What's On My Coffee Cup Today

The Way I See It #209:

Growing up, my parents always said, "You will leave this world the same way you came into it: with nothing." It made me realize that the only things we do in this world that count are those things that make the world a better place for those who will come behind us.

--Tyrone B. Hayes
Biologist, herpetologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer.

Is Golf As Good As Sex?

I know for many that golf is akin to a religious experience. But is it really as good as sex? I'll let you be the judge based on this e-mail I got from a friend describing her most recent trip to the links:

I really have to liken a good round of golf to something you enjoy doing.

Got paired up with some 40ish-year-old guy. Gave him a good spanking.

My driving was smooth and repetitive. As well as long.

My short game: I was caressing those shots right in.

My putting: In the hole every time.

Yup. It is just like riding a bicycle. You just need to hop back on and go for it. Not bad for a four-month layoff.

Aahhh. Now I need a cigarette. :)

You and me both. Whew.

Happy Lupercalia!

I'm going to admit right now that I'm stealing all this from the great Lou Schuler's blog. Here's a fascinating bit about the true origins of Valentine's Day:

February occurred later on the ancient Roman calendar than it does today so Lupercalia was held in the spring and regarded as a festival of purification and fertility. Each year on February 15, the Luperci priests gathered on Palantine Hill at the cave of Lupercal. Vestal virgins brought sacred cakes made from the first ears of last year's grain harvest to the fig tree. Two naked young men, assisted by the Vestals, sacrificed a dog and a goat at the site. The blood was smeared on the foreheads of the young men and then wiped away with wool dipped in milk.

The youths then donned loincloths made from the skin of the goat and led groups of priests around the pomarium, the sacred boundary of the ancient city, and around the base of the hills of Rome. The occasion was happy and festive. As they ran about the city, the young men lightly struck women along the way with strips of the goat hide. It is from these implements of purification, or februa, that the month of February gets its name. This act supposedly provided purification from curses, bad luck, and infertility.

Long after Palentine Hill became the seat of the powerful city, state and empire of Rome, the Lupercalia festival lived on. Roman armies took the Lupercalia customs with them as they invaded France and Britain. One of these was a lottery where the names of available maidens were placed in a box and drawn out by the young men. Each man accepted the girl whose name he drew as his love -- for the duration of the festival, or sometimes longer.

As Christianity began to slowly and systematically dismantle the pagan pantheons, it frequently replaced the festivals of the pagan gods with more ecumenical celebrations. It was easier to convert the local population if they could continue to celebrate on the same days ... they would just be instructed to celebrate different people and ideologies.

Lupercalia, with its lover lottery, had no place in the new Christian order. In the year 496 AD, Pope Gelasius did away with the festival of Lupercalia, citing that it was pagan and immoral. He chose Valentine as the patron saint of lovers, who would be honored at the new festival on the fourteenth of every February. The church decided to come up with its own lottery and so the feast of St. Valentine featured a lottery of Saints. One would pull the name of a saint out of a box, and for the following year, study and attempt to emulate that saint.

Lou's entire post is a great history lesson. I always enjoy learning about the true origins of supposedly "Christian" holidays and just how pagan they really are. This line is the magic bullet for me as to how early Christianity was able to spread so rapidly:

It was easier to convert the local population if they could continue to celebrate on the same days ... they would just be instructed to celebrate different people and ideologies.

Embracing the pagan origins of these holidays makes them easier for me to enjoy. Christmas has always been difficult for me, even when I was a Christian, until I fully understood the origins of the holiday and threw out the religious crap. Now I can enjoy all my holidays without all the religious hang ups.

Now let's see, where did I put that loin cloth and februa? Any maidens out there who wish to be purified on this fine Lupercalia?

Metallica is My Messiah

Gimme fuel
Gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire

Okay, maybe not my messiah but certainly my savior today. If it weren't for the words and music of "Fuel" by Metallica I would not have survived my sprints (Seven 30-second sprints with 90 seconds rest). I had to play that song twice to pull through the last two.

Oh, on I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burning hard
Loose and clean

Oh, and on I burn
Churning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

So gimme fuel
Gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire

I had not sprinted for a couple of months but had done many slow and steady runs or intervals with longer intensity periods (90 seconds on/180 seconds rest). Today was so warm that I took off my shirt. Had I been in a public place I surely would have blinded many with my pasty white flesh. And I was served a reminder as to how much further I have to go in accomplishing my body composition goals as I felt the remaining fat around my belly wiggle while sprinting. I'll take motivation from any corner.

Motivation for what? My 10 Percent Solution. I'll have more on that in another post, but essentially this is series of obtainable goals I've set for myself in 2007, culminating in reaching an overall body fat of ten percent (I'm currently carrying a 15 percent body fat after dropping seven points in 2006).

After finally regaining my health after a two month battle with an upper respitory plague thing, I'm currently in the middle of week two of my four-week ramp up program prior to starting my 10 Percent Solution.

This is going to be challenging and fun. I hope to learn a bit about myself as well.

On I burn.

COLTS ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS

I can't say much more than that, can I? It was a great win for the Colts. They were the team that overcame the elements and the pressure to win this game. They were clearly the better team. My condolences to the Grossman family over the death of his QB career in Chicago. His mistakes aside, Manning and company played a terrific game. The true MVPs of the game were Addai and Rhodes for running over and through the Bears defense, getting key yards and massive games when they needed them the most. Actually, the whole team deserves the award. Way to go Colts!

On a more serious note, the Indianapolis Public Schools system closed it schools today because "a number" of bus drivers called in sick. Read more about this mysterious bus driver plague here.

Time to Get Totally Organic

I wish I was talking about sex but alas I'm not. I'm referring to a brand new reason to buy organic meats and dairy products:

When the government approves food from cloned animals, expected in the next year, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t plan special labels. Government scientists have found no difference between clones and conventional cows, pigs or goats.

However, shoppers won’t be completely in the dark. To help them sort through meat and dairy products, one signal is the round, green USDA organic seal, says Caren Wilcox, who heads the Organic Trade Association.

While many people choose organic to avoid pesticides or antibiotics, Wilcox says the U.S. Department of Agriculture label also means clone-free.

I've been slowly making the move to purchase more organic foods from stores like Whole Foods. It's pretty price competitive and the grain-fed beef is to die for, but I still fall into the trap of one store shopping while buying staples from Kroger. I have all my coupons and sometimes to save more money I need to buy a minimum dollar amount of goods.

I'm not sure how I feel about eating cloned critters yet. In theory, I can't see how meat would be different. I'm more surprised with how quickly the FDA has approved this process. So while the long-term results of eating cloned animals plays itself out in the public, I'll be looking for the USDA organic label on all my goods.

Besides, I don't see the need yet to buy organically produced, over-priced toilet paper. Isn't my crap organic enough?

I'm a Happy Hoosier

The Colts are in the Super Bowl and the Hoosiers upset the number two ranked team in the country last night.

I'm a happy Hoosier this week.