Composting and online dating.

From SFGate.com/

And finally: This only-in-San Francisco moment captured by Joe Mac, a recycling-booth volunteer at Sunday's leather-laden Folsom Street Fair: a guy removing a horse bit from his mouth to ask if the plastic cups were compostable.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/30/BAG019UG9L.DTL#ixzz0Sbk4f9Px

My city is awesome. My mood, however, is not. Looking for some cheering up. Anyone got anything good to share in the comments? 

Also, I'm considering online dating again (perhaps once my mood has swung back over to the positive). It's been well over two years since I did Match.com/ and I may be up for the fun/torture again. Chemistry.com/ was suggested... I could blog about it - some of you read our curly-haired friend's online dating blog a few years ago and it was hi-larious. Plus, look where she is now - married and a mom! (Love you, AB)

SF MOMA?

Hey. I just recently found out that I get into SF MOMA for free - PLUS a guest! Let me know if you want to go. We don't even have to wait in line!

WowStupidPlasticThing

It's the WowBacon. You use it to microwave your bacon. Because, you know, a pan isn't quite fast enough.

WTF.

Maybe some of my snark is due to the loss of my microwave, which died last week.

Most of it is due to the fact that this is a stupid piece of plastic. Thanks for alerting us, Treehugger.

End of five paleo-ish days.

So, my five Paleo-esque diet days are done.



I am looking forward to:

• Oatmeal topped with yogurt. I miss this flavor and texture combination.
  
• Grains mixed in with my veggies.
• Reducing my reliance on nuts - seriously! I don't think this was a good move, but sometimes I felt like I was at a loss for what to eat that would help me feel satisfied. Straight up protein alone doesn't do it, nor do veggies or fruits. Nut butters and nuts do help me feel energized and satisfied, but are way too calorically dense for me. I'm trying to reduce my calories-in, not increase! Maybe some of this is "getting used to" the diet changes, but I don't really want to do strict-ish Paleo. It was just an experiment.

What I learned:

• Cooking chicken breasts is easy. Remove from freezer, marinate over night, bake. 
• I do not like either of the rice protein powders I've recently purchased. 
• Other than yogurt, occasional cottage cheese and whole grains (quinoa, oats, amaranth, barley) -> this wasn't *that* different from how I normally eat... save the additional proteins in place of some of my beloved grains.
  
• Ok, except that I do have chocolate/baked goods/sweets sometimes and I didn't have those for five days (with the exception of chocolate almond/soy milk and a little unsweetened cocoa powder w/squirt of raw agave syrup on a mashed up banana last night - I was craving sweet & creamy sooo badly).

Next week is post- bachelorette party. I think that my experiment will be something around a solid reduction of calories. My pants are tight, and have been tight, and I am not down with this. So, experiment may take the form of actually plating my dinner and then being done. Or eliminating snacking between breakfast and lunch. Or an all-liquid day. Maybe actually posting my "nutrition log" to my ninja training club online forum. I'm already putting up my workout log... probably about time I did the nutrition one too. Let me know if you're interested in seeing either of those.

So... ideas for my next week's nutrition experiment?

What a crock of...

I want a crock pot to make some winter stews, particularly as my CSA is moving towards kale and chard season and I get more into actually cooking meat (ok, so far it's only been chicken) in my own kitchen.

Recommendations? Do I need one that's programmable? Two quarts seems small - I love having leftovers for lunch... but is four quarts a LOT? I am cooking for just one person (who sometimes eats like 1.5 - 2).

100 Days!

There are 100 days left in 2009, friends. What are you going to do with them?

paleo update

hahahahaha.

last night i dreamed that i ate pasta (which is strange, because i don't actually eat pasta all that often) and oats (topped with yogurt, natch) and quinoa and bread.of course, then i felt all guilty. dude, this may be a rough five day experiment. i loves me some whole grains. though, really, i think the toughest day is over - yesterday was vegan monday. no grains + vegan = big challenge for me.

also, big ups to the sweet potato. i don't recall if i've discussed the beauty of this tater, but it makes up a fantastic part of any breakfast.

today's breakfast, just fyi -
small protein shake before leaving the house - plain rice protein powder, 1/2 c each of frozen mango & frozen berries, splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. blended and then topped with 1/4 c TVP (texturized vegetable protein, which adds a nice granola-esque crunch, so it's like an acai bowl.)
once i got to work - small sweet potato (prepared at home by cutting into cubes and boiled in the microwave) - sprinkled with a touch of salt and a hard boiled egg

other stuff i have with me to eat during the day -

1/2 chicken breast (leftover from sunday) over my leftovers from last night's dinner - roasted fennel & garbanzo beans w/rainbow chard & dried cherries
1.5 carrots & yellow bell pepper (to be eaten plain, with almond butter or eggplant hummus/baba ganoush)
pear
two cups honeydew melon (soooooo awesome - from my CSA)
and, just in case - another hard boiled egg or rice protein powder & almond milk

probably have some almonds/walnuts/pecans before track tonight and then...

after track? some ideas...
tuna with huge jass salad
chicken with huge jass salad
potatoes - i have sweet & regular blended with cauliflower for a mash
tomato & cucumber salad, if not involved in the huge jass salad
zucchini & eggplant & bok choy
baked tofu
scrambled eggs

usually after track i'm super hungry and it's already after 8:30pm. so the tuna or eggs may win. ideally, i'll prep some tofu & veggies for wednesday's lunch/dinner... we shall see.

The Paleo Diet, attempt #1

New eating habit I'm trying out for now... a modification of The Paleo Diet. As the name implies, the Paleo Diet is supposed to be like eating what people did Back In The Day (and I don't mean the late 70s/early 80s) - caveman/huter-gatherer style. Meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables -> all in. Dairy, grains, tubers, legumes are out.


I think there's some BS here... Food preparation, no potatoes ?!?, the fact that old skewl cows actually ate grass, um, whole grains like quinoa, oats, amaranth are actually really good for you... Etc, etc. But, I've read that cutting out dairy has been shown to help with acne (yay!)... and I'm on this increased protein = decreased hungry feeling kind of kick.

My mods - tubers and legumes are IN! (Potatoes, soy) And I'll have some protein powder now and then - esp today's vegan Monday, when I left my edemame at home :(

Also, I just realized that I had a Clif bar this morning before working out. Damnit! Oh well.

I'm going to give it a shot for five days (Sun - Thurs) and see how I feel. Sometimes I feel like I overeat on something ( such as the delicious almond butter) when I might actually feel satiated by what I'm craving (bread/grains/chocolate/sugar).

Of course, life happens and if I find myself out somewhere, I'll go with the flow. Speaking of the flow... wine will be a-flowin this weekend! I'll be at a bachelorette party in Napa, eating copious amounts of bread and cheese and drinking wine all the live long day.

Maybe I'll figure out a new detox plan for next week. ;) Taking suggestions. As long as it doesn't require me to go a long time without eating, or drastically cut calories, or anything that would make me feel too cranky.

Oh yeah, so I found out about The Paleo Diet through Crossfit, aka Ninja Training. This is my fourth week of 2x a week there and it's been pretty rad. Let me know if you want to join me sometime!

The POTUS and his light saber. Oh happy day.

 

Taken from the comments section of this Gawker post, which also has the original, not quite as hilarious, but also quite amusing, picture on the White House lawn.

Caster Semenya - gender identity, physical gender

I've been interested in learning more about gender identity, gender chromosone disorders and other sorts of non-standard gendering, ever since a college friend was going M->F. Caster Semenya, a female track star from South Africa, has had her female status under fire since winning several high-profile international races. She's completely blown away her competition and looks a lot more manly than her fellow (already very ripped and lean) runners.

Poor girl is 18 years old and has always lived as a girl. Now she has just found out that she doesn't have ovaries or a uterus. Instead, she is a hermaphrodite and has internal testes, which are producing testosterone. Her testosterone levels are 3x that of a "normal" female. (But I haven't easily gathered how much more testosterone an average male has compared to an average female, which would be interesting.) Testosterone enough, I don't think, is adequate grounds for disallowing a female to compete in women's athletic events, but the physical evidence of hermaphrodism, does put Caster Semenya's athletic future in a tricky spot.

Article from the Australian Daily Telegraph here.

wanted: cute, funny, smart boy

i need a new crush.

Bridges as additional living/playing spaces

Cool pics and concepts  from Ronald Rael, Principal at Rael San Fratello Architects. Use existing bridge structures (assuming they can hold extra weight) to construct new homes!

I dig the idea of creating additional urban living and playing spaces in densely populated areas. But my main concern is... what about all of the pollution coming out of the tailpipes of the cars and trucks that use the bridge? Maybe this is even safer than living on a busy street because of the ocean/bay breezes? (using the Bay Bridge as an example, perhaps not as applicable say, over the Mississippi.) And then, of course, there's the noise factor... but again, people live relatively close to busy highways and seem to do okay.

 

Check out the article from Treehugger - Bridges are for People.

Inspiration!

Kick ass female athletes who rock their sports. And rock lil bikinis.

Check it.

What are your four pounds?

How much do you eat in a day?

About four pounds of food. At least that's what this post discusses, along with some comparisons among processed foods vs. whole foods, as well as within the various food groups. Example - 4 pounds of veggies ~ 400 calories and 4 pounds of Lucky Charms, Pop Tarts and Cheese ~ 10,000 calories.

We get to choose (unlike say, my cat) what kinds of foods are going to make that 3-5 pounds of food we are going to enjoy each day. Enjoy your choices :)

This sh!t is bananas

A bold statement, to say the least...
"This Post Will Change Your Life."

What is IT? Banana soft serve... essentially bananas whipped into a soft-serve like texture.

I'm willing to give it a shot. I have a small food processor and several naners ready to be frozen (meaning, they're all speckled and soft). You best believe I will be topping it with chocolate sauce of some variety.

Speaking of ice cream...If you're not a raw foodist (I mean, really, who isn't these days... ;) ), but not into the cow's milk ice cream for health, digestive or vegan-ish reasons... Three Twins Stormy Night. Made with rice milk. Chocolate with chocolate pieces. Faneffingtastic. You should come visit me if you want to get some, since there's a Three Twins (a dangerous) four blocks away. (AM - I'm looking at you, next time you're up here for a Nike Run...I mean, when you're not on tour) Three Twins doesn't (don't? it's a singular store, but the name implies more than one) always have Stormy Night, but they always have at least one vegan option on tap. Mint chip is also great (sorry, MW). Sometimes the vegan option is a sorbet, which doesn't really seem like an ice cream alternative to me, but refreshing and sweet.

And, of course, they have 4-5 cow's milk ice cream available too. Fancy flavors like Earl Grey and Strawberry Balsamic, as well as normal ones too.

Delicious, organic, local... Ahh.Yay. Eating in the Bay Area.

The SNAP! and HR training

I subscribe to RoadBikeRider's weekly newsletter. Interesting tidbits, training techniques and biking news. Thought I'd share some with you today...
---------------------------------
Improve Your Snap

Good riders can accelerate quickly. We're not talking about race-winning sprints but rather the ability to close small gaps fast.

Ever find yourself off the back after the group rounds a turn or leaves a stop sign? A 15-foot (5-m) gap opens and it takes an inordinate amount of time and effort to close it.

Snap is what we call the ability to quickly shoot across small gaps to return to the shelter of the pack. Doing it well -- before little gaps become gulfs -- is crucial when riding with a group.

Snap is important on solo rides too. It's what you need to zip past threatening dogs or get through an intersection when the light suddenly turns yellow.

It's easy to improve your snap using a simple drill. Try this during any ride after you've warmed up:

---Shift to a relatively big gear (say, 53x15-teeth) and accelerate hard for 10 seconds. Don't stand, just stay in the saddle. The effort should feel about 90% of maximum. Use good form, pushing the pedals evenly and firmly. Keep your upper body steady. Resist rocking from side to side in an attempt to generate more power because this mainly wastes energy.

---Shift back to an easier gear and resume your normal cruising speed. After about 5 minutes do another hard acceleration, this time out of the saddle. Repeat every 5 minutes, alternating between sitting and standing for a total of 5-8 reps.

Do this little workout once or twice each week for a month. After that, you'll be snapping up gaps with ease.

Tip!  These brief accelerations also are great for waking up your legs in the middle of long rides. They'll actually help you feel fresher.

Kirby's tip: Do this every effing day when you're commuting. Seriously, I accelerate to make lights, to beat cars across a few lanes of traffic (when I start before them, of course) and after most stop lights. I'm pretty sure this helps me out when I'm on an actual road ride. If you're a bike commuter, give it a shot and see if it helps your overall fitness! Note to me... keep it up for 10 seconds. I'm guessing I'm doing more like 5.
---------------------------------
When we discuss heart rate training, as in last week's newsletter, we often warn against using the ubiquitous formula that says to find maximum HR by subtracting your age in years from 220.

Why? Because if it's right for you, it's just dumb luck.

Let's say you're 45. Using this formula, your max HR would be 175. But it could actually be anywhere from 164 to 186 (or even outside this broad range) because the formula has a standard deviation of 11.

So if you calculate training zones using the max HR produced by this formula, you'll very likely be training at intensities too low or too high.

Which begs the question:  How'd this flawed formula come to be?

The interesting answer comes from Gabe Mirkin, M.D., a doc we respect because he's a lifelong athlete who at 74 still rides 200 miles (322 km) a week. At his website, http://www.drmirkin.com, he specializes in making sense of new medical research that impacts health and athletic performance.

Dr. Mirkin says that "although this 220-minus-age formula is the golden standard used today, it is not based on science." Here's why:

"In 1970, a good friend, Sam Fox, was the director of the U.S. Public Health Service program to prevent heart disease. He is one of the most respected heart specialists in the world.

"He and a young researcher were flying to a meeting. They put together several studies comparing maximum heart rate and age.

"Sam Fox took out a pencil and plotted a graph of age verses maximum heart rate and said it looks like maximum heart rate is equal to 220 minus a person's age.

"A pencil mark has been the accepted formula for nearly 40 years. It has been taught in physical education and heart function courses . . . but the whole concept of maximum heart rate and this formula is ridiculous."

Dr. Mirkin continues, explaining that for cyclists, "Your legs drive your heart. Your heart does not drive your legs. Maximum heart rate depends on the strength of your legs, not the strength of your heart.

"When you contract your leg muscles, they squeeze against the blood vessels near them to pump blood from your leg veins toward your heart. When your leg muscles relax, your leg veins fill with blood. So your leg muscles pump increased amounts of blood toward your heart.

"This increased blood fills the heart and causes your heart to beat faster and with more force. This is called the Bainbridge Reflex that doctors are taught in their first year of medical school. The stronger your legs are, the more blood they can pump, which causes your heart to beat faster."

In Dr. Mirkin's view, you can forget heart rate for training purposes. His approach is much like the one we've been recommending for years at RBR.

Do the following, he says, if you're in good health and have no heart problems:

"Three times a week, never on consecutive days, either race or push the pace so that you are at your anaerobic threshold and then use bursts to exceed it to become short of breath. On the other four days, take it easy and do not put pressure on your muscles."

His "anaerobic threshold" is what RBR calls "lactate threshold." It's easy to find (although a bit painful). It's the point where a slight amount of additional effort turns steady deep breathing into shallow panting.

Whatever heart rate this occurs at is the heart rate that really matters when you are seeking serious improvement. No formula needed.
Kirby's comment: I've heard that the 200-Age for Max HR isn't totally accurate, but I didn't know that it came from a back-of-the-napkin kind of calculation. Crazy! The way that it was taught in gym class, you'd think that your heart would EXPLODE if you went over that Max HR. I think the concept that I highlighted in yellow holds some good ideas. Go hard, hard to the point of pain on a regular basis. But give yourself time to recover. Of course, what about a bike ride or run or gym workout that involved a limited (like say, ONE really tough hill or that very last set) amount of anaerobic threshold + excess? Could you do that again the next day? I'm guessing that it's the sustained efforts that require a day off, where short bursts are okay repeated. Of course, the fitness benefits are probably higher with the longer durations at those lactate/anaerobic/pain+ thresholds.