Category: health & fitness

promoting cycling in Canada

On By Rick McIn cycling, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

An unsolicited email escaped my spam filter:

At this address: http://www.gopetition.com/online/10170.html there is a petition aimed at the Canadian federal government, asking them to promote cycling as a preferred means of transportation. It mentions the health and environmental benefits of commuting by bicycle, and suggests ways that the Federal government could entice more Canadians to become bike commuters. …

It strikes me as increasingly crazy that our society is so geared towards the automobile, and almost discriminates against public transit and the bicycle. I’m hoping that – someday soon – people who WANT to switch from driving to biking are able to do so – that the infrastructure will be there (bike lanes, bike lockers etc) to make it possible.

If you feel at all inclined to help the petition along and helping us switch to a more environmentally sound method of transportation, it’d be much appreciated.

I signed the petition because I do want a higher priority put on the cycling infrastructure. And because I appreciate that taxpayers have another way to be heard in government via the internet.

This group used the GoPetition.com service. Works well.

http://www.gopetition.com/online/10170.html – more information

Penn Jillette is one smart dude

On By Rick McIn government, health & fitness, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Penn Jillette is an eloquent spokesman for libertarianism (people should be free to do whatever they wish with their person or property, as long as they do not infringe on the same liberty of others).

By eloquent, I should caution, I mean clear and emphatic. Penn is very profane, as well. If you don’t believe that “profanity is part of a good vocabulary”, you may be offended by the Penn and Teller Bullsh*t video series.

To see a sample — making the argument that the war on drugs is bullsh*t — click PLAY, or watch the 30min video on Google Video.

Penn & Teller - Bullsh*t - The Complete Third Season

Penn & Teller – Bullsh*t – The Complete Third Season

my latest website

On By Rick McIn blogs, gymnastics, health & fitness, internetLeave a comment

For years I’ve been a volunteer Board member on the Altadore Weightlifting and Fitness Club. I put together a website / blog for the club to improve our visibility and communication.

More importantly, I want to store our documentation in password protected folders on the site for ease of access and revision.

Using gymnastics as a base, our club offers strength, power and flexibility improvement training in an adult social environment. Our members are age-16 and older.

Under the supervision of certified gymnastics coaches, you decide your own training regime. Our facility has gymnastics equipment not available in the weight room. You use your own body weight as resistance.

Altadore weightlifting & fitness club

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Treehugger: Defining Hypocrisy, Canadian Style

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

Canada does not do very well vis-a-vis our Kyoto commitment.

So here we are in Canada, which along with the States and Australia was laughed out of Nairobi for its attitudes to climate change and Kyoto, and we are off to mail a letter and what is on the current stamp from Crown Corporation Canada Post? Wind turbines. With mountains in the background. Where are the smokestacks for the coal burning power plants? Where are the giant trucks digging up the tarsands?

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Treehugger: Defining Hypocrisy, Canadian Style

chocolate milk an ideal “recovery drink”

On By Rick McIn food, health & fitnessLeave a comment

chocolate.jpegI first heard this from Dr. Bill Sands. His recommendation came from research at the University of Utah.

I now drink chocolate milk myself after strenuous exercise.

This was great news for coaches and parents of young athletes who can be very picky about what they eat and drink.

… read more on GymnasticsCoaching.com

still shopping for a dentist

On By Rick McIn economics, health & fitness, travelLeave a comment

Hungary is another of the dental vacation destinations. Too far away for me, i reckon.

After 10 days in this small border town, Carothers had much to smile about.

She had visited Budapest and Vienna, sampled some of Hungary’s most popular wines and enjoyed people-watching in neighborhood cafes. When she returned home to suburban Washington, D.C., she brought gifts for friends and a few souvenirs of her own, including eight new crowns.

A trip to the dentist may not be everybody’s idea of a vacation, but it paid off for Carothers. Literally. The tab for her dental work came to $2,900 — about a quarter of the $11,150 she estimates she would have paid had she gone to a preferred dentist in her employer’s insurance plan. In all, she spent just under $4,300 on dental care and travel, including a $45-a-night hotel room and last-minute airfare at a pricey $899.

USATODAY.com – The inciDENTAL tourist

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chow down wide load

On By Rick McIn food, health & fitnessLeave a comment

I try to avoid big holiday feasts.

But I’m invited to American Thanksgiving at the Masons. That means vegetarian Thanksgiving.

homerjacketsmall.gifI thought the statistics were — adults gain a pound a year every year, on average.

No? Yes?

Then there’s the 10 pounds you gain then lose over Christmas.

New York Times health answer man Anahad O’Connor takes hard look at the widely-held convicition that holiday eating adds up to five to ten new pounds a year. Not quite, says O’Connor. In fact, not even close. The Times reports that most studies on the subject show that the average person gains one to two pounds from (American) Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

… To the surprise of no one, those who were the most active had the least gain, and those who were already overweight gained the most.

SportsGeezer: Holiday Weight Gain, Facts and Fictions

A pound is nothing! Gimme another tofurkey drumstick.

Possibly related posts.

nutrition – is corn killing me?

On By Rick McIn audiocasts, books, food, health & fitnessLeave a comment

I’m no wimp when it comes to nutrition.

But with my processed food diet, sounds like I won’t live long enough to read a 400 page book about food: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

But the Slate.com book review club delivered a terrific audiocast. Stephen Metcalf is a particularly eloquent and articulate reviewer. Listen to that podcast.

For reasons historic and political, corn is used to feed American cattle. Unfortunately a corn diet can kill a cow. Thankfully we have drugs to keep the poor beasts alive until slaughter date. (About 18-months-old, I believe.)

Consider a McDonald’s lunch. Corn feeds the cow that turns into the burgers. Corn is the oil that cooks the fries. And corn syrup sweetens the shakes and the soft drinks. Corn even makes up 13 of the 38 ingredients in Chicken McNuggets.

If you wisely avoid Rotten Ronnie’s, know that a quarter of the products in your grocery store contain corn.

Avoiding corn is as easy as avoiding things made in China.

This cannot last much longer. So much petroleum is needed to keep the corn economy running that the corn economy is not sustainable long-term. Something must change.

New Zealand was held up as a non-corn-based model. They dropped all agricultural subsidies long ago.

Omnivore\'s Dilemma