I was listening to CBC in the car on the way home and apparently a huge iceberg has broken off a glacier in Antarctica and is threatening the ocean circulation patterns. The new 965 square mile iceberg is the size of the state of Connecticut.
Why is this an issue? Well this isn’t the biggest recorded piece to break off the massive Mertz Glacier in Antarctica. But satellites tell us that giant peninsula of ice has now been reduced to half it’s size. Again…why should we care? Well because when all that fresh water melts it could affect global ocean circulation by upsetting salinity levels in the ocean. Those ocean currents pump warm water north and moderate the climate. Screw up those currents and the weather changes could be drastic.
Today was Mike Sweeney’s last day at Martial Arts Planet. He and Rebecca are gearing up for their life shipboard. While it is an exciting step for them I think that I will miss Mike’s no-nonsense approach to teaching BJJ. MAP has been their baby from it’s creation and they have left a strong legacy.
There were a number of promotions at MAP today. I am very proud of Aidan. He worked hard against two opponents for two kimura submissions with his leg out of underhook sitout. He has really improved of late in my opinion and Chris and Mike agreed by awarding him and orange belt today.
Mike tossed me against Laura. The two battered folks. I had my fingers taped and they work in most directions now (except for my little finger). Laura’s ribs are battered. We agreed to avoid hurting each other. I eventually eked out a leg triangle but Laura is tough to hold down.
I then went up against Nick, a fellow that I hadn’t met before . Nice guy. Right off the smash I pulled him into my full guard he felt really strong. I kind of defeat myself sometimes when am intimidated because I figured I would simply defend valiantly until I tapped. I couldn’t finish a Kimura from Rubber Guard. Got rolled from side control and upa’d him off me onto a pile of water bottles at one point. He spent a lot of time in my closed guard with me exhausted and fighting a pass. It was more fluke than anything I think that I managed to catch him in a leg triangle.
Liam came and watched which was nice. Afterwards we had Wendy’s and came home to relax.
I’m back to icing my hand. The last two fingers are swollen so that the wrinkles on my knuckles have disappeared. It may be time to get those two fingers checked out again. The pain when they are even slightly “stubbed” is more than it should be. Something is not right.
We worked North South tonight. When to get on to your side, grab an ankle, push you opponent over, pass the legs, take side control.
OR
Pivot under them using your legs as a counterweight to swing around to grab guard from the bottom.
Tough stuff.
The I rolled for a short time with Lex. He’s good and I played a limited defense that went nowhere.
Aidan did well, rolling for about 40 minutes with Greg. The have fun. Aidan’s a bit bigger with longer legs but Greg is more experienced and is quite strong so they trade subs.
Fingers still hurt and I can’t grab anything with any strength. I have been using aspercreme and I tape them to their neighbours when I roll. I force them through the full range of motion a few times a day but 3 weeks after being dislocated they are still pretty swollen. I guess dislocation injuries are pretty traumatic. Right afterwards I iced them on and off for about 24 hours. Maybe I should go back to some ice therapy. Hmmmm.
This was another 1500 calorie day. It leaves me feeling weak, unmotivated and a bit depressed. I am determined however, to lose some weight so I’ll put up with it. Absolutely no junk, and only complex carbs.
Right now I’m in the basement doing some deadlifts, weighted pullups, and presses. Just a few sets.
I am TRYING to hit my knees faster as it becomes apparent that my guard will be passed. Today Rebecca helped out with pointers for getting to our knees quickly. Good class with just me Mike and Mike. Hand is still tweaked so I had to take it easy. Blue Belt Mike torqued my neck a couple of times. Not his fault. I need to work on flexibility. I also need to remember to keep the bottom elbow tucked when I transition from my back to my knees.
On the way out coach Mike played a bit of Amazing Grace on his harmonica. They need to pack light when they sail away so it’s the ideal instrument. It brought back memories of playing mine on a trip to PEI back in ’77.
Now I’m sitting watching the Time Traveler’s Wife with the boys. Good kids. Good young men really.
Ok this movie is an extreme tear jerker.
So here I am, in bed with my clothes on, surfing the internet. I SHOULD be clearing away the dishes, working out, and interacting with my two teenage sons. Problem is, I read on Wikipedia today that low blood sugar erodes your willpower. Wonderful. I only ate about 1500 calories today. THAT’S why I did nothing tonight. Or is it?
Well….one of the boys friends did drop by so they are all playing Bioshock or something. I’m definitely not going to hang with them while they do that. Plus the last of my willpower would be sorely tested down there near the box of Dad’s oatmeal cookies that I bought for their lunches.
Just a thought, inspired in part by MetroDad’s blog, and in part by the crappy day I had..
Overrated versus underrated:
Overrated:
- The Olympics
- Minority Governments
- Blackberry’s
- DaVinci code
- Goals
- American Idol
- Tim Horton’s coffee
- Golf
- Tom Cruise
- Rear naked chokes
Underrated:
- Shiraz
- Talking with your kids
- CBC Radio
- Subcompact cars
- Reading
- Irish musicians
- Sleeping in
- Bacon
- Tomatoes from my garden
- Cooking for someone
- Starbucks Ginger Molasses cookies
- Grinding your own coffee
What did I miss?
Got home at a reasonable hour. Cooked roast chicken and veggies. Then Liam and I spent a couple of hours reviewing Functions and Relations for his test tomorrow. Then a fast shower and off to Jits.
We worked a version of North-South called (I think) 100 kilo position. There is a choke from there and it’s pretty hard to get someone off you.
Aidan and I drove home in a snowstorm. Stopped for gas and milk. The roads are greasy for sure.
Garbage out, dishes in the dishwasher. Teeth brushed.
Wow. This is the first moment I’ve had to sit down. And I’m in bed. Good grief.
On my list of places I want to visit – Jerusalem. I am not a religious man but history is undeniable.
The portrayal of the Muslim-Christian conflict during the crusades predictably raised the ire of various groups. I was privately pleased that “Kingdom of Heaven” Guy of Lusignan was portrayed as a power hungry psychopath while Saladin was portrayed as a civilized intellectual. Why? Just that all important issue of balanced reporting. No one can know the reality. After all, there was no Twitter or Facebook back then and YouTube was still a long way off.
My buddy Dan has my “Once” video. Need to scoop it back. I like the whole sound track. This song is cool because it stretches my brain (and I like it) with the timing. It sounds simple but when I tried to strum it at first it confounded me.
Eventually I ignore really good advice on the mechanics of 5/4 time and just went with gut. Now I can play it but can’t sing AND play. It will come.
Good movie IMHO. So far everyone who has watched it, likes it. Unusual given that we all have different tastes in both music and film.
