apple in 3 minutes

snowing? in houston?

So I check my dashboard on my mac and guess what I see…

Snowflakes on the weather widget!! Anyone else see snow?

sidewalk project this saturday!

Come and enjoy a night of music, and art for charity.

Please also bring a canned-good for the Houston Food Bank.
There will be art work for sale along with music CD’s.
Proceeds will go to charity.

When: Novemeber 22, 2008 7pm-11pm
Where: Berripop Location @ Uptown Park Blvd
Open to the public so invite as many friends as you want.

For more information visit www.sidewalkproject.org

Special Performances by: Tje Austin (www.myspace.com/tjeaustin/)

Sponsors:

www.pathwayshouston.org | www.jtfotos.com | www.websitealive.com | www.oligoville.com | www.berripop.com

is stretching bad?

WHEN DUANE KNUDSON, a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Chico, looks around campus at athletes warming up before practice, he sees one dangerous mistake after another. “They’re stretching, touching their toes. . . . ” He sighs. “It’s discouraging.”

If you’re like most of us, you were taught the importance of warm-up exercises back in grade school, and you’ve likely continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg’s muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.

THE RIGHT WARM-UP should do two things: loosen muscles and tendons to increase the range of motion of various joints, and literally warm up the body. When you’re at rest, there’s less blood flow to muscles and tendons, and they stiffen. “You need to make tissues and tendons compliant before beginning exercise,” Knudson says.

You’re Getting Warmer: The Best Dynamic Stretches

These exercises- as taught by the United States Tennis Association’s player-development program – are good for many athletes, even golfers. Do them immediately after your aerobic warm-up and as soon as possible before your workout.

STRAIGHT-LEG MARCH

(for the hamstrings and gluteus muscles)

Kick one leg straight out in front of you, with your toes flexed toward the sky. Reach your opposite arm to the upturned toes. Drop the leg and repeat with the opposite limbs. Continue the sequence for at least six or seven repetitions.

SCORPION

(for the lower back, hip flexors and gluteus muscles)

Lie on your stomach, with your arms outstretched and your feet flexed so that only your toes are touching the ground. Kick your right foot toward your left arm, then kick your leftfoot toward your right arm. Since this is an advanced exercise, begin slowly, and repeat up to 12 times.

HANDWALKS

(for the shoulders, core muscles, and hamstrings)

Stand straight, with your legs together. Bend over until both hands are flat on the ground. “Walk” with your hands forward until your back is almost extended. Keeping your legs straight, inch your feet toward your hands, then walk your hands forward again. Repeat five or six times. G.R.

Read the original article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html?_r=2&em&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

donate and get a shirt

Donate at least $10 (USD) and get a free One World United t-shirt on us. These are 100% cotton, Fruit of the Loom, Tagless shirts. We are only shipping domestically in the United States and Canada. These are our very first t-shirts and we have a limited supply. First come first serve.

Go to http://createadifference.org/support.php and donate!

I'm the CEO of LegalZoom.com

2nd place

I spammed everyone about voting for us on ideablob.com but we’ve fallen down to 2nd place!

Please click the button below and go vote for us if you haven’t.

square milk jugs

Solution, or Mess? A Milk Jug for a Green Earth

NORTH CANTON, Ohio — A simple change to the design of the gallon milk jug, adopted by Wal-Mart and Costco, seems made for the times. The jugs are cheaper to ship and better for the environment, the milk is fresher when it arrives in stores, and it costs less.

Original article can be found here.

This reminds me of the square watermelons Japanese make.

get drunk faster

Here’s an interesting article I found on lifehacker.com

Dilemma: It’s a Friday night after a long week at work, and you just want to kick back, unwind, and get trashed. Problem is, your friends want to go to some posh bar downtown, and you have only a twenty on you. How in the world are you going to get drunk on twenty bucks at a bar that sells ten-dollar martinis?

Solution: Buy an energy drink at a liquor store and use it as a mixer.

Why this works: Energy drinks have caffeine in them, which causes your veins to expand, allowing the alcohol the beverages are mixed with to circulate faster. A lot of energy drinks also have an amino acid called taurine in them, which helps speed up your metabolism. This causes you to feel the effects of the alcohol faster than you would under normal circumstances.
For more urawaza, see my previously posted five secret Japanese tricks to make life better.

onefoto.org