Still lifting weights. I've added in a bit of running just for fun. But instead of running straight at some reasonable pace I mix it up with walking because my knees have never loved long distances. I switch running and walking every song so I end up only running a bit more than half of the distance. I've done this for a half-marathon (here) and I beat my earlier conventional running time. One of the nice things about run/walk is I can run quite a bit faster than if I was trying to keep some sort of pace. After all,... Continue reading

God, still doing the LCHF thing. Not that I mind a diet of filet mignon and bacon, but it's a difficult diet to keep going. I generally have to go shopping 3.5 times a day in order to keep all the fresh food needed to feed six people in the house. There can be no boxes or cans. And then, my children have gotten the idea from somewhere that home-cooked, fresh food is actually a sneaky substitute for the real food that comes out of boxes. OK, we ate a lot of mac and cheese in the old days. It's... Continue reading

I gots me a new net book! Now I can relax on the couch while writing rather than sit in the torture chair in the kitchen. The problem with net books is that they make a warm, snuggly platform for fat cats. Whenever I open mine up, he runs over and hops on. He even tries to knead the key board. Or maybe he's trying to type something. Hard to tell. But I finally figured out how to use the camera, so expect a lot of close-ups. And... And... Ok. That's my son but the cat managed to get off... Continue reading

Here's the typical home remote. Big enough to hold comfortably even after half a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Mmmm, so meaty. Behold! The Apple TV remote. So small we spend more time looking for the darn thing than using it. It's the reason we're not watching Game of Thrones. I hate you, tiny remote. The predictable end product of ever shrinking remotes: Thanks Apple for phones larger than a laptop and remotes smaller than a postage stamp. Continue reading

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I'm still eating LCHF and eating any kind of diet with a catchy name means I have to write excruciatingly detailed and personal posts about my "journey" and personal transformation following this new doctrine, I mean, diet. Luckily for you, I'll be skipping the bathroom details. Let's just say all is A-OK and on the boring side. From reading other people's blogs and books and testimonials though, I have to ask, "Why am I so untroubled in the bathroom department??" It's like a rite or something on any new diet to finally be regular, stop being regular, stop everything, never... Continue reading

Weiner - Egads. Who wants a text of your thingy? You have a shallow conscience and you lack integrity. You would be a detriment to NYC. Weiner's wife - WTH?? Leave the bastard. Scared he'll become mayor and you'll have missed your chance to share the spotlight? Ewww, prostrating yourself before your husband's career, how humiliating. NSA spying - Mixed feelings. We have to protect ourselves from the losers with small brains who would like to hurt us. But at the same time, it's good to know it's being done so when conservative leaning groups start to be harassed by... Continue reading

I have two sons who both work in different fast food restaurants. One works for the world's largest chain. The other works for a more upscale chain. Contrary to what many people seem to think, fast food chain employees actually have brains and are able to size up and judge their customers, too. And some people are dicks. First, my son who works for the most successful fast food chain in the world has no complaints about his customers. His customer base is made up of people living in subsidized housing, from the homeless shelter across the street, day laborers,... Continue reading

There are several aspects of my new, experimental LCHF diet that I find difficult. The most difficult is getting enough to eat. You'd think it would be easy to eat all the bacon and steak one wanted. It ain't. For one thing, fresh meat and high quality bacon means constant grocery shopping. And we're a family of six eaters. Imagine the amount of bacon we have to buy to satisfy all of us. For six, we need at least a pound and a half at a serving, and that leads to a few of us pining for just one more... Continue reading

Good thing all those people conducting search and rescue operations and helping each other in Oklahoma don't view their jobs or roles as vehicles for promoting their own personal political views. I don't think those in the IRS see the rest of us as their neighbors and fellow citizens. Oh, they'll let us equally pay for their salaries and benefits, but treat us equitably? No. Imagine if we all acted like those white-collared, college-educated, tax-paid losers who used their positions of responsibility to hurt those with whom they disagree politically. We'd live in chaos, hate, and paranoia. Government beneficence for... Continue reading

I'm slowly moving this blog over to a more functional and affordable alternative. This blog won't go anywhere, history-wise, as my wife still has her blog on this site. But how about checking out my new location? See if you like it. Work in progress...just saying. Iron Mike's Marathon Swims Continue reading

I'm so glad I'm not a Democrat as I watch the Benghazi hearings. I don't have the least compulsion to rationalize or excuse or ignore the shameful mistakes made by the administration over Benghazi in order to save my Party's face. I've been listening to C-SPAN's morning edition's discussion about the Benghazi hearings. Disgustingly, the Democrat callers and Democrat tool guests all spout the same garbage that the hearings are only a Republican attempt to disgrace Hillary Clinton. They even blame Ambassador Stevens! If only he'd had the decency to not be killed by the wrong group rather than by... Continue reading

It was the weirdest thing. I was lying in bed reading, as I do every night (no matter how tired...it's a habit), and listening to my internet radio. (I prefer Indie 103.1.) And then this song came on. Now I'm not the sharpest tack in the toolbox, so I'm sure... Continue reading

What is freedom? Is it the freedom to do whatever we want without government interference? Is it the freedom to shape our political or social culture through group action? Does it mean a well-ordered society that allows us to make long range plans without the chaos of shifting rules and new paradigms? Maybe it's freedom from anarchy and the inevitable rule of the strongest. Security is a freedom of sorts. Not worrying about whether or not one will be able to feed one's children is a freedom. It's a freedom from fear and despair. How free does one feel who... Continue reading

We just got back from a trip to St. Petersburg, Florida. We went to the beach, the Dali Museum, Busch Gardens, downtown, and several local nature preserves. While I managed to keep the carbs down, I found it very difficult to stay on as strict low carb diet as I'd been following. But, what can you do? I'm back to practically no carbs and smelling acetone all day. Today I tried to make egg blinis like the ones made for me by a Russian guest to our home. Her blinis were more like blinis; my blinis were one big omelette.... Continue reading

My favorite parts of the book Wind, Waves, and Sunburn are the chapters describing some of the old style marathon races they held in the 50's and 60's. La Tuque 24-hour Marathon, Atlantic City Around-the-Island, the Traversée internationale du Lac Memphrémagog. Those races, simply saying those names, I get a... Continue reading

OK, so this last weekend I took part in a 6-person relay at the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim. Alert reader(s) already know this. This post, which I'm sure you've been waiting for with baited breath, will cover lessons I learned in this swim. (l to r) Kim, Patty, yours truly,... Continue reading

Well, I'm back in town after taking part in a 6-person relay (Go Dirty Half-Dozen!) in the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim. I learned a lot on this trip and will be processing it for a few days before writing my swim report. I won't say much yet, except: At least... Continue reading

Alert reader(s) know that I'm competing in a relay at the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim this weekend. I've been doing my usual limited swimming prior to the race. I've been debating with myself on this. With 6 people on my relay and with us doing 30-min shifts, how much swimming... Continue reading

Most people, when they take on this ultra-endurance sport that I've taken on, they ease into it. For instance, most ultra-runners probably have completed many marathons before they take on their first ultramarathon. I can't imagine a weekend 10K runner would all of a sudden decide to do the Leadville... Continue reading

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Did a broken 5K pace swim on Wednesday based on my new CSS. I set my TT to 0:27.85 and set off to complete a 2000, 1500, 1000, 500 with no more than one beep rest in between. Kept to that pace the entire time, in fact, as usual, was... Continue reading

Here's an article from the WSJ about the Chicago school system: Rahm's Latest Union Beating. It's about the city of Chicago wanting to shut down and consolidate a number of schools in an effort to save money and to make more efficient use of existing resources as student numbers drop. Of course, the local teachers' union opposes these actions on the grounds that the closings will result in the breakup of neighborhood schools. CTU President Karen Lewis claims the closings are racist, and: "sets an example that low-income, African-American children are disposable." Maybe it's union integrity and honesty that is... Continue reading

Unfortunately, no new PRs in the bench press. I'm doing mostly dumbbell bench presses right now. I did add in military presses. Dang, those are hard! I'm up to 65lbs max rep on those. Pull-ups are great. I want to start doing dips. At least I'm deadlifting and squatting heavier. I'm up to 155lb max reps on both. And I'm doing straight legged dl for the hams. Keeps me off the streets. Low carb fad diet is still good. I eat a lot of steak. The real challenge is feeding six people this way. One, I have to go shopping... Continue reading

Alert reader(s) will notice I did another Critical Swim Speed test. Or what Swim Smooth calls a CSS test. Wait. That's the same thing. Anyway, on Friday I hit the pool and did the test. Again, the test consists of a 400m free as fast as you can, but at... Continue reading