No due process… What country do I live in again? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/senate-votes-to-let-military-detain-americans-indefinitely_n_1119473.html

After reading the article above I read this:

‘If you have to threaten me with punishment because I don’t believe it, it’s not worth believing. If you have to offer me a reward for me to [...]]]> These things seem to go together for me:

No due process… What country do I live in again? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/senate-votes-to-let-military-detain-americans-indefinitely_n_1119473.html

After reading the article above I read this:

‘If you have to threaten me with punishment because I don’t believe it, it’s not worth believing. If you have to offer me a reward for me to believe in it, It’s not worth believing. And finally, if you have a dictator, you can call him a king, a lord, a god, a christ, or whatever you want, YOU ARE NOT FREE. Not free of choice, or of thought. If its a belief system that does not value freedom, it’s not worth believing.’ Greydon Square

And finally, in line with the above post:

“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world – “No, you move.”" ~ Captain America – From Amazing Spider-Man #537

I know I’m a geek, but after all that all I have to say is: “No!”

http://goldmedalbodies.com/whats-your-problem-strategies-training-injuries/

This is a followup to my last arti­cle (Training Related Injuries – Is it Serious, or [...]]]> Since I seem to be spending the majority of my time on social media sites posting stuff, I thought I’d link those posts here on my personal site as well…

Good article on problem solving various types of “injuries.”

http://goldmedalbodies.com/whats-your-problem-strategies-training-injuries/

This is a followup to my last arti­cle (Training Related Injuries – Is it Serious, or Just a Tweak?) where we discussed if the diffi­cul­ties you are expe­ri­enc­ing in move­ment are seri­ous enough to warrant going to a physician.

Today, let’s go into further detail about:

• How partic­u­lar injuries and condi­tions occur
• What you can do to relieve them

Loved this from Jim Wendler: “Believe in yourself and be a motherf*cker – if you don’t no one else will. Have love in your heart and an axe in your hand. Hug and swing discriminately.” http://asp.elitefts.net/qa/default.asp?qid=157346&tid

Reading this, I find myself in good company: http://brainz.org/50-most-brilliant-atheists-all-time/

“Atheism is generating quite a lot of attention these days. Prominent atheists are getting the word out about their views in increasing numbers and generating lots of public debate on the proper place of religion in governments and societies in the modern world. And now more than ever, atheists have been able to network together and join forces because of the Internet.”

I consciously took some time off from the blog.

No inspiration to write, a lot of other things on my plate: travel, family commitments, that kind of thing.

Hopefully I am back at it now.

In the next few weeks I am going to be making some changes to [...]]]> Busy, busy, busy… As always…

I consciously took some time off from the blog.

No inspiration to write, a lot of other things on my plate: travel, family commitments, that kind of thing.

Hopefully I am back at it now.

In the next few weeks I am going to be making some changes to the site, as well as updating with new posts.

I hope this quick update finds you all well and doing some good in the world.

Until next time!

Ciao for now!

I posted over 80 pictures from our Hawaiian holiday on my Facebook Page.

Check it out!

I just realized I haven’t updated my site in over a month! Where did the time go?

Let’s see… Quick catch up…

I am feeling 100% again, fully recovered from my bout of whooping cough. Work is running smoothly, though a bit slow… Life with the family is great… In fact my wonderful wife [...]]]> Wow.

I just realized I haven’t updated my site in over a month! Where did the time go?

Let’s see… Quick catch up…

I am feeling 100% again, fully recovered from my bout of whooping cough. Work is running smoothly, though a bit slow… Life with the family is great… In fact my wonderful wife and I just got back from an eight day trip to the big island of Hawaii! It was easily the best vacation I’ve ever taken!

Training is on pace and where I want it to be.

Life is good!

In fact the only area that I feel needs extra attention is in my writing/drawing/painting… I have been VERY lax lately getting any work time, or work done… So that is where I am going to focus (along with balancing all the rest) for the next little while…

As to the blog… I have spent most of the last month+ micro-blogging on Facebook and Twitter. I am finding micro-blogging to fit in with my time and attention span better right now… But I will make an attempt to update this site more often…

In fact I will try and have some pictures from our Hawaiian trip up in the next few days…

I hope all is well in your world!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/magazine/27armstrong-t.html?pagewanted=3&_r=2&ref=technology

First off some direction through definition:

Expanding: 1. To increase the size, volume, quantity, or scope of; enlarge: expanded her store by adding a [...]]]> In some ways it seems silly and pretentious to write all this out, but given the nature of what a personal blog is I’m going to try and get through it…

First off some direction through definition:

Expanding:
1. To increase the size, volume, quantity, or scope of; enlarge: expanded her store by adding a second room. See Synonyms at increase.
2. To express at length or in detail; enlarge on: expanded his remarks afterward.
3. To open (something) up or out; spread out: The bird expanded its wings and flew off.
4. Mathematics To write (a quantity) as a sum of terms in an extended form.

Horizon(s)

1. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) Also called visible horizon apparent horizon the apparent line that divides the earth and the sky
2. (Astronomy) Astronomy
a.  Also called sensible horizon the circular intersection with the celestial sphere of the plane tangential to the earth at the position of the observer
b.  Also called celestial horizon the great circle on the celestial sphere, the plane of which passes through the centre of the earth and is parallel to the sensible horizon
3. the range or limit of scope, interest, knowledge, etc.
4. (Earth Sciences / Geological Science) a thin layer of rock within a stratum that has a distinct composition, esp of fossils, by which the stratum may be dated
5. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) a layer in a soil profile having particular characteristics See A horizon, B horizon, C horizon
on the horizon likely or about to happen or appear

I put these definitions here to help lay out where I am going with this post in particular and this blog in the abstract. In particular, I am looking at incorporating definitions 1, 2 and 3 from the first, and 3 of the second.

When I first started this blog, in its original inception, way back in time (2001), I had envisioned a place where I shared the things that I had an interest in (writing, art, training, politics, cultural anthropology, comparative religions, etc.), or had a hand in (family “stuff,” writing, art, training, commodity training, etc.).

Over the years it has vacillated somewhere in-between these two poles, even splitting into two separate blogs for a while, one specifically about my training, the other encompassing all the other areas.

A couple of years ago I recombined them back together to streamline my web-presence.

For the last year this blog has been almost exclusively about training. Now, I love training, both for myself and my clients… But my life is bigger than this, and I am feeling “cramped” by the focus I’ve been plying to it. I love helping people meet their physical goals (as well as my own) and am going to continue to perform in those arenas. But it is time to take a much wider focus and reopen the doors to those other fields of enquiry.

I have taken the last couple of months deciding what and where I want to go with this site – especially as I spend considerably more time on Facebook and Twitter micro-blogging than here.

For the for seeable future I am going to be putting posts up on everything from old (and new) artwork, my writing (including putting up new articles that I haven’t found venues for yet), articles and posts on current events, politics, news, etc., stories I love about comparative religion, cultural anthropology, commodity trading, and more…

Hopefully you’ll stay tuned for what I have planned… And maybe tell your friends.

Ciao for now!

“Love, prosperity, peace, light & laughter, in 2010 (now 2011) and beyond.” From Twitter

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This last year (2010) [...]]]> In keeping with past years, I was looking for a “pithy” catchall phrase, or sentence, to capture the spirit of this year’s driving themes… So far, I haven’t found anything better than this, from last year:

“Love, prosperity, peace, light & laughter, in 2010 (now 2011) and beyond.”
From Twitter

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This last year (2010) was a rebuilding year – recovering and repairing our familial and financial foundations after the losses of the last couple of years (deaths and financial dumb-fuckery). And as a family we made some pretty good strides in those directions…

Working as a trainer at Gold’s gym, while it has only barely made me a living wage, has allowed me to reenter the training game, which I love more than I probably should… Helping my clients meet their goals gives me a “warm fuzzy” like few things in the world… The next step is to transition this experience into one of financial viability…

There was still some extraneous stress that we could have done without (my younger brother’s stroke in January of 2010 for example), but we were – in my opinion – able to weather it better.
****
As I do every year I went back and reviewed my goals for the previous year… And, with one modification (*read below), I met all of them… In most cases a month earlier than anticipated…

For 2011, it is going to be a refinement of the basics: family, health/training, financial security, personal development, creative development and fun.

To do this, the first thing is I am going to do is: plan my work and then work the plan… It worked so well last year that I am going to do it again…

Family

Refining the basics: spend as much quality time with my wonderful wife Kari and daughter Kyanne as possible. Be as involved with them in their lives as I can be.

This year will also see a little more travel than the past two or three years. We have a trip to Hawaii planned for Kari’s birthday, and in July we are going to Washington DC to see Colonel Daniel Thomas transition out of his base command post at Fort Meade. **I am also hoping to get to at least one or two training (MA/fitness) seminars this year.

**This last bit is not something firmly planned as of yet…

Health/Training

Health

Not much to change in this area overall… I will keep up and improve (where needed) my nutrition/diet, get appropriate sleep, drink plenty of water, see my medical team when needed. Et cetera… In other words tighten up what needs to be tightened and continue on mindfully with the rest.

Training

I am going to keep on with two goals from the last couple of years: “feeling great and feeling infinite energy.”

I will accomplish this through continued training of the various energy systems, staying uninjured, as well as continuing to remove restrictive forces through the judicious use of training tools such as yoga…

Practice

I have two areas here I want to focus on in 2011. The first is to reintegrate my standup, clinch, ground and weapon-based skills as they took a bit of a back seat last year while I worked on my BJJ brown belt…

The second is to continue my Body Flow/Balance Work Practice

These last two areas are for fun/education and to support my Jiu-Jitsu/MMA habit – as well as in my continuing evolutionary quest for self-mastery – which can only aid and expand into all other aspects of my life.

Competition

Any competition done this year will only be with my trusted coaches and teammates during drilling, sparring, rolling and FoF.
Integration

All three areas will be as integrated as they can be… The theme for the year is: Spenser with a twist…

Financial Security

Last year Kari and I tried our hands at a handful of home based business… Like most projects initiated: 80% were a bust… So, this year I am going to simplify my business model by only working on three businesses. Two that have made money in the past and one with some incredible potential…

My Personal Training business
Commodity Trading
And Dark Alley Designs

I have developed a lot of (digital) art for Dark Alley Designs. But so far haven’t taken the time to implement them or the site. I am going to “pull the trigger” on that in 2011.

For commodities trading: be mindful of the trade – i.e. plan my work and then work the plan. As well as remain mindful of the trades I make (keeping stops tight, doing the numbers, et cetera…). My financial goal last year was to bring in at least $10,000 during the year. *I only made $4000, which didn’t meet the goal but was WAY beyond what I’d done during 2008-2009… So, in my mind it was a MAJOR step in the right direction…

Personal Training: In 2010 I spent the year working on trying to be the best PT I could be while in the employ of Gold’s Gym. Meeting or exceeding my clientele’s goals… Getting my feet back on the floor…

This year is going to be all about developing my own practice – setting up my own “shop” out of my home… In doing the math I can make what I make at Gold’s just training two people a day… My goal is four (or five) clients per day – upping the ante…

-Secondarily: I want to finalize and implement a “train the trainers” course. I have been doing a little of this in micro bursts at Gold’s Gym with good success…

-Tertiarily: I would like to increase exposure to my macro-nutrition seminar. I did one last year that was both fun and lucrative…
****

In the short term (and maybe long term – we’ll see ) I will work at Gold’s – keeping a few clients, as well as my yoga class and “boot camp” groups…

Personal Development
Continuing to read and write (for learning and expression), along with (more) consistent meditation.

Creative Development
Back to basics: more writing – I am going to shoot for 500 words per day (M-F). Along with that, I am going to continue to devote time to visual arts (drawing, painting, digital art).

Fun
*See family time. Also I am going to add more outdoors activities (when the weather cooperates)… The last thing I would add here is: like the definition of porn: “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Notes:
A reminder to myself (and others): I am the ultimate authority over my life, no one else. I take responsibility for it!
So, that being said… Onwards and upwards!