Real food.

I know it's been quite some time since I last posted here.

As most of you know, I'm a big proponent of sustainability and today's post is all about self sustainability.

Here's the recap of the last year in a nutshell. Stress, stress, stress. What this led to was fatigue, difficulty maintaining my usual positive attitude and sleeplessness. (although, to be fair, I've never required much sleep, but interrupted sleep is the worst!)

Here's the remedy. Raw foods, vitamins, fish oil, exercise.

RAW FOODS: At least half of each meal consists of raw fruits and vegetables (organic mostly). Processed foods have been reduced to less than 25% of my intake.

VITAMINS: Multivitamin that includes spirulina (aka super blue green algae). Nutrex Hawaiian Men's Multi-vitamin with Spirulina Pacifica is my choice.

FISH OIL: xtendlife's Omega 3 / QH Ultra with ubiquinol

EXERCISE: Treadmill 20-30 minutes 3 times a week so far(fast walking/light jogging) as my old knee injury from high school prevents heavy prolonged impacts. And running. Not running as most people think of it, but parking far out in the lot running from the car to the market door. Running while playing with the kids. Running because it's fun like when we were little and we ran all the time!

RESULTS:

• More energy than I've felt since I was 19 years old!
• More positive outlook and mental clarity than I've had in years!
• Feeling of happiness and well-being knowing that I'm using food as nutrition as it was intended by nature.
• Happier family (as they're eating real food and loving it and we're all enjoying feeling better, more energetic and happy to be supporting local and organic farmers.

You may be wondering what drove me to these changes. Fair question. I've long been concerned about where our food comes from and the steady decline of family farms. After watching Food Inc. and King Corn I started getting more interested in making a change. Seeing Food Matters pushed me over the edge. If you've not seen any or all of these documentary films, I strongly encourage you to do so. Watch Gasland and IOUSA while you are at it!

After a few hours well spent watching these films you'll understand what is meant by those bumper stickers that say "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!"

Change starts with ourselves. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Be nice.

Peace

Longboard count up to 5!

Now that all of us are riding, we finally have an equal board to rider ratio.

1. Madrid Wave Rider 39" concave deck w/kicktail
2. Madrid Swirl 42" concave deck id Swirl 42" concave deck
3. Madrid Pavement 46.5" flat deck (x2)
4. Madrid Skull 46" concave deck w/kicktail (my current favorite)

If all you know of skateboarding is the short boards you rode as a kid (or bought for your kids), you owe it to yourself to check out the current lineup of longboards. Whether you're looking at gentle slopes and bike path cruising, bombing mad downhills or commuting in style, there are plenty of great options out today and many made stateside. As you can see from our lineup we like to support Madrid as they offer quality products at fair prices and manufacture in the USA.

We have a mix of Gunmetal and Gullwing trucks and are split on our preferences so far. I swapped the Gullwing Charger trucks on one of our Pavements with the Gunmetal Double Barrels on the Skull and am very happy with the change. Next up is a set of 70mm Cadillac Cruisers with a 55mm contact patch for the Skull. Will post an update once I've ridden them for a bit.

Kick-Ass Lady Longboarders carve down a mountain in CA

Carving the Mountains from Juan Rayos on Vimeo.

After recently renewing my passion for skateboarding, I came across this terrific video of girls in CA carving down a mountain road with some awesome moves.

I recently toyed with the idea of nuking my Facebook account and then changed my mind when I thought about the potential to reach people with eye opening info about our food supply, fuel supply and incomprehensible legislation that needs to be fixed.

Take a look here for a list of top notch and riveting documentaries, links to legislation that needs your support and ideas on finding healthy food for you and your family.

Food Fuels and Fiascos

The Beat of New York

It was serendipitous that I should stumble across this video today after the kids were just asking last night about going to NYC this fall.



Enjoy.

Be nice.

Peace.

Mountain trip update

Well, this year's trip was a blast.

We based ourselves in VT and hit the Adirondack, Green and White Mountains over two weeks. Went to Montreal to visit friends and take in the International Fireworks festival at the Old Port and have sushi at the local farmers market. Visited man-made water parks in NY, natural water features in NH (the Basin in Franconia Notch), went BMX and Mountain Biking at the Trapp Family Lodge, slept in a tent, a basement and a cabin, took 3 ferry trips, biked in Burlington and even hit the local skate park while listening to MGMT w/Violens warming up for the Champlain Music Festival!

It was a fantastic time and couldn't have been much better.

Here are a few clips.

Running the Black River


Where our eggs came from.


AuSable Chasm


And finally for this update, a pretty little fountain we came across in a public park in the Adirondacks after grabbing a light meal at an "Irish" pub with no Irish food items on the menu!


More pics to come soon.

Watch live streaming video from wkrg_oil_spill at livestream.com

Running ticker of oil leaked to date in Gulf of Mexico.

Glacial potholes

Look around folks. Amazing nature is everywhere. Just a short drive from us is a fantastic place for a day hike with the family to see glacial potholes formed by retreating glaciers millions of years ago.

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Donut tree

Money may not grow on trees, but apparently donuts do!
Witness the donut tree at a friend's birthday party.

While I feel strongly that we need to get our soldiers home to their families as soon as possible, this poster speaks volumes about the brave men and women who are at war right now and putting their lives on the line to help the Afghan and Iraqi people regardless of whether they feel we should have gone there in the first place.

New Series of Doctor Who is coming!

Seems most of the TV we watch in our home these days originates in the UK. Doctor Who, Top Gear, The F Word, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

Hoping that Torchwood and Primeval return, but in the meantime, am stoked that Doctor Who comes back on April 17, 2010.

Oil of LA

Who knew there were functioning oil rigs all over LA?

Health Care Reform

I know it's been a while since I posted anything with a political bent, but the time has come to speak up.

First of all let me speak to the Baucus plan. How Max is considered a Democrat is a topic for another time. For now, I'll just say this plan is a farce and a cynical person might propose that it was put forth to rally the American Middle Class against health care reform since it includes several key items that are completely unacceptable to most Americans.


* Allowing Insurance companies to charge up to 5x more in premium rates based on age is absurd and will only ensure that millions of people cannot afford insurance.

* Couple the provision above with a penalty for not having insurance and you effectively kick people when they are down. The whole idea of a mandatory insurance provision is to buffer the pool of insured with relatively healthy people tp help offset the risk associated with insuring older and/or more seriously ill people.

* Cooperatives that would be created by this plan would lack the power to negotiate rates and would therefore be rendered impotent in their ability to garner fair and affordable rates for the people who need them most.

* The lack of a public option clearly stands to appease irrational fears of insurance company executives who do not want the perceived competition that a public option could bring.

Let's hope that the other members of the Finance Committee kill this where it stands and let the other proposal from the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee head to the full Senate for a vote and progress towards the eventual reconciliation process.

At least we're all still talking about the issue. That, in itself, should be considered progress these days.

I'm back!

Greetings to all who regularly visit this blog and to those who happen upon by chance!

The holidays are upon us, so I'll start by saying a warm and heartfelt Merry Christmas to all. If Christmas isn't your bag, than happy & merry salutations to you for whatever is important in your life at this time of year.

Financial meltdown, recession, multiple wars, massive unemployment. The list of things to be concerned about goes on and on. When things get like this, I manage to ground myself by harking back to the 3 spheres I apply in both my personal and professional life to keep from being overwhelmed.

Here they are from 1st to last.

Control - Is it within my sphere of control? Can I control the events that are unfolding? If yes, I act. If no, I move on to the next one.

Influence - Is it within my sphere of influence? Can things I do or say have meaningful influence on the events that are unfolding? If yes, I act or speak. If no, I move on to the next one.


Concern - This is where 80 % of things fall. Is it within my sphere of concern? If yes, I make note of it, I adjust my long or short term plans and goals if prudent and I move on with my life. If no, then it's a non issue and I pay it no further mind.


I know this sounds simple. It is simple. Remember the principle of Occam's Razor/ Loosely translated: "All things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the right one."


That's all I have to say for now. Merry Christmas.

Be nice.

Peace

Time to rethink our strategy...

I know it's been a while since I blogged. Life gets busy.

Now that Hilary is out and it looks like a horse race of Old Bitter vs. Young Hubris, I think we really need to look at where we've been and where we want to be.

I was once a McCain supporter. Back in 99, after reading Faith of my Fathers and watching a truly independent spirited man stand up for what he claimed he believed in, I drank the cool-aid. I believed what he said. Hell, I even bought the t-shirts!

Then, he was brutally smeared by Rove and Company. He caved in to the pressure and began the long suck up to the religious right and the Bush/Cheney machine. That was it for me. I swore then and I repeat it now. I will never vote for that man as long as I live! As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"

And in the immortal words of The WHO, "We won't get fooled again!"


Now, back to the topic. Obama may not have been my first choice, but I firmly believe he is our only choice at this point.

Is he a bit high on himself? Sure

Does he think he's smarter than the average American? I sure as hell hope so! :-)

The last 7 years have been brutal on our economy. Our standing in most of the world is in shambles (certain areas of Africa & South America where we've been helping to fight aids and malaria notwithstanding). Our citizens are sorely disillusioned and we need to fix things.

It's going to be a long haul. Four years won't be nearly enough. But, it'll be a start. It will show the world that we are not all Bushites who want to democratize the world. It will show ourselves that we can do better and we will have hope once again.

And for the young 'uns reading this.

Clinton / Richardson 2008

Here's what I believe about this year's election.



We can't afford to have a new candidate for change inheriting the mess of the past 7 years. Like it or not, we need someone who knows how the Washington machine runs and who will be realistic in their approach to fixing it.

We also need a veep who has street creds in the international community, who will hit the ground running to mend fences around the world and who knows what it takes to deal with the cast of characters all over the globe.

Hillary can accomplish much of what is required on the domestic front with respect to the economy, infringements of civil liberties, lack of adequate health care and repealing the unfunded mandate that is No Child Left Behind! VP Richardson can set to work securing nuclear weapons that are unaccounted for, establishing relations with nations we've ignored for the past 7 years and, hell, maybe even open up Cuba! Be a nice play for a tropical vacation!

That's all I have time for at the moment. Clinton / Richardson. Think about it!

Relax, breathe and let it flow....

Vinyasa Flow Yoga has been one of my best discoveries over the past year. Seane Corn's DVDs are terrific and easy to follow.



A lot of you may eschew yoga has a hippie trend or have some other bias against it, but in my experience it's a great addition to life's routines that helps to keep me grounded, relaxed and able to deal with whatever comes my way.

What do you have to lose besides a few pounds and a ton of stress!

It looks as though Al's going to stay on the sidelines.

So, our next best hope to fix the mess we are in has to be Hillary!

Russia claims the pole and everyone else loses all sensibility!

So, Russia planted a tiny flag under water at the geographic north pole.



BFD.



Btw, this is the Russian Arctic Base Camp above.

The problem with this situation is not that Russia has claimed the pole with the goal of exploiting its reported gas and oil reserves (25% of total available resources globally be some estimates.).

The problem is the reaction of all these other countries to jump all over the issue and claim that they have sovereignty over the area and thus have rights to this reserve.

Ok, so that's only part of the problem. The big picture issue here is that they are already planning how to create a new arctic route to save going through the Panama canal with all the booty!



BIG PICTURE PEOPLE! BIIIIIG PICTURE!!!

The reason it is even possible to consider an arctic route for heavy oceanic transport is because the ICE is melting!

The ICE is melting in large part due to global warming!

GLOBAL WARMING is being hastened by the unchecked burning of OIL & GAS!

Common sense should allow us to consider that if:

A) Arctic Ice is melting because of Global Warming
+
B) Global Warming is hastened by burning of Oil and Gas
=
C) Then perhaps we should be more concerned about keeping anyone from touching the Oil and Gas in the Arctic region and focus on ways to develop clean and renewable energy.

I can't be the only one thinking of this. That's way too scary a thought that I am the voice of reason in the world!

In past years, (read before 2000) I would have suggested writing to the President and to your Congressmen and Senators. You can try writing your representatives but it'll probably prove as useless as writing to Bush and Cheney about it.

When even the environmentally Kennedy clan is sucked in by their own and other rich folks' interests (Ted Kennedy opposes Cape Wind project while only 14% of his constituents oppose it. But then, 86% of his constituents don't have homes on Nantucket that may be disturbed by the faintest sight of wind turbines 5 and 1/2 miles off the coast of the Kennedy compound!), there really can't be much use in writing, calling or emailing anymore!

So Bill, what can we do?

I'm glad you asked. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Third Party.

And I hate to say it but Unity 08 doesn't cut it. It's clear that people in this country just don't get that flag waving fervor going over a word like Unity! They may favor it, they may even admit that it's a good idea, but they will not be putting stickers on their pickups about it!

What we need is a third party with a strong libertarian leaning and a name like the Patriot party.



Who doesn't want to support a Patriot? Before McCain sold out to Bush and Falwell he may have even been a contender for such a party, but no more.

Now's the time for action before we slide so far down that proverbial slippery slope that it's impossible to recover. Wake up folks! It's time to mobilize and strive for change. In a peaceful and non-violent manner of course! Did you hear me NSA? I'm sure you did. Give out a shout out to Alberto for me! :-)


Our job, daresay our duty, as Americans and human beings is to find a way to stop this ridiculous childish behaviour and get this country back on track as a nation that leads the world by example (good example!) rather than trying to force our will down the throats of others from the barrel of a gun!


Be nice.

Peace