What can't you get enough of?

Well as most are already aware, I have committed to the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon on September 7th, 2014, I'm excited to do the race. But as important I'm looking forward to the journey. The rigor, discipline and planning that is necessary between now and race day to be ready to compete are exciting for me. The first thoughts about an ironman race began shortly after going to Kilimanjaro in January. Much to the dismay of my wife, summiting that mountain wasn't an end point but a brief stop along what I hope is a long and winding trail.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, and leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
- Edward Abbey

So my next stop is IM Wisconsin, and onward from there. The physical and mental discipline of endurance activity is very compelling to me. I've routinely sought out these experiences for the last 15 years. Some relevant quotes that I really like on the topic include:

Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.
- Scott Jurek

Real alpinists know how to turn off their head...The mind is too fickle. Optimistic one minute, pessimistic the next, pitching back and forth like a rowboat on big seas. Not the body. The body doesn't exaggerate or self-deprecate or play mindgames. The body is a machine, a realist...The body is an animal. It moves and lives only in the present.
- Mark Jenkins

This is the draw for me. I've no particular physical gifts of size, speed, or strength. But my mind is strong and I can suffer physically. I can "turn off my head" when it is too fickle and let my body be the machine. At the end of the bell curve is where I find "sources of strength" and a certain peace. The fleeting package of achievement, serenity, and strength is the "high" I want to experience over and over.

What about you? What draws you? What can't you get enough of? Have you organized yourself and your life around them? A parting thought...

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory or defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt

The New Era of College Admissions

A couple of weeks ago Holly and I joined Haley for her first college counseling appointment at her school.  The appointment was set for one hour with one of 4 or 5 full-time college counselors the school employ to support their students in the college admissions process.  I have to admit that my first thought was "wow, what a luxury".  Little did I know ...

I know this will come as a shock to you, but the college admissions process has changed a little in the past 30 years!  Yes, my only perspective of the process was my own experience that long ago.  So let me recap that really briefly for effect.

In 1984-85 I didn't give too much thought to college or where I wanted to go to school.  I didn't think about crossing a river and public in-state schools were my only real consideration.  The sticker shock of small private school tuition was the primary detractor to that route so I focused solely on Iowa, Iowa State and UNI.  I really didn't want to go to Iowa State (for all the wrong reasons, their sports programs sucked) and I really wanted to go to Iowa for all the reasons you would expect from a high school senior (some of my friends were going there, it was reasonably far away from home, and they had great sports programs).  Remarkably I did not have a college visit to Iowa and relied on my basketball camp experience from 7th grade as a means of knowing that was where I wanted to be.  Also surprisingly the school scheduled a visit to Iowa State that confirmed my suspicions - no thanks.  And UNI was so close to home I really didn't want to go there unless I didn't get into Iowa. 
So I took the ACT test and filed two applications - one at Iowa and the other at UNI.  Luckily, I scored 24 on my ACT (Iowa required an 18 minimum, with 21 preferred) and I was accepted as a Hawkeye.  I was also accepted to UNI but that was really only a default position.  And off I went!  Relatively simple, relatively painless, and all I had to figure out now was how to pay for it.  Almost $5,000 per year for four years!  Yikes, hopefully my grades would support some scholarships, grants and loans, and that would cover it. 

Ok, sorry back to the story.  The counselor at Regis Jesuit was marvelous.  She had years of experience, multiple degrees in counseling, and really had a teaching and service attitude to help the student (and the parent) find the right school.  She asked very good questions of Haley and offered her full support in guiding us through the process.  Ah, the process ...

First, you use a tool called Naviance that enables you to compare schools across a wide variety of categories.  Haley puts in her grades, details, preferences, desires and pretty much any parameter she wants and Naviance will help her select from the 3,000 available universities and colleges in the US.  Second, you need a test plan.  After multiple rounds of pre-ACT and pre-SAT testing Haley will learn which test suits her testing approach the best and schedule at least two rounds of testing for that preferred route.  She can and likely will take the other test also so she'll end up taking these tests at least three times collectively.  Then, she needs to narrow her initial list of schools to somewhere between 12 and 20 schools.  Keep in mind these schools are coast-to-coast and span the spectrum of public/private, small/big, cheap/expensive.  Check that, they are all expensive!  I'll come on to that in a minute.  Once she has narrowed to up to 20 schools she will need to schedule college visits.  Yes, you should always visit the school you are going to attend at least once.  Then ultimately narrow the list to 3-7 schools for which you will apply. 

Because college demand is so high, you really have to be a great student.  My great I mean a GPA of 3.7 or better, an ACT score of 27+ and a resume that has more than school on it.  It's crazy competitive.  For Haley to go to a top tier college she'll need a 30+ ACT score and a GPA of 3.9 or better in addition to her extra curricular activities.  Fortunately, she's on pace to do just that.  If she wanted to get into an Ivy League school she would need better than a 4.0 GPA and test scores of 34 or better just to be considered! 

One more thing that was of value.  The priority order for selection of students at most schools is:

1. GPA
2. Test scores (SAT/ACT)
3. Resume (yes, it's just like the real world - if you don't have one you're screwed)
3. College essay (Haley will take a semester long course and complete hers that way)
4. Teacher recommendations

The whole process takes about 12 months and will probably cost thousands of dollars. Oh, and the cost of a four year degree?  At least $120,000.  More likely $150,000 and up.  And that's just the bachelors degree.  Haley wants to be an orthodontist so will likely be in school for 12 years or more.  Even at $30k a year (conservative) that's over $350,000!!!

But Haley is worth every penny.  There is not a better investment on the planet than the investment Holly and I will make in our kids.  But the process was, well overwhelming. 

And I am so thankful to have a college counselor to help Haley, Holly and me through the process!

All I Want For Christmas ...

• A family with whom to share Christmas,
• A home and bed that is safe and warm,
• A beautiful and loving wife, that also is a pretty good cook,
• Three incredible kids that make me proud and feel lucky to be their Dad,
• Some friends who I can share great times, and can help me through those that aren't so great,
• A company and position that values what I can do for them, and supports my efforts to make that company a better place to work for all employees,
• Reliable and safe transportation for me and my family, a full tank of gas,
• A full refrigerator,
• Bills that are all paid, and hopefully with a little left in my bank account

And even before Santa arrives this Christmas I've already had my entire Christmas list filled.  This holiday season more than any other I've just looked around, and paid attention.  I've met people that will be working on Christmas Eve (and perhaps even Christmas Day).  Spoken with those that won't be with family this year or worse yet don't want to be.  Watched the TV and heard about those who have lost loved ones or close friends.  Those who don't have power and the heat that comes with it.  Or those so deep in debt that they can't enjoy what they have because of the fear about how they will actually pay for it.  They work a sucky job that doesn't pay them what they are worth, and some even do so thankfully.  Many have bruised and battered relationships. 

I'm really lucky.  My blessings are huge and my problems are small. 

Merry Christmas to my family, and my two brothers who co-author this blog.  You two are both family and two of the best friends anyone could want.  I miss you both.  You both (and your families) are such an important part of the blessings I describe above. 

Gym faux pas

1. Using really heavy dumbbells and doing sets of 1-2 to make you look like you are lifting a lot of weight.

2. Taking 10 minutes between sets to rest.

3. Not using towels in a spin class so your sweat pools and makes a mess.

4. Walking around the locker room naked like you own the place. (why are you carrying your towel?)

5. Wearing your favorite football team's t-shirt after you've cut off the sleeves and deep v-s down the side so when you bend over people can see your pecs and abs.

6. Hanging towels of multiple pieces of workout equipment to "save" them to make sure nobody interrupts your workout.

Gym Observations Add On

So there are two other things that I forgot to add to my original post - both related closely to the other.

Stairmaster - Correct me if I'm wrong, but the idea of the stairmaster is that you actually carry your weight on the stairs, just as you would if you were climbing floors in the Empire State building.  It seems that an in-proportionate number of people like to hang all of their weight on the front or side railings and then just lift their legs through the motions as the stairs roll by.  I can't really speak to the benefit of that particular method, but I'm sure it's a good shoulder workout!

Treadmill - Similarly, I noticed a lady the other day who had the elevation on the treadmill maxed out to what looked to be about a 30-degree angle.  Seems like that would be a great workout, except she was holding the front bar with both arms and leaning back at a 30-degree angle so that she was actually walking perpendicular to the treadmill belt!  So again, she wasn't actually using any muscles to walk the incline, she was just holding on to the bar as if someone tilted the entire room.  I think it was a good back workout!

Couldn't resist adding those to the list... now get back to work!

John Harbaugh's Week from a Slightly Different Perspective

I re-read this post last night and gave it some more thought.  After reading it again I was angered. 

While I appreciate the position that's being taken by the author (and what a great opportunity to gain real insight into an NFL coaches schedule) but can't help but think what kind of editorial latitude is required and taken to take a $5M a year job that works the schedule discussed for around 5 months of the year and somehow craft it into an "oh whoa is me" perspective. 

You can't be serious, can you?

Why don't we profile a Denny's short order cook making $8.50/hr with 25% OT so that he can eek out a living with his wife (who also works) and two kids in a small 850 square foot apartment. 

A couple of questions and some perspective that was missed in this article:

• What does John's schedule look like in the off season?
• What does "home" look like? 
• What kind of car does he make his terrible 25 minute commute in?  Does he have to pay for parking?
• What does he eat at all the lunches/dinners he is required to attend?  Who pays?
• If you add up all the hours he works in a year and divide the $5M by those hours, what is his hourly rate?

Poor John.  What a crock of sh*t. 

Maybe this also wasn't the intent of the article, it was just my slant in reading it, but c'mon, how many of us wouldn't take that job for the trade offs.  And what kind of a degree did John require in order to take on such a role?  $5M a year, surely he has multiple PhDs in order to command a salary like that right?  Bet not. 

Another take on the "Oh Whoa is John Article" is this, and it's a bit to Marc's point.  At that salary, when will he retire?  And then how much time will he be able to spend with his wife and kids?  What will he be able to commit to them in terms of his time and attention then?  That looks pretty attractive too. 

So all in all, John doesn't have it too bad.  And most any common man or even steady working stiff (maybe not all) would jump at the chance to do what John does for a living, and with his hours and level of commitment. 

John is extremely blessed and we shouldn't be one bit surprised to say regardless of the hours he works he is among the most fortunate on the planet in terms of career choice. 

That is all. 

Observations from my new life at the gym

I've gone to gyms before, but since it's been a regular thing as a result of our fitness challenge, I've been observing a few things at the military gym...

- WARP SPEED, ZERO RESISTANCE.  I've never been a huge fan of the elliptical machines, but have found them to be more comfortable than "pounding the pavement."  It's not unusual for someone to be next to me who is cranking out about 400 strides per minute.  I can't help but glance over and notice that the resistance is at zero and the elevation is at -2.  I guess it still gets your heart rate up, but to me it's the equivalent of doing three sets of 250 reps with a broom stick on the bench press.

- WHAT WAS THAT BRO?  Over on the free weight side, most people are working out with a friend.  I find it comical when two dudes are continually trying to carry on a conversation when they are both wearing headphones.  They do their entire workout pulling one earbud out to hear their friend, and then putting it back in to crank out those eight reps!

- BEATS BY DRE.  I realize that "Beats by Dr. Dre" are just another fashion accessory, and so I shouldn't be surprised that it carries over into the gym.  Whether it's on the treadmill, the stationary bike,  the squat machine, or some free weight curls, those headphones are NOT the headphones that I would choose for the gym.  The size makes them look a little silly.

- BEACH CRUISING.  I'll pick on the women for a second.  It seems that pairs of them like to come to the gym, sit on the recumbent stationary bikes, and read magazines and catch up on last year's news while giving the appearance of riding a bicycle.  Unlike the crazy elliptical gazelles, these ladies are turning about 25 revolutions a minute on the bike, and I don't think they are set on level 20 for resistance!

- I'M NOT IN THE NAVY.  Marines have a pretty typical look, and it's usually not hard to spot them anyway.  But in a Navy gym, you won't have a problem identifying someone in the Marine Corps.  They have USMC plastered on every piece of clothing they may be wearing.  No respectable grunt wants someone thinking they might be a low-life Sailor!  I have to give a close runner-up to the Chief Petty Officers for the "I want you to know this about me" category.  CPOs don't work out in anything but a "You wish you were a Chief like me" shirt.

I'm not saying at all that any of these people don't belong in the gym.  There are all types in the there and I'm sure there is another blogger out there on the interwebs who has comically pointed out that guy at the gym who spends about 15-25 minutes on a machine before he moves quickly on to a new one, as if he's doing a cardio-equipment triathlon.  Besides, my 60 minutes in the gym would be a lot less entertaining if I couldn't do some people watching while I'm there.

One of my favorite quotes from Pride and Prejudice: "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?"

What a crappy week

I finally got around to reading the ESPN article on John Harbaugh’s week.

 I don’t know how any people who work that way maintain a family at all. I’m not trying to be rude or mean, but I’ve always postulated that the families that can survive that don’t really enjoy being together in the first place. They enjoy the separation. It happens a lot in the military too.

 I had to laugh at one of the few quotes in the article. Harbaugh said that he enjoys the 15-25 minutes of phone time with his wife every day because “… it's a chance to step away from everything and remember what's important." Based on our previous discussions, an outside observer would look at his schedule and come to the conclusion that for John Harbaugh, family CAN’T be “what’s important.”

 I guess that’s why they get paid the big bucks, but I’m not sure I want a job that requires me to sleep on the couch in my office when my home and family are 30 minutes away.

John Harbaugh's week

We did our analysis of time distribution of our typical week, well here's another perspective. ESPN had an article on John Harbaugh's approach to his job. It has a week outlined so I did the same process with the same groupings as I did for my time:

Some notes:

1. If you ever wondered why college and pro coaches make so much money here is your answer.

2. I was flexible in the characterization of family time. Daily calls with his daughter were placed under family time as was 1.5 hours spent watching game film with his Dad. Not exactly what I think of as family time but okay.

3. I also put phone calls with other coaches and NFLers outside his time in the "social" bucket.

Bottom line: this guy eats and sleeps the NFL quite literally. Is the $5M salary worth committing 85% of waking hours to your job? I can't pretend to be able to answer that question.

New Family Addition - Rocky!

Yes, we got a puppy!  His name is Rocky and he's been with us for three weeks now.  He is 14 weeks old and is a goldendoodle, half golden retriever and half poodle.  I'm pleased to report that he has quickly adjusted to the family and his new home, is crate and potty trained, and is looking forward to meeting a lot of his extended family when they arrive for Thanksgiving. 

Over the first week I wasn't sure we made a wise choice.  He pooped in his kennel, peed on the tile, and did what every other 11 week old puppy does.  He constantly required being let out in the middle of the night, whined and barked when kenneled, and reminded me how long it had been since we had a baby in our house.  He was 24-7 work.  Yeah, he was cute (and still is) but man I wasn't ready for the shell shock. 

Fortunately, Holly was. 

She was endeared to him almost instantly and pulled most of the late night shifts.  It was really important that Rocky and her bonded and that was one place he excelled.  I remember after just a few days with us Holly touting, "I'm the Alpha".  A collective sigh of relief came from the kids and from me. 

Rocky also did us proud by potty training really quickly, sleeping a reasonable amount at night, and by adjusting to kennel time without much whimpering and whining.  He's growing quickly and was under nine pounds when we got him but he's burgeoning to a healthy 15 pounds as of last evening.

The kids love him and have committed their limited time at home to walks and playing with him.  He's a great dog, and I'm amazed how quickly we are adjusting to Rocky as another member of the family. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has always meant a lot to Brad (that infamous holiday scrunched between two commercially driven holidays that bully Thanksgiving on both sides), but this year is it's extra special to me for a couple of reasons. 

First, since Thanksgiving last year I have a lot to be thankful for.  At this time last year I was underemployed (my HR consulting business) and had been in that status for about six months.  My family and me were drowning in anxiety and worry about what the future held.  Tension was high and I was leading the charge.  I appreciate more than ever this year that our status has changed.  I'm working for a great company in a great place and the family is adjusting to our new life in Denver.  Sure, the transition hasn't been a bed of roses but my perspective is so different based on a year of do-it-yourself employment.  And I'm better for it, and so is my family.  We are stronger, more thankful, and less entitlement driven than we were before ... thankful.

Second, we are hosting the family here in Denver for Thanksgiving.  What a blessing!  The attendee list is mostly family from my side but we'll also be joined by a few members of Holly's family living in the Denver/Colorado Springs area that I don't think we've ever spent Thanksgiving with.  They were so instrumental in supporting our transition to Denver and I'm so thankful for that.  I'm also extraordinarily thankful for my family that is coming to join us.  Brad and his whole family, Mom and Dad.  I relied on them a lot over the past year and they delivered - just as you would hope and expect from family.  I'm also thankful for Marc and Jen, although regrettably they are not able to join us. We'll be thinking of them and wishing they were with us.

Thanksgiving is all about blessings, giving thanks for what we have and not wanting for what we do not.  Mentally I'm in that place more this year than I probably have ever been.  And that will make this Thanksgiving extra special. 

I'm so looking forward to it!   

  

36F, 2nd Boarding Group, ORD to DIA

Oh yeah.  Flying again but honestly I didn't pen this blog while in the air.  Hence, the content is very grounded. 

We haven't been blogging at all in the past couple of weeks so I thought I would do what I could to kick start us on a few topics.  In the past few weeks a few material things have happened in our family that might spark some banter:

• Grandma Strempke turned 99 years young!  I know I had some discussion with both Marc and Brad about how much insight we obtain about how we ourselves will grow old when we get to see it play out first hand with our mothers/fathers and grandmothers.  Sure, it creates some anxiety.  Idiosyncrasies expand and become full blown craziness.  But it also creates a feeling of blessing and the hope that we each have the genes to be some long lived.  You can look at this as glass half full, or glass half empty, but either way you have to be realistic about what you see coming in terms of your own personal attributes!
• We started a fitness challenge.  Like all little ploys we've come up with in the past to challenge ourselves from a fitness standpoint, this is a really good thing.  We are only two weeks in and I'm already wondering how quickly the end of March will arrive.  What this stresses to me is how diligent and "hard" it is to make certain that amidst the myriad of priorities that I find time to go to the gym and work out.  Yes, I'm there a lot but usually to serve as a ride for my kids.  To actually commit the necessary 60-90 minutes to working out has been more of a challenge than I thought.  I can't imagine if I wasn't dropping off or picking up kids whether I would be meeting the fitness goals we set.  And they're modest.  4 hours a week, easy right?  Yeah, not so much, at least for me. 
• Marc got deployed.  I could take this a million different ways.  Uncle Sam, Goodwill trips, the politics of military spending, etc.  Not sure I am comfortable initiating any of these rabbit trails.  But I'm proud of what Marc does and know he's a great military man.  His commitment to his job and his country has been unwavering and I'm so thankful for what he and millions of other Americans do every day to preserve our freedom. 

Chime in as you see fit boys! 

My Prized Possessions

I've been staring at a blank screen on this topic for awhile now, mostly because I'm not sure what direction to go with it, other than to just think about some things that ARE important to me.

Jennifer surprised me with a hand-made solid walnut sea chest at my commissioning ceremony.  It's big, heavy, and beautiful, and has become the central store house for all of my Navy "junk" that probably wouldn't sell for more than $10 at an auction.  But everything that I have in it has a memory attached to it, and I could bore someone to tears "spinning yarns" as we say in the Navy.  My boot camp ID card, the paperwork requesting promotion from Seaman Apprentice to Seaman, a set of "cracker jack" whites, my "egg division" from Chief Petty Officer initiation...  I know that in the event of a fire, I won't be able to drag that chest out of the house, but I will dearly miss everything in it.

By the same token, Jennifer and I have a few rubber maid storage boxes that are simply labeled "memories."  We don't go through them very often - every few years when we move.  They are chocked full of stories, and they all weave together to form the story of our life together.  Unfortunately, they are up in the attic... it's not something that we can easily access, so in the event of a fire, that stuff is gone too!

To be honest, I can't think of many other things that I'd be terribly disappointed about going up in smoke.  I don't mean that to sound like I'm some anti-materialistic hero, but as much as I love our furniture, my clothes, our cars, my bikes, etc., they could all be easily replaced.  I have a few tools from Grandpa that I would be sad to lose, and perhaps some jewelry (the ring that Mom and Dad gave me in high school, my wedding ring, my 20th anniversary ring).  I'd definitely be sad to lose all of our pics... but as strange as it sounds, I feel like most of them are imprinted in my memory.  The usage of photographs has drastically changed over the years... not many people print them anymore.  

What am I missing?  Am I neglecting anything?

Entitlement: A Perversion of the American Dream

"Here here" on both your comments on entitlement.  I think that our entitlement culture is the result of the perverting over the years of the American dream.  The opportunity for prosperity and success and upward mobility, the original American dream, has been bastardized to mean, "I should be as prosperous and successful as everyone else".  Of course the key missing element in all of this is that ability or effort.  Yes, everyone has opportunity, but it depends on ability and achievement, and those must be obtained - they cannot be given.

I don't have a lot of patience for the entitlement attitude, as I'm sure neither of you do.  I see it in the young people that are joining the Navy these days.  They want the respect and privilege that comes with the accomplishment achieved over the course of a career without having to earn it.  I realize I probably sound like our dear Father sometimes, but I often find myself telling stories to the younger Sailors about how things were when I joined the Navy.  I got paid $600 a month, had to live in the barracks, and didn't own a car until one was given to me in Rota, Spain, four years after I joined the Navy.

I don't have any magic answers for curing the entitlement epidemic.  Perhaps we need to have a discussion about immediate gratification??  That's another staple of the American culture, right?  I want it, and I want it right now.  Delayed gratification is so 1960s man.  Why should I have to wait?

What am I, the President of the United States?

And the part of Fox News will be played by Brad Baldwin?

You did a fine job of taking one of my comments, twisting it, and applying it to a scale that I never intended.  What I said, as you so accurately quoted, was that the American appetite for extremism and the "all or nothing" attitude were killing our culture.  CrossFit is a product of those two appetites that is thriving because of them.  There is a difference there Shipmate!  Political gridlock, rampant drug infiltration, and the erosion of family values can all be tied to extremism and "all or nothing" attitudes, but as we like to say here, that's another blog for another day.

My Week

I feel like this is a bit fabricated, so I'm not sure that it is very useful to me.  At first I just put in time amounts based on what I estimated for each day, but then when I set up a formula to calculate total times, I came up about ten hours short for the week, which translated to a couple of missing hours per day.  So I set up a formula for each day of the week and massaged it to make each day add up to 24 hours, and hence 168 for the week.  

Really no surprises for me.  I had a bit of a hard time with the categories.  The media category is a total wag, as I'd like to do an actual computation on that for a week, but I'm just too lazy to do it!  The "other" category is another one that is a bit of a wag.  When I'm just sitting here on a Saturday night and trying to think of all the things that I do during the week... well, let's just say it ain't science.

I love that I spend less than a quarter of my life working during a typical week.  Now if I can just get my sleeping up to 50%.

Prized Possessions

Attached is the content from a recent email Brad sent to Marc and me about Dad finding the infamous watch cap.  It's the one he was issued upon entering the Navy circa 1960. 

"I have some extraordinarily exciting news.  I spoke with Mom today and she relayed this news to me.  She was cleaning the living room closet out this week and found Dad’s missing watchcap.  The one with the hole in it.  The one that Marc replaced with new ones which Dad didn’t like because they didn’t have a hole.  The one which Ed replaced with ones from his house that he didn’t like because they didn’t have a hole in them. And he wonders why we make fun of him."

Now this watchcap of Dad's truly does mean a lot to him.  But it caused me to think about those things that each of us as brothers might consider among our dearest and most prized possessions.  I'm particularly interested in those possessions which others might find a bit strange - like Dad's watch cap. 

When I shared with Dad this morning that I planned to put this topic on the blog, he eagerly (not anxiously) responded by throwing Brad under the bus!  He said, "hey, Brad gives me a hard time about my watch cap, my Sydney sweatshirt and other old things that I'm attached to, you might want to ask him about his raggety t-shirts which I wore out and he seems to think are perfect.  You could read a paper through any of them"

Alright Dad!  Hmmmm, even Dad makes characterizations that suggest Brad might be the most like Dad.  Maybe Brad likes those t-shirts to do his crossfit training in ... you know, to go see Pukie the Clown!?

So what are my prized possessions that might stack up as a little weird?  I struggle with answering but might say the number of hats I own? I don't like giving or throwing them away.  And beyond that I think what I treasure the most are pretty typical ... memories.

So, what crazy prized possessions do my brothers have?

Entitlement redux

Ed, really like your thoughts on entitlement as I agree it is a huge problem with our culture (a much more damaging one than the extremism of Crossfit, but that’s another post). The potential outcome of this American attitude that concerns me most is how my children will handle growing up with a silver spoon in their mouth.

My girls won’t be trust fund babies, but Sheila and I are fortunate enough to provide anything for them that they need, and much more. They’ve gone on 1-2 vacations across the US a year, they have trendy clothes, they get toys galore from Mom and Dad and generous family and friends. How in the world to you teach a child that all these gifts are luxuries, not expectations of a normal life.

Now that Sasha is getting older (5), we are starting to talk about chores, an allowance based on work at home, and discuss how she is going to distribute her birthday money. We go to church and learn lessons about the grace of God. We talk about our professional, philanthropic and volunteering activity with her and try to help her understand how many others aren’t as lucky as she is.

In the future we hope to volunteer as a family, Ed to your point providing direct interaction with others less fortunate than our family. We are adamant that our girls will work during college, and will come out of their education with debt. Not because we can’t pay for college, but because we believe that the development of having to juggle work and school and the financial control necessary to manage debt are good life lessons for them to learn while in college.

We have no idea whether or not these are the right answers. I’m hanging my hat on the same idea that I do with most of parenting: if you try hard and are thoughtful you won’t always get it right but you will most of the time and your kids will turn out just fine. We’ll see!

Crossfit with a twist

Let me quote Marc…

…they are contributing to the American appetite for extremism and the “all or nothing” attitude that is killing our culture.

Marc, that sounds a little conspiracy theory-esque for me, but sounds right up your alley. Crossfit is killing American culture. Okay. It’s not political gridlock, rampant drug infiltration, and erosion of family values. Keep sellin’ crazy Marc!

Brad on prioritization of my time

I do like the discussion about how we prioritize our time. I didn’t want to provide information without being thoughtful so I spent some time going hour by hour through each day in a “typical” week. That is comical in itself since typical schedule happens about as often as typical weather. Here’s my commentary on my time priority (spreadsheet below, cause I know you all enjoy that):

Although I know I require a lot of sleep, putting in the perspective of 1/3 of my life is in bed seems excessive. I wish I could consistently function with 6 hours of sleep, oh what I could do with two extra hours! But I know that leads to bad habits such as napping, poor calorie consumption to overcome sleepiness, lack of energy for exercise, etc. Definitely not worth it!

I think I put in a large amount of time working, but I feel that I should considering the sizable compensation I receive from my employer. In addition to my salary, I have great discretion as to when I work so while the number of hours may seem like a lot to some, they don’t come directly at the expense of other priorities very often.

I like that I spend this much time with my family. Because we are busy during the week we tend to guard our weekends and spend lots of time together. That is the best. 1/4th of my life and over 1/3rd of my waking hours with my family feels like a good amount for me.

I am disappointed that the number of TV hours exceeds my exercise hours. That said it is a bit misleading due to TV being combined with other things. I rarely sit down and watch TV. But it is typically on in the evening after the girls are in bed. I may be working, or running on the treadmill, or folding laundry, but the TV is on. Of note, Sheila can read with the TV on and I cannot. To be able to read I have to be in a quiet environment with little distractions. Unfortunately that definitely limits my reading time.

I really like the lack of car time. .5 a day is probably too large of an estimate. It is about 6 minutes from home to office. I have dropoff duty at school for the girls all days once and a couple days twice. In that instance, my car time is lengthened to 12 minutes one way. Not to shabby, the only thing I miss about not being in the car more is the talk radio.

Crossfit Revisited

I agree with both of your posts on Crossfit.

Brad, you brought up a good point about it being the latest in a LONG line of fitness crazes.  If we took a couple of minutes, I'm sure we could fill in much of that list.  The few that come immediately to my mind (from the recent past) are Taebo, P90X, Insanity, and kettleballs.  We Americans are crazy for crazes.  But Crossfit is a little TOO crazy for my palette.

Ed brought up a good point that it was strange for you to be surprised by my assertion that Crossfit would be most appealing to you.  We had those blog discussions awhile back where you laid out a case for seeking out your mental and physical limits in the realm of physical fitness.  That seems to be the drumbeat that Crossfit marches to.

I agree with Ed - I'm way past the idea of beating my body into submission.  I'm afraid that it may not recover if I do!  Unfortunately I've known more than one person that has been sucked into Crossfit and in short order are trying to nurse themselves back from injury.  "Pace yourself" and "Be careful" are probably a couple of phrases that you'll never hear in a Crossfit gym!

I have no problem hurling stones at the Crossfitters... they are contributing to the American appetite for extremism and the "all or nothing" attitude that is killing our culture.  You're going to have to dig back a year or two to review that classic MAB rant.

Time keeps on tickin' tickin' tickin'...

Ed, loved your post about time.  It caused me to start thinking about what it would look like if I logged everything that I did for a week or two.  The inconsistency of my life from week to week (or so it seems) means that it may look completely different from week to week, but I think the key is to gain some consistency in the stuff that is at the top of the priority list.

How long is your commute now?  I'm not sure how much time I spend in the car, but I don't think it's close to 16 hours.  My commuting time, depending on whether I drive all the way to work or take the ferry, is roughly 4-6 hours a week.  We do drive to church, the grocery store, birding, etc. and I'm not sure how many more hours that would add, but my guess would be no more than five.

I'm not sure that I could call anything purely TV time.  I'd probably have to call it multi-media time
instead.  I tend to multi-task so I'm usually tinkering on my computer if the TV is on.  It's not very often anymore that I give my full attention to TV, unless we happen to watch a movie.  When I'm on the computer like I am right now, I'm usually doing something else as well.  For example, I'm digitizing some cassette tapes as I type this.

I think five hours per week for working out is pretty good.  I'm not much higher than that, perhaps at six or seven.  I'd love to be at eight on a weekly basis, but I'm working on it.  By the way, my scale says I'm down to 186.  I haven't been weighing myself regularly, so all that I know for sure is that a couple of months ago I was at 196, so I'm pretty stoked about that.  Okay, so it was 186 butt naked, butt I'll take it! (Pun intended)

Well, there's no avoiding the rap on the work hours.  I'm VERY fortunate to be able to work out as part of my work day.  Not counting those work out hours, I'm probably right around 35 hours a week at work.  I've never put it in those terms, and when I think about how the tax-paying public compensates me, I'm a pretty lucky guy!  I'll console myself with that fact after my six months of at-sea 14-hour days next year.  I have NO DOUBT that both of you guys work a lot more than I do on a regular basis.

Family time is another sector that I'd have to do some figuring to get the right formula.  Tonight is not unlike many nights in our house.  I'm doing stuff on the computer, and Jennifer is sitting nearby doing stuff on her computer.  We chat about stuff here and there, laugh at stuff on the TV, etc.  Does that count as family time?  When I'm not at work, I would venture a guess that over 90% of my time is spent with Jennifer.  We may not necessarily be doing the same thing, or it might be sitting together at church or small group, etc., but we are almost always together.

I just might try journaling my time for awhile.  It might be an eye opener!

One of many problems...

Brad, I loved your rant on the government.  It really is quite ridiculous.  There are lots of problems with our current system, but I think one of them is the fact that "politician" is just another career choice.  So I say get rid of the career aspect.

I'm a fan of term limits.  Serving in congress should be exactly that - service.  All of those cats are so far out of touch with reality that they are of no good to the American people.  Show me where ANY congressman is suffering for their service.  I'll be standing by.

I know it's a pipe dream, but maybe - just MAYBE - if you only got elected ONE time and served a four-year term (no chance for re-election) then people would vote for what is actually best for the country rather than for what they think will get them re-elected.  There is only one motive in politics, and that is to keep your job.

And now they've done what they've been doing for years: they just delayed the problem.  We have been operating for years on "continuing resolutions."  When is the last time congress passed a budget?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Oh yeah, 1997.

I hate to say it, but I'm starting to think that we need the same party to win the presidency, have a majority on the Supreme Court and a majority in both the House and the Senate to get anything done in this country, whether or not we agree with it.  Right now congress is just wasting our time (and money).

I'm voting against the incumbent in the next election, regardless of their party affiliation.  You failed.  Time to go home.

Politics Suck

Let me start this post with a pre-story and then I'll come back with my views on politics as a profession.

I’ve had a few conversations with Chris Hawk (a friend of mine who is in residency following medical school) about why people become doctors.  He contends that most are compelled to the profession for reasons other than helping others.  For some it’s the money, and for others where it originally wasn’t about the money, it becomes about the money because they graduate with $250k or more of debt!  The moral high ground is a path taken by few graduating from medical school these days.  He also acknowledges that he is fortunate to be in a position where it isn’t about the money.  That’s also why he’s going to be a general MD, not a specialist. 

The reason I share this conversation is to talk about why people enter politics.  I wonder, is it because they want to serve the people?  Is it because they want the fame?  Is it because they believe they can change the system for the better?  I really don’t know, but my opinion is that very few would have a shred of credibility if they told you it was to “serve their constituency”.  Bullshit.  There is no way possible that almost any elected official in our federal government could say this.  Not with the track record they have established.

That’s one of the major reasons I hate politics.  Another is that I don’t really understand it, and to be frank, I really don’t want to.  I know, it has a material impact on me and my family and for that I should at least pay attention.  But really, how much BS can someone really want to hear? 

This is not a democratic thing and it’s not a republican thing, it’s a government thing and it makes me sick to my stomach.  I would actually like to become a politician.  But only if I could change the system and represent the American public and my constituency.  And that just won’t happen.  I wonder how many aspiring politicians have realized this fact after obtaining an elected office.  You can’t change it.  You have to play by the same BS rules that everyone else does.  Get elected, raise money, don’t upset the apple cart, create alliances, and hopefully get re-elected.  Perhaps, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to look at your accomplishments 40 years into your political career and a few pieces of legislation that have made a difference have your name on them. 

No thanks, not the profession for me.  That makes most any profession more fulfilling (hot dog vendor makes lots of people happy every day) than politics.  So again, who is becoming a politician and for what God forsaken reason do they have the desire to do that job???

Ed on Cross Fit

Marc, I dig the post and agree with you – it’s a cult.  A cult, furthermore, that I have no interest or desire in.  Anything that makes money can be called a business, so I'm not buying that one. 

I watched the Crossfit games last night for the first time on TV.  Women with bandages, torn muscles and irregular bodies attempting to lift 215 pounds over their head.  This isn't extreme physical fitness, it's tearing your body up by asking it to do things you should be asking it to do.  Plain and simple. 

I want to push myself to be more fit physically and mentally, but for much different reasons than those who likely are attracted to cross fit.  I’ve created personal goals that are quite reasonable and will help me feel better about myself and live a quality of life I desire.  I don’t need to be able to see Pukie-the-Clown in order to achieve my goals.  I want to have a waist size that doesn’t exceed my inseam (not the case right now, I might add).  I want to be fit enough to feel good about myself, and have Holly be happy with how I look.  I want to set a good example for my kids.  I want to be able to participate in physical activity with them and not create anxiety or worry that Dad can’t.  I would like to do a sprint triathlon.  But that’s it.  Nothing crazy, no Everest, no marathon, and no ironman.  Just being able to create a reasonably healthy eating and exercise regimen that hopefully allows me to keep the family streak of longevity in our family tree. 

Brad, are you really surprised that you're the one being called out as a potential enrollee?  Let's see, you've climbed Everest (ok, Kilimanjaro), you've done a marathon or two, and are on record for wanting to push the limits of what your body can take.  Perfect fit for Crossfit don't you think?

You are right on in saying that the reason you're being called out here is because 7.5 appears pretty crazy compared to 2-3, where Marc and I comfortably sit.  So where is Sheila on the fitness crazy scale? I don't know, she is just establishing her benchmark.  The 5k doesn't raise her bar much. 

Entitlement Sucks

One observation I’ve had lately is how entitled people have become.  As Americans, we are perhaps the most entitled people on Earth.  Entitled to get an education, get a job, take vacations, have insurance, retire and live a fulfilling life.  Very seldom in an American’s life are survival skills tested.  Fortunate right?  I’m not so sure.  The two extremes are excess and survival, and like most things the sweet spot might be somewhere in the middle.  The thought of “earning” or “achieving” something is admirable and everyone loves a story of strife where perseverance and commitment pay off.  Entitlement, the silver spoon, and inheriting privilege is less admirable – perhaps because entitlement so often leads to squander.

This is one by product that I don’t like about living the American dream.  It is so easily taken for granted.  Being unemployed for the better part of a year helped me realize that I was taking A LOT for granted in my life.  But now that I’m back to work I find myself slipping back into the entitlement mentality.  I’m giving it an honest attempt not to do so, but it happens.

Why?  And what can be done to keep entitlement at a distance? 

The only solution I’ve found is to continually seek out and interface with people who are struggling.  Home-less, hungry, job-less, family-less – doesn’t really matter.  Just stay connected to those who need and want way more than you.  That will keep your humility meter high, or at least higher.  When you spend too much time with those as privileged (or more privileged) than you are, you are on the fast track to increased dosage of entitlement mentality.  And that sucks.  It’s unappealing to me on every level and when I see it in an employee population, with my kids/family, or worse yet in myself, I try to stop and think about the toughest times for me (not survival by any means, but challenging to my self-esteem) to get myself out of that thinking.  

Do either of you have any other strategies for keeping entitlement mentality at bay?

Father Time

There have been several posts or discussions between the three of us priority setting, time management and how each of us use our time.  But really, I’m wondering how do we use our time?  While Brad may have a spreadsheet clearly outlining his time usage, I certainly don’t.  So it was fun coming up with the listed below rough draft of the big rocks and how I utilize my waking hours (sleep time excluded).

Waking Time Available for Use in a Week:  119 hours (assumes 7 hours of sleep per night, on average)
Work Time:  55 hours (46%)
Driving Time:  16 hours (13%)
Family Time, no overlap to eating/TV time:  20 hours (17%)
TV Time:  9 hours (7.5%)
Eating Time:  7 hours (6%)
Workout Time:  5 hours (4%)

This is a current depiction.  I couldn’t think of anything that directly takes more than 5 hours per week.  This draft also assumes that I am not traveling, there are no holidays, and that I work five days and am off two.  Holiday weeks would certainly skew the results. 

Of the six big time consumers listed here it’s made me realize a few things.  The first is that I spend three times more of my waking moments driving than I do working out.  I even spend more time filling the pie-hole than I do working out.  Perhaps shocking, perhaps not.  One surprise to me was the amount of time I spend each week driving.  I (we, my family) spend a lot of time in the car.  Yes, TV time made the top six list and I estimated the actual amount of time I spend in front of a TV as accurately as I could.

One time consumer I’m proud of is what I’ve labeled “family time”.  Some might say that when you are spending over two times the amount of time working as you spend with your family that the ratio is out of whack.  But practically with the amount of time my family spends together, 20 hours felt like a good commitment to me.  And most of that time is on the weekend, of course. 

So what are the six biggest consumers of my brother’s time?  I hope they respond but I’ll take wild guess and say that:

·       Marc spends approximately the same amount of time in a car that I do.  Brad, not even close. 

·       Both Marc and Brad spend less time working.

·       Brad and Marc spend more time working out than I do.

·       The family time element will be interesting.  I’ll guess that both Marc and Brad spend more “family time” than I do, but perhaps that isn’t the case. 

While the mix varies to some degree and yes, I would like to spend less time working and more time doing other things, in general I was happy with my estimate. 

Now I'm really upset at the federal government

Okay, so because the idiocy of how our federal government functions (or doesn't sometimes), most of the time I just tune it out like I do my 3 year old. The whole shutdown/debt ceiling deal has popped up on my radar recently because it impacts my brother directly and because I'm worried about the impact on the financial markets and my nest egg. But now, this whole mess is front and center because for the first time it directly impacts me.

You see, I was heading out to our beautiful local single track mountain bike system over the weekend. It is some of the best in the Midwest and I hadn't been out for 6 weeks since I injured myself in Colorado. I went to the ICORR website (they maintain the trails) and saw the trails were closed. I assumed it was for a day of trail maintenance but I thought I would check to confirm. Well come to find out because the trails are on federal land operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers, it is closed indefinitely due to the shutdown.

Now I'm really pissed at Obama. And the other democrats. And the republicans. And the tea party. You are a bunch of selfish idiots. Every single one of you. Serving our country, that's what our military heroes do. You just make a mess of everything and bicker like little children.

Its a really good thing we are getting overpriced and diluted healthcare thanks to the stupendous political invention of Obamacare, because my weight is going up. Adult onset diabetes, here I come. Thank you federal government, you've officially ruined my health and made me pay more for it at the same time. In service to others, that's our federal government!

Crossfit - herd mentality

Calling Crossfit a cult is giving it way too much credit. It is only the next thing on a long list of herd mentality, group driven exercise programs. Remember the water aerobics classes Mom used to teach to all the blue hairs in the junior high pool with their milk jugs? Total cult. Jazzercize, Spin classes, Les Mills, Ferrell's extreme fitness? All cults, at least by your definition.

Crossfit is simply the herd based, training reflection of people's increasing desires to do something edgier. As we migrate away from Fun runs and poker rides towards mud runs and polar plunges, the training tools simply move to continue to reflect this interest. Purely from economic/business terms, crossfit isn't a cult recruiting to its cause, its a business identifying a need in the marketplace and providing a service to fill that need. It only costs $200 a month to go to an empty room because that's what the market is willing to bear. Crazy, I agree.

I find it particularly interesting that I'm the brother identified as being most connected to this type of crazy stuff. I've done exactly the same number of mud runs as both my brothers. I've not participated in any off the wall training regimen or race. While my interests may be towards more physically intense activity, I am no more than a 7.5 on the nutjob scale of fitness crazes. I only look extreme because you sit downward on the continuum in range of a 2-3. One last note, in my immediate family it is my wife that is currently considering a crossfit membership. And ugh...gasp, she ran a 5K yesterday. What a crazy!

Isn't is a bit like casting stones in a glass house when we all sit at our computers lamenting our difficulties in maintaining fitness while deriding the chiseled, high energy crossfitters?

When are you signing up?

Have you guys ever heard of CrossFit?  It's become huge around the military.  Just my opinion, but I think it's become so popular because of this whole fitness trend of "more pain, more gain."  Actually, it seems like it would be appealing to you Brad, since it revolves around the premise of pushing your body to it's absolute limits.  Their slogan is "Forging Elite Fitness".  

But I think it's a cult.

1.  Cults generally believe that they are the ONLY game in town.  If you are a part of anything else, you're missing the real deal.  If you want to be REAL, you have to be a part of the cult.  That's exactly how CrossFit people talk.  All other forms of physical fitness are inferior, and therefore a waste of your time if you are "serious" about physical fitness.  There is only one way to work out, and that's at a CrossFit gym.

2.  Cults are always trying to recruit others to join.  This one is closely related to #1 above, but I've never met a "CrossFitter" that didn't tell me that if I just went one time, I'd be hooked.  They are more persistent than JWs!  It cracks me up how people who do CrossFit are always doing it outside, in the park, along the road, taking pictures, posting pictures… it's a full-press PR campaign.  They are certainly not the only fitness people who do it, but I think it's physically impossible for a CrossFit person to workout and NOT post the results on Facebook, results which only make sense to other CrossFitters (see below).

3.  Cults have their own lingo and you have to be on the inside to understand it.  If you ever come across a couple of CrossFitters having a chat, you'll be dazzled by words and phrases like AMRAP, firebreather, pukie the clown, GHDs, wallballs, hero WODs, metcon, fran, murph, KTEs, EMOMs, and the filthy fifty.  Push-ups and sit-ups are lame.  See #1.

4.  Cults always have a cost involved if you want to get in.  CrossFit isn't cheap.  If you want to work out in one of their "boxes" (a complete CrossFit gym - see #3) then you have to be prepared to shell out about $200 per month.  It's kind of funny since their workouts mostly use body weight or free weights.  No fancy machines (cardio or weight) at a CrossFit gym!

5.  And lastly, cults usually have some nasty secret that they don't like to talk about, and that's also the case with CrossFit.  One of the terms that I didn't mention in #3 is "Uncle Rhabdo", which is a reference to rhabdomyolysis.  Some websites even refer to "Uncle Rhabdo" as the unofficial mascot of CrossFit.  You've probably heard about rhabdomyolysis, because occasionally you'll see it in the news if there is a case of it in college or professional sports.  You may remember that in January of 2011 thirteen Iowa football players were hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis, and it's no joke.  It is caused by muscle damage (often caused by extreme physical exercise) and can result in kidney failure.  I guess that for some CrossFitters, it's a kind of sick bragging right if "Pukie the Clown" took you to see "Uncle Rhabdo".  Ridiculous.

Do some research and tell me what you think.  I'm linking this article and this article to include in your research.  Needless to say I won't be joining the cult.

True Enough

I feel sufficiently chastised.  No doubt, I will fully admit that I'm a pessimist.  And I know I CAN change that, but it's pretty hard.  BUT… politics?  Not a good analogy.  Hollywood?  Fair enough.  But not politics.

Politics is an essential part of our democracy.  Without our political bodies such as state legislatures and congress, we don't function as a society.  Politicians make the policies and laws that govern the lives of all of us.  Their decisions affect 314 million people.  Politics is a necessary part of life, and I don't think you can say the same about professional sports.  

I can whole heartily agree with the Hollywood accusation.  About the only good thing that comes out of that is a good movie now and then.  

You've made some good points, but for something that isn't essential to our lives (like pro and college sports), I don't know why I should be digging to find some good so that I can justify their existence.  We don't need college athletics to generate loyalty, growth, and academic achievement in young men and women.  Those things could be as easily developed with positive impact on our world through volunteerism, but nobody is paying millions and millions of dollars to broadcast teams volunteering at inner city youth centers.  

I'm not saying that sports is inherently bad.  It's just another thing that has been hijacked and perverted.  

Interestingly enough, you have to look pretty damn hard to find good news about ANYTHING these days.  Good news doesn't make money for TV networks.  Do you think a "Good News Network" would work?  Maybe there is a market for it.

Not enough

Marc, I’m not sure whether my opinion on the topic will pull you back from the ledge or encourage you to fling yourself off. But I’ll share the punch line: your experiences and comments related to sport are not different than any other business, industry, or organization. I’ll share a couple examples:

Politics. You reference the desired interest in worthwhile topics, specifically mentioning the geography of Syria our political leaders. There is no shortage of ill-behavior in our political world. Misuse of public funds, idolization of political figures in lieu of serving our country, privileged access, fraudulent activity, misconduct, sexism, etc? All of those issues exist today in our political environment. I’m as exhausted with the politicizing of violence and the rhetoric of bipartisanship as I am of the debate of paying college players and the recent allegations against Oklahoma State’s athletic program.

Hollywood. You want to see the concept of privileged, spoiled, the rules don’t apply behavior at its greatest, and with the smallest return on investment towards anything beneficial to society, then Hollywood should be your bailiwick. At least someone’s getting educated while Oregon is pouring its money into their football facilities. Who is benefitting in any way from the tongue wagging of Mylie Cyrus. Drugs, shock-style media efforts, no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity-stunts.

But the real takeaway here is instead of focusing on all the bad in a population, why don’t we focus on the good. For every Oklahoma State there is a University of Iowa: a program that has placed loyalty (much to Ed’s chagrin), growth of their young athletes, and academic achievement above the winning at all cost mentality that pervades many college athletic programs. And instead of demonizing all politicians, I’m trying to find reasons to believe that our political leaders are operating in their constituent’s best interests and searching to support local leaders, republican or democrat, which I believe cross the aisle for the best of their citizens. Of note, I’m having trouble finding those people. We all need to remember that for every Mylie Cyrus there is a Gwyneth Paltrow, for every Dennis Rodman a Lance Berkman, for every Tiger Woods a Roger Federer.

Look to the good my man!

The only friend that I could find is a 5' 5" communist dictator who calls himself the "Supreme Leader"

Dennis Rodman has always been somewhat entertaining because he’s such an idiot.  But now he’s pissing me off.

Rodman has apparently decided that he’s going to be a regular in North Korea, help them prepare a basketball team for the 2016 Olympics, maybe even write a book about Kim Jong-Un.  You can read about it here.  It pisses me off because we are talking about a country that is one of the worst violators of human rights in the world.  It’s a totalitarian regime that is contrary to everything that we value in America.  Rodman has always been a freak show, and maybe this is just another one of his stunts.  I don’t know.  But for me, it’s just going too far.  If you take a few minutes to read through the Human Rights Watch report, this is no laughing matter.  In 2011 I read a book based on the testimony of some of the few people that have escaped North Korea, and it was extremely depressing.  Rodman says Kim Jong-Un is a “good guy”.  And in his ignorance, he believes it.

Rodman claims that all this is not just a play to make money, although I have no doubt that he is profiting from this little adventure.  I know that he’s managed at least one commercial out of the deal, in which he has the audacity to joke about the fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons and threatens to use them on a regular basis. 

Ha ha.  So funny.

Sexual orientation baiting is the new race baiting

Rant time.  

TWICE in the past week I've seen articles that imply that perhaps the sexual orientation of an athlete is affecting whether or not the individual is being signed to a contract, and in both cases, I think it's a bunch of crap.  I've never liked Al Sharpton, because I think he's a race baiter.  I haven't identified a poster child for sexual orientation baiters, but give it time and one will emerge.  For now Phil Taylor will have to suffice.

Phil Taylor, in that fringe sports periodical known as Sports Illustrated (sarcasm) supposes that Jason Collins is currently an unsigned free agent due to his announcement a few months ago that he was gay.  Never mind the fact that in his 12-year career he's averaged 3.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg, and those numbers include his "prime" years.  Only once in the last five years has he averaged more than 1 point per game (and it was 2.0 points per game!) and more than 1 rebound per game (and it was 2.1 rebounds per game!)  How much would you pay for a guy who averaged 1 point and 1.5 rebounds per game last year?  How much?  $1.4 million you say?  Well, that's good, because according to the collective bargaining agreement, that's the minimum amount you'll need to pay him.  

But he's not signed yet because he's gay.

Kerry Rhodes, a safety for the Arizona Cardinals last year, is a little bit different.  He's got the stats.  Last year he was ranked as the fourth-best safety in the NFL.  Since then, there has been some questions about his sexual orientation.  He denied that he's gay, but some people think that he is based on some photographs and information by people close to him.  Jay Busbee of Yahoo News supposes that it might be the reason nobody has signed him this year.  Is it possible that instead, it had something to do with the fact that he turned down a $3 million guaranteed contract from the Cardinals in the off-season?  Could it be that he's not signed because other teams showed interest but he didn't accept any of their contract offers because they weren't high enough?  Could it be that he's on the wrong side of 30, or that he's entering his 9th year in the league?  Rex Ryan is not necessarily a trusted source, but he has commented on the attitude problems that Rhodes brought when he was a Jet.  Rhodes is known for leading a "Hollywood" lifestyle, which most teams don't appreciate in a player because it causes distractions.  Who wants to play football for the league minimum $840K that he would be due if he signed with one of the teams that were interested?

But he's not signed yet because he might be gay.

I don't believe it, and I'm not buying it.  As much as I rail against the "win at all cost" in pro sports, most teams wouldn't care if you were a polygamist who was married to a goat AND a chicken.  If you can put up the numbers AND the price is right, they'll hire you.  Just ask Dennis Rodman.  

I'm not falling for the sexual orientation bait.  

When is enough enough?

I don't consider myself to be naive.  I know that it is nearly impossible to live a life that isn't somehow, in someway, supporting something that isn't purely good.  In fact, I don't think there is much in this world that could make the mark of "100% good - no side effects!"  A long time ago when we lived in Spain we knew of a guy that would not eat or buy anything in any establishment that sold alcohol.  In Spain, that pretty much meant that you NEVER went out to eat.  Even McDonald's sold beer.

But when do you say, "Enough is enough.  I can't support this anymore"?  It is the struggle that I've been having as of late with sports in general, but more specifically professional/college sports, and even more specifically football.  I'm reaching a point where I'm not sure I'm comfortable supporting it anymore, and I don't know what is the next step to take.

I could list a whole litany of stories from the past year or two about player misconduct, but there is so much more to it than that.  This is another issue that could fill a book if I took the time to fully explore all the thoughts that swirl through my head in regards to this issue.  This blog post will only scratch the surface, and this is the point where it probably gets discombobulated.  Hold on to your hats.

Using public money to fund stadiums, ridiculous ticket prices (and those two coupled together which limits access to the wealthy; not a good use of public money), idolized sports stars, outrageous salaries, privileged access, fraudulent college activity, win at all cost, violence, overlooking misconduct, the lie of education, weekends that revolve around sports, fan-dom, posses, sexism, the lie of player health…. where do I stop?

Oddly enough, I have been getting Sports Illustrated for the past year or so.  I'm not sure why, since I usually spend about 5-10 minutes flipping through it before I toss it in the recycle bin.  But I actually read an article in this week's issue, part one of a five-part investigative report on the Oklahoma State University football program.  The cover reads, "The Dirty Game: Sex, Drugs, Cash, Fraud, Whatever it Takes."  I wish I could say that it surprised me, but it didn't.  It just confirms some things that I've always assumed were happening in MANY Division I football programs.  I don't doubt that it happens in other sports too.  I wasn't surprised, but it still bothered me.  I know we've argued about all of this in the past, and I know we will continue to argue about it in the future.  I was wrong years ago when I "declared" (see previous blog) that nothing good comes out of college sports.  I know that's not true.  But there's just too much crap that comes with it.  

I can't help but get a little disheartened when people can talk for two hours about the latest NFL power rankings but they can't locate Syria on a map.  I wonder what it says about our culture when we know RGIII's stat line from Sunday but we don't know who are the Secretaries of State or Defense.  We are concerned enough about a college football playoff system to hold congressional hearings about it, but no one wants to talk about doctor shortages or shrinking education budgets.  ESPN alone will make $10 billion in 2013, and the total of federal spending for education in 2013 will be approximately $98 billion.  For me, sports has climbed way too high on the priority scale, and it's because we have placed it there.  

I'm not saying that I'm going to totally walk away from sports.  I was talking this through with Jennifer and I was thinking of things like fantasy basketball, for example, which I REALLY enjoy.  I wonder if I could actually walk away from stuff like that.  Even as I've been writing this blog, I flipped over to my Yahoo page a couple of times to check some scores (although I rarely watch sports on TV anymore).  But the truth is that I'm not so much into professional or college sports that it would be hard to walk away altogether.  I hardly ever watch pro sports on TV, and college - well, I never watch college sports on TV.  I don't watch ESPN anymore, and I haven't listened to the ATH podcast for a long time.  It's just not a big part of my life.  Maybe that's why it seems easy to walk away.

Jennifer cautioned me on writing on this topic because she thought it would come off as very judgmental of people that ARE really into sports, including some huge Iowa Hawkeye fans in the family.  Please don't misunderstand me - I'm not trying to sell this as something that everyone should do.  It's a personal choice that I'm considering and I'm not hoping to carry everyone that I know with me.  Have you ever known those vegetarians that look down their nose at you with judging eyes as you are trying to enjoy your hamburger?  Yeah, that sucks.  But I also know vegetarians that do it as a personal choice and have no problem with others who choose to eat meat.  That's kind of where I'm coming from on this.  It's just me.

Am I crazy?  Am I just a victim of the media and what they choose to focus on?  Why does it bother me so much that LeBron James received a police escort so that he could get to the JayZ/Kanye West concert on time?  Is it ridiculous for me to hope that the pastor can make it through a sermon during football season WITHOUT a Chargers reference?  

I'm on the edge, about ready to jump.  Who wants to talk me off the ledge?