Author: Mike P. Lewis

Putting myself through pain: part 2

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I ran The Nation’s Triathlon this weekend.  A fun event for those watching and a painful, but rewarding event for those like me who are dumb

We started on the waterfront in Georgetown at 7am on Saturday. The fire boats in the Potomac were spraying water all over at the beginning. I’ve never seem them before – i must say i think they look pretty cool.  The water was really warm (75 degrees) and not that disgusting.  It felt just like a regular lake.

Just so you know how far it is. I entered right by that “Swim Exit” sign and swam to the bridge (in the distance) and back. Yeah, that’s right. To the bridge and back. Also notice how everyone else had a wet suit which makes it easier to swim. That would have been nice, but i like to think of it as cheating (only b/c i don’t have one).

Continue reading “Putting myself through pain: part 2” →

Bear jumps over bridge and lives

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This bridge is on the Old Donner Pass Highway . It has spectacular Sierra views and views of Donner Lake and Donner Pass on Route 80.  A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40 at Donner Summit, Truckee) on Saturday when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge and was able to pull itself to safety.Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help Saturday night so they returned Sunday morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge.  After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.  It’s pretty amazing.

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Spook Country sucks

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This is not a good book. I would highly recommend you DON’T read it. The book has been written about in all the major outlets (Newsweek, Time, etc.) and i think they all are just smoking crack. Just because it’s about iPods, virtual reality and things in the future does not mean it’s fun to read.

The plot didn’t capture me and the story didn’t develop quick enough and when it did, i just didn’t care.

I read his last book “Pattern Recognition” and it was a little bit better but still not great. All in all, i’d say that William Gibson is extremely overrated.

3:10 to Yuma is a good Western

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I saw 3:10 to Yuma this weekend. It is good. I’m not sure if it’s better than Unforgiven or the classic westerns, but it’s pretty damn solid. On par in its genre to Bourne Ultimatum.

3:10 to Yuma, stars Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in an old-school style Western drama. Both are are great (i mean it is the Alpha Bale), the supporting characters are right on the money, and i can’t think of one scene that doesn’t work.

Some quick thoughts:

  • Gretchen Mol, who plays Bale’s wife, is always a total bitch in her movies. From Rounders to this, she’s always a total wet blanket.
  • Bale and Crowe have some good chemistry. Crowe is one of the smartest cowboys i’ve ever seen and he seems so happy to have finally met someone like Bale, someone who is worthy of his conversation.
  • The guy who plays Crowe’s second in command, Charlie, is terrific (played by Ben Foster). He crushes every scene. He was Angel in X-Men and was just so-so and didn’t really prepare me for this super-duper performance. He was great.
  • The final scene did not play out as i had planned. I was waiting for Bale to get a bunch of guns and tear some shit down. Instead he just moronically made a run for it. While it worked, it caught me by surprise. I think I’ve been conditioned by film like The Matrix, Bourne, and others to anticipate a superhuman performance at the end of a film. I was pleasantly surprised to see something different

This would explain why i sleep so much

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Ever since i started my triathlon training, i’ve been going to bed earlier and earlier. I thought it was because i’m just getting old (turning 30 in 2 weeks), but today the NY Times has informed me that it is because i’m now an “endurance athlete” and these athletes require much more sleep than regular people. There’s a scientific reason for this….

One possibility, Dr. Chediak said, is that cytokines — hormones that signal the immune system — are making these athletes sleep so much.

Exercise, Dr. Chediak said, prompts muscles to release two cytokines, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, that make people drowsy and prolong the time they remain sleeping. In fact, those cytokines also are released when people have a cold or infection, which is why people sleep so much when they are ill.

It turns out that the single most important factor for increasing the release of those two cytokines is increasing the duration and intensity of exercise, Dr. Chediak said. And, he noted, that’s what is happening when endurance athletes train. “A sprint will not get you as great an effect,” he said.

Go ahead and read the entire article HERE  if you’re interested.