Wowsers, I'd hate to play this guy in H-O-R-S-E-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBSQf0wWiKw&feature=player_embedded
And it even has a cameo appearance by the Almighty K himself!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
I am getting SO MUCH better, physically-- FIRST RUN! (outside my gym)
More physically fit even than Jeff 1.0 ever was! So I've been working at my gym 1-on-1 with a personal trainer for months on the ability to run. Yesterday morning, she cleared me to run outside of her supervision, and this morning I moved from my brand-new walking group (that I've only walked with once) into the running group! YAY! SUCCESS! (it was luck beyond luck that I found this running group, as the ladies in charge are personal trainers almost exactly like the ones at my gym) I'm just excited to be running with the public now!
And, just so y'all know that this is out there, just spreadin' the word, I had my Android cell phone in a camera bag I strapped around my waist, so that I could record the workout with the free CardioTrainer app. That was useful since as I ran, it was talking to me through an earpiece, telling me my current speed and distance covered so far. And it shows me stats about my run afterward, such as total distance, time, calories burned, average speed (even graphs my speed), and even plots my route on a Google Map! I think it's cool, but then again, I'm aware I'm a major dork-- I like anything that can be quantified in numbers. Back to the run, I would run until I thought I needed a break, I'd walk for a bit, I'd go back to running, then walk, etc. etc. But the cool thing was that I stayed right with the group! HECK YEAH!
And then another first this afternoon-- I took a bus up to my old Furman University campus to watch the Greenville Scottish games. That's significant in my world since I think it's the first time I've done something outside the usual rigamarole completely on my own! (side note: the bus even goes to the Furman campus now partly because of me-- about four semesters ago I was attending school at a community college campus (right behind the Furman campus) that wasn't served by the community bus-- I complained long, loudly, and finally got a face-to-face meeting with the right Transit Authority people in charge, and now the bus heads that way!)
And, just so y'all know that this is out there, just spreadin' the word, I had my Android cell phone in a camera bag I strapped around my waist, so that I could record the workout with the free CardioTrainer app. That was useful since as I ran, it was talking to me through an earpiece, telling me my current speed and distance covered so far. And it shows me stats about my run afterward, such as total distance, time, calories burned, average speed (even graphs my speed), and even plots my route on a Google Map! I think it's cool, but then again, I'm aware I'm a major dork-- I like anything that can be quantified in numbers. Back to the run, I would run until I thought I needed a break, I'd walk for a bit, I'd go back to running, then walk, etc. etc. But the cool thing was that I stayed right with the group! HECK YEAH!
And then another first this afternoon-- I took a bus up to my old Furman University campus to watch the Greenville Scottish games. That's significant in my world since I think it's the first time I've done something outside the usual rigamarole completely on my own! (side note: the bus even goes to the Furman campus now partly because of me-- about four semesters ago I was attending school at a community college campus (right behind the Furman campus) that wasn't served by the community bus-- I complained long, loudly, and finally got a face-to-face meeting with the right Transit Authority people in charge, and now the bus heads that way!)
Friday, May 20, 2011
the Google science is open!
This might prove to be cool-- the Google science fair: online & open to students from all over the world. And there is a people's choice award for the entry that is most popular, so you can go read & vote:
Now, if you're anything like me, when you read the titles of some of these projects, you were thinking "Yeah, sure this was done by a 13-18 year old. I believe that. I also believe they took the word 'gullible' out of the dictionary." (don't bother checking-- I just did; it's gone)
Some examples from the 13/14 year old category:
"Can anti-cancer agents such as turmeric, cumin, pepper, ginger, hibiscus, and beet used in food inhibit the germination and protein content in the experimental seeds?" What 13 year old uses 'tumeric' in casual conversation?
"Colour Image Edge Detection Using Clifford Algebra" Wait, WHAT? 13/14 year old's are concerned about the upcoming baseball game & if that girl over there wants to be my special enemy! Sure, no parent had a hand in this...
"Control of a Ferrofluid Surface by Varying Magnetic Fields" A -what- surface??? Go outside & play with your brother...
"The Utilization of Gold Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Malignant Prostate Cancer Cells, in vitro" THAT TAKES THE CAKE. THAT WAS FOUND IN THE THIRTEEN/FOURTEEN YEAR OLD CATEGORY. GOOGLE, LOVE YA, MEAN IT, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CONTACT THE DICTIONARY PEOPLE AND ASK THEM TO REINSTATE 'GULLIBLE' AS A WORD IN THE DICTIONARY, DEFINED AS "SEE THE ENTRIES IN THE 2011 GOOGLE SCIENCE FAIR, WHICH WERE PRESENTED AS 'BY THE CHILDREN'." I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BOUGHT THIS... I DON'T EVER SAY THIS, BUT I'LL MAKE AN EXCEPTION: GOOGLE, YOU ARE DUMBER THAN YOU LOOK...
Now, if you're anything like me, when you read the titles of some of these projects, you were thinking "Yeah, sure this was done by a 13-18 year old. I believe that. I also believe they took the word 'gullible' out of the dictionary." (don't bother checking-- I just did; it's gone)
Some examples from the 13/14 year old category:
"Can anti-cancer agents such as turmeric, cumin, pepper, ginger, hibiscus, and beet used in food inhibit the germination and protein content in the experimental seeds?" What 13 year old uses 'tumeric' in casual conversation?
"Colour Image Edge Detection Using Clifford Algebra" Wait, WHAT? 13/14 year old's are concerned about the upcoming baseball game & if that girl over there wants to be my special enemy! Sure, no parent had a hand in this...
"Control of a Ferrofluid Surface by Varying Magnetic Fields" A -what- surface??? Go outside & play with your brother...
"The Utilization of Gold Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Malignant Prostate Cancer Cells, in vitro" THAT TAKES THE CAKE. THAT WAS FOUND IN THE THIRTEEN/FOURTEEN YEAR OLD CATEGORY. GOOGLE, LOVE YA, MEAN IT, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CONTACT THE DICTIONARY PEOPLE AND ASK THEM TO REINSTATE 'GULLIBLE' AS A WORD IN THE DICTIONARY, DEFINED AS "SEE THE ENTRIES IN THE 2011 GOOGLE SCIENCE FAIR, WHICH WERE PRESENTED AS 'BY THE CHILDREN'." I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BOUGHT THIS... I DON'T EVER SAY THIS, BUT I'LL MAKE AN EXCEPTION: GOOGLE, YOU ARE DUMBER THAN YOU LOOK...
Monday, May 16, 2011
I got to put a good word in for my gym
Excellent! My gym taped an interview with mom & I about the benefits of using their Speedflex equipment, and has just put it up! If you wanna see it, you can go to www.youtube.com/speedflextraining, then click on Disease Management, and I'm down in the list of videos on the right. (and since when is getting hit by a drunk driver a disease?) OR, you can just go straight to the video.
Friday, May 13, 2011
-=apparently=- I'm "famous" around the bus station
I came by the transit authority transfer station today to get a new bus map to replace an outdated one. In talking with the woman behind the window, she dropped a sentence that had my name in it. I was like "Woah, wait... how'd you know my... oh wait, are you the email contact person for Greenlink, Sheila <lastName>?"
"Yes I am Jeff."
"Well how did you know who I am?"
"Oh, everyone around here knows who you are."
"WHAT? I mean, cool, but why is that?"
"You're the only one who asks questions."
That was just so cool, had to blog it. Hey, you don't always have to accept things "the way they are."
"Yes I am Jeff."
"Well how did you know who I am?"
"Oh, everyone around here knows who you are."
"WHAT? I mean, cool, but why is that?"
"You're the only one who asks questions."
That was just so cool, had to blog it. Hey, you don't always have to accept things "the way they are."
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Eleusis Express: a game that quickly turns harder than it should be
So I'm always on the lookout for new good, challenging games. Found one a few days ago, thought I'd share. You can play with only two decks of cards and something to keep score on. It's called Eleusis Express, and here are the official rules in case you want to try it, but here's my quick summary and a rundown of what just happened:
One person is the rule-maker, the rest are guessers. The guessers are supposed to have 12 cards each, but we decided that didn't add anything to the game, and let the guesser pick any card they want to play on this turn out of the deck. The rule-maker makes up some rule in their head which some playing cards will fit and some won't. Guesser 1 plays any one card in front of them, and the rule-maker says that it either fits the rule they've concocted, or doesn't. If it fits the rule, it goes next in a row of cards that have been played that fit this rule, and the person who played it gets a chance to guess what the rule is. If it doesn't pass the rule, it's placed immediately below the last card in the row of cards that matched the rule, and there's no guessing the rule.
So we learned pretty darn quick that if you're thinking you want to make up a hard rule, NUH UH, it's too hard. "The next card in the series must be higher than the difference between the previous two cards in the row" IS WAY TOO HARD. Over a few days, we learned that if you make a rule seemingly too easy, you'll be surprised at how hard it is to guess. "If it's a red suit, it must be followed by an even number & vice-versa" = NO. "Is it an odd number" took us many rounds to get through. Not that we're dumb, just that you're trying to correlate so many pieces of information about each card.
And as the rule-maker, it can put you in stitches that they're not seeing this obvious pattern that's RIGHT THERE, right in front of them. "THEY'RE ALL ODD NUMBERS! EVERY SINGLE ONE THAT FAILED WAS EVEN! HOW DID YOU NOT SEE THAT?" (then you play a game as guesser) "Oh, um, never mind."
And just to illustrate that point, I just played a round with my folks. It went as follows:
4 of spades, matches the rule.
One person is the rule-maker, the rest are guessers. The guessers are supposed to have 12 cards each, but we decided that didn't add anything to the game, and let the guesser pick any card they want to play on this turn out of the deck. The rule-maker makes up some rule in their head which some playing cards will fit and some won't. Guesser 1 plays any one card in front of them, and the rule-maker says that it either fits the rule they've concocted, or doesn't. If it fits the rule, it goes next in a row of cards that have been played that fit this rule, and the person who played it gets a chance to guess what the rule is. If it doesn't pass the rule, it's placed immediately below the last card in the row of cards that matched the rule, and there's no guessing the rule.
So we learned pretty darn quick that if you're thinking you want to make up a hard rule, NUH UH, it's too hard. "The next card in the series must be higher than the difference between the previous two cards in the row" IS WAY TOO HARD. Over a few days, we learned that if you make a rule seemingly too easy, you'll be surprised at how hard it is to guess. "If it's a red suit, it must be followed by an even number & vice-versa" = NO. "Is it an odd number" took us many rounds to get through. Not that we're dumb, just that you're trying to correlate so many pieces of information about each card.
And as the rule-maker, it can put you in stitches that they're not seeing this obvious pattern that's RIGHT THERE, right in front of them. "THEY'RE ALL ODD NUMBERS! EVERY SINGLE ONE THAT FAILED WAS EVEN! HOW DID YOU NOT SEE THAT?" (then you play a game as guesser) "Oh, um, never mind."
And just to illustrate that point, I just played a round with my folks. It went as follows:
4 of spades, matches the rule.
Jack of hearts, doesn't match.
2 of clubs, doesn't match.
7 of hearts, doesn't match.
4 of clubs, matches the rule.
Jack of spades, doesn't match.
King of hearts, doesn't match.
4 of clubs, matches the rule.
Ace of spades, doesn't match.
4 of hearts, matches the rule.
4 of diamonds, matches the rule.
4 of hearts, matches the rule.
4 of spades, matches the rule.
4 of diamonds, matches the rule.
And here's where I died laughing when one of my folks blurted "I just can't figure out the pattern!" Finally, ""Um, must be a four?" YES!!! Holy cow! That just proves that the human mind looks for more complexity sometimes than is really there... it's a good game, I recommend it. Just keep in mind this warning: make the rules way easier than you think they should be...
Sunday, May 8, 2011
allow me to brag a bit...
So we all know that I've been all the way down at the very bottom. There was a period where I couldn't eat, couldn't go to the bathroom, couldn't even breathe, those were all handled for me. Once I awoke and had those functionally mastered, there was still nowhere to go but up. That's why it was so nice that the Acceleration Sports Institute got bought by the hospital at just the right time in my recovery, and I was able to effectively use their SpeedFlex equipment without a real risk of injuring myself. So I busted butt. When you're working out there you can wear a heart monitor from Polar, and it shows your heart rate on several TVs on the wall-- but that doesn't really mean much, so in addition it shows you in a large font what percentage that is of your maximum heart rate, 220-your age. So it's nice to be able to look up & see that you're only at 80% of your max. (80% is what's recommended by the American Heart Association as an upper limit) (that's also why it was a bit worrisome when I looked up one time & saw 116% and another time 108%-- "Am I about to die?") So I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I kinda am. This is an astounding fitness tool, and I take full advantage, and I'm so glad other people have learned of the magic of SpeedFlex-- because of me-- and this one person in particular.
It was so nice when the hospital wanted feedback on the gym they had just bought, and I was invited to speak to the chairmen of all the departments at the hospital, after I'd been attending A.S.I. for about two months. One of the men in the room that day was Doran Dunaway, who suffers from that evil known as Parkinson's disease, and all of you on the Knox side of the family are intimately acquainted with how that affected our beloved Papa.
I'll let Doran tell you how that speech that day affected his life, and the results are astounding. Not just for him, but for Parkinson's sufferers everywhere.
Go to http://www.speedflextraining.com/ and put your mouse over "video clips", then click on "SpeedFlex Benefits". Mr. Dunaway is the first one up there, and you can skip to the 3:00 mark to see how I'm involved, go check out this coolness.
My path from the bottom has helped other people! SWEET!!!
It was so nice when the hospital wanted feedback on the gym they had just bought, and I was invited to speak to the chairmen of all the departments at the hospital, after I'd been attending A.S.I. for about two months. One of the men in the room that day was Doran Dunaway, who suffers from that evil known as Parkinson's disease, and all of you on the Knox side of the family are intimately acquainted with how that affected our beloved Papa.
I'll let Doran tell you how that speech that day affected his life, and the results are astounding. Not just for him, but for Parkinson's sufferers everywhere.
Go to http://www.speedflextraining.com/ and put your mouse over "video clips", then click on "SpeedFlex Benefits". Mr. Dunaway is the first one up there, and you can skip to the 3:00 mark to see how I'm involved, go check out this coolness.
My path from the bottom has helped other people! SWEET!!!
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My pirate name is:
Captain Jack Kidd
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
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