Becoming a Spartan

Military Spartan Sprint (Photo credit: phoenixblue0)

 

Eating healthy and being fit is all the talk now days and has brought some interesting fitness like competitions.  Open to the public for your chance to push your body to its limit in a sprint style obstacle course sure to leave you hurting the next day.  These competitions such as Spartan Sprints and Tough Mudder incorporate flat land, hills, water, log carries, rope climbs, and even some belly time crawling under barbed wire. These races are for the adventurous who seek to prove their abilities by participating in a physically and mentally fight against the many obstacles the course has to throw at them.

 

I participated in my first Spartan Sprint last April in Indiana. The week following the event was dry and mid 70’s but the day of the even the temperature dropped to 43 and rained the night before. This rain caused the already tough course to become a mixture of hard wet ground and plenty of mud. Multiple sections of the course had large pits to break up the racers at the beginning in which water had accumulated to four feet which the movement quickly turned it into a thicker consistency making it much tougher and claiming many shoes in the process. The race took me one hour and five minutes and crossing the finish line was a great feeling.

 

These races require more than the week out fitness turn around in hopes to get ready for the race.  Upon signing up for the race they send your daily workout plans to get yourself ready for the four to eight mile obstacle course sure to have you begging for the end, but that’s the whole point. Not many times do you get to compete in such a unique race versus people of all types. These races have become so popular and have adapted a sense of superior athleticism from those who travel from race to race and set blistering times. Races such as these discussed are planned all over the United States and Canada and is truly a great experience.

 

Time to Stream

Californication (TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Over the past few years hanging out with my friends I have always come to one realization they do not have the same taste as me. Garbage, garbage and more garbage has taken over most air time and has led most to canceling their cable altogether and relying on their internet sources to bring them their entertainment.  I do understand everyone has his or her own taste style, which must account for almost everything on cable.

Lets get into specifics, first of all I am so thankful for two premo show presenters: Showtime and HBO. Both of these channels provide what I would call the best tv television has to offer.  Just to name a few Entourage (personal favorite)  Californication, Dexter, Homeland, and many others. The selection is filled with hours of amazing entertainment for all types of tastes.  Now as exciting as these shows are your stuck with the subscription cost just so you can get the newest episode right when it is released. I believe its time for both of these companies to join the digital era and stream its content directly to the various platforms waiting for this big step in entertainment. That being said I have no knowledge indicating this switch but maybe if we are lucky.

Televisions can always be a great past time as long as the content isn’t rotting your brain, now some of the shows I mentioned may borderline this rule, but only on occasion. If your interested in a great series that’s going to last more that the ill-fated one season, then start checking them out.

 

Making The Right Purchase

English: Car Dealer, Foot’s Cray, Kent (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Investing in a quality automobile is common in the modern world.  Iv always had a passion for cars of all types from lifted 4X4 to sleek exotic supercars and everything in-between.  I have been to countless car auctions and have scoured the best places online to get a vehicle. This knowledge has come with the five vehicles I have owned since sixteen, its never easy finding what you want for the price you want.  If you are willing to put the time, and not make any rash decisions you can usually find a great deal.  What I bean by “usually” is knowing your price and knowing the car market to find the vehicle that fits your needs first then your desires.

Spontaneously purchasing a vehicle is what you do not want to do, I guess unless a rare incident has you benefiting a great vehicle for free or next to nothing which cant happen to often. Research is the only great way to ensure a good deal, knowing what you want and having your price set in stone.  The Internet is full of resources to locate and purchase a vehicle, including auctions, which to the confident buyer can be a great buying environment.  When buying online its always good to see the vehicle prior to full payment, checking the vehicle out fist had and even getting a little drive time to see how the vehicle feels and performs on the road.

If your purchasing from a dealer and it’s a common vehicle they may have available on their lot then you need to seize control of the purchase. Get a list of the available dealers in your area or within your radius, then acknowledge how much you are wanting to spend tax, title and all. Calling the dealers you give them your terms: tell them “you intend to purchase today either from you or a dealer that will meet your needs”. Next give them the rundown: what your looking for what options you want your vehicle to have.  This gets your right to the end of the negotiations and gives them no room to inflate their profit, if they cant meet your terms then continue to the next dealer.

Vehicles are great investments when your buying smart, a little research goes a long way. Take your time when making such an investment, and above all else make sure the vehicle your purchasing is what you really want, there is no pleasure in the drive if your not satisfied with your vehicle.

I Can Now Survive

La Mina Fall in rainfores The Yunque in Puerto Rico (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is hard to imagine daily life with out all the amazing amenities. Daily living in the year 2013 is quite a blessing compared to life one hundred years ago. Electricity was common but not in the homes of the many citizens of the United States, which can also be said about running water. The reason for this post has to be my new obsession with a few survival television shows I have been watching religiously. The three television survival series that are the most informative and quite popular are Survivorman, Man Vs. Wild and Man, Women, Wild. Each series involves a survival expert placed in an uninhabited area and forced to survive the harsh elements while making an informative television show.

Survivorman stands out among the rest for its first person filming method. Les Stoud is the survival expert and not only provides amazingly detailed but single handily films everything himself, meaning doing a lot of things twice to get the great scenic shots he gets. Les is big into roughing it and uses as little modern tech or supplies as possible. Compared to the many television serious out there regarding survival situations Survivorman makes it that much more real when all the filming is done by himself, which brings more of the emotional effects surviving in harsh environments has on a person.

Man Vs. Wild is another great survival series and very similar to Survivorman. The main difference is the filming method, which is an actual crew that follows the survival expert through the rough terrain to achieve better shots and multiple angles for a more detailed show for the viewer. Negative connotations surround this method as to really “roughing it” or surviving in such harsh conditions. Many question arise and have been asked of the television series crew; what type of aid to they give to the survival expert? what do they (film crew) do to survive? all in all minimizing the realness of the series all together.

The last survival television series I was introduced to was Man, Woman, Wild. This series involves a survivor expert and his wife surviving many of rough environments around the world. There is a small film crew that follows them throughout their adventure as well as having some small cameras for a first person view. This series provides what to expect when two people are forced to survive especially when they are family and all the emotions that arise in harsh and stressful situations.

I will admit that all three of these survivor television are pretty impressive in the amount of information they give while surviving, from catching prey for food to the most significant of making a fire, which in most cases is made from the friction of wood on wood to create a fire than that of modern fire-starting methods. I think that in a crisis situation I would be able to survive a lot longer due to these shows than I would without the abundance of knowledge I have learned while watching each of the three exciting television series, which I would recommend to all everyone.

Final Year and a Little Insight

Studying (Photo credit: scui3asteveo)

Higher education is not something to take lightly. Committing to a minimum of two years needs a good amount of thought and dedication.  Committing to four years at a private or state university must place itself as your first priority.  School should be thought of as a full-time job or half your life when you are not eating or sleeping.  Four years may be thought of as plenty of time to mess around, and not fully dedicate the time for each class of every semester.

“Dedicating at least two hours for each hour of class time.” I know I have heard this time and time again, to those freshmen sitting in on the first day this sounds a bit troubling.  Recalling freshman year, yeah classes are set up to introduce you to the university life, free from family, a feeling of freedom. Those classes can turn out tough, especially when you blew off plenty of class time due to its first thought “easiness.”

Devoting the time is easier said then done, I can’t tell you how many times I promised I would get to work on a project early, but noooooo there I was the night before “finalizing” aka: starting the project or even cramming for an exam.  Most of the class time or lab includes a reading from the specified book, now I know reading is boring, especially when this class is a required class and who cares about  chemical bonds when you are majoring in accounting. Being up to date with all classes is the most important piece of wisdom I have. Using the Internet to search for notes or reviews of a particular reading is one of the benefits of college during out tech age, chances are there is something on the w.w.w to help you out. Going to class with an understanding of the concepts sure beats going in blind and trying to catch up, not to mention the ability to increase your participation points and creating a relationship with the teacher when in-class questions are asked and you know the answer because you were prepared.

Organization is another easy step in easing into college.  With five classes on average you can get yourself organized without spending more the twenty dollars. A simple hard binder with some loose-leaf paper and a folder is all you need for each class. Trying to pack all your notes and handouts into one binder or notebook may work for a bit but come test time or finals its hard to find all necessary information from way back in the beginning of the semester.  A big desktop calendar is another amazing and simple addition to easing the college pressures. Copying all assignments from each class to a calendar is extremely beneficial for those visual planners. Seeing what’s due week by week and in advance helps plan on a weekly basis and makes missing those project due dates or exams a problem for your not-so-organized classmates.

College is a great learning experience both inside the classroom and out. You find out who you really are and what you want when you are on your own and dealing with the stresses of college. Dedicating the time inside and outside the classroom to school work will help for an amazing experience to look back on and the grades to show for it.

Why are you bored?

English: Panorama of St. Louis, Missouri, United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I hate Illinois weather just like everyone else, and it’s about time some constant warm weather graced us. The warm weather opens southern Illinois and surrounding areas to some great experiences and opportunities. From the adventurous type wanting to check off some more experiences off their bucket list to some time spent walking the beautiful art filled streets of St. Louis just to blow off some steam or as simple as getting away for few hours.

The aim for this post is for the adventurous types or those who just want to get out from the dull, depressing walls that are cramping your creativity.  March is upon us, but that does not mean good weather is a sure thing, but that does mean that many more outdoor opportunities are available.  For those who live in the Edwardsville area and are taking the time to read this post, lets look at some great attractions that are in your neck of the woods. Before I get down to the attractions down in St Louis I wanted to take the time to talk about the River Road located North West of Edwardsville in Grafton Illinois.  I was lucky enough to make lifelong friends with a few local girls from Bethalto who insisted on a River Road Sunday fun-day. The River Road runs North between Alton to Grafton allowing for some breathtaking views both over the river and inland where explosives were used to carve a path for the road, creating many beautiful cliffs and bluffs. Family-owned shops located on the river road creates a time-capsule set decades ago where people are friendly and eager to talk rather than pressuring a sale, not to mention a few amazing candy and ice cream parlors just to sweeten up your day along the river.

Being so close to St Louis is what I count as a blessing, the beauty of St Louis is well known, but you cant experience the true St Louis culture through a magazine or book. I like to think of St Louis as not only a city for the hard-partying young, but also a great place to settle down and raise a family. St. Louis is renound for its late night party views, offering enough great night-clubs and bars to keep a student thinking about the weekend activates all week long.  St. Louis has a great river front location creating many breathtaking views from many parts of the cities, but we all know the St. Louis Arch is an experience everyone should par-take in.  The planning of and construction of St. Louis didn’t hinder the natural landscape and forest that once was St. Louis. These scenes can still be viewed at the parks located though out the city. Forest Park built specifically for the 1904 world fair, is one of the most popular, offering a beautiful natural landscape and relieving the stress of some twelve million visitors a year.

St. Louis Cardinal fans can get their baseball fix during the baseball season at Bush Stadium. If your not much of a sports fan but would like to get out of the house for a day of fun then Six Flags St. Louis is one of the many places to visit, did I mention they have a water park? If you’re a local or in the St. Louis area for school then make it your job to go out and see and experience all St. Louis and surrounding areas have to offer. Now, the question is “Is a hour drive at the most for a new experience or fun day out better than sitting inside all day?”

Some Spare Time

English: A typical Deutsche Bahn railway station clock (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My last post got me thinking pretty hard about my hobbies. Technology has evolved and has produces some pretty amazing things that I don’t think I could live without.  My hobbies reflect my passions and drive me to learn more about the things I love.  Like my father the love of fast cars runs deep, this hobby has evolved since I was a young boy and is still my first passion.  From stock car races to a few formula one events I cant tell you the excitement of watching these cars exceed such speed with such control. I was able to get my hands on a nice German import vehicle that suits me perfectly and has become somewhat of a friend if that’s weird for saying. If you’re a good friend you know I take great care of my car and you better have clean feet before you climb in.  The internet is an amazing environment for “gear heads” forums and videos are at your fingertips making information just a click away. I cant tell you the countless hours researching and reading reviews on car parts before I made the big step.  Sites such as Ebay and Cars.com have revolutionized buying a car, literally making it as easy as 3 to 4 clicks away, give or take a few.

With a close second in my hobbies list is computer development. Computers are integrated into everything making it close to impossible to not deal with a computer type device on a given day. Luckily for me, my parents were the tech savvy parents, or so they thought, and had a computer in the house when I was real young.  At the time you would mess with the computer till is messed up, then fixing it was the learning phase.  Dells, Gateways, Lenovo, HP,  and now Apple have been my previse devices and have all made an impression with me and how I use a computer.  I will say that GOOGLE is your biggest friend when dealing with a buggy computer, the chances are Google has your answer, so just ask. My taste in computers has led me to tablets and smartphones that to this day still astound me. Never did I think there would be an application that I would be able to pull up on my phone and deal with just about any minor situation or solve any question I might have. We are at the beginning of an amazing tech device world, making it our job to stay current with all the new and cool toys.

Hobbies define who we are because knowing how someone spend their free time outside of everyday interactions gives you an insight into what makes them happy, which defines people on a different level.   Life isn’t always about the high speed stress many people go through on a daily basis but putting plenty time aside to be truly happy and doing what you love is the true meaning of passion.

 

Do I like technology to much?….. NA

“Technology has exceeded our humanity” (Photo credit: Toban B.)

What would life be like 100 years ago without all this amazing technology? I like to think of myself as a pretty tech savvy guy, I may not agree with the term nerd, but I see no harm.  I ‘am a Mac, Linux, and Android fanatic so chances are if you need some tech support I could solve your problem well so my friends think and may on occasion abuse the nerd knowledge, but practice makes perfect. Along with all types of tech devices, movies also strike my fancy and the reason for this post.

A few months back while lounging in my seat watching a new western film titled; Lawless, I came to the realization of my sole dependence on technology. The film is set back during the prohibition when gun-slingers under the silence of night and tuned up Model A Fords combated the police both local and federally in hopes to keep the high octane moonshine flowing throughout the United States.  Yes it was a great film and historically accurate in a number of ways, which is why I think, I came to this realization.

Technology has evolved in ways many people didn’t see possible from the first US man on the moon to the first personal computers that to be honest were not so personal in size.  Our society is the outcome of our technological advances for example the way we think and problem solve has changed drastically since boundless information is now able to fit in the palm of your hand.  Do you want to know how much the Earth weigh? (5.972E24 KG)What about how much water is in the oceans?(97% of all water on earth is in its oceans.) (Thank you Google, and yes it took less than 20 seconds to ask and get my answer) If you ask your parents these question when they were your age they would look puzzled then go about their lives either on a hunt to find the answer at the local library which could take a good amount of time or in most cases go about living their lives not knowing.

Is our reliance on technology a bad thing or a godsend? Information is directly related to the growth of the human race, we are this advances sole because of technological advances.  Yes, many movies and television programs depict end of the world technology falling into the wrong hands and dooming the human race.  This could happen is some aspect but most of the time the benefits outweigh the cons. Technology is growing at an amazing rate, products become obsolete just months after development and many times before they hit store shelves.

Without technology we would be living a much harder and much more different life then we live today.  It’s hard to know what would have happened if certain advances were not discovered and utilized and how drastic of a set back they would have had on our society. Getting this all out there has made me come to realize how awesome technology is and how useful it can be on a daily basis. We have arrived in the tech wars the past few years with so many forms of technology booming and growing It’s going to be a pleasure to live and watch how advanced and truly jaw dropping technology is going to become. I am thinking it is time to give the flux capacitor a try.

“KNOWLEDGE IS KEY”

I always knew I would be able to the use this phrase a few times in my life but until

Health books provided by Book Aid International (Photo credit: Book Aid International)

recently did I truly underestimate true truth.  I know this is the second health related post but thankfully my health classes are making a mark, its astonishing the lack of health related knowledge among vast amounts of American people.

First off let me start by thanking Netflix for their pristine picking of health and nutritional based documentaries, if not for the ones I haves watched would I be posting this now.  The American diet has evolved from a time of fresh picked natural foods to the long-lasting quick and easy meals not only lining the shelves at every corner and big time market but available for hot pickup from many chain restaurants.  That’s odd that the United States has the highest obesity and diabetes rates in the world but, it in fact does and I believe it is the lack of knowledge.

People obtain many habits including dietary habits learned when just a baby, such as the need and desire for certain taste and quantity.  Foods today are processed and packed with preserves to increase its shelf life and are not to often packed with high amounts of synthetic sugars, which over time wreak havoc on your body. Taking on a healthier diet makes easier with substitutions to ones diet and implementing healthier foods throughout the day in small amounts.

Exercise is another important habit needed to increase life and overall quality.  Living in a technically advanced world has greatly impacted the fun value of fitness. All three major computer console retailers have engineered games specifically for their devices aimed directly at health and fitness.  Getting a great workout and never leaving your homes has never been this easy and carefree, not to mention the benefits of having the many training and or fitness games logged and saved including all your fitness measurements.

A little faith in yourself is all it takes to start becoming healthier. Investing the time to learn the basics and start practicing healthier living techniques will move you towards better understating of health and how easy it is to stay healthy once you have the fundamental knowledge.

Oh Resolutions

With January coming to an end Iv found myself steering clear of those new year resolution ruin-ers.  I know it’s the norm to set a resolution for a healthier lifestyle in hopes thinking it and hoping for it will make it that much easier to obtain.  Now, a little background of my new resolution. I am receiving a minor in Health Education at SIUE and plan on using this degree to receive a nutritional agree shortly after this semester.  Reason being I was raised in a homeopathic household, meaning there wasn’t a pill for every symptom when you were feeling under the weather.

Proper nutrition was quite important; a lot of greens and plant-based foods were consumed most of the time.  The later part of high school tempted me to change my diet as I was free to go where I wanted and eat what I wanted. The past year of learning and being reminded though my health courses the true value of proper nutrition not to mention what years of bad dieting can do to the body.  I made a promise (resolution) to back-peddle all the way back to my youth with all of moms  organic dieting. No more fast food or cardboard box meals. Yes, it’s a total 360 from the average American diet but with a little research and time this transition will totally transform your life both physically and mentally. A malnourished body is both sluggish physically but also mentally.

I advise a quick look at your own diet to see what can be implemented with a much healthier alternative or thrown out all-together once you know the truth about what your really eating, many documentaries exist all over the internet and on video steaming applications, two hours watching a documentary is worth the positive transformations that comes with a more natural diet.