The Walking Dead.

I've set my PVR, double-checked the time slot, and if worse comes to worst, I'm ready to download the multitude of torrents I know will be up the next day.

I'm not going to miss The Walking Dead.

Forget that it's on AMC - who has two other awesome shows with Breaking Bad and Mad Men - it's from one of the best comic series I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Thanks to the Twin's ownership of a comic book store, I've been able to read at least 95% of this fascinating story. It's not a Zombie story - it's a story about people that happens to have Zombies in it.

If you haven't read the books, I'd suggest you do it asap.. I'm dying to see how they do some of the storylines on the small screen.

So after the candy is handed out and the porch light is turned off, don't bug me - unless you want to risk being one of the undead yourself.


Later.

Hallo-wtf?

The image to the right has me conflicted in so many ways.

There's a lot that I like:

1. Hot woman? Check.
2. Stockings? Um - yeah, Check.
3. Skintight Dress, practically glued to her body? Check. (Is it hot in here or is it just me?)
4. Heels? Check.
5. Big Bird perched on her head like a Brain Slug from Futurama? Check.
   

(Yes - I list the Brain Slug look as a positive thing - anything that references Futurama is okay in my books.)

And some stuff that I find troubling:

1. She's dressed like Big Bird.
2. Big Bird appears to have crammed his beak into her cranium, completely rendering her incapable of thought.
3. She's dressed like Big Bird if he was transformed into a nymphomaniac slut. (I really had problems putting this in the "negative" category.
4. She's dressed like fucking Big Bird.

Now for the longest time, I've been completely fine with the "slutty" or "sexy" trend in Halloween costumes. Slutty Mail carrier, Slutty Teacher, Slutty Nurse, Slutty CSI, Slutty Jedi (oh I wish).. you get the idea. But the line has to be drawn somewhere, and I guess this is it for me.

Sure, you can parody the ambiguous relationship Bert and Ernie have, and even make fun of Oscar the Grouch as a belligerent drunk - but making Big Bird (and Elmo too, believe it or not - I've seen pictures) sexy and trashy is just wrong. Big Bird is the most child-like and innocent of all the Sesame Street characters - as far away from sexy as can be.

If I see a woman dressed in this, am I going to look? Hell yes - I'm a man after all. But I'd feel reaaaallllly bad about it afterwards. (Hey, maybe if I asked nice, she'd take it off...)


Later.

The Power of Faith.

Whenever I go to the gym at a time other than my usual there's one thing I've noticed that always surprises me.

The 700 Club is on.

Now, most of the TVs in the gym are usually focused on one of two things: the News or Sports.

That's why it's such a shock to see one to the channels tuned into a religious program. It's hard to imagine one of the people that I work out with (around, actually) to be getting their Jesus fix on in between reps. (I think one of us would change the channel, but we're all secretly worried the it's the guy benching 285 who's eyeballing the program.) The private aspect of religion seems to clash with the openness of flexin' your glutes at the gym.

Shows what I know - just watch, Jesus will come back, and I betcha he's ripped.


Later.

"Don't be Evil"

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist" - The Usual Suspects


Let me just say that I'm sure Google knows more about me than my own Mother does. I use Google to search, Maps/ Earth for directions , Gmail for practically everything, and heck - you're reading this on Blogger, aren't ya?

Ya - I'm a fan.

But unlike everyone else in the world who is upset with Google for wi-fi privacy infringements and those who want there homes blurred in Google Street View, I think the company's biggest problem in this case is one of ignorance.

I secure my wi-fi network at home - everyone who lives around me has a secure network. If you are broadcasting an open signal to anyone who cares to jump onboard, you're an idiot.

That being said, I think Google, and especially the people who were involved in the data collection, are ignorant to the fact that there are people out there who aren't "tech" savvy and aren't going to accept the blame for leaving their digital front door wide open. I also think that Google"s ignorant (or arrogant) in thinking that nobody would catch them doing this - they are one of the most powerful/noticeable corporations in the world. Even if your slogan is "Don't be Evil", there are people out there who will assume you are doing your worst, and they live for moments like this - when they seemingly catch you with your hand in the cookie jar, inadvertently or not.

As for not wanting your home on Street View, I don't understand the fuss - anyone can get your address from a phone book, and can walk by and see the front of your home every day. Having the front view of my house accessible on the Internet really doesn't bug me - except that now some guy in Germany might notice that I needed to mow my lawn the day the Google Car drove by. The same people who are too ignorant to secure their wireless networks are probably the same ones who don't want their dwelling online, for fear of "teh h@ck0rz". Maybe there's a point I'm missing, but I don't think so.

Either way - I and millions of others around the world are going to continue to use Google and their products. I can still see Google's halo shining - it's tarnished, but in my book it's still there.


Later.

Stairway to...

There are 23 steps on the stairs at work.

On days when I'm the only senior (in experiance, not age) manager here, it means that I run up and down those stairs about 15-25 times, just in the general day to day stuff.

On days like today, however, I run up and down about 30-45 times.

For some reason everything I needed today was at the top of those stairs.

Any job or task I needed to do? Top of stairs.
If someone needed something? Top of stairs.
Lunch Room? Top of stairs.
Gotta pee? Top of stairs.

You get the idea.

So lets just say that after the workout this morning, the usual lifting and stuff that I do anyway, and all the running up and down the stairs I did today, my legs fucking HATE me.

Too bad they don't know about the run I'm going to do tomorrow...hahaha.


Later.

I Feel:

• That once my legs adjust to all the punishment of squats and lunges, that I will be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
• That the new KOL album, while not their best effort - has grown on me, and I find it hard to step away from it.
• That the minute the new Foo Fighters album comes out, the previous statement will become null and void.
• That the fact that I use words like "album" makes me seem like I'm some ancient fossil.
• That it took me 5 minutes to fix my keyboard (having inadvertently switched it to French) and that makes me feel like a failure as a geek.
• That having just one day off is both a relief and a tease.
• That having finished Lamb by Christopher Moore makes me crave more funny, insightful literature.
• That just when I think Dave Grohl couldn't get any cooler - I see this.
• That even though I love Shaun of The Dead, Zombieland, and The Walking Dead, enough with the Zombies already - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Really?
• That if the River City ever got a Booster Juice, I'd be broke.
• That I want a Samsung Galaxy S sooo bad. Not that I'd turn down an iPhone...
• That I think I've exposed more geekiness in one post than I have in years on the Internet.

Later

Fuck You, 5am.

Is that too bitter?

Don’t get me wrong - I’m enjoying my new routine - the legs are a little bit sore from the different weight program, but everything seems great so far - with one exception:

5am sucks.

I used to do it no prob - 5am, jump out of bed, head to the gym or out for a run. But when I started letting things slide this summer, the first thing to change was how much I hit the snooze button. Not good.

I read somewhere that the best way to establish a habit is to do it (or not do it, as the case may be) for 21 days. After 3 weeks, your body adjusts to the change and you just accept it. So my goal is to make sure that I’m getting up for that morning workout or run on a regular basis.

Yesterday the combination of getting up at 5, the new weight workout, and heading back from holidays to bust my ass at work had me in bed by 10:15! (Really - how sad is that?) Today is the same, except now it’s a night shift, which meant that the whole night drrrrraaaggged. (Sure, I could have slowed down and left myself with work to keep me busy, but that’s not how I roll.) And do you know how hard it is to stay awake when there’s nothing to do? I felt like taking a nap on the Bakery Table - and don’t say coffee, the stuff at work is a crime against man.

But I overcame that, and soon it’ll be Marathons while shoulder-pressing 120lbs on 4 hours sleep.

Ha! If that’s the case I must be dreaming - I’m off to bed.

5am comes early, ya know.


Later.

Rededication.

I failed my legs.

For the first time ever, I failed to PB (Personal Best) in the last two races I was in - The Victoria Half Marathon, and the Miracle Beach 10K. The fact that I placed well in both (429th out of 6800 and 27th out of 150+) is a small comfort - but basically I let myself down.

It's all a matter of training, really - I wasn't putting in the distance and staying focused like I did last year and earlier this year - I let my diet and the gym slide, and it shows. I was just tired of the same routine, and lost it on the follow through.

But that's enough - it's stopping now.

I'm rededicating myself, changing the routine, (can you believe running less?) and knocking the honey cruller out of my hand. I have a goal to CRUSH my Half Marathon PB at the Comox Valley half in March - that gives me plenty of time. (As for the running less part - don't think my Twitter feed will go silent - it'll still be minimum 3 times a week.)

Part of that re-dedication will come from this blog too- it was always something that helped, in running and life, and I would really like to get back to it. I'll try not to make it all about running, but if your tired of hearing me talk about my shoes, you might want to delete me from your bookmarks...

(On a side note, just occurred to me -I'm going to have to change my blog title soon - from "Thirty-something Man" to "Holy Shit, I'm Forty." - but that's 2 years away, so I can hold off on that..)


Later.