Warrior Watch

I can't believe I haven't seen an episode of this before.

This television program, is a great inspiration.

6 men, 3 American and 3 from the UK, travel the globe and compete in various sporting competitions of indigenous peoples. It is simply inspiring what these athletes do and endure.

Last One Standing

Things to Do: Go To the Library.

I can't believe I am making a post about this. Going to the library should be common sense, but I see so many people that don't know what services their library offers.

Reasons the Library is Awesome:

1. Its practically free! Yeah, most libraries are paid with funds from your taxes, but hey you are paying for it anyway might as well use it.
   
2. Reading gives you and your children an edge. There are tons of studies on this. Just use your search engine, or better yet go to the library and look it up if you don't believe me.
3. How can you be a responsible and active citizen if you don't know what is going on in the world around you.
4. Hard Copies of media at the library tend to be reviewed more heavily than electronic sources. Therefor you won't be as easily lead astray.
5. Many types of media at your hand. One trip to most libraries can give the visitor access to books, movies, video games, cds, newspapers, journals, cassette tapes, etc.
   

There is no excuse for not visiting your library at least a few times a month. The librarians are there to help you, it hardly costs you anything, and its one of the easiest ways to learn to be active.

Things to Do: Join Meetup.com

Welcome to what will hopefully be the first of many posts about "Things to do". Bettering myself is why I started this blog, and I wish to share some tips with you. Some of these ideas will be common sense, and some will involve things I have done that are off the beaten path. Anyway, on to the Tip.

Create a Profile on Meetup.com

One reason people do not become active in an endeavour is not knowing where to start. There are so many interests, hobbies, and activities that furthering proficiency and knowledge can be overwhelming. Even a simple search on Google or Yahoo using an activity and a city name can turn up many more hits than can be sorted.

A second complaint people have, is they cannot find people that share their passion, and when someone does something alone, they are less likely to stick with it.

Yet another reason people do not get active, is the information that is most readily available is through advertising. Therefore, starting an interest or activity through these modes, usually will result in higher fees than just pursuing the interest with a group of friends.

Meetup.com is an excellent cheap way to navigate around these problems. Meetup.com is a social networking site, for groups that have a wide array of interests: from politics to sports, there is bound to be a meetup group.

Best of all, meetup.com does not charge to join a meetup group. There is a fee to run a group, but it is very small. All you need is to create a free profile.

Once you’ve joined meetup.com, you have no excuse that you can’t find like minded knowledgeable people to start your activity with. If there isn't a group that suits you, you can always start your own.

Now get out there and do it.

Need Motivation?

This ad is awesome.

Doesn't even need the "Just Do it".

If you need to get out there and lose weight, become stronger, or accomplish your goals, you need to get out there and do it; no excuses. Your health is in your own hands. Your accomplishments are up to you.

My New User Icon

My picture is one that gets me every time. It's the Freedom of Speech painting by Norman Rockwell. He painted a series of four paintings depicting American Freedoms; "The Freedom of Speech", "The Freedom of Worship", "The Freedom from Want", and "The Freedom from Fear". Apparently Rockwell was so determined to make these paintings that he spent 6 months with less than optimal sleep, and lost 15 lbs in the process. Talk about determination.

These four freedoms are based on a speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt with the title of the same name. Every responsible citizen should "Google(TM)" the speech, but I will reproduce the important part here:

In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression-- everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way; everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world-terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-- everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.

That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called "new order" of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt,excerpted from the Annual Message to the Congress,January 6, 1941

I may not agree with the whole anti-armament stance, but I do agree that no country should act in a form of aggression against a neighbor. (Keep in mind FDR was talking about the invasion of Poland and France by Germany and of China by Japan during World War II. He was not talking about honorable defensive strikes, which is what our involvement in the war was.)

In light of the current administration we all should at the very least read up on our freedoms, and at least critically think about what sacrifices we are collectively making as a country. Every time we divert responsibility from ourselves to our government we lose freedoms. We just need to make sure it's worth it.

Good Read:

Are you looking for a gift for that special someone in your life? You want a book that will make you smile or give you something to pracitce on a rainy day? Try this book. It's called "The Dangerous Book for Boys" by Conn Iggulden. It's got everything an imaginative mind can hope for; from Pirates to Presidents, from Archery to Advice on Girls, this book has it all. It has all those things you should have been learning in grade school, but the teachers didn't show you because they were too busy teaching for the test. It makes a whimsical reference book for adults (nothing that will make you a braniac, but fun tidbits none-the-les), and a fun rainy day book for boys and girls alike. I highly recommend you check it out. I'd tell you more about it, but my girlfriend stole my copy. Also check out the companion "The Daring Book for Girls". As a warning for you extreme genderists... yes both books encourage Boys to be Boys and Girls to be Girls. Get over it.