Most over-used words on the Net
Mystic, Zen, and Warrior are (IMHO) the most over-used words on the net. These are the words, which if used in a keyword search, will most likely not turn up results related to Mysticism, Zen Buddhism, or any serious warriors.
Don’t believe me? Do a key-word search on Twitter for any of the above, and see what turns up.
Just for kicks, here are the links in real-time–Tell me what percentage you come up with that are actually relevant:
These are just personal pet peeves of mine because they related directly to my primary areas of interest. Are there other words you find used utterly wrong in common parlance.
Habits: Stalking negative emotions
My favorite book on dealing with negative emotions is a compilation of meditations by Thich Nhat Hanh, Taming the Tiger Within: Meditations on Transforming Difficult Emotions (2004). He has several themes dealing with negative emotions. He continually recommends honesty and openness with your loved ones about how your feeling. (study indicating that this is a physically healthy practice). He also recommends being gentle with one self. He recommends reminding yourself, and meditating on, the things that make you happy. Much of his recommendations fall under the practice of Stalking. The practice that I touch on below is a first step in the process of Stalking.
“It is very helpful to see yourself in moments when you are angry. It is a bell of mindfulness.” ~ p. 27
“One of the main causes of our suffering is the seed of anger inside of us.” ~ p. 5
Notice that each of the above quotes asks us to step outside of our heads and observe (in this case our anger), our difficult emotions. This stepping outside of our selves is a critical step in the process of Stalking, because in doing so we create some space, however momentary, between our emotion and any subsequent reactions or impulses we display when we feel this anger.
Thich Nhat Hanh doesn’t say that negative emotions are habits, but I contend that if not the emotion, then our subsequent expression and behavior is. Further, I contend that much of our subsequent reactions are inhibitors in our life.
If we hope to restructure our reactions and impulses away from regrettable behaviors, the space Thich Nhat Hanh points to is necessary to be able to later reconstruct events and discover the lynch-pin behaviors.
Remember, typically in a habitual sequence of behaviors, there will typically be a point where we shift from mindful to auto pilot. I discuss this sequence in my earlier post. After an argument, or a rough weekend, or some other set of negative emotions, once the sting has subsided, it is important to retrace events in our mind and find the one behavior or reaction which if we didn’t do, could have turned the tide. Or once we did do, things went down hill.
A couple of weeks ago I had an especially hard day. In looking back I can see that I had several opportunities to meditate and organize my thoughts and game plan, but I always felt rushed and put the planning off. Had I taken five or ten minutes to make a couple of lists, when the crisis of that day peaked, I could have fallen back on those lists. Going forward I have resolved to remind myself to set down and scratch out a couple of lists when the though occurs, and not put it off. Since that weekend, I have had one such opportunity, and I didn’t make great lists, or give myself quite enough time, but I was able to better organize my thoughts, and operate with a better game plan. Things still didn’t work out as well as they would have if I had focused more, but not as bad as they would have had I only the seat of my pants to work with.
Similarly with anger. I have had a couple of chances to practice creating some space, and interrupting my impulse to escalate arguments, even when clearly invited to do so by my fellow antagonist. This issue of escalation is interesting. Often, in an argument, our fellow antagonist is more comfortable with an all out irrational confrontation instead of calmly addressing the points actually on the table. We must be careful of this desire, and resist the temptation to bait people into it, and to take the bait when so deliciously offered. Some space and observation is required to see the bait coming and to resist taking it (or resist throwing it out there).
There are several specific techniques we can use to build more productive habits surrounding negative emotions.
- cognitive restructuring
- logic
- humor
- communication
- avoidance
- timing
I will not go into detail here. It is most important to first practice being the observer to our emotional expression and reaction. This simple (not easy) act of creating space and observing will often point the way to what action we can take next.
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–Jalal
Your comments are welcome below. . .
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Awesome images: Gregory Colbert
I saw this post on Gregory Colbert today. Colbert’s photography work is amazing, visit his site and photography: Ashes & Snow.
Gregory Colbert image -- http://ashesandsnow.com
Real tax burden
(c) Martha Soukup — http://www.flickr.com/photos/soukup/
My bottom line on taxes is that we pay an exhorbitant amount of income tax from our paychecks here in the United States. In fact, we pay one of the highest percentages of taxes in the world. This is particularly so when you compare the political-economic structure of the countries whose percentages exceed ours, and layer on the fact they all have some sort of universal healthcare (read: tax-funded). Specifically, these countries (largely) are openly socialist-influenced, and (largely) have single-payer tax-funded healthcare.
I maintain that the United States economic system has not been Capitialistic for a very long time (if ever). This may sound extreme, but if our tax system is any indication, we are a long ways toward Socialist. Here are the numbers:
We’re all in the 40% tax bracket. An analysis of income tax brackets, including federal, state, payroll taxes, and deductions puts the average tax payer paying 40% of their income in taxes (pre take home).
We pay another 22% surcharge on what’s left. Most first-world countries openly levy a VAT (value-added tax) on their citizens. We don’t call it that, but we levy several layers of sales taxes on our citizens: State sales taxes, consumption taxes (gasoline, tobacco, airlines, etc), highway tolls. Additionally, the products we buy are produced by companies that pay these same consumption taxes (I’m not even talking about business income taxes). These companies pass these taxes along to us in the price of the goods they sell. Add it all up and find we pay 22% in these embedded taxes–this on after-tax income.
Wait, there’s more. . .We pay for our own healthcare. Depending on your exact healthcare situation, employer paid benefit, self-insured, medical savings plan, traditional 80/20 health insurance, your actual annual cost will vary. But when comparing national tax percentages, this must be accounted for as many (most) first world countries pay for their citizens’ healthcare from the taxes their citizens pay. If we take the lower costs from employer-paid plans (remember this is money paid on your behalf by the company) we have average annual costs of $14,202 (premium, deductible, and other out-of-pockets) per family. (The Hidden costs of Health care) The costs are even higher for smaller firms, and individually purchased plans. This does not account for the medical cost (or lack thereof) for the uninsured, but at what cost and what risk? There would be a good analysis: The long term cost of foregoing medical treatment in terms of life expectancy versus the risk of financial ruin in the face of a catastrophic medical event.
Let’s run the numbers. If we look at a family household income of $100,00 (not unreasonable ), and then an individual earning $45,000.
A family income ostensibly of $100,000.
- Take homepay (less 40%) $60,000.
- Less Healthcare costs (the conservative numbers, and assuming a tax-deductible threshold) $45798.
- Then the embedded taxes on after-tax income (money we use to buy stuff)
- $35,722 left.
- Real Tax Rate: 64.28%.
For an individual earning $45,000:
- Less 40%: $27,000
- Less healthcare ($6191): $20,809
- Less embedded taxes: $16,231
- Real Tax Rate: 63.93%
Note: Neither of these calculations account for the several other taxes and tax-like costs we incur: e.g., ad valorem taxes, property taxes, public utility fees, universal coverage fees (i.e., in your phone & utility bills)
Discussions regarding what we actually pay in taxes in the United States are patently deceiving. The tax code is so skewed. The sheer number of different types of taxes we pay is staggering. The different metrics we can use to describe taxes is mesmerizing. Every one seems to be able to arrive at the conclusion they want through selective attention and willful ignorance.
Resources: Some of these conclusions support mine, some don’t. But none synthesize all the analyses which I’ve included above:
- Embedded taxes change Fair Tax equation
- The Hidden burden of taxation
- Effective Tax rates
- The Hidden costs of Health care
- 12 Countries with the highest and lowest taxes
- Tax Misery and reform index
- the new poor tax
- The flat tax is already a reality
- Your real tax rate: 40%
- Health Insurance: Premiums and Increases
–Jalal
Please comment below. What’s your take on this?
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The game is just a game
We had a rough game last weekend. I was reeling as the game progressed. I looked at my bench and struggled to find the right combination of subs to stop the bleeding. The second half was better than the first, but it was still rough.
After the game, I scoured my mind for two days, searching for the answer, the key, the one thing that would have turned the tide. I discovered that the entire day had conspired against me. My own mind had failed. I was disorganized, and it spilled over into our warmups. My girls were spaced out and distracted. The practices that week going in were riddled with issues. It was a triple witching situation. A perfect storm. I took it personal terribly.
But today, looking back and planning ahead, I’m beginning to see it was a game. It was not a personal failure. It was not a commentary on the entire season. It was not a sign of our wrong direction. What it was, was a game where unpredictable things happened, and discordant events came together and resulted in a particular outcome. That’s a big reason we play sports–to learn to adjust to unpredictable, and consequently, sometimes undesirable outcomes. It was just a game.
Sometimes the game is just a game.
— Old 454
Comment are welcome, as always.
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Hard Days
Hard days, are . . . well–Hard. By extension they are generally unpleasant. By extension we generally try to avoid them. The irony is that these are the days we can grow from. That make us better. That make more Hard Days less likely. By extension we should actually seek out more Hard Days.
This is a major principle in training, particularly when it comes to endurance sports. But this is true to all aspects of our lives. Hard Days give plenty of fodder to analyze our stalking (the process where we monitor our own behavior, step by step, from a detached point of view). Stalking is a key activity in growth because it provides the vision to see, in this case, the small things that made the day hard, and which can be changed.
The principle in stalking is to detachedly dissect our internal reactions, and find the key reactions that a particular sequence of behaviors pivoted on. Sometimes, these reactions and choices were several days before the experience of hardship.
Stalking can be applied to Easy Days or Successful Days as well, except we are usually not motivated to dissect and change these outcomes as much.
Hard Days are uncomfortable, unpleasant, painful, agonizing, miserable–take your pick. The trigger our inherited survival avoidance mechanisms. And they need to be absolutely sought out.
-Old 454
Please feel free to comment below.
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Race Rep Part 3: Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011
Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011 Finisher Medal
Part 3 of my Race Report. Read Part 1. … Read Part 2
After a not-good night’s sleep, I woke up race morning about 4am before Augusta 70.3 Half Ironmatn 2011. I tossed in bed after falling asleep late. I spent a good bit of my time last night hunting down a new cyclometer (see part 2). I got out of bed about 4:30am and made my way to the hotel breakfast for some coffee, and a waffle. Not much of an appetite, and I had my own preferred early morning. Orange juice, yogurt, banana, P&J (if I can get it down), not too much coffee. It was still a few hours before my 8:16 wave start.
Final equipment check, loaded up my transition bag, lubed up, put on my tri shorts, shirt, running shoes. My first race where a shirt was mandatory for the bike and run. Put on some tunes, and headed to the lobby for the shuttle. I don’t train with headphones, but I do usually listen to Damian Marley or something in the drive to a race.
The shuttle lady was extremely nice, and got us to the transition area very quickly. No parking pain. Extremely convenient. Had no cash for a tip (caught up with her later that afternoon)
I got to my bike about 6am. Transition was already packed with lines of people waiting for the race shuttles (school buses) headed towards the swim start. The space on either side of me was already staked out, and with the wrong-facing bike (guy still no where to be found), I had no space–a situation I promptly corrected. I borrowed a pump and topped of my tires. Affixed my new cyclometer. Did my normal layout. Headed to get in line for the buses.
By 6:30am the bus lines had died down, so we basically walked up and loaded buses. Easy. A couple of minutes later, we were unloading at the swim start.
The swim start was buzzing with spectators, family, racers–very good energy. The training teams were grouped, warming up. I hit the port-a-potty, turned in my swim clothe bag, and made my way to get in line for my wave. Had chance to watch the pros start.
The swim starts from a floating pier, extended perpedicular from the shore into the river. After walking out on the pier, each wave then gets in the water for a deep water start. Here you can feel that the current has an effect, but it is not a significant effect. Hence my point in part 1 that the current is a factor the longer you’re in the water, but not a huge factor. Even with 100 or 200 swimmers in my wave, the start was not that physical.
The swim course is well marked. It’s a straight shot along the shore. The area closer to the shore has some seaweed-like stuff. A little weird, but not terrible. I saw a snapping turtle–definitely something I would not want to surprise.
I came out of the water feeling strong. Hit the port-a-potties, found my bike, a good swig of water, loaded up, and headed out. The volunteers were abundant, and super nice–A constant theme throughout the race.
The bike exit was easy to find. Plenty of room to mount up and get going.
The bike leg exits the Marina and quickly heads out of town onto the freeway. The first third of the bike is
Transistion area the morning of Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011
basically rolling hills. The first aid station was around mile 18. Grabbed some water, and hit the port-a-potty. (Need to work on the port-a-potty situation).
My bike nutrition strategy was to get down a bottle of my 6% electrolyte mix, replace that with water on the bottle exchange, then start working on my concentrated electrolyte, alternated with water. I planned to finish a water each aid station, and nurse my concentrated mix.
The stretch between each of the remaining bike aid stations have at least one or two decent ascents, depending on how one feels about hills. However, there aren’t any real killer hills. There are a couple of hairpin turns. One hairpin turn is at the bottom of a steep decline, and then a runs into a good incline. One rider wiped out ahead of me, and I had to break down to a bike stand while he was assisted off the course. Then a nice quarter mile climb out of that. My gearing was high for torque in the turn, but not for the resulting climb. A nice thigh buster.
The last ten miles or so of the course are very similar to the first (as might be expected).
Weather on the bike was hot and sunny. Not so bad on the bike because of the wind etc, and the downhills gave some good cool down opportunities. I topped out at one point at just under 40 mph.
The Run by the time I headed out on the run it was good and hot. Most of the run is in the sun. There are several shaded areas, tree lined sections and a few under passes. Going out on the first 3 miles, expect plenty of sun. Mile 5-6 is cooler on the back part of the first loop, and then back to the sun for the second loop.
The run is dead flat. There is literally only one hill as you leave the marina going through the levy wall.
With aid stations every mile. Water, Ironman electrolyte and gel products, cola, fruit. Very well stocked.
It’s amazing running through downtown Augusta, there are so many people cheering. Hanging out at the bars, having a good time. The aid stations are manned by various groups. There was a rugby team, a group of waitresses, JRTOC.
The split between finishers and second lappers is on the back half of the loop. It was something of a psychological hurdle watching those faster than me splitting off for the finishing shoot, while I was in for another 10k or so.
I had an unexpected second wind on the back half of the second loop, perhaps mile 7 or 8. The whole issue of second winds if baffling to me, and I was very surprised to have one at my longest distance to date. On the second loop there were some clouds and some rain. Both were very welcome, and certainly much better than the heat and sun.
There are aid stations every mile or so. Port-a-potties are not at every aid station, and are sometimes hard to visually locate.
The finish line was finally in sight. Here you should be sure to create some space, and take a good finish line photo, hands raised high, smiling. I got my medal, finisher’s hat, some water. The race over, I was afraid to sit down, lest I may not be able to stand back up. Definitely, the most brutal run of my life.
This is the point I missed my family most, as everyone else’s support crew and family greeted them coming out of the shoot, I felt distinctly alone.
Waited in line not too long for the Athletes Lounge (or something to that effect) pizza, chips, cookies, soda, water and beer. Had a good convo in line. Sat down, finally to munch with a fellow competitor.
I actually gave a post-race breakdown in my first post in this series.
So what next year? Getting psyched for a full Ironman. . .
If there’s some detail I missed, a question you have, or a comment, leave a comment below.
–Old 454
Please feel free to comment below.
Also, find me on twitter: Twitter.com/Old454
Race Rep Part 2: Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011
Ironman Augusta 70.3 Transition--day before
Part 2 of my Race Report. Read Part 1. and Part 3.
I arrived in Augusta for the Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011 triathlon Saturday afternoon (24 Sep 11). The road to Augusta that day was riddled with delays, traffic, complete traffic stoppages, an ingenious detour on my part, but I finally arrived. Having left late, I relied on my Blackberry GPS & Google Maps to navigate on the fly to the Marriott for check in.
Along the way I had a moment of panic, realizing I left my bike computer in my computer bag, sitting on my desk at home. My laptop was in the passenger’s seat next to me, no bag. Alas, bike “computer” is something of an overstatement for my $12 Wal-Mart cyclometer, more of a suped up Casio. Hence, my panic subsided when I convinced myself I could easily locate one on a local Wal-Mart shelf. Worst case, I could use my wrist watch, and obsess over arithmetical calculations while on the bike.
My focus today was to stay hydrated, continue my carbo-loading plan, keep my stress levels as low as possible, and do what I could to avoid snags race morning. I had booked two nights at the hotel, one check in and set up the night before, (besides I’m not a fan of driving longer distance to triathlon, set up transition and race all in the same morning.) The second because I really had no idea what my recovery would look like, how long it would take to clear transition, etc after the race, and I didn’t want the stress of even a late check out time looming. As it turns out, that was a good idea.
Check in/Packet pick up went smoothly. I parked on the street across the street from the Marriott Convention Center complex, and walked in. There was plenty of free parking in the complex, as it turned out. In some previous race reports, bloggers have pooh-poohed the athlete briefing, but I thought it was worthwhile, worth the thirty minutes or so. I was, however, surprised by the number of questions concerning what constituted a penalty (I would hope someone racing a half Ironman would have raced several shorter triathlons first, and become familiar with the penalties.) They do have a somewhat unique system for tracking and serving penalties, again something you may want to be clear and aware of.
Checked out the Ironman Store and bought an Ironman branded Augusta shirt for the Queen. Suffered some sticker shock, and moved on.
Next was bike check-in. I drove over to the Marina, again parking outside on the street. Numbered up my bike, pumped the tires not quite full, and road down to Transition. I had to retape my handle bars, and gave my bike a quickie spin to see if all was well. I had another momentary panic when I noticed a flat. May have been the railroad tracks past the Transition area (tracks you do not need to cross during the race.) Or it may have been a latent issue with my tube. Regardless, there it was. The bike mechanic guys wanted to charge me $20 to change it, or $10 for a just a tube. And no, I couldn’t use their bike racks. I did not ride down there with any money. Alas, I took my one spare tube out of my onboard tool bag, and put it on. No obvious puncture culprits. The mechanic guys did let me use their pump.
Now two things I needed to buy: A bike computer and a new inner tube. It was already late, and the Ironman Store was closed. So I found my spot and racked my bike. Some genius had racked his bike the wrong direction next to me, and was nowhere to be found–Something to deal with in the morning.
Off to check in at the hotel. The hotel desk clerk was super nice. They were totally ready for this event. Breakfast would open at an early 4 am on a Sunday (just for the race), and there would be a shuttle making round trips to Transition all morning. It is not the fanciest place, but had very nice staff, a clean room, and were completely accommodating–all things which rank high with me when it comes to these things. (Quality Inn Medical Center)
I literally drove to every Wal-Mart in the area looking for a 700×25 inner tube and a $12 bike computer. It seems that with 3500 racers, there were just enough triathletes with my same “El Cheapo cyclometer” mentality, and also somehow didn’t have one. At the last Wal-Mart, one of the stock ladies had just put out the new shipment of cyclometers. Somewhere along the way I picked up a 700×35 tube and apparently the only 700×25 left in Augusta.
Luckily I traveled with my own food for dinner, and didn’t have a great appetite.
I hit the room, and fell asleep.
More to follow. Stay tuned . . . Read Part 3.
Also — What am I missing? Comment below.
–Old 454
Please feel free to comment below.
Also, find me on twitter: Twitter.com/Old454
Race Report: Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011, Part 1.
Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011
More than a year in the planning, this past weekend, 25 September 2011, I finished the Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman 2011 triathlon. My longest distance to date, with the longest pre-race training period, the most complex nutrition and carbo-loading plan, longest post-race recovery (though not my most miserable). This was an intimidating prospect, and it is great to have it under my belt.
I will definitely need to divide my race report into two or three parts. My typical race report centers primarily on the central facts, and then some brief description of my experience. That won’t suffice today. I’ll let this first part be just the fundamental race facts: start time, weather, etc. The other parts will deal with my experience, timeline, preparation, recovery, etc.
Down and Dirty
I had a great time (if that’s what it’s called), and would totally do this one again next year. In fact, I had such a great time running this, my first Half Ironman, that I’m seriously considering running this distance a couple of times in 2012, building to a full Ironman.
Distances: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. With relay team option, also
Course: 1.2 mile point-to-point down Savannah River;
56 mile loop, out and back from Augusta into South Carolina, and back;
2 loop run throughout downtown Augusta.
Registration: $250.
Host: Ironman
Race Results — Augusta Ironman 70.3 2011
Weather: Nice swim start, wetsuit legal. The water was a bit cool. It took me some time to relax exhaling underwater. Got hot & sunny on the bike and for the (my) first loop of the run, the second loop was overcast with some (welcome) sprinkles. We had a good rain going for transition break down. But, alas, we just finished racing 70 odd miles–no big deal.
The Athlete’s Guide recommends acclimating to the Georgia heat and humidity–this is no joke. There were several heat injuries on the course.
Terrain:
- Swim–Downstream, the advantage of which there is some debate. I’d rate it a Slight (not Great) advantage. Like the wetsuit, it’s of greater advantage, the longer your in the water (i.e., to us weaker swimmers).
- Bike–Truly rolling hills, with three to five good hills/climbs/inclines, depending on how you count. Not nearly as brutal as the bike in the Assault on Cherokee Olympic Triathlon in South Carolina, for example.
- Run–Pancake flat. For real. Dead flat run winding through down town Augusta. Some races claim to be flat, but this run really is (aside from one 50 yd climb out of the Marina area).
Competition: Need I say anything here? It’s a Half Ironman–the competition level is very high. There are plenty of “just finishers”, but the majority of people were serious athletes. Every one was extremely nice and supportive. Definitely one of the friendliest crowds I’ve race with.
General Impression: This is a great course, with a good mix of more and less challenging features. Great aid stations, plenty of port-a-potties, great cheering sections. The race was very well run and supported. With 3500 or so racers, the race was very well organized and run. The volunteers were great. The host city, Augusta was extremely gracious and inviting. The staff at my hotel (Quality Inn Medical Center) were extremely nice and helpful, and the headquarters hotel (Marriott Convention Center) was very pleasant.
Room for improvement: Uhh,. . . More swag in the swag bags. More selection in the athlete recovery tent–though the cup of beer was a nice touch!
More to follow. Stay tuned . . .
Read Part 2 . . . Read Part 3.
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–Old 454
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