Multiple Muscle Ups, Baseball on the Box, Who the F is Herman Cain, Kindle Fire
Yesterday at the gym I had another muscle up first, successfully completing 4 individual muscle ups on the bar between the cable machines. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone do a muscle up in person at the gym in my 25 years of gym attendance. I just happened to watch it from first person perspective.
Last night after work I was excited to try the next progression in muscle ups, doing more than one at a time. When I did my single reps the night before it went well, I thought it was quite possible I could string a few together. My instinct was right, I managed to do two sets of three reps each but it was tough.
When I did my single reps I was very careful placing my hands into as much of a false grip as possible. Well when you string the reps together, the false grip is out the window after the first rep. When you swing back down you are back into regular pull up grip whether you like it or not. Pulling back up from that position is more difficult since you are starting your pull lower. I definitely noticed the difference but was still able to yank myself back over the bar which was great.
My forearms and elbows really started to get uncomfortable during the second set. The torque put on the forearms during the downswing and on the elbows on the up transition is pretty severe. After I was done it felt like my forearms were cramping u p. I need to not go gangbusters with the muscle ups right off the bat. The last thing I need is to tear something from doing too much too soon. You can see the multiple reps here.
Last night I used my 360 and it’s slick, new ESPN app to watch the Phillies/Braves game. Xbox Live is just fantastic. The game comes through in clear HD and you can even split screen between two things at once if you care to. Now if I could just get live normal ESPN programming full time on it I would be majorly stoked. Right now it is mostly ESPN 2 and ESPN 3 content.
I was too tired to see the end of the game but I did see the Phils tie it up and go into the 10th inning. When I woke up and saw the Phils pulled it off I was pretty stoked for a couple reasons. The win gave the Phillis 102 victories this season, the highest total the team has EVER pulled off. The win also eliminated the Braves from the playoffs. If the Braves would have won, they would have had a 1 game playoff with the Cardinals to see who makes it as the wild card. How sweet it is, especially when I think back on the dozen or so straight years when the Braves ruled the NL East.
In the American League there was a similar scenario, the Rays and Red Sox were tied going into the last game of the season, again there would have been a 1 game playoff if both teams won or lost. Well the Rays came back from a crazy 7-0 deficit late in the game and beat the Yankees on a solo home run in extra innings. The Red Sox on the other hand wound up losing by a run to the shitty Orioles, eliminating them from the playoffs.
It is odd the way both leagues had identical situations going into the final day, I don’t think that has ever happened. Another irony was the parallel paths down the toilet both the Braves and Red Sox followed. Both teams had huge leads going into September and responded by shitting the bed in a major way. It’s going to be a long off season for those two.
So the other day it was announced that the the winner of a GOP straw poll in Florida was Herman Cain. Herman who? Cain is a rare black republican that has some strong credentials but who has also been a ghost in the media coverage of the Florida debates. I have no idea how he would have won any sort of poll. If anything his “win” demonstrates just how weak the republican field is in the big picture I suppose.
Personally, I would like Ron Paul to get more serious attention, unfortunately he is far too moderate for the Tea Party cronies that are calling the shots with their fat check books. He also is much too logical for the average Jersey Shore loving American that knows little more about a candidate than whatever one liner the media prints the prior day. Plus military contractors hate the fact that Ron Paul wants to get us the F out of Iraq/Afghanistan yesterday and most everywhere else since that is the butter to their corrupt, war mongering bread.
Yesterday Amazon announced their new Ipad competitor, the Kindle Fire. I have to admit, I am impressed. The Android based device takes the Kindle namesake to a new level with a beautiful color 7″ screen and the ability to do more than a Kindle including movies, tons of apps and the power of Amazon’s huge digital resources behind it.
The device is Wi-fi only, it would have been totally killer if they could offer the free 3G service some Kindle’s bundle in. However I can understand the omission when you look at the price point, $199, wow. When you compare this to the entry level Ipad 2 which is more than DOUBLE that you have to stand up and take notice.
Amazon also announced a slick new touch version of their original Kindles that utilize E-ink technology still. They look pretty damn nice as well and you can slide into one for as little as $79. Apple might actually have some competition in the touch pad market.