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Orchids and stained glass
NYC East River
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Good coaches
In contrast, a transformational coach realizes the power of the coaching platform to inspire, motivate, and produce positive change in his or her followers. He or she is acutely mindful of the moral, social, emotional, and psychological needs of young people. Transformational coaches offer individual support and encouragement to each player and have a clear vision for the desired impact on their players’ lives. And not surprisingly, a transformational coach, even in organized athletics, allows and encourages young people to simply play.
~ Joe Ehrmann from, InSideOut Coaching
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Broad shoulders
Ask not for a lighter burden; Ask instead for broader shoulders.
~ unknown
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Shut up and train: Self-directed advice
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue – to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak.
~ Socrates
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I think that “shutting up” has been the most difficult aspect of my Parkour journey.
In my youngling days — let’s define that as sub-30-years-old — I was always the clown: obnoxious; rude, crude and ill-mannered; smart ass. When you have a big ego and low self-esteem, you seek attention to try to make those ends meet. That’s probably a good benchmark definition of dysfunctional. Worse, I had no idea such was the case. Over the next ten years, (or so,) I started to realize that such behavior was dysfunctional and pathetic. That decade was finally followed by my beginning to try to change about 40 years of ingrained behavior.
It was at this point — just as I was trying to change the course of a very large ship with a very small rudder — that I started Parkour. At the time, I simply jumped into Parkour being my usual self. But two pushups into my first class I was stripped of my delusions of grandeur. Two minutes in, and I figured out that I was an out-of-shape pile of bacon. After two hours of trying to do something, anything, and failing and sweating and flailing and sweating more… Well, shit got real.
That first class was followed by a solid year of me having an argument with myself, in real-time, at every class. Every time I’d exhibit some variation of my dysfunctional behavior I’d mentally berate myself; Shut up. Train. After each class, I’d think back on all the cringe-worthy moments and think: Next time, shut up more. Train more.
Somewhere around two years in, my ship’s course had shifted far enough that the dysfunctional behavior was noticeably tailing off. Certainly, the behaviors I disliked were still frequent enough to bother me, but they WERE tailing off.
Now, three years in and going stronger than ever, I’ve made a lot of progress in terms of fixing myself mentally and physically. I can now say, with an air of experience: Everything has changed. And nothing has changed.
Shut up more. Train more.
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Remember snow
One of the things I love most about Pennsylvania: Four real seasons.
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Ground rails
Klamps plus left over pipes.
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Want the right thing
A perfect man would never act from a sense of duty; He’d always want the right thing more than the wrong one.
~ C.S. Lewis
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Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
In. The. Bag! …aaaand back to training.
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Quèbec
Recalling a certain chilly trip today. I’m already thinking of September… not certain how I’m getting there, or who else I will get to join me. But get there I shall.
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Recipe for disaster
We live in a society absolutely dependent on science and technology, and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That’s a clear recipe for disaster.
~ Carl Sagan
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Metabolic advantage
The idea that a particular diet might have weight loss benefits that cannot be predicted utterly by the calories contained in that diet is often referred to as ‘metabolic advantage’. I’ve found it to be a vexed topic, with commentators on it belonging to one of two camps. On the one hand we have those that believe ‘a calorie is a calorie’, and that the form that calories come in have not bearing on their impact on weight. On the other hand, we have those who maintain that the form calories come in can influence body weight in a way that is independent of the number of those calories, or who are least open to the idea that his can be true. Just to be clear, I am in the latter camp.
~ John Briffa from, «http://www.drbriffa.com/2009/10/19/is-there-such-as-thing-as-a-metabolic-advantage/»
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Press firmly to seal
Wherein the USPS takes its own ‘press firmly’ printed unstruction VERY seriously… “Neither rain nor sleet nor accidentally wedged packages shall stay these couriers from their appointed rounds.”
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Not useful
Just because you are unique does not mean you are useful.
~ unknown
slip:4a332.
Max heart rate 189
New personal best out running with Tracy this morning. The traditional “220-age” formula for me is 177. The newer “217-(0.85*age)” model yields 180.
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What is “intermittent fasting”?
Quelling insulin will help protect against these conditions, and will facilitate fat loss too. One way to quell insulin levels is to eat a diet largely devoid of the foods that cause surges in blood sugar such as those [of] added sugar as well as starchy ‘staples’ like bread, potatoes, rice pasta and breakfast cereals. Another way, though, to moderate insulin levels is to extend the time between eating. This, in essence, is what intermittent fasting is about.
~ John Briffa from, «http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/03/01/my-times-piece-on-intermittent-fasting/»
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Winning small battles with honor
Masculinity is not something given to you, but something you gain. And you gain it by winning small battles with honor.
~ Norman Mailer
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The calorie principle
There are a number of potential mechanisms that explain why nuts may not be fattening which were explored in a recent review that appeared in the Journal of Nutrition recently. I’ve summarised them (along with one mechanism that is not discussed but I think is important) below:
Studies show that nuts tend to be effective at satisfying the appetite, which can mean that individuals just end up eating less of other foods. The percentage of calories that come from nuts that are compensated for by eating less of other foods varies from study to study, but comes in at around 70 per cent.
~ John Briffa from, «http://www.drbriffa.com/2008/10/06/why-the-evidence-on-nuts-and-weight-makes-a-mockery-of-the-calorie-principle/»
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The bars they are a’changin!
Tracy’s moving her turn-vault bar up inch by inch. My new project is bar-to-bar, near ground level and just slide them farther and farther apart. sketchy. (for me anyway)
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Stop hacking your life
Many people have had success using these life optimization tools and tricks, and they’re not necessarily a bad thing. Their effect all depends on which of two relationships someone has with hacking:
…
Hacking approach #1 can be beneficial; every man should have a little MacGyver in him and keep some duct-tape solutions in his back pocket. And if there’s a better way to cut an onion, by all means, go for it.
But hacking approach #2 invariably leads to a life that’s less optimal, not more. The damage results not so much from the actual hacking practices themselves, but from the mindset their pursuit and adoption begets.
~ Brett McKay from, The Pitfalls of Life Hacking Culture | The Art of Manliness
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