In the course of taking the same running training program that I took last year when I got my DVT I think I've come to a new realization about exercise induced asthma*. Before I couldn't find any pattern and the seemingly random nature could be frustrating. Will it happen this time?
During the course Tom, the owner of the Fleet Feet in Aptos and instructor, made every effort to make sure we didn't over-do the training. Sunday was the long conversational run and Wednesday was the speed building run with a few walk/run miles on other days to keep things moving.
Sunday also had various health and fitness guest speakers. One of those speakers was a physical therapist at Dominican. He explained that the cardio-vascular system will get to where it needs to be a lot faster than the muscles that do the work will. Also that it's important not to push beyond what you can do. He didn't explain where that limit was or how to find it, but he at least did say that you shouldn't increase more than 10% from week to week.
So on the final long run this last Sunday I realized that at the slow pace I don't seem to get any exercise-induced asthma, while when the Wednesday runs got intense enough out it came. I missed one of the Wednesday nights but I tried to make it up on a Thursday morning and as soon as I tried to push it the asthma came.
So maybe the onset of asthma is my dividing line; where I push myself beyond what I'm capable of. I know I used to be able to do more before it kicked in when I've been in better shape. It's frustrating, but at the same time it's also really satisfying to learn the signals of my body and learn where the limits are so I can begin the push to extend them.
* I also can have allergy induced asthma, but I can generally tell if that's going to be an issue before I begin exercise.
First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!
The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.
A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.
Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.
On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.
And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!
~ daisy
As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.
The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.
When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.
It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.
Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.
As always, thanks for your patience.
New TV shows
Glee - Without a doubt the new show I'm most enjoying. Fun characters with good song and dance! It's the only show where I would be disappointed if it were to be cancelled, and I see myself getting it on DVD.
Cougar Town - It's like getting a Scrubs fix, not in content but in presentation. The rapid fire joke style and editing are much like Scrubs which make sense since it's the same creator. I don' tknow if they can keep it up but it's fun so far.
Modern Family - Documentary/reality style comedy. Because of that it can spend a long time building up a joke, but they often pay off. It's fairly uneven, but there's almost always something I find funny enough to keep going.
FlashForward - Clearly meant to replace Lost when it ends, but I don't know if I'm totally sold on it yet. There are a lot of things they can explore with the idea and so far it's been smart, but I'm not convinced it will stay that way.
YouTube
The Receptionist - I just thought I would mention this channel. It's a channel for short films he makes while at work. Everything in the video aside from himself is made form the office supplies. Good stuff!
Movies
88 Minutes - 16 minutes. The time it takes to be fully convinced it's going to be pretty dump. Luckily the actors are generally entertaining and it's pretty short.
The Jane Austen Book Club - I like the parallels between the characters and the books they read. It all ties together well and seems thought out. Of course I'm just basing this on the movie and other Jane Austen movies (not including Jane Austen's Mafia).
No Country for Old Men - More intense and less violent than I anticipated. Not to say it isn't violent, just not as much as I was led to believe. The use of silence in the film was great. Everything about it was compelling.
Quarantine - Watch this movie with the best sound system you can. The helicopters and other outside sounds were completely immersive. The single camera shoot works well too and wasn't a turn-off like in The Blair Witch Project.
Becoming Jane - What made Jane Austen into Jane Austen? I don't know how accurate this movie is in answering that question but it is pretty entertaining. I'm sure the entertainment value goes down the more you know about her life. Good thing I don't know!
Snow Dogs - Have you wondered what Cuba Gooding Jr is up to? This is it. It's a mildly amusing, cheesy, light film. Something that's completely non-offensive.
WALL-E - Great movie about humanity and is very close to being a modern silent movie. A lot is communicated with an economy of words. Also it's a more realistic look than your typical Pixar movie which I think is a good thing.
The Truth About Charlie - While I was watching this movie I kept thinking that it felt like an old movie. Sometimes I was able to picture the scene with the exact same dialog. It turns out it's a remake of Charade. I think it should have been pulled fully into the modern day because it felt out of place in the modern day setting.
Kickin' it Old Skool - It started off with some funny stuff, but then it went stale.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - I was thinking this was going to be the same joke over and over, but instead there were a good variety as it was able to mine the history of pop music. I probably would have been happy enough with a machete fight an the Beatles in India, but I know I have low standards.
The Foursome - A reunion movie and a golf movie mixed into one. I normally like golf movies but this one is one to avoid. It's dull, predictable, and poorly delivered.
Bedtime Stories - This movie doesn't fit too well into categories. Maybe Adam Sandler and fairy tale work. It's a pretty enjoyable movie unless maybe Adam Sandler bugs the shit out of you.
Gray Matters - An odd love triangle movie that pays homage to old Fred and Ginger type movies. It's a good bit of fun!
Summer of Sam - After the first hour is settled down and got pretty good. Until then you're wondering what anything you're watching has to do with anything else. Overall I'd recommend it, but be prepared for it to take awhile.
First Sunday - It seems like it would be an offshoot of the Friday series, and I think that what they want you to think but they have nothing in common except for Ice Cube. There are some good community building messages among the hit and miss comedy.
This Christmas - Family holiday gathering with all the family comedy that goes with it. It's probably most similar in feel to The Family Stone. I think it comes off well, but then again I like these kinds of movies. My favorite is still Home for the Holidays.
The Invisible - Most similar to Ghost, but it's pretty good. I haven't seen the Dutch film this is based off of but I thought this version was well done.
We Own the Night - I wasn't expecting much based on the trailer, and it turns out the trailer for this only covers about the first thirty minutes of the movie. There ends up being a fairly good cop-brother drama in there.
Die Mommie Die! - This is a 60s parody. I think it started as a 60s porn parody because there are a lot of scenes that lead right up to getting it on. But it's also a parody of other films of the era. It's purposefully bad and it doesn't carry that off at first like an unintentionally bad film can. I don't know what changes but the camp starts connecting. I think I have to attribute it to Natasha Lyonne.
Fido - A great boy-and-his-dog movie, but with zombies! It's not scary and has very little gore so it's safe for pretty much everyone to watch.
Pineapple Express - Why do I like stoner movies? I don't know, but this one is pretty good. Maybe it's the pothead logic? This one has characters aware that they have pothead logic and an over the top ending.
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - The pacing on this kept it pretty entertaining from start to finish. I also like their take on motion blur and I hope it's used elsewhere.
Head Over Heels - It's like Zoolander except with female models, and they all live. Freddie Prinze Jr is the love interest and that's find but he's not very believable at playing someone in his job... either of them. There's enough funny to keep it entertaining though.
Capitalism: A Love Story - So far my favorite Micahel Moore movie is still Sicko. It is straight to the point and doesn't rely on his usual gimmicks. This one shows in general he's improving, but he still falls back on his gimmicks from time to time. The first hour feels scattered, and while the stories are sad, they have little connection to one another or the point he's trying to make. Later he finds his focus and that's great! Except you're wishing he would have tied those earlier stories in to the now focused narrative to drive the point home.
Trojan War - This movie must ahve been sponsored by Trojan condoms. It's one of those everything goes wrong in a night kind of movies. In this case the guy is trying to get laid and his quest is to find a Trojan condom. Not the best movie of its type but it's amusing.
Miracle at St. Anna - Good WWII movie, but it's about the black soldiers who served. Surprisingly there is a decent amount of humor to keep it from getting too heavy. It'll still get heavy but it won't stay there. It doesn't feel as long as it is.
The Brothers Solomon - This has to fall along the lines of A Night at the Roxbury. Except these two brothers aren't dumb, just insulated from the world and insanely positive about everything. Nothing escapes their positive spin.
Inkheart - Bringing characters to life in a story can be tricky but this manages it well. Kind of like an inverse Never Ending Story. Unfortunately I don't think it did well enough for the sequels to be made into movies.
Easy Virtue - Funny period piece about an American woman causing upheaval in an English family. It didn't have the ending I was expecting, or a lot of events throughout the movie for that matter. Check it out.
Lakeview Terrace - Samuel L Jackson plays the neighbor from hell. The trailer only shows a small portion of what goes on. It's not like there's even a transformation, he's just messed up from the start.
A Christmas Carol (2009) - The level of detail was amazing! The leather, the wood, the buildings, the cloth, the motion! You could even see that the outside of his foot comes down before the inside when he climbs the stairs! On top of it, it was a good telling of the story. It even make use of an absence of sound. How often does that happen in an animated movie?
Factorum - This has the same main character as Barfly. I've never seen Barfly, and I'm not sure I want to. The main character is interesting in that he can be repulsive and sympathetic at the same time. It's listed as a comedy, but the only really funny part I though was when he got crabs.
We Don't Live Here Anymore - Irritating characters who don't like one another destroying their relationships. Surprisingly the kids don't seem too effected by the whole situation despite Laura Dern having some impressive angry yelling and throwing things.
We received a refund check from our insurance company. I had it with me Sunday when we went downtown with the intent to deposit it, but instead it was forgotten. When I got home I realized I no longer had it and it must have fallen from a pocket.
Monday I called the insurance company to cancel the check and issue us a new one.
Tuesday we received an envelope with the check and this note in it:
"Found this on the street. (Pacific Ave)
In Front of Borders.
Figured you could use it."
There was no identifying return information. Thank you anonymous
nice person!
Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
Today, in addition to being warm, is oddly quiet downtown. There is very little traffic, there are few people walking around, and I didn't even hear any street musicians as I walked around running errands. Was Halloween night that taxing on everyone?
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
I don't really use this site.
Look for me here: http://www.knottyyarn.com
But I kept going, all the way to Takashimaya. It took about 50 minutes to get there and I listened to Ira Glass Interview Joss Whedon on the way. A quick buzz through Kinokuniya (didn't buy anything!) and then downstairs to grab some fake bacon at Cold Storage, and then home.
I am absolutely a destination-focused walker. Treadmills do not do it for me at all. Singapore is big on treadmills (in air conditioned glass rooms).
I hesitated for just a moment at the Orchard MRT station, and ended up walking past it and all the way home!
I was super-sweaty and exhausted when I got home, but I feel great! I can tell, however, that my legs will be really achy tomorrow.
Now, the hard part is figuring out how to keep it up during the week. I may start by getting off at the Orchard or Newton MRT stations on the way home rather than at Novina. Of course, that would require leaving work at a reasonable hour...which I should be doing anyway. Maybe a swim in the morning before work and a walk from Newton in the evening.
