Free the Animal

It's Said That "It's Good to be King"

I say it's better to be loved.

Our dearest of friends, neighbors, card playing, cooking and party partners, Robert & Julie (who make it like a regular Seinfeld episode around our places at the lofts almost daily). They're actually down here in SoCal visiting mutual friends Alessandro and Robert -- the two doktors -- in Hollywood. Unfortunately, that's a coupla hours from Vista, still, and with the doggies, it just 'aint gonna work out for an all-together visit this time.

We did -- the six of us -- spend a 4-dayer up at our cabin last September, and that has to definitely be on the near horizon.

So, that's my far more important "happy happy" message to you today than the typical flag waving stuff. Sorry, but I'm just not into Gambino Appreciation Day. That's a link outta Billy's place, who has his own comments, after the quote. He 'aint celebratin', either.

"Independence day?" Listen up: cultivate a wonderful family (we just celebrated my parent's 50th on a cruise; all four of the litter, with mates), and get yourself some really kick-ass friends.

...And let the neolithic zoo animals go to hell.

"...using all your senses"

Look for that in the subtitles of this beautiful hang gliding video set to music. Then see what comes after. That's what it's all about for most of us, not adrenaline, as so many misunderstand.

(via The Oz Report)

Monday Morning Hang Gliding Diversion

At least a couple of more posts today, but I just had to toss this one up, discovered in my morning rounds reading my friend Davis Straub's daily Oz Report. For better than ten years Davis has had the fortune to travel the world flying in hang-glider competitions and reporting on them. He's tireless, and a really great guy I've had the opportunity to meet in person a couple of times.

This 3-minute video is a recent competition in the flatlands near Forbes, Australia. Ultralight tugs tow up the hang glider pilots who then race cross country, typically for 80-100 miles, depending upon where the goal is declared.

I'm getting back to the weight and strength ratios I was at when I first began this great sport. Flying for a few days last August was far less exhausting than it had been over the last five years, causing me to fly less and less. So, it just may be that I'll be doing this more and more in years to come.

It is great compound exercise for the upper body. A hang glider is maneuvered by weight shift, i.e., you have to deflect you body's entire weight, suspended from a single point, both side-to-side and forward and back (with all compound positions imaginable to make certain maneuvers, coordinated turns, etc.). In one scene you'll see a guy shifting weight quite dynamically. He's trying to stay behind the tug that he being towed by. This is similar to the level of weight shifting required when circling up in a thermal. Most thermals are not big and smooth, but broken and raggedy. It often takes intense effort to remained "cored" in order to maximize climb efficiency.

If you're in the USA and are interested in learning more about this sport, you can find local chapters and clubs here on the USHPA website.

Nous Sommes Arrivés

We've arrived (at the cabin). I have the working entry on supplements, and specifically what I take and most particularly, why. I hope you'll find it compelling as a base. We've been here for several hours, including the comfort-food soup I made that I'll blog tomorrow (in addition to the aforementioned).

In the meantime, funniest video I've seen in a while. Dog sleep "walking."

Wrapping Up & Heading Home

Well it has been a glorious week, and we fly out this late afternoon just around the time we arrived last Sunday. It's a flight to LAX, a drive down to Vista, CA, spend the night, pick up the doggies, and drive back to San Jose tomorrow morning.

Here's a fruit plate mom cut up the other morning.

On another note, I profiled Erwan Le Corre of MoveNat a while back. Chris Highcock also did an interview.

Got an email from Erwan the other day. He's in the LA area, just now, and Steve Maxwell did a writeup. Take a look and enjoy. I'l be back with you soon.

Feelin' Like a Million

I really can't believe how good I feel, here in the sunshine. I'm convinced that while heavy supplementation of D3 is huge in terms of well being, there's simply no substitute for the real thing. Actually, I'm doing both. Since this is just a week, I've not backed off the 6k IU per day. I've also been spending about two hours in afternoon sun each day and I'm now pretty damn dark -- even more that at the end of last summer and I spent some time at least 4 days per week in the sun.

Anyway, here was my dinner tonight. A whole red snapper, grilled, with some fruit (coupla slices of star fruit, and about a half a lime squeezed on it). Couldn't finish it, and other than a few raw oysters and (small) raw scallops prior, I had nothing else.

On a different topic, there are tons of free roaming dogs here, all extremely lean, but with solid musculature -- rather like wild cats. Guess what? Every single one is of the most docile temperament I've ever seen in dogs, pits included. We've seen dozens of then, and have yet to see an agressive action, even a bark. Probably cause they're more likely to be fed real food instead of filled with crap grains and rice. Where in the EFF do people come off feeding carnivores that shit? Muther of Eff! Already.

So the restauranteurs at Maricos Tino's, Punta de Mita, were kind enough to let us let a stray dog accompany us for dinner. While he wasn't keen to the octopus or shrimp my wife offered, he very gently, almost tentatively and with apology accepted the few last bites of the snapper. My dad gave 'im some of his, too.

Mid-Week Check in from Puerto Vallarta

Yes, I know there are emails, comments, links and such to get to, comment on, et cetera, et cetera. Here's why I've been so lax. First, a view from our master bedroom terrace, past one of the two guest bedrooms,  with me on the living room terrace (this is one huge condo, in excess of 3,000 square feet).

Now, down at the pool, a daily affair.

And what would a trip to a place like this be without a huge platter of grilled fruit de mer? All to myself? This one had fish, a lobster, octopus, shrimp, prawns, mussels, and crab. It was excellent. This was at La Laguna Tino's.

Maybe a post or two more a bit later, unless I get sidetracked, which as you can see is quite possible.

Sunday Rock You

As a bit of a diversion, I've been thinking about a post each week featuring something other than health - fitness. Lot's of bloggers out there do Sunday doggie blogging; I could too, but how about kick-ass, deep dish rock & roll?

Trust me. You're not likely to get a lot of stuff you've heard on the radio. Why? The radio is designed to sell advertising. Albums are created to find popular appeal on radio; and so, modern music is largely what it is in order to make it rather ubiquitous and always on your mind, paid for by big corporations who want a bit of your attention. Decent tradeoff. No complaints. But does that render the best music? Unlikely. Here's what always makes me interested in an album:

A 10-20 minute track. Unplayable on radio, except maybe on the hardest-core album rock stations; and then, only between 2-4 am. Where else will you find that? Classical music, that's where. That's why classical music stations are either public, or exist with teeny tiny market shares.

OK. Here we go for tonight. Because of the so-many emails I got from my Rush post the other day, here's an encore. Because the original is about 10 minutes, this is in two parts on YouTube. It's from perhaps my all-around favorite album, Caress of Steel: "The Necromancer." Little known, The original track comes in at 12:29.

Part 2:

Maybe next week, The Fountain of Lamneth, from the same album. That track comes in only 2 seconds shy of 20 minutes.

Rush has always understood their fans, have produced for them, and it has worked out. For most, it won't. Do 3-minute songs for mass consumption, or die. Very few get to flaunt that. You might want to pay attention to those few who can. 

They are the classical composers of our age.

Heaven

This is a brief diversion.

We arrived a couple of hours ago at our vacation home, cabin, chalet -- whatever -- and I've got snow on the brain; since I had to dig and dig and dig, just to clear the stairs up to the thing, a clerestory style of construction, and then I had to dig and shovel more just to get to the water access.

My brother will be up here tomorrow, staying at his friend's cabin. But he'll be around plenty enough, as I have a bottle of Maker's and one of The Glenlivet (I prefer The McCallan (12; over 18), but 'tis was is). Not that he's a lush, but I'll encourage him, so I can be. It's a vacation, we'll be here a week, and I've been damn good for the last week. I'll be pretty Paleo in food (we brought 5 pounds of of tri-tip and 6 of ribs -- and there's a great butcher around for the other numerous things I shall require). I will blog food porn, rest assured, but I plan also on enjoying distilled spirits. Yep.

My bro's in South Lake Tahoe at the moment, a mere hour from where we all grew up, in Reno; so we all know the area well. Still, you can't get enough of a view like this, one I've seen a number of times from the same perspective, live. It's from the lookout at Heavenly, the name of the largest ski resort up there, and my favorite.

Button pusher that I am, here was my email reply:

"That's why it's called Heavenly. Enjoy now. That's as good as it gets; in life -- or death."

Regular blogging resumes tomorrow. I've got a week of free time and it could be a firestorm of posts -- as it has been in the past during these excursions. No guarantee or promise, but I'm looking forward to it.

And now, my glass of The Glenlivet appears to be empty...

The Market

As a former full-time derivatives options trader, I feel a bit compelled to comment on yesterday's activities in the market. I'd have probably missed all this had not every TV in the gym been tuned to CNBC. Virtually everyone, excluding yours truly, was riveted. 'Twas interesting listening to the commentary on TV and amongst the gym-goers -- as if anyone really knows what'll happen next, or what to really do about it.

Two things: first, I wish I had a lot of spare cash laying around. I'd have been buying (long) all day (intending to hold long term). Second; no regrets. I'm glad I hung it up. Two years of that kind of stress is enough for one (my) lifetime.

One of the few traders I still pay any attention to -- primarily because of his general agnosticism as to market direction, long or short -- is Carl Futia. Here's a couple of short posts that "bear" keeping in mind.

The Intolerance of Crowds.

A crowd is distinguished by the inability and unwillingness of its members to think independently of their fellows. Instead each member of the crowd accepts the same set of "facts" which become slogans to be repeated whenever a dissenting view threatens their comfortable interpretation of events.

An Open Letter to the Bears.

I have a question for you. Suppose the market does get to 1050, 1000, 950, ..... What will you do then? Will you step in and buy when the S&P hits 950? At this point in time you may think you will, but you are forgetting that if the market hits 950 the financial system and the economy will look a lot worse then than it does now. The news will be really scary. Are you sure you will have the courage to go long in the face of such bad news? Remember, you don't want to buy now at S&P 1150 because you think the bad news we are reading in the papers means the market is going much lower. What will change when the market hits 950 to give you the courage to get long again?

Public Service Announcement

I plan to do this once per quarter, as I think it's a very worthwhile project.

KIVA.ORG

Now, you can lend as little as $25 to real micro entrepreneurs in developing countries around the world. You're lending to small business people so they can grow, prosper, and lift their communities.

If you're like me, perhaps you have a distaste for most charitable endeavors. Typically, if I like them at all, they'd be something close to home or involve some affinity (such as firefighters across the country giving to the families of 911 firefighter victims). That's cool.

But when was the last time someone offered to pay you back, and actually did it? Really, it's only marginally charitable at all. The borrower actually pays interest. You forego interest, which helps to fund the whole endeavor. Pretty slick, if you ask me.

In 2 1/2 year, Kiva has accumulated 340,000 lenders who have lent out a total of $50 million in 62,000 loans. Loans average $500 each, and the historical repayment rate is 98%. Good job, I say.

I currently have $250 I lend out, which will recycle as payments come in. I plan to add $250 per quarter. I hope you can join me in this worthy endeavor.

Later

Man, I'd wanted to get two posts out today, have them half-drafted in the machine, half in the head. Things just didn't come together, since 6am, starting with the dog walk and nothing has slowed down since.

But I've got to roll. We're out to a local place (Mt. Madonna, Hecker Pass) only an hour away to break in the new little retro camping trailer I picked up this week.

It's the T@DA, by Dutchman. We've got the XTL floorplan. Only 2,000 pounds or so, about a thousand pounds lighter than the pop-up trailer I'm selling. And, it fits in our parking garage (clearance under 8', unheard of for travel trailers these days). If you see the grid toward the front, that's the A/C unit, specifically to keep the overhead clearance low. The quality is fantastic in terms of cabinetry and such. All around great craftsmanship, like Airstream.

I don't think the campground has WIFI, but I might get down to Starbuck's or something to upload a post or two. If not, see ya Sunday.

And if you haven't seen fit to take the survey, I'd really appreciate it.

Admin Note

I'm going to get to fooling around with the blog design, including implementing freetheanimal.com as the new mapped URL. I'll leave honestylog.com mapped for a while, but I'll be modifying the feeds. All that's to say that you might need to re-subscribe to the new feed to keep the RSS updating properly.

Beemer

Yesterday, I made the final lease payment on my 2006 BMW X5 (4.4L V8). Best car I have ever "owned" in terms of engineering excellence, reliability, service, raw power and handling, and a host of other things. It's not the most expensive car I've owned, either. Add to that: the residual is on the order of $34k, while the value (and all the ads for 2006 models here and there) is around $45k. So, obviously, I'm going to now buy this car.

I've been so happy working with BMW, and even though I have a standing auto financing arrangement with another company I've done business with since 1982 (and who finances my wife's Infinity X-35), I decided to give BMW finance a shot. I called up and got Kristen on the phone who, proceeded to offer me 3.9%. I said let's go and she politely indicated they'd have to run it past underwriting. She just personally called back and the docs are on the way for the same deal she quoted me, to the penny. The one thing she emphasized is that there's no prepayment penalty, explicitly indicating that some people purchase at end-of-lease and flip for a quick profit. No problem. But I think I'm going to run this baby into the ground, and it'll probably take 10 years to do it.

It's working with real pros that makes it so intolerable to work with those who aren't.

Bitch Charm II

Those who were around last January and took a look will recall Bitch Charm.

And now I'll introduce you to Bitch Charm II. That's our 3-yr-old Rat Terrier, Nanuka ("Nuke"). The other dog is Spot, a sheep herding breed and a very nice dog. If you saw my flying video from the other day, he's featured in my landing. He does this to all the pilots. At about 300-500 ft AGL ('above ground level') he gets "missile lock," as Page, the human Spot owns, describes it. It's very interesting to watch. Rather than simply chasing underneath the glider in the air, he maintains an angle (that's an "intercept vector"), always turning inside the glider on it's DBF ('downwind, base, & final') and always ends up right underneath at landing.

Every pilot I've seen welcomes it just fine.

Anyway, Nuke likes Spot just fine too. Down, and literally dirty. See for yourself.