workouts continue

Did delts + abs at the gym yesterday. During my dumbbell shoulder raises (3 sets anterior raises + 3 sets lateral raises slightly bent (i.e. with participation from posterior delts) + 3 sets overhead presses (military style) + 3 sets Arnolds), I did ball sits with an aerobics ball pressed between my lower back and the wall (it rolls up your back (and down the wall) with each squat). Ball sits are similar to sissy squats, but because your back is pressing against the ball instead of thin air, they're a lot easier on your lower back than free squats of any type.

For each set, I'm using a weight that leaves me unable to lift more than 15 reps. The Arnolds are a nice finisher for delts, involving the anterior and middle (medial?) delts such as they do. After completing those 12 sets of shoulder exercises (which left my shoulders feeling pretty shredded), I did ab crunches on the ball and a 15-minute set on the treadmill.

The truth is that I feel fucking fantastic. Some of my muscles are fatigued, but not in a bad way. I'm not getting excessive DOMS from this style of lifting, either. After three weeks, I feel stronger, I feel a little leaner, and I feel more sure of myself. I also feel sharper, and less slothful; more centred, more relaxed, more productive, more at ease.

There is a clear benefit to vigorous physical activity on a regular basis. This fact goes unnoticed by, or remains unknown to, many.

(Technical note on the dumbbell exercises: If doing ball sits simultaneously with dumbbell raises, you can use a mirror to keep your form steady. Holding the dumbbells perfectly steady with each squat -- as though you were miming holding onto a railing attached to the wall -- generates the perfect range of motion for each exercise and gives you something interesting to look at in the mirror, too.)

two quick jokes

Both of these came from my dad. He seldom sends jokes at all, so I made it a point to read them.

A blind man enters a butchy lesbian bar by mistake. (He'd been looking for a straight-up corporate lesbian bar, but he accidentally made his way to a leather bar instead. What can you say? The guy was blind.)

He finds his way to a barstool and orders a drink.

After sitting there for a while, he yells to the bartender in a loud voice, "Hey bartender, you wanna hear a 'dumb blonde' joke?"

The bar immediately falls deathly quiet.

In a deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, sir, I think it is just fair, given that you are blind, that you should know five things:

One: The bartender is a blonde woman.

Two: The bouncer is a blonde woman.

Three: The woman sitting next to me is blonde and is a professional boxer.

Four: The lady to your right is a blonde and is a professional wrestler.

Five: I'm a 6-foot, 200-pound blonde woman with a Ph.D., a black belt in karate, and I have a very bad attitude. Now, think about it seriously, mister. Do you still want to tell that joke?"

The blind man thinks for a second, then shakes his head and says: "Nah, Not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."

ba-dum bum *crash* Good one, good one. Also this photo, perhaps not work safe, depicting the new carry-on restrictions for flight travel.
( image under the cut )

Holdout Bands Give In To iTunes (Wired News)

http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71624-0.html?tw=rss.index

Artists like Bob Seger and Kid Rock have been bucking the trend to sell their music on iTunes because of the manner in which the album's programming and production integrity is destroyed by selling songs individually according to the iTunes model. Other issues like contractual disagreements and the like have also postponed their entry onto the iTunes marketplace.

Artists like The Beatles will probably remain out of sight on iTunes for awhile, especially because of the bad blood arising from the recent lawsuit Apple Corps (The Beatles' corporate entity) took out against Apple (the iPod and iTunes company).