Anyone else feel this way? Love is worth it, of course, but we are just beginning and I am not sure my nerves can take it. Fortunately, as when I was dating her mother, she is definitely worth it! It also helps that our son is 6 years old, which is so different that it balances things out. We can just go play Star Wars Lego Wii or soccer and all is right with the world. All in all, I am a very bless man and I am so thankful for them both and my bride, their mother.

 

I hope your weekend will be as good as ours!

 

Help Matthew Get to Camp–and get a Wallpaper!.

Let’s get the bottom line “up front”–Matt wants to create custom wall-papers for you to help get to camp, or could you just donate two dollars?

Matthew has enjoyed swimming and water polo this season.  If you have viewed any of the water polo videos here, you can see how much fun they have had on their way to winning the State HS Championship.

The team is planning a trip as a team to Pepperdine University this summer to attend what is perhaps the premiere water polo training camp. They hope to continue their growth as Polo players and perhaps win not just a second State Championship for the Boys team, but to regain the title for the Girls team.

That said, we are asking for your help.  This camp is not cheap.  They estimate that it will cost $1200 to send a player to camp.  We are hoping you can help send Matt.

Matthew wants to work to earn his money to get to camp.  As you can see from this website, he is quite talented with the graphic arts, and would like to do “Custom Desktop Wall-Papers” for you.  For $50, he will use up to three (large) photos that you send him, and work with you to create your own special wallpaper.  Imagine having your own wallpaper on your computer, making whatever statement you wish!

Read more…Help Matthew Get to Camp–and get a Wallpaper!

 

So I was at a hotel on a trip and there was a scale in the bathroom. I stepped upon it and was not happy with results. I knew my girth had been gaining but I didn’t realize that I was becoming like a black hole (in density, not consumption). With a bad back and all I having been trying to do my exercises, get fit, and generally look a little less like the middle aged man that I am. Today I came across this article in the NYTimes Health section.

An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: March 11, 2008

As a symbol of health and wellness, nothing surpasses the simple push-up.

The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.

… But many people simply can’t do push-ups. Health and fitness experts, including the American College of Sports Medicine, have urged more focus on upper-body fitness. The aerobics movement has emphasized cardiovascular fitness but has also shifted attention from strength training exercises.Moreover, as the nation gains weight, arms are buckling under the extra load of our own bodies. And as budgets shrink, public schools often do not offer physical education classes — and the calisthenics that were once a childhood staple.

In a 2001 study, researchers at East Carolina University administered push-up tests to about 70 students ages 10 to 13. Almost half the boys and three-quarters of the girls didn’t pass.

Push-ups are important for older people, too. The ability to do them more than once and with proper form is an important indicator of the capacity to withstand the rigors of aging.

So, where should we be? How many push-ups will keep us fit?

Based on national averages, a 40-year-old woman should be able to do 16 push-ups and a man the same age should be able to do 27. By the age of 60, those numbers drop to 17 for men and 6 for women. Those numbers are just slightly less than what is required of Army soldiers who are subjected to regular push-up tests.

If the floor-based push-up is too difficult, start by leaning against a countertop at a 45-degree angle and pressing up and down. Eventually move to stairs and then the floor.

Mr. LaLanne [93 yrs old!], who once set a world record by doing 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes, still does push-ups as part of his daily workout. Now he balances his feet and each hand on three chairs.

“That way I can go way down, even lower than if I was on the floor,” he said. “That’s really tough.”

Ready to test yourself? Here it is, the Push-Up Test. Me, I managed 19. (I loosened my tie first and still nearly passed out.)

 

Now here is the participatory part. Feel free to offer your own captions (no profanity please).

 

These should all be pictures of the kids using sidewalk paint on Easter Day. Now that is very cool!

Text editing – The keyboard shortcuts such as bold and italics, etc. (ctrl b and i respectively) work just fine and there is even a full screen mode. You can now also do a lot more formatting (paragraph, header, etc.) Now, before I get hammered with comments, I know that much of this was available before but it made a huge difference which browser you used. So if nothing else, it is a convenience for me that all these features work with Firefox/BonEcho for Mac You can also “remove formatting,” “paste from Word,” and “undo.” NB Mac users: The default “command” key is ctrl rather than the cmd/Apple key.

Finally, I had to update a few plugins (the auto update feature is great! but not all plugins support it yet) including GoogleAnalytics. That seem to solve a few bugs. Other than that, this is an upgrade well worth making! Your visitors won’t see too many differences, but you will.