firepowr.net

Some of you may have already heard about the earthquake tonight. I was sitting in my room reading email and all of a sudden my room shook. My monitor and my speakers began to rock back and forth. I stood up, grabbed my phone, and yelled at my room mate to get out of his room. We ran downstairs out the door where we met the rest of our neighbors standing outside.

What a wake up call. I’m surprise it was only a 5.6 magnitude quake. It felt much stronger than that and it seemed to have lasted about 30 seconds. Luckily nothing got damaged and no one was hurt. This may be a preview of things to come. Lets cross our fingers and hope not.

You can read more about the quake from the following CNN link.
CNN Article

When it comes to relationships women have their men by the balls; a tight vice-grip that is almost impossible to escape. Men believe they have the power and they control every aspect of the relationship, but little do they know it’s all a parlor trick. Women make their men believe what they want to believe, while secretly concocting a plan. It’s a plan that will ultimately lead to the utter destruction of her man’s manhood.

You see your friend quietly cowering in a corner cuddling a pillow with the remote in his hand flipping through the television guide aimlessly. Slow R&B music is playing in the background and unanswered IM messages fill his computer screen. He has been dumped. When a guy gets dumped it’s almost always unexpected. It’s like being blindsided by the proverbial Mack truck. For the woman, the event has been planned weeks in advance. The details all taped out in her head; the exact words she would say, the clothes she would wear, and the immediate destination she would go to after the break up.

As a friend looking on, you feel sorry for him, but like with any depressed and miserable moments in life you counter it with hanging out with friends and massive amounts of alcohol. He drinks and drinks till he pukes, then he drinks some more. Even when he wakes up in the morning the pounding headache still doesn’t take his mind off the fact that he as been handed the pink slip of rejection. “Why do I feel this way?” he asks himself. Besides the hangover and alcohol, he feels that way because it’s a sense of “Loss”. She probably wasn’t the hottest looking girl or the best girl he’s ever been with, but it is just the fact that he loss something close, and when it comes to sex he’s going to have to put some work to get some now.

Some men can rebound and come back stronger with a whole new outlook on life. But for others they become a mere whimpering of a man. Hope is lost and life is just metaphorical train that chugs along a laden path of existence. He becomes an emotional seesaw teetering on every feeling he gets from a girl. He questions and doubts his ability to spit game and in the end he settles with any girl who shows interests in him. Friends can do so much to help, but it’s up to him to realize his situation. And hopefully salvage his remaining dignity and re-grow the hairs on his balls that has once been stripped from the grips of his former half.

My blog was down for about a day and a half. I had to physically move my server. Now it’s easily more accessible. The blog code itself has also be update. There was some security issues which should be resolved, so it’s mostly internal and some cosmetic. It should looks and feel as before.

Let me know if you run into any errors. My “Contact Me” form is not working at the moment so just leave a comment instead. Thanks.

(Contact Me page now works)

Running season is here, at least for me. Yesterday I ran the Almaden Times Classic 10K. It was my second race of the year. I usually run 6-8 races a year starting from the end of summer through the beginning of spring. I’ve missed a few races this year due to my work schedule and lack of training. Now that the weather is cooler distance running is more feasible. With the colder weather training involves longer distance of running with less intensity, instead of shorter intervals and heavier intensity.

Injuries

Most people believe running is not for them and are discourage to give it a try. They blame it on past injuries and ailments. The most common ailments I hear people use as an excuse are having ‘bad knees’. Unless you had a torn ligament in the past or dislocation then there is no reason people should have ‘bad knees’. Even when you fully recover most people can run with no problem. What people don’t know is that runners run with injuries all the time. These runners know how to care for the injuries and know which ones affect and don’t affect their running.

Strategy and Technique

Running is more complex than people think. It involves strategy and technique. Strategy varies from runner to runner because it depends on their experience and fitness level. Some runners may have a slower start and build up to a face race pace leaving for a strong kick to the finish. Some run at a constant pace by running each mile with a consistent goal time. Others start off quick and aggressive all-out Prefontaine-style and still finish strong. That’s something you rarely see and are usually reserved for world class runners. Technique also varies from runner to runner due to differences in body type and running preferences. I’m a heel-strike runner, so my heel hits the ground first with every stride. Others run on the balls of their feet and some are mid-sole runners. It all comes down to how they feel when their foot hits the ground. But the common goal to having good technique is to run the longest distance with fastest time using the least amount of effort, or using the least amount of energy.

Other Tips

Your body is like an engine and it requires the right fuel to run efficiently. Eating healthy can make a big difference in your run. Stay away from refined sugared-foods such as sodas and cookies and opt for fruits and vegetables. But for those really long runs those cookies can come in handy in providing quick energy. Make sure you understand and listen your body. For me, I can’t go running after I eat. I have to wait at least 90 minutes before I can get going. Anything less than 90 minutes I get cramps, I feel heavy and bloated. Some people can eat and run within 15 minutes. So know what your body can handle before you stuff yourself with a Powerbar right before you hit the trails. Lastly, get a good pair of running shoes. Get one that fits well, feel snug (not too snug), and compliments your running style. Never go for the cheapest of the bunch because your feet will pay for it later. Some running shoes are expensive for a reason. So find one that works for you and make sure you take care of them because running shoes need love too.

Due to the loss of Chuck Liddell and the impressive win from Forrest Griffin there is a drastic change to the Light Heavyweight division top 4 list. Liddell is now off my top 4 list. That’s something I probably wouldn’t believe if you told me that six months ago. Forrest is now ranked third for beating the once ranked #1 fighter, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Now Rua is bumped from the top spot to fourth.

Some may wonder how Forrest could jump so high up on the ladder. The reason being is that Forest is a strong and dynamic fighter and has proved his ever evolving fight game since his TUF show. His recent loss came to a hair-thin close decision to Tito Ortiz and a 1st round KO from Keith Jardine where he was winning round until the KO. When Forrest beat Rua he beat him convincingly in rounds 2 and 3. There was no doubt that Forrest was the better fighter that night.

Fighters on my list that are barely holding on to their spot at the moment are Fedor Emaliananko and Mirko ‘Cro Cop’. The last time Fedor fought an actual heavyweight was against Mark Hunt at New Year’s Eve. Fedor has not signed with any organizations yet, but if he still wants to retain his number 1 status he’ll need to fight someone who’s in the top 8 in his division soon. In order to do that he’ll need to sign.

Mirko is coming off two losses back to back. That’s a first for his career. One more loss to anyone whether they’re to the top ranked 3 fighters or not he will be off the list. He hasn’t been impressive as of late and Mirko will need to do something right away otherwise his ‘CroCop’ legacy in MMA is something only hardcore MMA fans will be discussing on the internet in an obscure chatroom.

It’s been six years since the fall of the Trade Center Towers. That’s over half a decade, yet it feels as though it happened yesterday. Where were you on the morning of September 11, 2001?

I awoke around 6am from a morning News telecast covering the events of the first plane that crashed into the North Tower. Awestruck and intrigued my eyes were glued to the TV. As the news woman described the damages on screen the second plane is seen crashing into the South Tower. The confused news woman stopped dead in her tracks and took a deep gasp and cupping her hands over her mouth, “Oh my…” she uttered. We just witnessed one of the most horrific events on live television.

I spent too much time watching the TV and it made me late. I hopped on my motorcycle and rode to my morning Chemistry lab class. Everyone in class was talking about it. I didn’t realize the extent of the situation when a fellow student said that the plane crashes were caused by terrorists. My professor was in and out of class every few minutes checking for updates from the classroom next door. We all finished our lab assignments as quickly as we could. When the lab class was over I ran over down the hall to my next class. The room was packed with students from the previous class. Their professor had setup the projector screen to CNN. Over 200 students packed into this lecture hall watching the minute by minute events until my professor turned off the projector and kicked everyone out that were not in her class. My professor lectured the entire period without being phased by what was happening. The class ended and some of the students ask to have the projector be turned on but the professor refused. I took off and hopped on my motorcycle and headed home.
When I got home I saw several instant messages from several friends asking me if I knew what was happening. Another friend called and said our School Campus just got shut down. I turned on the TV and found out the towers had collapse. For a split second all these events felt surreal. It felt like Armageddon. The end of the world.

When I think of September 11th, I don’t think of the day that terrorists attacked us, but the day we (US) changed. For the better? I’m not sure, but life now can never be the same.