mcdspot

Dancing mania. In July 1518, numerous people in Strasbourg, France fell subject to an epidemic of ceaseless dancing, dying over the course of a month from heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion.

Good lord.

You’d better sit down, folks.

Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution, drafted by your right-wing Bushies in 2005 and ratified by the Iraqi people, includes state-guaranteed (single payer) healthcare for life for every Iraqi citizen.

Article 31 reads:

“First: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall maintain public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and health institutions.

Second: Individuals and entities have the right to build hospitals, clinics,or private health care centers under the supervision of the State, and this shall be regulated by law.”

There are other health care guarantees, including special provisions for children, the elderly, and the handicapped elsewhere in the 43-page document.

..in so many ways.

Williams syndrome is one of the more unusual ‘maladies’ I’ve heard of.

Once again, Mat Honan, creator of barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com has come up with another funny yet weirdly relevant site: joewilsonisyourpreexistingcondition.com

If you are going to protest a massively complex health care reform proposal, you might have a better chance being taken seriously by not labeling yourself a “dumb southern Iowa redneck.”

You think the swine flu is a big deal? Please.

Well once again, spring comes and I feel the need to get in shape. I’ve been running and biking a fair amount lately, and it feels great. In order to get back into the stud-zone I’ve got to lose 20 pounds or so. Yikes.

A new desk allows you to walk while you work at the office.

Wow. LA blocks new fast-food outlets from poor areas

gMaps Pedometer

Apparently it would take 153.56 Red Bulls before I’m pushing up the daisies. As of this morning, only 152.56 to go.

Folks, our friend Nate is working at
Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham and needs your help. You see, the hospital doesn’t have an MRI machine. This may seem odd, but it is true. Yes, they have a shiny new building over there and some fancy flower pots but unfortunately the plants give really bad musculo-skeletal readouts. And I hear the new hospital windows are all but useless medically. So pitch in and help Cooper Green win an MRI! Yes, you too can help the ailing medical establishment in Birmingham by simply casting your vote. Be sure and watch the video, too–good stuff.

Introducing the Moringa oleifera, otherwise known as the miracle tree.

After spending the past few months attempting to get back in shape, mainly through running, I have now come to a conclusion. Shoes matter. Yes, they do. Granted, I was out of shape and hadn’t run in many moons when I started circling my neighborhood early in the summer, but for some reason I got shinsplits right away. Bad ones. I was running in a pair of Nikes, which I admit I bought in order to get in on the new idea. But after three months or so of recurring shinsplints and a knee problem thrown in, Pat (MP’s wonderful mom) bought me a pair of Asics. And for the past two mornings I have run two and three miles respectively with virtually no pain at all. I haven’t even felt the shins acting up one bit. Call me a convert.

Of course, this change could be because I “ran through” the splints and strengthened my legs rather than just getting new shoes. Perhaps it’s a little of both. But after doing a bit of research, I think it’s possible that I was running in shoes that were bad for me.

Oh man am I sore. Yesterday I competed in the Coosa River Challenge, a sort of very quasi-triathalon in the beautiful Coosa River environs. The race consisted of a three mile run, 9 miles of mountain biking, then a 7 mile kayak ride. There were also .5 to .8 transition runs from place to place, including a few “challenges” thrown in to make things interesting, like archery contests, trivia stations and mud pits. We also had to scale a cliff and then rappel down it, which I had never done before.
They haven’t posted the times yet but I think it took me around 4 1/2 hours to complete. At the end we had to climb up and leap 20-25 feet off of a big concrete structure into the river, with prizes awarded for style and creativity. I gave my best aaiieeeeeeeeee but by that time I was busted and worn out. It was a great day, though. It was very hard but well organized and everyone had fun. Needless to say, I’m nursing a rather severe sunburn and sore quads today. I love it.

UPDATE: It took me five hours and six minutes to complete.

Lately I’ve been feeling sort of like the fellow at left, and that will not do. You’ll notice the little widget in the sidebar showing my new running schedule, which I hope to increase over the next few months. Yes, I’m very slow and out of shape right now. However, I have been inspired by a friend’s recent achievements and have committed myself to getting my ass back in gear. The Coosa River Challenge and 12 Hours of Dauset should help get me going in September. Onward and upward, folks.

“gmap pedometer is a great little hack that uses Google’s mapping application to help record distances traveled during a running or walking workout.”

I’ll take some.

If you have Allodoxaphobia, you may not want to keep reading this blog.