it is legit but as a nation, we need to question this. Everyone loved when the Amish people forgave the dude who committed the Nickel Mines Massacre...yet we as a country to not behave this way. This shit pisses me off. GOSH!!! Haha, I am pissed though.

More predicts

OK, I know these are lame but I enjoy making stupid predictions, haha. I am actually going to go with the Bucs defeating the Giants. I do not like the Bucs at all or Jon Gruden, but I struggle to see Eli playing out of his mind in back to back weeks. With San Diego and Tennessee I will take San Diego. Tenn looked good against Indy in the first half but Young is not that great and he may not even start. San Diego wins it.

Work was nice tonight. Things are fairly calm now because the head doorman has made a conscious effort to control emotions and be nicer to patrons. Hopefully all the business picks up and we get super busy like before. These next two weeks are going to be interesting in regards to money. Caitlin is coming up in either ten or twelve days. That will also be a very nice treat, I am excited for this. The first non-Stamm to see the Loops.

Predictions

My quick predictions for todays football games are Seattle over Washington and Pittsburgh over Jax in the slop at Heinz Field. The Seattle running game has been steadily improving and really looks like they may step it up this weekend. Todd Collins is 3-0 and I am not sure how well the rest of the team will perform. Seattle loves the home field advantage as well.

The second game is a tough decision. Could go either way and with the god awful turf at Heinz it will really effect the Jags since they are used to the pretty field and ideal conditions in Jacksonville. Also, Roethlisberger has been decent all year and has good playoff experience and a decent backup. If David Garrad goes down, his team is screwed. I can see Fred Taylor really pouting about the field and letting it bother him...he will most likely get injured. I have Pittsburgh by 10. I will have tomorrows predictions sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Back in Canadia

So, I am back in Canada and about 7-8 pounds heavier than when I left. This is ok since I had been a little light, hopefully I can turn it into muscle as I amp up the training over the next few months. My trip back was ok. My Dad and I had a decent drive to JFK that did not take as long as I had expected. This ended up with me trying to entertain myself in the airport for about four hours. My flight was delayed by 20 minutes, we boarded and then sat on the runway for another 45 minutes. That was fun, especially sitting in tight quarters and having a d-bag in front of me recline his chair all the way back.

The flight was ok. It was really smooth for about 4 hours and then the last hour and half was rough. This was ok though since I had a new portable dvd player to ease my high blood pressure and extreme palm sweating. I hate having this dvd player but I will definitely use it. I did not get into Vancouver until 3 and then my friends dad picked me up and I slept at their house until 10 this morning. I drove back and arrived in Kamloops at about 3 this afternoon PST. I was thoroughly amused to come across an Indian fast food restaurant, I ate there for lunch but their naan blew ass.

Now I am back in Kamloops. I cannot wait to start training again and throw all the time. I am a little worried because I came back to some shitty working news. The bar will no longer be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so now the only chance I have to work is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So, hopefully I get these three days each week and that pays the bills. Otherwise I am screwed. It may be a blessing in disguise. We shall see.

I know I will get made fun of for this but I am going to start writing my own training book. The book will not be about research and scientific understanding but more about training methods for different sports backed by my own studying and experience. Basically, it is just a book I want to throw together to help me in my future endeavors.