Fire in the Hole!

Apparently Facebook is building a new data center in Oregon to house their operations. Some of the engineers involved in the design and building of the facility posted a short video of the dynamiting of the foundation hole. It's pretty cool, but the BEST part is hearing all the people standing around "ooohing" and "ahhhing"

"Whoa! That's pretty cool!"

The childlike enthusiasm with which those words are expressed says a ton. Say what you want about geeks, nerds, and the like, but they certainly know how to appreciate a good explosion. Let me just say...me too.

If You Knew Uke Like I Knew Uke

Apparently the ukelele is a real musical instrument, not a toy.

The first video is from the Blue Stone Folk School. Hat Tip to my old friend Joni Back-Bubenzer, who is a regular participant and ardent supporter of this terrific musical experience in central Indiana.

I love the fact that the other takes here include a concert uke and a resonator uke. Wicked cool.

A Lust for News

Has it occurred to anyone else that the news coverage surrounding the Haitian earthquake has devolved to the level of disaster porn?

Push Up and Pull Ups

One of my favorite blogs to hang out with is at RossTraining.com. Ross is a former boxer, now a physical trainer and his blog is always full of great inspirational ideas about physical fitness and health, as well as constant improvement, challenging myself and boundary bashing. I learn a lot from him about what you can do on the cheap, without a gym, just having a ball moving your body.

He recently put up several videos that just floored me. I don't imagine many people will want to watch these all the way through, but you can get the general idea in the first few minutes of each. What is particularly noteworthy in either case is that you are seeing people do things that are usually not thought possible for people "of their type." In particular this means large men (over 300 lbs), and women over 40.

Large men are not supposed to be able to do high numbers of push ups, and certainly not pull ups. They are just too heavy. Women, particularly those over 40, are not supposed to be able to do lots of pull ups. They are just too small with insufficient muscle mass. Apparently the common wisdom did not stop these folks from just going out and getting it done. Beautiful.

I doubt these people accomplished these things purely through some kind of weird genetic gift. They clearly earned the capacity to do what they do with time, and sweat and more than a dollop of pain. I find it inspiring.

I encourage you to watch at least a little of each of these videos, not as some kind of freak show, but to consider what you can accomplish with simple determination and hard work.



The next two videos feature a feminine powerhouse named Crystal West. Wow....just wow.






This last is Tara Scott, demonstrating not only exceptional strength, but also real creativity in how she challenges herself with a variety of movements. Gives me lots of great ideas. She has lots of other great demos and playful fun workout ideas on her YouTube Channel




H/T to RossTraining.com

No Joy in Mudville

The Patriots go down in flames.
The Packers...well...what can you say about the Packers.

It's a good thing I'm not much of a sports fan.