Posts by burninlove

I have to separate my M&Ms by color, going from cool colors to warm colors, and put them into rows of four, then eat them in that order.  I have similar quirks for other colored foods/candies as well.

A baby seal walks into a club...

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?

- Nacho cheese

"Someone talk me into having a baby shower."

We got at *least* $500 worth of stuff for our baby during a 2 hour shower...  I think I can put my principles aside and and play stupid baby shower games for $250/hour.  (It was good stuff, BTW, stroller, monitors, car seats, etc)

Original Post by larsa000:

I'm a pretty stong swimmer.  I can definitely swim 750 m and on my swim days I usually swim about 600-1000 m, depending on what stroke I'm using and what exercises I'm doing.  I'm a pretty strong cyclist as well and for a long time used my bike as my sole means of transportation.  I'm not a great runner though, and I'm a little worried about that since it's what I finish with.  I'll have to start doing a short run after my bike rides soon.  Thanks for the tips.

Is it indoor or outdoor?  If outdoor, I cannot recommend enough getting out and swimming in open water beforehand. (Just do it safely!)  I just did a 500yd swim in an old rock-quarry this last weekend, and I hadn't done an open water swim prior.  I was used to swimming 3200m at a time at the gym, but I had a LOT of problems with the swim.  Here's what I learned:

- Practice sighting in the water - I had practiced this in the gym, but I kept forgetting to sight and I kept drifting to the inside of the loop.  This was, by far, the most difficult thing for me.

- Pace yourself - I got caught up in the excitement of the start of the race and sprinted at the start, and ended up wearing myself down quickly.  Had to resort to some breaststroke to cool down a bit and catch my breath.

- Be prepared for the chaos - I don't know how many times I was cut-off by another swimmer or turned my head to breathe to find my self face-to-face with another swimmer.  The water was relatively calm, so waves weren't too much of an issue, but I've heard that they can be. 

- Water temperature - Ours wasn't too bad (73 deg F, I think) but depending on where you are, you might want to consider wearing a wet suit if the race allows it.

Hope I haven't scared you - Overall it was a great day and I am so glad that I got my first tri under my belt now.  I am doing another one in August, and I really looking forward to it...  Good luck!

Original Post by nenebug:

I'm just starting biking (outdoors) as a form of exercise. I have a 3 yr old (46 lbs) and a 10 month old (18 lbs) in a bike trailer behind me. I'm wondering if lugging the extra weight burns more calories or if its all the same?  

I would say that you definately burn more calories towing a trailer.  (With all other things being equal).  You not only have more inertia to overcome when you start, but you have friction from four wheels instead of two, and you have a lot more wind resistance from the trailer.  Going uphill would burn even more calories as you are having to pull more weight.  I can usually sustain 20mph+ without my trailer, but I can barely do 16 with it.   

Not sure if you live in/near a large city, but that usually increases the rent somewhat (as does a college town).  I also live in the Midwest, and here in Indianapolis you can easily find a decent 1-bedroom apartment for around $600 a month.  I don't know that I have seen many cheap apartment complexes with garages, though.  There are some around here with enclosed car ports with doors, but they are usually pretty small and barely fit a car, let alone tools and such. Plus you usually have to pay extra for those ($50/month, maybe?)   

Have you thought about renting a house?  Might be something else to look into if the garage is really important.  Plus you don't have to worry about neighbors that way. 

As for Utilities, I would guess probably $150-200/month for electricity and/or gas (more in winter/summer and less in spring/fall)  Maybe $30 for water... Also don't forget about cable/phone/internet.

Some apartment advice:  Get on the highest floor that you can.  It sucks moving in and out, but it is harder for people to steal stuff off of your patio, you don't have to worry about listening to your upstairs neighbors stomp around their apartment all day, and you can live off of your downstairs neighbor's heat in the winter time. 

Hope this helps...

I had to chuckle when I read this -- All I can think about is "Factory Air"

Original Post by floggingsully:

Big bulky muscles are just as lean as weak little muscles.

 Have you ever shopped for steaks before?  There can be quite a difference in the amount of fat "marbled" in with the muscle tissue based on the cut of meat.  I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to think that humans would be the same way.

Among a ton of other things, prison guards, prisons in general, air traffic control, food/drug inspections, stoplights (or all road signage, for that matter), water treatment, weather monitoring and bridges that don't collapse are reasons that I don't mind paying my taxes. 

Original Post by lysistrata:

Really?  Hitting a Federal Gun Free Zone seems like pretty sharp thinking to me.

 Funny you should mention that, the top story on the news is how Indiana gun shops can't keep guns in stock because people are buying so many guns since Obama was elected. 

However, I haven't noticed any corresponding decrease in the number of crimes recently.  (To be fair, I am basing this completely on my watching the evening news every night...)

We had a local news story here a few months ago about some people that were robbing elementry school kids (at gunpoint) for their lunch money while they were waiting for the bus.  One of the kids got pistol whipped, and the other lost $2-5 in lunch money or something.  After that story, all of the local internet forums were filled with people suggesting that "if only the neighbors had a gun", "the bus drivers had guns", etc.  One person actually suggested that the elemetry kids should be allowed to carry guns ("only after getting properly trained, of course")

So in this perfect world where everyone had guns, the robbery for $2 in lunch money would turn into a free-for-all shootout between the criminals, bus drivers, neighbors, and the elementry school students...

Original Post by lysistrata:

See, the difference between you and me is, you are assuming you will be the victim.  I am not.

I won't argue with you on that... I will gladly be the victim in a situation like that if there is no real consequence to me.  (Losing my wallet really isn't that important to me)

Original Post by lysistrata:

Original Post by burninlove:

I guess I never understood why people think they are safer with a gun...  If someone comes up and points a gun at me and asks for my wallet... I give it to them, they say "Thanks a lot!" and run away.  The wost thing that happens is that I spend the next two months replacing all the cards in my wallet and I have to buy a new pair of underwear.  If I pull out a gun and start shooting, I better hope that he's a worse shot than I am! 

Personally, I would rather lose my wallet and buy some new underwear.

Situational awareness is what keeps you safe.  The gun just evens the playing field.

 That's not the point.  Unless an attacker is coming after you to kill you (in case you pissed off the mob or something) they are simply using the gun to persuade you to do what they want.  Once you pull out a gun, you have now forced them to try to kill you to protect themselves. 

If you didn't see it, most of the show was to see if being armed really helps you in armed robbery, Virginia-Tech type situation, or other gun-type crimes.  It basically boiled down to the fact that shooting at a stationary paper target in a gun range does little or nothing to prepare you for a crisis situation where having a gun *could* be useful, and that most people don't think straight in such situations and end up putting themselves or bystanders in more danger than if they didn't have a gun.