Mid January

I think the clergyman is explaining to Norv Turner how unacceptable that was.

The calendar just ticks along and I have had a nice cold to open the year. I have to take some time off, will see another doctor and get out from under this. For sure. Meanwhile, the strength work is pretty eye-opening. I did notice on a couple of runs last week how good (strong) the body felt and I can only imagine that when I get back to a steady diet of running, especially trail running, that this strength work will come back in spades.

Basically, the work consists of lifting using gym equipment. I'm not hitting a specific circuit, but doing seated squats (leg press), regular squats, a core crunch using weights (from my knees pulling the weight as I bow to the god of fitness and health!), abdominal twists w/weights, seated upper-body press, and even a little contraption that allows me to work my tibialis and calf -- lower leg lifts.

My body feels great from all of this work and more. In addition to the lifting (and there are other lifts I do), a work-out will begin or end with 30 min on the bike or walking on the treadmill. Afterwards, I always feel sharp. Any soreness from lifting has diminished because of the consistency. In addition, I can really feel my body's enhanced ability to burn fat. I have never really done much lifting. But we all know that such "anaerobic" work enables the body to continue to burn fat later, while sleeping for instance. I love it. And this is all done while I am sick. Could be worse.

Otherwise, I have plenty to do. We will be moving sometime this late winter/early spring. On the work front, I got a little work from the university which was quite surprising since they told me how serious are the recent budget cuts and subsequent moves made by the university. This is good news. Fortunately, it's not enough work to keep me from the most important task of establishing a new path I can take with my professional endeavors. I am still very optimistic about the future.

In contrast to this optimism, the Chargers are pathetic. I watched the game with a big fan of the bolts and good beer. We had some very good beer. I am very pleased with the "game plan" I came-up with. The same can not be said of the bolts. I'm still in disbelief. If the Jets and Chargers played 10 times (IN SAN DIEGO) the bolts would win 9 of 10. Yesterday was the exception. How do you lose to a team that can't score, with a rookie QB and two relatively unknown running backs (one of which you've never heard of). In other words, how do you lose to a bunch of wild cards.

They didn't seem prepared. They made stupid penalties, couldn't execute on basic plays (Nate Kaeding is a joke or has a huge gambling debt.). The "game plan" was a disaster.

Oh, well. Pliny the Elder and the Chouffe Dobbelen IPA were epic, along with the Sculpin, Port High Tide, etc. The beer and good company made the game watchable. Otherwise, a terrible Sunday afternoon, with a storm rolling-in. We actually need the rain. And we need a new coach to take charge of the bolts. These losses are starting to pile-up.

Happy MLK, Jr. day!