Posted Jan 24, 2012
On top of running a marathon in February and a 50K in March, my other goal for this year is to get my brain in gear. I’ve always had a pretty decent short term memory, but my long term memory seems to be failing me from time to time lately. Names and words slip my mind constantly causing odd pauses in my conversation that is quite frustrating. I’ve been searching for ways to get back my old reliable mind.
Luckily Newsweek magazine had a featured article this month that has given me a decent push and some great tips. Some, I’m already doing. Other ideas seem like they would be useful. You’ll find the article is on pages 28 through 36 of the January 9-16 issue.
After reading the article I think my problem is a little too much stress and not enough creative input. I do several nutritional enhancements like milk thistle, NAC, and turmeric. They have helped and I am sure the exercise I’m getting training for this marathon is making a difference also. I don’t meditate enough, and have been in a rut creatively with my free time lately.
So the next step is to take on some home projects that will stimulate my mind. I was also inspired by a great book I read at the beginning of this month called Made By Hand – My Adventures in the World of Do-It-Yourself by Mark Frauenfelder. Mark is one of my favorite posters on BoingBoing.net, and has written for several great magazines over the years including my favorite Make magazine (it’s what Popular Science used to be multiplied by 100 - which we sell by the way in our offline catalog).
Looking back, it appears that every time my brain worked with me instead of against me, I spent less time in front of the tv/video games/movies and more time drawing and solving problems by building new custom things to help me around the house. Whether it is some new shelves, garden enhancements, or just tools to help me accomplish a certain task, it appears that my mind was more in sync when designing something new.
So here’s to a new year of restarting the gray matter. I will keep you posted of my adventures. And any brain enhancing suggestions you might have would be great if you could share them in the comments!
You can find the article reprinted on thedailybeast.com here.
Posted Jan 20, 2012
Back in June I wrote a blog article about how close we are to a cure for HIV. I had no idea it would be that popular since I was just piggy-backing off a great article I found in New York magazine, but we get a lot of Internet traffic for it. The small article I saw in the January/February 2012 issue of Discover magazine takes it a step further.
2011 was a good year in HIV research. It appears that the stem cell success cure from Timothy Brown case study really gave researchers a refreshing reboot in their quest. I feel that many people like to hate that HIV became a part of our recent world, but on the flip side there are gigantic strides being made in the medical industry as a result.
The effort and money put forth to solve the HIV puzzle could be a similar accomplishment to putting a man on the moon (maybe even Mars). So while it is a scary scourge, what has come out of the past almost 30 years of research I think will change the way we treat all diseases.
Pop open your copy of Discover subscription on page 18 and see that the newest research done with zinc finger nuclease is amazing! Not only can it be used for HIV, but I can see several applications using the same technique for other viruses like ebola, hepatitis B and C, and all sorts of influenza strains. Using the ZFN technology, they are not attacking the virus directly, but actually snipping out a gene in your DNA that produces a protein on the surface of your cells that allows HIV to enter. That’s pretty impressive stuff…just think if we could eventually make your immune system impervious to all kinds of infectious diseases??
We’re getting closer. Let’s hope for a breakthrough soon! You can find part of the article here online.
Posted Jan 14, 2012
I get a kick out of the high-brow copywriting from the Dos-Equis commercials. You know, the ads showing the amazing exploits of a seasoned bearded man and a voice over highlighting said accomplishments of the Most Interesting Man in the World? One of my personal favorites is…
“His words carry weight that would break a less interesting man’s jaw.”
However, I did see this good one on Facebook the other day…
“Being fashionably late to a party ends the minute he arrives.”
Anyway, all comedy aside…you’d be surprised how effective these commercials have been for the Heineken company (Yes Heineken sells Dos Equis…I didn’t know that either). According to the January 9-15 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, these commercials have rocketed Dos Equis sales up an impressive 21.5% compared to only 3.9% for Heineken. While retro cool in their own sense the Heineken commercials appear to not have the selling power that a funny mega-viral campaign has with a branded character.
If only we businesses could bottle that marketing magic every time. How did they do it? Well, humor in advertising is like a comic book super power only an elite few are lucky enough to bend it to their will. I am pretty sure the gentleman character they ended up with was an offshoot of the Chuck Norris jokes.
I applaud the director in deciding upon using a more exotic old-world European man to play the part. But where the real genius comes in is that they spread the message first through YouTube and Facebook. I think it’s great that they invite others in contests to come up with more “Interesting Man-isms”.
So let this be a lesson to you small businesses out there, read between the lines and get inspired by the articles in your magazines! You never know when a great idea that you can replicate is going to show you the way to success. God knows many of us would love a 22% increase in sales in 2012.
Posted Jan 12, 2012
It's been a while since we've had a magazine fold, unfortunately as of January 2012, the Food Network magazine Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine has been permanently discontinued. Use the Contact Us button to request a refund for any unmailed issues you may have in your subscription.
Or...you can apply the credit to replacing it with some other excellent food and recipe magazine like Bon Appetit, Everyday with Rachael Ray, or Imbibe from the Food, Wine and Cooking Magazines category.
Posted Dec 31, 2011
Here are the current office hours over the 2011 holidays.
December 19 through December 21 -- 7:30 am to 4:30 pm CST
December 22 – 7:30 am to 2 pm CST
December 23 – Closed
December 26 – Closed
December 27 through December 28 – 7:30 am to 4:30 pm CST
December 29 – 7 am to 2 pm CST
December 30 – Closed
Happy Holidays to all our customers!
Posted Dec 21, 2011
We all make new year’s resolutions. I thought about skipping this year...but then I changed my mind.
Since I decided back in October to run a marathon it only took me another two months to figure why stop there? I’m a little less than seven weeks out from running 26.2 miles so I decided why not add another eight miles to that and try a hilly 50K course through the forest seven weeks after that marathon. If you asked me a year ago if I would do something like this I would have laughed.
So who/what convinced me I could do the 34 miles. Maybe it wasn’t convincing I needed, I don’t really work like that. Now inspiration that is a different story. I’m in the middle of reading a great book that was recommended to me by a friend; even if you think you hate running check out “Born To Run”. It reads like watching an exciting sports event.
One of the interesting and useful nuggets I found in there was the “magic potion” the Tarahumara indians use to rejuvenate their bodies when running long distances of 50 miles or more through the desert canyons of Mexico. Ever heard of “iskiate” or chia fresca? This is one of the secret weapons they use to basically ingest a whole new set of legs mid-race. Does it work? So far, I think it does...I’m still experimenting with it, although I will say it made both my recent 13 mile runs much easier than expected. I didn’t run out of energy at all.
So what is in iskiate? You know that commercial for that silly ceramic pet that grows little plants around the outside...you know the tune. Cha-cha-cha-Chia! Yep, that’s right...you can eat those little black (and white) seeds. They are packed with minerals that help initiate your energy metabolism. The actual drink is made of chia seeds soaked in 12 ounces of warm water for 15 minutes with a teaspoon of sugar and the juice of one fresh lime. You can add ice after the fact if you want...the warm water helps the chia seeds gel more easily.
The tactile texture has the gelatinous consistency of kiwi seeds, but not crunchy like if you were to bite down on them. The lime juice gives it a nice refreshing finish. If you are prone to be freaked out by foods with weird textures, then this drink is probably not for you. However, if you are desperate for a drink that works better than a sports drink ever could, try it just one time and you will become a believer.
Now some people would scoff and say, “Oh that’s just the sugar that is giving you a boost.” Nope, in long distance running you can burn off 95% of your body’s sugar storage in about 20-30 minutes. That’s not going to last you for 2+ hours. Refined sugar in your body is like lighter fluid, it goes up quickly when needed. And the body will always burn sugar (simple carbs) first. Body fat however is like charcoal, it can burn for hours since most people have an infinite supply, but only if your body has the proper nutrients to run the chemical reaction.
I have been trying to alter my diet to provide these extra nutrients in a more balanced form. Looking through the January/February 2012 Men’s Fitness I did find a great list of recipes on pages 56-61 that should get me started with what I need. Now all I need to worry about is staying hydrated!
So there's my story...what are you going to accomplish in 2012?
Posted Dec 15, 2011
If you’ve seen the movie Forrest Gump, you’ve seen the part where he is portrayed as the fabled leader who unwittingly started the big running movement in the 1970’s. Take that same scenario and fast forward it to the early 2000’s. Enter a whole new underground trend to getting in shape. If you know what a WOD is, then you have been inducted into the secret cult of CrossFit.
I was reading through the November issue of Men’s Health magazine and found an article that described every aspect of this relatively new form of body improvement. It was more of an opinion piece more than a “Special Report” as it was labelled. But don’t let me lessen the severity of the workouts he describes.
Here in Birmingham we have a CrossFit off-shoot called Iron Tribe. The same friend who got me into running invited me to the bring a friend session on one cool Saturday morning in December. He said “Come on, meet me there this Saturday...I know this will be right up your alley!” Usually he’s right, but I can say on this one...not so much. I thought I was in shape, but do one of these introductory WOD’s and you'll wonder if you are there to sell you to join or weed you out.
After 12 minutes of intense 500 meters of rowing, 10 standing-then-chest to floor to push-ups, 20 box jumps (24 vertical inches) and 30 kettlebell overhead swings. Oh and the object was to see how many times you could repeat these 10, 20, 30 sets in under 12 minutes. We finished 2 1/3 rounds. Granted I did share these repetitions with my friend. Not only did I fall off the box with a missed jump or two, but I also finished my workout with a bathroom visit. Technically in CrossFit, throwing up is considered a badge of honor. LOL, not in my book. I think they succeeded in weeding me out. Maybe one day I’ll change my mind, but for now I’ll stick to abusing my knees with my upcoming running events.
As for all the jargon related to CrossFit, you can go here to find out what a WOD is, plus everything else you need to know about this crazy out of body experience.
Posted Nov 29, 2011
Over the holidays we all catch up on the TV and movies we don’t have time to watch during our regular life. I grabbed a copy of Entertainment Weekly magazine to get the skinny on what would be worth watching over the last 38 days of 2011.
So during Thanksgiving I flipped back and forth from the James Bond marathon on the SyFy Channel and the various football games. Unfortunately I missed my two favorites Castle (on ABC) and The Walking Dead (on AMC) since we were at Universal Studios because I was exhausted from keeping up with a 5 year old for two days. By the way, best time to visit the theme parks in Orlando is the week after Thanksgiving…the crowds and lines are at a minimum. Oh and if you do Universal, the Harry Potter exhibit is Grade A!!
If you haven’t been watching The Walking Dead, you don’t know what you are missing. Entertainment Weekly mentions it every week and the Mid-season finale was on the 27th. I caught it on DVR when we got back and thought that episode was genius. I highly recommend you check out Season 1 and Season 2 on Hulu, Netflix or iTunes. You kind of need to watch it from the beginning to understand what is going on, and better on DVD/downloaded anyway. AMC plays way too many commercials.
Puss in Boots was cute if you have a youngster to go watch it with in the theater. Melancholia got rave reviews at the film festivals so I may check that out. I’m not a big fan of the Twilight series, but I will probably get talked into going to see Breaking Dawn by my wife. Am I the only one who thinks these Twilight movies are the same movie each time??
Posted Nov 26, 2011
After last year’s Christmas turkey failed miserably I made a recommendation to my wife. Why don’t we try an Asian feast for next Christmas? It’s easier to make, full of flavor and the leftovers are always great. I had forgotten all about my decree until I opened up the December 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the turkey this year at Thanksgiving. The new recommendation by all the Food Network chefs is to let your turkey sit an hour before serving. That was pretty much spot on. Unfortunately, if you consider all the items we eat traditionally, it turns out to be quite a carb fest that can leave you feeling bloated and immobile two hours later.
The 4 Hour Body Diet I was on is great for losing weight, but can feel restrictive once you hit your target weight. I was looking to keep my energy up and the last blood work I had done said I was at the lower end of the spectrum on B-12 and vitamin D. My recent bout with a hyperactive thyroid threw my whole body out of whack so I am changing it up a bit.
According to Eat Right For Your Blood Type, one of my favorite Christmas time pleasures Honey Baked Ham is on the Avoid list for O Type blood. I’ve been experimenting with the diet for about three weeks now, although went off reservation for most of the Thanksgiving week. So far though, my energy has been way up while applying the new diet. The bonus is, it doesn’t feel that restrictive and could possibly explain why milk and wheat based foods make me feel sluggish for days.
The interesting thing is this…being an O blood type aligns almost exactly with the Paleo diet which is probably why the 4 Hour Body diet worked for me. After reading Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type, I can see how those other diets might not work as well for Blood types A and AB. There is also some interesting information about blood types that I wasn’t aware of…did you know that type AB blood only evolved in humans about a thousand years ago?
Can’t leave you without a recipe on this one…check out the Coconut-Curry Noodle Soup from this December 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
Posted Nov 15, 2011
My summer started off when my friend loaned me a book called Slow Burn by Stu Mittleman. Great book by the way, I used to find running pointless unless I was doing it for a sport, but I gave Stu (and a good friend of mine) a few hours of my time to convince me otherwise.
Over the summer I’ve been trail running for a few hours each Saturday morning, but this fall decided it was time to take it to the next level. So this February I am attempting my first 26.2 mile marathon in the Mercedes Marathon here in Birmingham. My first move is to read up on everything I can about preparing for this check box on my bucket list...
Now much of what I needed to get me started was in Slow Burn, but I wanted more. I have my Polar heart rate monitor and even an Energizer headlamp for night runs, but figured I’d give a subscription to Running Times magazine a try. However, I am looking to you for advice…for all you seasoned marathoners out there, what magazine would you recommend for a first time marathoner?