Month: March 2011

T-mattle

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard by now that AT&T [1]formerly Cingular and otherwise known as the company with the absolute worst service in the world has finalized a deal to buy T-mobile.  *pause here for really long exasperated sigh*  Seriously, I’m totally upset. The title is a spoof on the two names. I joined Tmobile almost 10 years ago and for the most part have been a very happy customer. I will be making the jump to someone else as soon as I can. I’m hoping there will be an out-clause for the merger but even if they don’t, I’ll probably switch.

AT&T’s move was a smart one but not because they were afraid of Tmobile, hardly. But, by buying Tmobile, AT&T gets access to their infrastructure which will boost their coverage significantly, not to mention the extra wireless spectrum. It makes total sense from a purely business point of view. Sadly, I’m not the only Tmo customer who is more than a little upset. Even worse, Sprint was in negotiations with Tmobile to merge when the parent company sold’em to AT&T. *sigh* A Sprint/Tmobile merger would have had its technical challenges as they use different technology to power their networks. But the combined company would have totally given Verizon and AT&T a run for their money. By snatching Tmobile away from Sprint, AT&T effectively bitch-slapped Sprint into remaining the #3 carrier in the US, probably permanently.

For now, I’m stuck with it. I’m hoping for the best but I’m not really expecting it. I’m girding my loins for the worst actually. 

References

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↑1 formerly Cingular and otherwise known as the company with the absolute worst service in the world

Force

I’ve gotten several requests as of late to do different memes for blogging. I usually ignore such things. I’m not being rude or insensitive, I just don’t like forcing myself to blog. If you have to force yourself, it quickly becomes a chore instead of being fun. My time has been limited as of late but I still find time now and then to post stuff…like now! lol

*

And speaking of legs (from my last post), I’m off to a good start. I did legs  again a few days ago and I’m pushing 360 [1]4-45lb weights on each side on the sled press, which is more than I expected I’d be doing. Last time I did’em with Apple guy I was able to finish, but just barely. This time around I was able to push out all three sets and not feel like I’d over done it.

Lunges were a different story. I tried to do 3 sets of 10 carrying a 25lb weight on each side. I got 2 full sets and only 3 of the 3rd set before I had to give up. My poor glutes were like, “oh hell no!”  I guess the booty needs some work.

Last but not least are my regular squats. They were abysmal. *sigh* I can only do 45 on each side.  This was mostly because of my lower back. I clearly need to work on my core muscle group a bit more. I will say I didn’t notice the tightness that I have become accustomed to with my lower back. I was in a pretty severe vehicle accident when I was living in Colorado back in ‘95. I’ve had issues with my lower back ever since. [2]As my chiropractor can attest. Ever since then, I’ve always had a lingering tightness that signals a weakness in the region and I’m always super scurred of messing it up again. I’m hoping this means either its gone or I’ve just managed to strengthen it enough its no longer an issue. Only time will tell I guess but I’m a bit optimistic.

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↑1 4-45lb weights on each side
↑2 As my chiropractor can attest.

Werk

I’ve been neglecting the blog again. *shame shame*

Anyway, I’ve lost most of the holiday/accident fat weight I gained from October to February. I have about 10 pounds to go before I’m back to my normal threshold. I’m not pushing it hard as I simply don’t mind but it feels good to be looking svelte again. hehehe

I’m not quite back to my old max weights yet in the gym but getting closer. The shoulder is doing good and no latent pain. [1]A very good thing!  I’m taking the opportunity to expand my workouts. I worked out with Apple guy one day a while back and did legs. I don’t do leg weights often as I walk a lot. I wasn’t nearly as bad or weak as I expected. I couldn’t keep up with him but I did pretty well considering. Of course, my damn legs were so sore over the next 3 days I could bare walk. I almost fell down the stairs at work several times. lolol

Speaking of, I love my little workout app on the Android. Its called Workout Coach and does an excellent job of helping track my progress. Its not overly robust with pre-installed exercises but that’s a small price to pay for usability. It hasn’t been updated in a long time though. I’m ‘scurred’ the app owner has abandoned it. I’d gladly donate to keep him working on it.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes via twitter, FB, loopt, etc on being back in the gym and on the bike! Its definitely helping my moods.

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↑1 A very good thing!

Free Hate

The world was a buzz yesterday with the news that the SCOTUS ruled in favor of WBC [1]I won’t list their full name here being able to picket soldier’s funerals, among other things.

As horrible, shameful, and disgustingly vile I find the whole clan, I’m in agreement with the court. You can’t support a principle only when it benefits you. Living by a code of conduct (and/or laws) should apply to everyone. We can legislate what a person does when motivated by hate but the act of hate is and should not be illegal, nor should it be. Trying to legislate someone’s thoughts is a very slippery and dangerous road to go down. Such a path inevitably leads to ruin.

Most people think the WBC are about being anti-gay. I actually disagree. If you’ve ever been around anyone who is a fundamentalist in their religious beliefs, you discover really quickly one of their big, and I mean big, goals is trying to convert others to their cause. Its called proselytizing or testifying . If you step back from the raw emotion for a moment, you’ll notice the WBC clan don’t just focus on gay rights. They focus  on anything that will get them lots and lots of attention. They’ve used extreme shock value to gain nationwide, possibly even global, recognition. Their hope is to convert as many people as possible to their beliefs. Its an ingenious approach but I’d argue its not having the intended affect. lol Growing up in the South, we always believed in shining a light on a cockroach. It does one of two things. It either scurries away to hide or it shows you how truly hideous it really is. In this case I think it’s the latter. 

Think about what it must be like to have grown up in such a clan. A world shaped by their father to be absolute black and white. No room for grey or error. No compassion, no love, no forgiveness, only condemnation and pain. For you few yet faithful long time readers, see any correlation here? lol Yeah, I can understand it. Doesn’t mean I can accept it but understanding is the first step in conquering something you fear.

For my .02, we should continue to shine a light on the WBC’s petty hate and fear. Let the world see what comes from fundamentalist religious beliefs. For every 1 person they convert, they push 10 more away.

References

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↑1 I won’t list their full name here