Pic Of The Day - 06.10.15 - All Creatures Great And Small

This little critter hangs out near one of the collection canisters for dog poop on the property at The Calvinator's Upper Kirby Crib.
He scatters really quick so I had to snap this pic before I disposed of the poop.

North-South vs. East-West

I've often wondered why The Calvinator walks around in a circle before he poops.  (He also, kicks dirt and sort of looks like he is doing The Running Man when he finishes.)  There are several theories about the circling (looking for predators before being in a vunerable position; matting down the leaves & grass; looking for a clean spot).  So now we have a new theory.

According to this article in New York Post, dogs are aligning themselves with the magnetic field of the earth.  Dogs prefer to poop facing north-south as opposed to east-west.  Hmmm...I've never noticed but I guess I'll start paying more attention.  I have a good sense of north-south so I won't have to carry a compass.  I wouldn't be surprised if The Calvinator doesn't face north-south; he isn't just any ordinary dog.

Consternation

This morning, after running at the park and before returning to NoRO, I stopped at SBUX to get a Grande Iced Coffee with sugar-free vanilla. When I walked in, the baristas looked very concerned. I ordered my beverage and then the patron behind me ordered a Grande Coffee.

Bob, who was working the register said, "We don't have any hot water to make the coffee." WHAT?!

All they could do was make cold beverages and Americanos. Not a good day at the SBUX on Memorial Drive.

Sort of reminds me how my day started last Friday when I accidentally got dog poop on one of my fingers. Talk about consternation!

Exercise Pill

So there is a new pill out that is being called The Couch Potato's Dream. You see...

You take the pill and it has the same effect of you having excercised. Hmmm...sounds too good to be true.

I remember there was quite a bit of buzz about alli™. alli™ prevents your body from absorbing fat. If I remember correctly, it also causes you to not be able to control when you poop and could cause oily spotting if you don't stay within the recommended fat grams.

I remember being told one time that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. I'm sure there is some odd side effect to the no exercise pill.

So, I think I'll just stick to my routine of running, spinning and working out (and yes, and increase the risk of physical injury). I'm going to try and stay in decent shape the Smith Barney way. I'm going to earn it. And let's face it. Part of the fun to running and working out is the eye candy. Candy with no calories.

'Exercise pill' keeps body trim

It sounds like a couch potato's dream come true - an "exercise pill" that keeps the body trim and fit without having to budge from the sofa.

The drug has already been tested in mice, and scientists are so concerned about the implications they are developing ways to prevent its abuse by cheating athletes.

Researchers made the discovery after studying the biological signals that allow the body to respond to exercise. They found that certain chemicals could stimulate the same pathways to boost endurance and burn up fat.

Mice fed the drugs were turned into mini-marathon runners with extra reserves of stamina that did not put on weight. Tested on treadmills, they were able to run faster and for longer than untreated animals.

One drug, called AICAR, increased running time by 44% even in mice that did absolutely no exercise.

Lead researcher Professor Ronald Evans, from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, said: "We were blown away. This is a drug that is like pharmacological exercise. After four weeks of receiving the drug, the mice were behaving as if they'd been exercised."

Sedentary animals given the drug actually ran longer and further than than those which had exercise training, he said.

As well as having greater endurance, mice given the drugs experienced other benefits usually associated with exercise. They remained lean even when fed a high fat diet that would normally have caused them to become obese, and their insulin response improved, lowering blood sugar levels.

The new research, published in the journal Cell, also suggests the drugs might help reverse the muscle frailty associated with ageing, or diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

The scientists are now working in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency to develop a blood or urine test for the drugs.

Copyright © 2008 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Isn't there an in between?

Two weeks ago The Calvinator had diarrhea. It took him several days to get over it. NOW he is constipated! UGH.

Just thought I would share my misery with all of you.

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 9.5

Something I forgot to show you

Bobby Vanquish snapped this pic of some cool looking Absolut bottles. I had heard about them but had never seen them.

Sh_t Happens

Seriously. It really does! Yesterday I was driving down Memorial Drive, enjoying the beautiful weather and out of the corner of my eye I see something on the front passenger window of The Cal Mobile. It wasn't there a second ago.

I swear. It must have been a really big bird to leave this deposit! It actually kind of made me sick. I lost my appetite. Seriously.

So I went home and got the water hose and washed it off...after I took the pics.

Catching Up

The other day I went to a party and was very suprised to see someone there that I had not seen in years! He is one of those people that I lost touch with and it was good to visit with him. And actually, it was a good mix of people and the guest of honor looked really pleased with the assembled group. (Just wish I didn't drink so much!)

Down Under

Tall Bryan of the ATL is in Sydney right now and he sent these pics. I need to go back to SYD. Looks like they're having beautiful weather.

And Speaking of Things Down Under

With or without the Wolverine sideburns he still looks good. Hugh Jackman was at the beach the other day enjoying the weather Down Under. I wish I had those abs, pec and arms. Thanx to Just Jared for posting the pics.

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Roaches and poop. What else for today?

Today has been an odd day that didn't get off to a good start. The Calvinator was up all night barking at something. If it only lasted a few seconds, I wouldn't get up. If it continued for more than a few seconds, I got up to look out. Never saw anything.

At one point, I could feel something tickling the back of my neck. Then it was the side of my face. Minutes passed and it started up again. I finally decide to wake up. I look at the clock (530A) and turn on the light. It was a huge @ss, frickin' Palmetto Bug (which is the nice name for a Wood Roach!) WTF? So of course I screamed like a girl and it disappeared.

Well there was no way I was going back to sleep knowing that this thing was in the bedroom. (The Calvinator was trying wake up and figure out why I was making noises. He was in the bathroom just staring at me.)

So I see the bug again but I don't have anything to smush it with and it disappears. The next time I see it it is back on the bed and I grab a shoe and knock it to the floor and smush it. So now I'm wide awake. Screaming like a girl will do that.

Fast forward through the morning ritual. I get to Memorial Park for a 3 mile run. I did 3 yesterday at lunch time and even did weights in the evening. I'm really proud of myself. This morning's run felt like 6 miles. My quads were hurtin'.

I finish the run, get to The Cal Mobile, look down and f_ck! I had fresh poop on my right shoe! And it was everywhere. UGH!

Fast forward through the details, cleaning up and finally getting to read the paper. The first thing that I notice is a story about Chau Nguyen leaving Channel 11. First Lisa Foronda and now Chau? Hmmm.

Then I see a huge @ss write up about the party this past Friday night. Of course I'm not in any of the photos in the hard copy OR the electronic version. Then I get to the HOroscopes and mine is a 2-star day. I knew I should have stayed in bed today...but there was that thing about the Palmetto Bug.

So with all this going on people are working my nerves and they don't know what I have been through. And yes, in the big scheme of things, roaches and poop don't really matter.

Today is All Saints Day which for us Roman Catholics is a Holy Day of Obligation. At the last minute I decide to run over to St. Anne's for the 1200p Mass and it was crowded. If I had thought about it I would have made a list of patron saints to pray to so instead I said a prayer for everyone that I know who has lost a close friend or relative in the past year and for all of my friends and relatives who have passed away.

I figure going to Mass in the middle of the day might calm me down and it did. However, I guess I wasn't listening very well because during the intentions, I thought I heard the priest say, "For all those who are trying to live a life of sanity." when he actually said, "For all those who are trying to live a life of sanctity."

Maybe I should go back to bed!

Sabotage & Karma

Have you ever sabotaged yourself? That question goes to everyone but more specific to runners.

I planned on running 6 miles this morning but I started putting some thoughts into my head as I was making my way to the park. My right knee will prolly hurt. I didn't eat right yesterday. It's too humid. I didn't drink enough water. I only ran on Tuesday and didn't get in any other runs. I feel fat. Blah, blah, blah.

Well needless to say, my 6 mile run didn't happen this morning. I only ran 4 and part of that was a few walking breaks in there.

I know. Running isn't only a physical thing, it is a mental thing also. Fiddle dee dee. There's always tomorrow or Monday to get back into mental shape.

I dropped The Calvinator off to get groomed. He didn't want to stay and tried to make a run for it. He's quick.

Anywho. I made my way over to the dog show at Reliant Park. I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of exhibits, dogs, people, etc. Who knew that there was so much dog stuff to sell???

So now we get to the karma portion of this posting...

I had just made my way through all of the exhibits and was going to go look at the dogs and the judging. (I had already watched some Frisbee catching and some dog + human dancing...don't get me started on that subject!) So it's a bit crowded in the walkway and there is a man pushing a stroller and his wife is saying "Watch out. Watch out." He says, "I am!" And I'm thinking, "What a b!tch." And then it happened. I stepped in big pile of dog poo. THAT'S what she was telling him to watch out for. UGH! Some dog pooped in the middle of an aisle on cement no less.

I was so sure everyone could smell me coming. I went to the bathroom and got into a stall and did my best to clean my shoe. Then I didn't care and went to the sink and used wet paper towels with soap. I WAS hungry but this incident made me lose my appetite.

Once I was sure no one could smell me, I made my way back out to the show and stumbled across Bob Kennedy and Chris Lewis showing their Pomeranians. I'm not a big Pom fan 'cause they yap. Anywho...both of their dogs won! 1st AND 2nd.

So...I guess I should go buy The Secret and read it. And I guess I shouldn't think bad things about people.