Risen From The Debt: The Week In Thanks

Dena read me some facts about the Town of Normal's increasing debt, as part of the upcoming mayoral elections. It gave me reason to recall how fortunate we are to be personally debt-free, with paid-up home, vehicles, and non-use of credit cards.

We enjoyed a couple of low-key days by the U.S.-Mexico border with Darren and Jane. Not only did 75 degree breezes paint our faces throughout, but I got a chance to play an hour of basketball which I hadn't done in over a year. It's a prize to live in this country with a chance to leave the snow behind, and to have the time and resources to get there easily by plane. Not a single flying glitch, like crying infants or germ-spewing adults. And to have a pretty travel companion all the way definitely helps. :)

The Wichita Shockers of the Missouri Valley Conference are in the Final Four!

While driving to the gym to work out the other day I pulled out of a parking garage and prepared to sit at a red light to cross the busy street. It's the kind of light that basically only changes colors when a car drives up and sits there for a while. But on this day it was already green. Here was an unexpected tiny gift. Very tiny. And I thought of how almost every little setback so easily brings out a surge of negative thought, so why shouldn't we take advantage of the opposite? I let out a big whoop and accelerated through the intersection like some type of suburban cowboy. Life is way better as a series of celebrations than sufferings!

The Putnam County Spelling Bee rehearsals are off to a solid start. Our music director has already done this show one time before, and similarly almost the entire cast is already well-experienced with the play so the music is coming along quickly. Last week we did act 1 and on deck is act 2. I've got about 80 percent of my lines memorized.

The fantasy baseball drafts are complete and Opening Night is this evening! I'm in three different leagues and did a fair job preparing. The draft is really about giving yourself a fair chance out of the starting gate. Winners are made by dutiful focus and strategy throughout the season. Fantasy baseball is infinitely more likely to produce a championship than the Cubs' season, so that may be my last comment about the North Siders for ten months. Meanwhile, as the fantasy basketball season charges into its last three weeks I'm holding onto a few-point lead which will go down to the wire.

This last day of the "winter quarter" gives so much richness to think about new beginnings. The baseball season, the spring season, the theater season. New employees at the office, new friends in the community, new contact lenses in my eyes. The rebirth of my own life on the not-so-distant horizon.

Now all I have to do is close out 2012 by finishing Mom's taxes.

May you find a favorable wind this week that reminds you of good days coming soon!

Taking It Slow And Living Long

Taking it slow can benefit weight loss.

Adults sleeping five or fewer hours a night have a 55 percent greater chance of being obese.

Daydreaming also has its upside. Researchers are the University of California at Santa Barbara found that people who let their minds wander for 12 minutes performed 41 percent better on a subsequent creative task than if they hadn't daydreamed.

Willie Nelson: Comedian

A drunk fell out of a second-story window. A guy came running over and asked "What happened?" The drunk said, "I don't know, I just got here." - Willie Nelson

Hungry To Learn

Vegetarian (vej-i-TAIR-ee-un, noun): An old Indian word meaning "lousy hunter."

Attorney For The Better

Jury (JOOR-ee, noun): Twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer. - Robert Frost

Bill Of Sail

"When I lost my rifle, the army charged me $85. That's why in the Navy, the captain goes down with the ship." - Dick Gregory

Contingency Plan

"It takes forever to cook a potato in a conventional oven. Sometimes I'll just throw one in there even if I don't want one. By the time it's done, who knows?" - Mitch Hedberg

9-Year Old Discusses Meaning Of Life And The Universe

Cheerleaders' Act Of Kindness For Down Syndrome Classmate

Anthony Adams Retirement Video

Cat Versus Hair Dryer

If Yogi Berra Were Your Boss

One unfortunate boss kept his mouth open a little too long, just enough to speak these words of unwisdom:

- The Greek pyramids weren't built in a day.
- Spurt me out an e-mail.
- It's not rocket surgery.
- It's all smoke and windows.
- Nothing is nailed in stone.
- Sometimes you have to roll the dice, and it comes up tails.

An Off-Key Note

From Reader's Digest:

Our military personnel officer, annoyed by a report from his secretary that soldiers were using the copy machine for personal reasons, posted this notice: "Troops are not to tamper with the secretary's reproduction equipment without approval of the officer in charge."

Sunny Valley! :)

There are two types of people: Those who use exclamation points and emoticons :), and those who don't.

I live in that first valley. It's a place of sunny faces, or at least sunny thoughts. The villagers believe that world peace is much closer when smiles and enthusiasm are passed around freely and often.

Welcome! :)

Spring Break: The Week In Thanks

Welcome to spring! Bathed in its glorious halo of low, gray clouds, inches of snow, swirling winds, 30 degree temperatures, 5-inch snow fall predictions, and

A time of renewal!

Three more months of increasing daylight and temperatures (really). That promise makes it easy to coast through the inconvenience of temporary squalls.

This week's thankfulness riff includes:
 
That March Madness can be streamed through the Web.

For whoever invented the electric blanket.

For modern dentistry and dental insurance, when it comes time to fortify six more teeth (just laid out a two-year plan, yes I am a details guy).

For Leann Fujimoto who's referred two wonderful new tutoring students to me. And to Hannah Esker for matching me up with a contact from the ISU athletic tutoring center.

For the chance to play Doug Panch in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

For the upbeat spirit that's buoyed my team at work during this last week.

For Netflix.

For the ability to change cell phone plans at any time through Verizon.

For the opportunity to election judge (and to vote - April 9, locals!).

For the Four Seasons health club, salvation of my physical health during winter months.

For Wal-Mart's ultra-affordable convenience of nutrient-rich almonds for snacking.

For State Farm's generous employment benefits.

For spring breaks.

For my fantasy baseball commissioners - Scott, Jack and Kate.

That my mom and condo association have pretty simple tax returns.

The spirit of renewal leads me to review my new year's resolutions and take a fresh dive back in. The ones about expenses and game film need more attention. The tutoring one is on the rise as I've found myself booked for ten hours some weeks. And the creativity and sound track of the Spelling Bee experience will fill these final chilly weeks with an easy energy until the sun conquers the skies again.

To spend those weeks at Dena's side, 15 years after our wedding day, will make it all the more worthwhile.

May whoever is special in your life make your smile a little wider this week!

15 Year Anniversary!

The weather on Thursday was almost as scenic and pleasant as it was 15 years before, when Dena and I exchanged wedding vows in the old Calvary United Methodist Church building during a 20-minute ceremony and then headed out to the Miller Park Pavilion for our reception.

Change happens. I left the actuarial department, and then was brought back. Dena went from bank to bank to bank. The church building we married in has changed names twice. Different cars, different neighbors, a few different teeth. Friends and relatives have scattered and passed on. Our hair's more silvery, our weight's a little higher. I play much more fantasy basketball than real basketball. Facebook's reunited us with old friends, and we have many new ones opened up through Kiwanis, Leadership McLean County, Normal Community High School, Community Players Theatre, and the condominium association. We've both seeded new careers in graphic design and math tutoring.

Most important are the things that have stayed the same. Our date nights, optimistic outlook, silly sense of humor, couch snuggles, willingness to do the little unnoticed things for each other, and gratefulness to God in all things but especially for bringing us together.

Happy Anniversary Dena!

Cast For The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

I'm honored to have been selected to play the role of Douglas Panch!

Director: Brett Cottone
Producer: Chris Strupek
Music Director: Dennis Gotkowski
Choreographer: Wendy Baugh
Assistant Director: Tony Smith
Lighting: Dan Virtue
Sound: Rich Plotkin
Set Design: Jeremy Stiller
Costumes: Opal Virtue & Sherry Bradshaw
Props: Dorothy Mundy & Carol Plotkin
Stage Manager: Hannah Kerns

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a hilarious tale of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.
 
For Mature Audiences - Casting limited to 18 and older.

Please prepare 16 - 32 bars of music to be played by piano accompaniment. No pre-recorded accompaniment allowed. Please dress appropriately for a dance audition. You will also be asked to read selected passages from the script.

Cast

Douglas Panch - Joe McDonald
Rona Lisa Peretti - Aimee Kerber
Olive Ostrovsky - Kallie Bundy
William Barfée - Brian Artman
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - Kelly Slater
Marcy Park - Megan Masterman
Leaf Coneybear - Austin Travis
Chip Tolentino - Joel Shoemaker
Mitch Mahoney - Chris Stanford

Spelling Bee Character Breakdown

CHIP TOLENTINO - A boy scout and champion of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, he returns to defend his title, but he finds puberty hitting at an inopportune moment. 

DOUGLAS PANCH - The Vice Principal. After five years' absence from the Bee, Panch returns as judge. There was an "incident" at the Twentieth Annual Bee, but he claims to be in "a better place" now, thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis. He is infatuated with Rona Lisa Peretti, but she does not return his affections. (non-singing)

LEAF CONEYBEAR - The second runner-up in his district, Leaf gets into the competition on a lark: the winner and first runner-up had to go to the winner’s Bat Mitzvah. Leaf comes from a large family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He spells words correctly while in a trance. In his song, "I'm Not That Smart", he sings that his family thinks he is "not that smart," but he insinuates that he is merely easily distracted. Most of the words that he is assigned are South American rodents with amusing names.

LOGAINNE SCHWARZANDGRUBENIERE (SCHWARTZY) - Logainne is the youngest and most politically-aware speller, often making comments about current political figures, with two overbearing homosexual fathers. She is somewhat of a neat freak, speaks with a lisp, and will be back next year.

MARCY PARK - A recent transfer from Virginia, Marcy placed ninth in last year’s nationals. She speaks six languages, is a member of all-American hockey, a championship rugby player, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple instruments, sleeps only three hours a night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting very tired of always winning. She is the poster child for the Over-Achieving Asian, and attends a Catholic school called "Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows." She is also not allowed to cry. 

MITCH MAHONEY - The Official Comfort Counselor. An ex-convict, Mitch is performing his community service with the bee, and hands out juice boxes to losing students. 

OLIVE OSTROVSKY - A young newcomer to competitive spelling. Her mother is in an ashram in India, and her father is working late, as usual, but he is trying to come sometime during the bee. She made friends with her dictionary at a very young age, helping her to make it to the competition. 

RONA LISA PERETTI - The number-one realtor in Putnam County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion herself, and returning moderator. She is a sweet woman who loves children, but she can be very stern when it comes to dealing with Vice Principal Panch, who has feelings for her that she most likely does not return. Her favorite moment of the Bee is in the minutes before it starts, when all the children are filled with the joy of competition, before they begin to resent each other. Ms. Peretti herself won the Third Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by spelling "syzygy," which she recounts at the very beginning of the opening number.

WILLIAM BARFEE - A Putnam County Spelling Bee finalist last year, he was eliminated because of an allergic reaction to peanuts. His famous “Magic Foot” method of spelling has boosted him to spelling glory, even though he only has one working nostril and a touchy personality. He has an often-mispronounced last name: it is Bar-FAY, not BARF-ee ("there's an accent aigu," he explains with some hostility). He develops a crush on Olive.

Article Posted About Putnam County Spelling Bee

Courtesy of Julie Kistler:

http://www.afollowspot.com/2013/03/community-players-is-s-e-t-for-s-p-e-l.html

Community Players and director Brett Cottone have the cast in place for their May production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

The musical comedy (book by Rachel Sheinkin, music and lyrics by William Finn), about kids vying to win the local spelling bee -- with words like capybara and vug on the agenda -- will feature Joe McDonald and Aimee Kerber as the adults (Vice Principal Douglas Patch and former Putnam County Spelling Bee champ Rona Lisa Peretti) running the show, Chris Stanford as "comfort counselor" Mitch Mahoney, and Brian Artman, Kallie Bundy, Megan Masterman, Joel Shoemaker, Kelly Slater and Austin Travis as the over-invested child spellers.

Bundy will play Olive Ostrovsky, the girl whose mother is off in an ashram somewhere, while Artman will take on the magic foot of William Barfée (note the accent -- he is particular that his name is pronounced BarFAY, not BARFy), who can only spell if he can sketch the words out with his shoe, Masterman will be over-achiever-in-every-way Marcy Park, Slater will play (and perhaps spell the name of ) Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, a socially-aware little girl with two gay dads, Travis will personify sweet, not-that-smart Leaf Coneybear, who keeps getting asked to spell the names of rodents, and Joel Shoemaker will bring boy-scout-with-growing-up-issues Chip Tolentino to life.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is an adorable show with characters you can't help but root for. And if you have a hankering to be part of the action, most productions pull volunteer spellers from the audience to compete along with Barfée, Chip, Leaf, Logainne, Marcy and Olive. In New York, Julie Andrews was a guest speller and had to do supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, while I got picked in Chicago on my birthday, and I got asked for lysergic acid diethylamide. The other volunteer speller there got cow, so you just never now.

Performance of this Spelling Bee begin May 9 at Community Players Theatre on Robinhood Lane.

Jake Davidson Asks Kate Upton To Prom

Holy Rejection

Mercy High School's Maria Wesleyj Wins State Championship With 3-Point Buzzer Beater

Hudsonville High School Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive With Christian Laettner-Like Buzzer Beater

6 Surprising Foods That Put You To Sleep

By Bill Phillips and Men's Health editors:

There’s an easier way to fall asleep fast and sleep straight through the night than popping a sleeping pill or downing a glass of vino: Just eat something.

Well, okay, not just anything—chow down on the wrong stuff and you’ll be up all night. For example, a University of Cambridge study found that eating protein-rich foods fires up the cells in your brain (called orexin cells) that make you alert and energetic. And if you drink before bed, 4 hours into sleep the alcohol wears off, leaving you in a more activated state, says Men’s Health advisor Christopher Winter, M.D., medical director of the sleep medicine center of Martha Jefferson Hospital.

But the right bedtime snacks can put you in prime position for a stress-free evening—one with hours and hours of sleep ahead.

So where do you start? Here are six surprising sleep-inducing foods to add to your grocery list today.

 

Bananas

A little sugar counters the effects of your orexin cells, says Dr. Winter. Try a banana before bed—it will give you just enough sugar to calm your orexin cells, plus magnesium and potassium to help to relax your muscles.

 

Passionfruit Tea

An Australian study found that when people drank a cup of either passionfruit or parsley tea, the passionfruit drinkers slept more soundly. Researchers believe chemicals called harman alkaloids—high levels of which are unique to the passionfruit flower—act on your nervous system to make you sleepy. (From white to green and everything in between, discover the 9 Healthiest Teas.)

Hummus

While L-tryptophan—the amino acid that supposedly makes you crash after Thanksgiving dinner—does make you sleepy, there are better sources than turkey. Consider elk instead, says Christine J. Jones, sleep researcher at Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine. At 746 milligrams (mg) a portion, it far surpasses turkey (333 mg). Game meats not your thing? Sesame seeds (120 mg) and hummus (usually about 600 mg) are packed with L-tryptophan too.

Dates

L-tryprophan works best when combined with carbs. Carbs trigger your body to secrete insulin, which uses up other amino acids in your bloodstream first, leaving more L-tryptophan to sedate, says Dr. Winter. The best foods for the job? Carbs that raise your blood sugar levels fast, since slow-acting carbs don’t produce the same kind of insulin response. Go for a healthy handful of dates—they’re high in carbs and have a fair amount of L-tryptophan. Fruit and air-popped popcorn are other healthy fast-acting carbohydrates.

Chinese Food

GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in your body—in other words, it’s your brain’s brakes to calm the party down. It plays a role in regulating the excitability of neurons throughout your nervous system. The only problem: “It’s not found in food, so you can’t really eat GABA-rich products,” says Dr. Winter. Instead, you can eat foods high in glutamic acid—a precursor to GABA that turns into the neurotransmitter in your body. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the salt of glutamic acid, and it’s usually added to Chinese food.

While MSG sometimes gets a bad reputation because it makes food “addictively” good tasting, the FDA has declared it a safe food additive. MSG can be made simply enough by putting salt on a tomato, Dr. Winter says. Other natural options: raw seaweed/spirulina (6,648 mg glutamic acid), Chinese cabbage (6,232 mg), or low-fat cottage cheese (7,455 mg). Still, if you experience the symptoms often associated with MSG, you should avoid it.

 

Cherries

Recent research in the European Journal of Nutrition found that drinking an ounce of cherry juice twice a day—once in the morning and once at night—for a week helped people sleep an extra 25 minutes. Why? It’s laced with L-tryptophan, which can convert into serotonin, and eventually melatonin—the compound that influences your sleep cycle, says Jason Ellis, Ph.D., the director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research. Increase the melatonin circulating in your body, and you’ll increase the chances of a good night’s sleep, too. Try an ounce of juice or a cup of cherries before bed. Since there are no foods high in melatonin, you want to look for foods that can produce it, says Dr. Winter. A few to keep in mind: milk, yogurt, oats, eggs, and peanuts.

What It Means To Be In An Irish Family

Thanks to Dena, and Ron Stack:

 

1) You will never play professional basketball.

2) You swear very well.

3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds political office and you have at least one aunt who is a nun or uncle who's a priest.

4) You think you sing very well.

5) You have no idea how to make a long story short!

6) There isn't a big difference between you losing your temper or killing someone.

7) Many of your childhood meals were boiled. Instant potatoes were a mortal sin.

8) You have never hit your head on a ceiling.

9) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer.

10) You're strangely poetic after a few beers.

11) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.

12) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine or Eileen and there is at least one member of your family with the full name of Mary Catherine Eileen.

13) Someone in your family is very generous. It is more than likely you.

14) You may not know the words, but that doesn't stop you from singing.

15) You can't wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking.

16) You're not nearly as funny as you think you are but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.

17) There wasn't a huge difference between your last wake and your last keg party.

18) You are, or know someone, named Murph.

19) If you don't know Murph then you know Mac. If you don't know Murph or Mac, then you know Sully. Then you probably know Sully McMurphy.

20) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.

21) You have Irish Alzheimer's, you forget everything but the grudges!

22) 'Irish Stew' is a euphemism for 'boiled leftovers.'

23) Your skin's ability to tan not so much. (Only in spots!)

24) Childhood remedies for the common cold often included some form of whiskey.

25) There's no leaving a family party without saying goodbye for at least 45 minutes.

26) At this very moment, you have at least two relatives who are not speaking to each other.  Not fighting, mind you, just not speaking to each other.

March Gladness: The Week In Thanks

The interaction with the two homeless people in my earlier post this week sure is a reminder of how fortunate we are. I'm posting this week from the comfort of my bed, with a full stomach and in a pair of sweatpants. I never, ever spend a moment wondering how I'll get home, when I'll eat next, or whether I'll have a soft place to lie my head at night.

And how about the YouTube clip posts about adults who had gone nearly 30 years without being able to hear the sound of their family's voices? So easy to take the senses for granted. So wonderful that modern science can give them the gift of hearing with the Cochlear implants.

Every day when popping our Flintstone vitamins I think about how exceptionally good our health is. Neither of us has allergies, degenerative joints, weak stomachs or immune systems, disability or disease. We can exercise freely. Once we shake off the stiffness of last night, we go through our day without pain. It's something to really appreciate as we enjoy our 40s.

I "paid myself" for five more tutoring sessions just now by logging the lessons into the Wyzant site. What a tremendous find this has been. It's introduced me to students of all ages, subjects, and schools (including home-school). My education is blossoming. And now I'm tutoring a student in ACT preparation, so the new frontiers keep coming.

The office hummed along like a well-oiled machine this week. I spent a little time prepping for next week, my last full one before vacation. This is a season to enjoy, with no major projects exploding into deadline view, and fair opportunity to get some proper documentation caught up. I wish the corporate world offered more regular chances like this to take such a proactive, quality approach to work.

On Friday I decided to skip a workout, and made up for it with a double session on Saturday. These last few weekends have been perfectly restful and open. The flexibility to catch up on the business of the week is a luxury.

My mind's been on the Putnam County Spelling Bee play for a good part of this week. Auditions are tonight, and I'm as ready as I ever was for an actuarial exam after months of preparation. I've read the lines, nuanced the deliveries, listened to the songs dozens of times, even studied characters that I'm not auditioning for. My audition song is rehearsed and ready to go. Let the singing and dancing begin!

What was most uplifting was a sort of warm, calm sensation that washed over me as I was rehearsing some lines this morning. Suddenly I knew just how I wanted to play the character. Hidden Bloggers know that I've been at peace with either outcome - acceptance or not - for some time, but I credit God with this extra dosage of self-assurance. Although the fact that it's St. Patrick's Day and I'm Irish and wearing green surely can't hurt.

I'm thankful for water. Somehow during these last two weeks I'd become dehydrated and woke up mentally exhausted by Friday. A steady course treatment of tall glasses of water has rejuvenated me, including getting my sleeping schedule back on track.

Our anniversary is this week! I'm lucky to be married to someone who likes watching movies as much as me. She bought a few and we watched them all... Trouble With The Curve, Super 8, The Happening. And with Netflix providing an almost endless stream of Saturday Night Live reruns, we've relished several afternoons of snuggling on the couch while cookies are baking in the oven and beach-scented candles are lit. Sometimes I think we find each other to be cuter with each passing year. Maybe by the time we're 80 we'll be in a Hallmark card.

An Irish blessing to all of you Hidden Bloggers during this ever-brightening (behind the clouds) week!

Two Good Suncreens

As sunnier, warmer days lie just over the horizon, it's a good time to snip a couple of recommendations from internet articles. Hope to have a need for these soon!

L'oreal Sublime Sun Body Lotion, SPF 30, $9.99, drugstore.com

This extremely water- and sweat-resistant sunscreen makes the perfect beach companion.

Yes to Cucumbers natural sunscreen SPF 30 stick, $9, yestocarrots.com
In addition to protecting against UV rays, this natural sunscreen stick soothes and moisturizes skin.
Plus, it's recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation and costs less than $10.

Mom Hears Her Parents and Son's Voice For First Time

Wife Hears Her Husband's Voice For The First Time

29 Year Old Hears Herself For The First Time

Cute Little Girl Hears For The First Time

Dena and I spent a half hour watching tear-jerking videos of deaf people hearing for the first time thanks to cochlear implants. Here's one of a series!

The Genius Of Bill Self

By Joe Posnanski:

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Bill James has spent his life asking questions. He’s most famous for his baseball questions, of course – How do teams score runs? What is the best way to measure defense? What was baseball really like in the 19th century? – but, in truth, he questions everything. Was Lizzie Borden guilty? Would politicians connect more with people if they were more honest? Is “The Wizard of Oz” the most referenced movie in American history? Why were there so many great playwrights in England during the Elizabethan Era?

He asks the questions, and then in his own ways chips away at them. He might invent a formula. He might devise a chart. He will consider various possibilities. Then, finally, he will come to some sort of answer. He readily admits it might not be the right answer. But it’s an answer that speaks to him.
There’s one question, though, that Bill James finds impenetrable. He’s thought about it for years now, thought about it, worked on it, attacked it. He admits to spending much more time on it than he should. But he can’t let go of it. He can’t let go because he can’t find an answer that makes sense to him.

“I watch every Kansas basketball game,” he says. “And every year, it’s the same thing. They will be on the road, losing by three or four late in the game, this happens often. You would expect them to lose those games sometimes. But they almost never do. They almost always make a few big plays down the stretch and win the toughest games, even when they’re playing poorly.”
Bill James looks down and shakes his head, as if he’s trying once again to figure out the puzzle. “How does Bill Self do it?’” he asks. “I cannot for the life of me come up with the answer.”

* * *

Consider the puzzle: For nine straight years, Kansas has held at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship. How impressive is this? No team has done that in a BCS conference since UCLA in the 1970s. Bob Knight never did it. Mike Krzyzewski never did it. Dean Smith … Roy Williams … Rick Pitino … Jim Calhoun … Nolan Richardson … none of them ever won nine conference championships in a row.

Consider the puzzle: Kansas’ defense is always great. Every year. The Jayhawks get players, they lose players, they get new players – they’re big, then small, they’re fast, then muscular – but the defense always dominates. In nine of the Self’s 10 seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks have finished in the top eight in the country in field goal percentage defense. This year, they led the nation in field goal defense at 35.8 percent. The one year the Jayhawks finished out of the top eight, they finished 13th. So … same thing, really. (For you tempo-free fans, Kansas' adjusted defensive efficiency ranks fifth on kenpom.com and is a top-five mainstay the last few years.)

Consider the puzzle: Kansas won the national championship in 2008. The Jayhawks lost their top six players. The next year, they won the Big 12 and reached the Sweet 16.

In 2010, they won the Big 12 and won 33 games. They lost two consensus All-Americans. The next season, they won the Big 12 and reached the regional final. They lost another consensus All-American, Marcus Morris, and also his twin brother, Markieff, who actually went one spot higher in the NBA Draft. The next season – now we are up to 2012 – the Jayhawks won the Big 12 and reached the national championship game. They lost their top two players, including consensus All-American Thomas Robinson.

This year? They won the Big 12 again, they won 18 in a row, they will probably be a No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are a legitimate national championship contender with four seniors who are playing a bigger role than they ever have before (only one of them is a 1,000 point scorer for his career) and a freshman phenom named Ben McLemore, who most project as the first pick in the NBA draft this year.

How do you make sense of this? College basketball is a game of volatility, now more than ever. Kentucky won the national championship last year and is on the bubble just to make the tournament this year. North Carolina has its ups and downs. Indiana … UCLA … Syracuse … even Duke has the occasional bump. But not Kansas. Not Bill Self.

“So,” I say to Bill Self, “Bill James has this question. How do you do it?”

Self laughs a little and ponders the question. Here’s something that is true of Bill Self. He will always try to answer the question.

“Well, I, I, uh, you know,” he says. “I guess it comes down to three things.”

* * *

Thing 1: “We have to convince them how to play.”

Bill Self had no plans to become a basketball coach, you know. It’s a pretty famous story how it happened. Self was a decent player at Oklahoma State, a grinder, an overachiever, and he expected to go into some kind of business and make some money. But then he was helping out at Larry Brown’s basketball camp – back when Brown was coach at Kansas – and he fell, seemingly wrecking his knee.

“If there’s anything I can ever do for you …” Brown told him in a somewhat panicked voice.

“Well,” Self instantly said, “you could make me a graduate assistant coach.”

Brown may or may not have acknowledged the request then, but in that moment of clarity Self saw his future. His knee was fine, and he played his senior year, and every few weeks he would write a letter to Larry Brown that made clear how excited he was to coach at Kansas. He never got one letter or response. He would regularly check in with his friend R.C. Buford – now the longtime GM of the San Antonio Spurs – who was coaching at Kansas. “Does Larry ever mention me?” he would ask.
“No,” Buford would say. “Never.”

When Self graduated, he had not received an offer from Brown … or even a hint of an offer. So he did what anyone would do: He got a job at a financial company and … no, wait, he didn’t do that. He actually loaded up the car with everything he owned and drove up to Lawrence with an invitation. He showed up at the basketball office, saw Larry Brown, and said: “OK, I’m here. What do you want me to do?” When Self tells this story, he does a great impression of Brown’s shocked look. But finally, Brown said: “Well, just sit at that desk and start working.”

This is pretty typical of the Bill Self style of coaching. He is unyielding and irrepressible. He wears down players with his energy, his force of will, his constant and high expectations. I remember a late-season practice three years ago, where Self just unloaded on two freshmen he believed were not giving full effort. Neither was a particularly important player at that point in the season. One was an athletic looking forward who lacked confidence and averaged barely two points a game. The other was a tall and gangly 7-footer who averaged three minutes a game and nobody seemed too sure how much he even liked basketball. Self just pounded on them and pounded on them, pushed them and prodded them, insulted them and motivated them.

The former turned out to be Thomas Robinson, who became a starter as a junior and then an All-American, led Kansas to that NCAA Tournament runner-up spot last year and was the fifth pick in the NBA draft.

The latter turned out to be Jeff Withey, an All-America candidate this year who already has been named the Big 12 defensive player of the year. Last year, he set an NCAA tournament record with 31 blocked shots. “He’s the greatest shot blocker I’ve ever coached,” Self says.

So this is the first step – and notice Self does not say “TEACH them how to play,” but, instead, “CONVINCE them how to play.” Self is not a controlling coach. He doesn’t preside over every possession. He doesn’t go crazy sketching offensive plays, doesn’t push his players into some rigid system, doesn’t call a lot of timeouts so he can play on the chalkboard. Instead, he and his staff CONVINCE the players to stay in the moment, to play their roles, and more than anything to play tough.

Yes, that’s Self’s big idea: Be tough, Self sometimes refers to this in the negative: “You just can’t be soft.” It’s a theme that, for Self, fits every occasion. When a player gives a great scorer one step, a single step, Self says that’s a form of softness. When a team takes a rushed and bad shot when the crowd gets loud and the other team is on a run, that’s a form of softness. When a team falls in love with its high ranking and stops working, when a team allows the outside criticism to cripple its confidence, when a team passes the ball around the perimeter and settles for a long shot rather than attack, yes, all of those are a form softness too.

Self abhors softness of any kind – in sports or in life. Softness torments him. Once, six or seven years ago, Self’s Kansas was playing Oklahoma, and for a moment the Jayhawks unleashed a full-court press, just to change things up. It was devastating. Oklahoma’s players had no idea what to do. After the game, we asked Self why his teams don’t press more often, and he kind of dodged the question for a couple of moments, which is unlike Self.

Finally, though, he answered it. “When you play that style, you will give up some easy baskets,” he said. “And I just cannot STAND giving up easy baskets.”

So, this is step one – convince the Jayhawks to be all kinds of tough. Mentally tough. Physically tough. Emotionally tough. Most of the players, when they first get to Kansas, have no idea what any of this is about. He yells at them pushes them, drives them, and most don’t like it at all. But they toughen up anyway because Self is so relentless, so dogged, they cannot resist him.

* * *

Thing 2: “We have to convince our players that if we play the way we’re supposed to play, we’re going to be really good.”

Maybe you’ve heard the story of how Bill Self got his first real assistant coaching job. Leonard Hamilton was coaching at Oklahoma State then, and Self interviewed for an assistant’s job. Self was a former Oklahoma State player, so he thought he might have an inside line at the job. But during the interview, he noticed that Hamilton did not seem especially moved by anything he was saying. He actually looked kind of bored. Self has always had a gift for reading people.

“I’ll tell you what, Coach,” Self said. “If you hire me, I’ll get you a point guard for next year and you won’t even have to give up a scholarship.”

“You’ll get me a point guard?” Hamilton asked.

“Yep.”

“And I won’t have to give up a scholarship?” Hamilton asked.

“Yep.”

Hamilton agreed to the strange deal. And sure enough, a player named Jay Davis just showed up, out of nowhere, as a walk on. He was instantly the best point guard on the team. He had double the assists of anyone else, he led the team in steals, he played 32.4 minutes a game. The team was terrible, but Self was on the bench coaching.

Who was Jay Davis? Yep, he was Bill Self’s best friend. He had been a terrific high school basketball player but he had a lot more interest in living the college life than playing ball. “You’ve got to play on the team,” Self told him. Davis declined.

“You’ve GOT to play on the team,” Self told him. Davis declined again.

“YOU’VE GOT TO PLAY ON THE TEAM,” Self told him. Davis played on the team. He, better than anyone, knew that he wasn’t going to beat Bill Self at this game. Later, Davis was the best man at Self’s wedding, and vice versa.’

So, this is the second Bill Self gift – this ability to convince people of just about anything. Self knows he can convince the Kansas players to play tough through motivation and inspiration and quite a bit of yelling. But that’s only the first step. To make it work, he has to convince them that if they DO play tough, they will be a great team.

“It’s like there’s a dual motivation,” he says. “One motivation is to kick butt. But another motivation is to not be the team that doesn’t kick butt. You know what I’m saying? It’s like, you ask, what drives me? Is it wanting to win? Or is it not wanting to lose? And if I’m honest with myself, I know it’s a little bit of both.

“We’ve been lucky at Kansas. We talk about it all the time – faces change but the results stay the same. I think everybody works hard to get that message across, but I think we are really good at getting it across. They want to keep the tradition going. But they also don’t want to be the team that breaks the tradition.”

Kansas’ consistently dominant defense is a pretty good indicator of this. Self says the Jayhawks probably spend 75 to 80 percent of their time practicing offense. But it’s their defense that stands out – every single year under Self, the Jayhawks have held their opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. This is in part because the Jayhawks usually have great athletes. This is in part because Self spends so much effort toughening them up. This is in part because Self’s smothering man-to-man defense is tightly designed and coached, and the players almost always recognize how to adjust to any offense.

More than anything, though, the Jayhawks play good defense because they believe it will make them a great team.

* * *

Thing 3: “We have to convince our players that this is what we do.”

This is the most opaque of Bill Self’s three things. What does it even mean? Let’s face it, every coach in one way or another tries to teach his team to play a certain way and tries to persuade them that if they play that certain way, they will win.

But this third one – we have to convince our players that this is what we do – is a bit more ambiguous and unclear and interesting.

You should know that Bill Self once hit three game-winning shots in one high school basketball tournament. You should know that he took over at Oral Roberts when the program was wreckage, and he showed up and gave a speech so rousing that Oral Roberts himself said amen at the end. In his fourth year, Oral Roberts won 21 games and made its first postseason tournament in 14 years.

You should know that he then went to Tulsa, and in his third year he took the team to the Elite Eight – something even Nolan Richardson and Tubby Smith couldn’t do. He then went to Illinois and led them to the Big 10 championship and the Elite Eight.

And then, of course, there’s all the winning at Kansas.

And, while Self is as plainspoken as anyone you will meet in sports, there is a spiritual side to his coaching. He will talk often to his players about making plays – and he is often no more specific than that. In the final minutes of Kansas’ stunning comeback against Memphis in the 2008 national championship game, Self yelled again and again “You’ve got to believe.” At practices, he is known to shout, “Are you ready for the moment?”

The moment. That’s what Bill James was talking about. Down four in Stillwater with five minutes to go. Tie game in the Sweet 16, and they’ve got the ball. Down nine in the national championship game. These are the moments. “We don’t always win those games, you know,” Self is quick to say.
But they do win them most of the time.

See, in the end, Self believes that it won’t always be the better team that wins those games.
Sometimes it will be the tougher team. Sometimes it will be the luckier team. Sometimes it will the healthier team. And sometimes, yes, it will be the team that was just a little bit more ready for the moment.

“If you play well, and you have good players, you should win,” Self says. “That’s true for every single team in the country. Heck, if you have good players and you play pretty good, you should still win.

“But how are you going to win when you don’t play well? That’s the key to having great seasons.”

This year’s Jayhawks team has been on both sides. When they’re playing well, they’re ridiculously good. McLemore is probably the most talented player Self has ever coached – “He just floats,” Self says in wonder. Withey dominates on the defensive side and has become a pretty good offensive player. Three other seniors start – Travis Relaford, Elijah Johnson and Kevin Young – and they have spent their entire time at Kansas winning. This team won 18 games in a row from mid-November to late January.

But when they’re bad … they’re really bad. The Jayhawks lost three games in a row this year – first time they’d lost even two in a row in seven years – and this included a humiliating loss at TCU, where Kansas scored just three first-half baskets. After that game, Self said no Kansas team had played a half that poor since James’ Naismith’s Kansas team lost to a team from the Topeka YMCA (actually, the Topeka YMCA beat Kansas four times between 1900 and 1904). This year's Kansas team righted things after the loss to TCU, but just when it seemed to be getting comfortable, a middle-of-the-pack Baylor team blistered the Jayhawks by 23 at the end of the regular season.

“If we can play great every game in the tournament, we have a shot,” Self says. “Like I say, we’re good enough to play with anybody. But let’s be realistic: You never play great every game. Nobody does. So, there will come a time when we will have to find a way to win when we’re not at our best.”

“Will you?” I ask him.

“I don’t know,” he says. But you get the sense he does know. You get the sense that Bill Self knows something that every coach, and perhaps every business person, would like to know. “We have to convince our players that this is what we do,” he says. I think the word “this” simply means “winning.”

Life Is Pandemonium

"Life is random and unfair... life is pandemonium. That's the reason we despair."
- Spellers from 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

So true that we'll all experience a sense of unfairness, even if it's not because we get harder words than everyone else at the spelling bee.

I think the degree to which our life is consumed by this sense will mirror our level of happiness. We are either victims or victors in life. We either focus on what we have, or have not. The list of what we have is bigger and much more energizing!

Angel For A Minute

God calls us to do many things, but I don't often get called upon to be an angel.

Yesterday I was scheduled to tutor a basketball player at the college library.

As I pulled into the lot, it turned out that there was a huge charity event going on at the student center next door. So I paid $6 for a ticket I would never use, but a parking spot that I would.

I walked to the library, yanked on the doors - and nothing happened. Peered inside and saw no one. I'd forgotten that it was spring break.

Fortunately the student center was open and I knew some good spots to study.

But then my phone rang. The student was having trouble finding a parking spot. I didn't want him to have to pay for parking, so I brainstormed the nearest easy place I could think of, the McDonald's restaurant a mile away.

I figured that we'd just touch base there long enough to figure out where we were really going to study. But even though it was 5:15 on a Friday night, there were open booths all around, so we just studied there.

As the session wrapped up, the player and I got into a 5 minute chat about next basketball season. And that was when Ryan the head coach walked up with his son, quickly saying hello before moving on to begin a boys' night out with some dinner.

Our session ended a few minutes later, and as we stood up a quiet voice addressed me.

"Excuse me, would you happen to have an iPhone?"

I was looking into the face of a tired young woman, sitting across from a rugged and slump-shouldered young man.

They explained that they were from Peoria, but their car had broken down. They'd dropped it off at a shop and spent their money on food and hotels last night, and just found out that their car would not be ready today. They were hoping to be able to find a nearby AA meeting so that they could get some help, but didn't know where the nearest one was.

I didn't have an iPhone, but Ryan did. So he gave me the time and location, which I relayed to them. I also pointed them to the nearest public bus stop and gave them $20 since there was probably a small cost. It hadn't occurred to me that it might also buy their first meal of the day, but the "God bless you," that came from their lips was worth more than any other consequence.

This wouldn't have happened IF...

...I'd remembered that the library was closed in advance.
...there hadn't been a charity event preventing the player from parking by the student center.
...I'd been able to think of a closer place to meet than McDonald's.
...the McDonald's had been crowded.
...we hadn't stuck around 5 extra minutes talking basketball.
...Ryan hadn't shown up with his iPhone.

I can even go back further, because this session only happened because we'd rescheduled it twice: once when he forgot our Tuesday appointment, and again when I had an emergency appointment come up that forced me to bump him.

Lesson of the day: Our disappointments may be someone else's blessing!

Title-Winning 3-Point Bank Shot By Jalen Adams Of Cushing Academy

Courageous Teen Survives Crash, Learns She Has Cancer

The Color Run

Or Maybe "Alltimes"

Via Scott Myers' Facebook page:

Can You Spot The Typo?

West Virginia has no pro sports. Misspelling the head college football coach's name is like calling Mike Ditka "Mike Dweebster"!

Solved: 10 Social Security Mysteries

By Andy Landis, MarketWatch:

Social Security is America's largest source of retirement income. But most of us have little or no idea how it works. Worse yet, misinformation causes poor retirement decisions. Here are straight facts about Social Security's top 10 mysteries.

First, some background. Social Security is insurance, paid for by workers and employers. Only workers and their families benefit from it. It insures against loss of your work income due to retirement (or age), disability or death. It has an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) equal to the inflation rate, to protect your long-term buying power.

Mystery #1: Will Social Security be there for me? Social Security can pay 100% of all promised benefits until 2033. After 2033 it can pay about 75% of promised benefits. There are numerous options to extend solvency indefinitely with a mix of tax increases and/or benefit cuts. If you're a pessimist, subtract 25% from your SSA benefit estimate.

Mystery #2: Is Social Security a good deal? Social Security is a complete package of worker benefits, including retirement, disability and life insurance. The average worker earning $43,000 with a non-working spouse would need to save over $700,000 to duplicate their retirement payments, plus buy additional disability and life insurance. The Social Security Administration's administrative overhead is a low 0.8%. Social Security payments are at least 15% tax-free.

Mystery #3: How does Social Security compute my payment? Your payment is based on three steps:

• First, to be eligible for retirement you need at least 10 years of part-time work (or fewer years for midcareer disability or death).

• Once eligible, your payment is based on averaging your 35 highest-paid work years (or fewer years for midcareer disability or death).

• You get a "100%” payment if you first draw at your Full Retirement Age (or FRA, currently 66 and phasing to 67). You get lower payments if you start payments earlier, and higher payments if you start later.

Mystery #4: How can I get the most lifetime payments—by filing early, at FRA, or later? It's an individual and financial-planning decision. In simple dollars, it's best to apply later, if you have average life expectancy or above. But in ”present value” dollars, counting inflation, taxation, withdrawal options and interest rates, it may be best to apply early. See this post for some considerations and software resources.

Mystery #5: What are good Social Security planning tools? Definitely sign up for a ”My Social Security” account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. See SSA's suite of calculators at www.ssa.gov/OACT/anypia/index.html. And see the software products at the link in Mystery #4.

Mystery #6: Will Social Security pay my family members? Yes, in certain circumstances.

• Your spouse or former spouse can get up to 50% of your FRA payment if they are at least FRA; less if they file early (as early as age 62).

• Your spouse can be paid 50% at any age if caring for your child under 16.

• Your unmarried child can be paid 50% if under 18, under 19 and in high school, or at any age if totally disabled since youth.

• In most cases, your family member must first file for any benefits on their own work record. (An exception is your spouse who is over FRA.)

Mystery #7: Can family members receive Social Security after I die? Yes. Payments to your survivors are possible whether you die before or after your own Social Security eligibility.

• Your widow(er) or surviving former spouse can be paid up to 100% of your payment if they are at least FRA, or a reduced amount as early as age 60.

• Your widow(er) can be paid 75% at any age, if caring for your child under 16.

• Your unmarried child can be paid 75% if they are under 18, under 19 and in high school, or any age if totally disabled since youth.

• Your parent over 62 can be paid if they were dependent upon you.

Mystery #8: Can I work and still get Social Security? Yes. If you are over FRA, there is no work limit; you can earn as much as you can and still get full Social Security payments. Before FRA, some of your Social Security is withheld if your earnings exceed the annual earnings threshold, $15,120 in 2013. (Higher limits apply the year you turn FRA.) Only work income counts against Social Security; not counted are pensions, interest, dividends, capital gains, etc. Remember, your Social Security does not stop as soon as you reach the threshold; that's where partial withholding begins. If you get Social Security disability, different work rules apply.

Mystery #9: How do I file for Social Security? You can file by visiting an office, by calling (800) SSA-1213, or online at www.ssa.gov. You can file up to 3 months before you want payments to begin.

Mystery #10: When can I enroll in Medicare? Medicare age is 65. You should file promptly by contacting SSA (see Mystery #9), preferably 2-3 months early. Late filing causes penalty fees and delayed coverage. If you are covered by health insurance from current work done by you or your spouse, you can postpone Medicare until that insurance or work ends. Note that it must be insurance from current work, not a retiree plan or COBRA. Everyone should contact SSA 3 months before their 65th birthday to make sure their Medicare enrollment is on track.

You now have a good start at understanding your retirement's cornerstone. For more detail, see my book. But remember, everything here has individual nuances and exceptions. Only SSA can make official decisions, so be sure to study their website and consult with them by phone or in-office.

As always, keep on planning.

Alabama Wins At The Buzzer To Keep Slim March Madness Hopes Alive

What's Better? All-Nighter Vs. 2 Hours Of Sleep, And Other Close Calls

By Corrie Pikul, Yahoo! Shine:

An All-Nighter vs. 2 Hours of Sleep

 
It's 3 a.m., and you need to get up at 5 a.m. for your flight or your work shift or your conference. The clock is forcing you to make a decision: Curl up in bed for two hours of shut-eye or power through the next day? While your instinct and your drooping eyelids may urge you to take a nap, this might make you feel even worse than if you hadn't slept at all, says Michael A. Grandner, PhD, research associate at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania. "If you get less than 4 hours, there's a good chance that you'll wake up in slow-wave sleep, which can leave you disoriented, irrational and extremely irritable," Grandner says--in other words, like a hot mess. He explains that our bodies are pretty resilient and can function reasonably well without sleep once in a while, so you'll be able to chug through the day even if your mind will be a little fuzzy (this means catching a plane wouldn't be a problem, but driving a car would).

Best advice: Fire up the coffee pot, stay busy until your natural circadian rhythm kicks in and then hang in there until your normal bedtime.  

Sitting vs. Smoking
 
As you're no doubt sick of hearing by now, sitting is bad for your health. A group of Australian researchers recently tried to find out just how bad by analyzing data from a giant lifestyle survey with 11,247 participants over the age of 25. Every daily hour of sitting while watching TV was associated with an 8 percent higher risk of death, they reported in the October issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine (they controlled for the effect of exercise, diet, obesity and other relevant factors). "Watching one hour of TV above age 25 may be about as lethal as smoking one cigarette," says J. Lennert Veerman, PhD, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, who led the study. Keep in mind that smoking causes many cancers--lung, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix--as well as acute myeloid leukemia, and Veerman adds that it's also highly addictive. Then again, prolonged sitting has been associated with higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and obesity-related illness.

Best advice: Lighting up might be worse for us as individuals, but sitting down may well cost more lives overall. "While smoking rates are going down, almost everyone watches quite a bit of TV," says Veerman. He recommends limiting couch time to two hours per day or night.

Alcohol vs. Coffee Before Bed
 
Both are infamous sleep disruptors, but they act in opposite ways, says Allison T. Siebern, PhD, CBSM, clinical assistant professor and the associate director of the Insomnia and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Stanford University School of Medicine. Caffeine tricks your body into thinking that you aren't sleepy, Siebern explains. As soon as the effect wears off, you'll crash--which in this case isn't such a bad thing. However, if one glass of wine leads to two or three, you may initially find yourself drowsy, but once the alcohol starts to leave your system, Siebern says, you could start snoring, slip into nightmares, drench the blankets in sweat, feel your head pounding or experience dry mouth. So the post-meal espresso is likely to decrease the quantity of your sleep, while the wine will insidiously tamper with the quality of it. Caffeine may also take 4 to 7 hours--that's basically all night--to leave your system if you drink a potent cup or are particularly sensitive to it. Alcohol has a shorter half-life, Siebern says, which means it will leave the body in about 3 to 4 hours. If you can wait that long before going to bed, then cheers to you.

Best advice: Choose the coffee if you could use a few hours of alert time to get things done at home; the wine if you could use some more time to catch up with your friends. Skip both if you need to be up early tomorrow.

Exercising on an Empty Stomach vs. a Full One

What's the problem with running (or spinning, or stair-climbing, or Zumba-ing) on empty? We asked Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM, a nutritionist with a private practice who's worked with dancers at the Juilliard School as well as players with the New York Knicks. First, Skolnik wants to know why you didn't have anything to eat. Saving calories?: "You'll probably be so hungry later that you'll eat even more," she says, adding that she sees this over and over with her female clients. Think of this snack as fuel: Skolnik says research supports the idea that having something in your tank will help you work out harder, which will then help you burn even more calories. Worried that it's bad for your body?: Skolnik explains that working out immediately after a big meal will cause blood to be diverted to your muscles instead of your digestive system. But while she agrees this can be uncomfortable, she says it's not physically harmful. Too busy? Skolnik gets that, but she strongly advises against making it a regular habit. You'll be too weak and hungry to get the maximum benefit from your workout, and you'll be setting yourself up for a binge session later that night. And if your workout involves strength-training, your could go into catabolic mode and start breaking down muscle. Isn't that enough motivation to stock your gym bag with energy bars?

Best advice: Eating too much will probably result in an unpleasant workout, but not eating anything can be bad for your workout, your diet--and--your long-term health.

Energy Drink vs. Soda

You may not realize this, but most energy drinks have just as much sugar as soda: A 12-ounce can of Red Bull and a 12-ounce can of cola both have about 9 teaspoons. So they're even on that score, but the smallest can of Red Bull also has 80 mg of caffeine, which is double what's in a can of Coke. And it may do a lot more than perk you up: A 2006 New Zealand study revealed that caffeine combined with the sugar in that Red Bull may temporarily inhibit the body's ability to burn fat. More alarmingly, since 2009, 5-Hour Energy (which is sugar-free, but has about 215 mg of caffeine) has been mentioned in 90 filings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including more than 30 that involved serious or life-threatening injuries, reports The New York Times. While it's true that most people can handle one regular-size can without ill effects, the high levels of caffeine involved in multiple servings could result in dangerous, even life-threatening, effects on blood pressure, heart rate and brain function, according to a 2010 review in the The Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Most energy drinks also contain special ingredients that are said to boost physical or cognitive performance, like taurine (Red Bull), ginseng (Monster), and glucuronolactone (5-Hour Energy). But two researchers who conducted a review of these ingredients' effects concluded that there isn't much evidence that any of these will make you faster, smarter, or better in any way.

Springing Ahead

It's official!

The sun will be above the horizon comfortably past six o'clock this afternoon (possibly obscured by clouds, but it's the principle of the thing).

The days will be getting longer for at least another three full months.

Soon I'll gaze out to the pool deck and see a sun-gleaming deck. And a chilly one.

During winter I rarely bother to look at the temperature forecast. Whatever it is, I'll be meeting it in a coat, hood, hat and gloves.

That March afternoon sunshine, though... brings the prospect of a gently warm outdoor lounge for reading and drifting my cares away.

Arguably the most important positive legislative development of the last ten years has been the expansion of daylight savings time. I'm usually not a one-issue voter, but any platform to repeal it would be the end of his or her election chances for me.

Come on 60 degrees!

Freedom Writer: The Week In Thanks

I work up this morning with several options to choose from to fill my day.

I could play a whole bunch of FIFA soccer on my PlayStation. That's what I did yesterday, soaring to a still-undefeated season thus far by dominant margins with the top seven goal-scorers in the league. It's an anchor to my youth that may always be there, and this interim period between basketball and theater leaves long stretches of time for leisure like this.

There's a stack of sports and health magazines waiting for me to settle into the couch and read, as well as some investment reports and some bills. Sunday evenings are often when I get my spark to do this.

I'll be tutoring one student this afternoon, as my other two Sunday regulars are on spring break. It's my only obligation outside of the house today. A nice excuse to get showered and shaved.

Our wedding anniversary is less than two weeks away... time to think of little things to make it extra fun for our 15th.

With baseball season starting on March 31, I've been studying and accumulating stat projections for the last week. I could tinker with my formulas and estimated dollar values some more.

Auditions for 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee are one week from today! I've had ear buds on for a major part of the last couple nights, drilling songs into my head. It'll soon be time to jump back into the speaking lines to develop my character.

But first off, it's time to catch up on some blogging!

I know I miss out on many joys of parenting, but this freedom - to have so many fun creative projects and pastimes to choose from, in any order I'd like - is the calling that brings me great peace. God's given me the gifts and circumstances to be here.

Another week of work with enough accomplishment and few enough crises to call a success. My career plan is moving along smoothly, and tomorrow's a significant milestone that brings a smile to my face.

Today will be about reading, reflecting, and sharing whatever wisdom or humor I might find. Hopefully wherever you are today, you have a moment to enjoy or reshape your future.

New Rochelle High School Stuns Mt Vernon Boys Basketball With Buzzer Beater

Panch Or Coneybear? The Week In Thanks

The sun returned from its week-long vacation to the great delight of us central Illinoisans. And by next week we'll  have more than a full extra hour of daylight in the evening. At that point it becomes true that I could come home from the office with plenty of time to sit by the pool for some sunlight reading. Now all we need is for the temperature to cooperate.

Actually, it will take more than that, because for the first time ever I have ten hours of tutoring scheduled in a week. Requests have flowed in all week long. Junior high through college senior. Algebra through actuarial science. And it just so happens that they are all motivated students, talented enough to show real improvement. I feel lucky for all the referrals, and the gift of satisfied students and parents.

With basketball season in the rear view mirror (except for the still-commanding fantasy basketball lead), I spent two hours on the bike/treadmill reading fantasy baseball magazines for the upcoming three seasons on the docket. Each has a different scoring system, so each needs slightly different analysis. A perfect fit for a Saturday afternoon.

I signed up to help out at Epiphany Catholic Church's Easter Sunday performance, and am looking forward to the chance to say hey to the friends in the band and help the congregants celebrate the most popular day of the year.

Yesterday I watched Dena in action developing a new marketing campaign for her bank. Her newest idea is energetic and exciting (and, I suppose, best kept secret until it launches). Her creativity is amazing! How'd I get so lucky? It's less than three weeks until our 15th wedding anniversary, and fun plans are in the works for it.

I got the condo association's tax return done. I've been in the bookkeeping game for them for over ten years now. Our financial health is strong, our neighborhood is peaceful and safe.

The biggest drama in life right now is... well... drama itself. Two weeks until the audition for 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Community Players theater. It's a small cast and my singing voice suits two of the characters: Vice Principal Panch and Leaf Coneybear.

I'm enjoying both roles the more I study them, have picked out my audition music and ready for the dancing part. If I don't get a part, that will just be God's way of telling me to spend more time tutoring students. Win-win!

People have been coughing all around me the last week. I'm thankful for my immune system and, of course, the power of Flintstones fruity chewable vitamins. Being fortified has never tasted so good!

Tomorrow kicks off a dynamic work week. We get a long-awaited new employee on our team, and I'm running an important meeting with company executives first thing Tuesday morning. One of the best gifts that comes with age and faith is the trust that in the end, everything will turn out fine as long as I give my best effort and keep smiling. I hope you all can carry the same peace on your face and in your soul this week.

Dennis Rodman in North Korea Makes Me Happy

Fifteen years ago I put a nickel on a bet in Vegas: That Dennis Rodman would become our ambassador to North Korea. Tomorrow I'm cashing it in and buying a few countries.

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In his first interview since returning to the U.S. from an unprecedented visit to North Korea last week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman said he bears a message for President Obama from the country's oppressive leader, Kim Jong Un.

 "He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him," Rodman told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week." "He said, 'If you can, Dennis - I don't want [to] do war. I don't want to do war.' He said that to me."

The athlete even offered Kim some diplomatic advice for potential future talks with President Obama.

"[Kim] loves basketball. And I said the same thing, I said, 'Obama loves basketball.' Let's start there," Rodman said.

Rodman's comments come just days after the basketball star shocked the world with an unexpected trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, becoming the first known American to publicly meet with the mysterious Kim since he assumed command of the totalitarian nation after the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il in 2011.

The young leader has defied U.N. sanctions by continuing to develop North Korea's nuclear arms and missile program, which he says is aimed at the U.S.

Kim is often regarded as one of the world's most oppressive leaders, presiding over prison camps and allowing millions of his own people to starve.

In a bizarre display of basketball diplomacy, Rodman went on the record to offer highest praise for Kim Thursday, telling reporters, "I love him. He's awesome." Today on "This Week," Rodman didn't apologize for those comments.

"No, I'm not apologiz[ing] for him," Rodman said. "You know, he's a good guy to me. Guess what? He's my friend. I don't condone what he does … [but] as a person to person - he's my friend."

Rodman traveled through Pyongyang with members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and a camera crew from the upcoming HBO series, "VICE." Kim warmly welcomed the Americans, with an itinerary that included ice skating, an aquarium visit and a long dinner and drinks.

During his visit, Rodman sat court side with Kim as they took in an exhibition basketball face-off with the Globetrotters and North Korean players. Kim, like his late father, is said to be a devoted basketball fan - especially for the 1990's-era Chicago Bulls championship teams, which included Rodman. Rodman stood up to give a speech to the basketball crowd, at one point telling Kim, "You have a friend for life."

Despite the unlikely pairing, Rodman said he has something in common with Kim and the North Korean people: a love of basketball.

"I'm not a politician. Kim Jung Un & North Korean people are basketball fans," he tweeted. "I love everyone. Period. End of story."
 
The U.S. State Department had no involvement in the visit, and officials say they have no plans to debrief Rodman after his meeting with one of the world's most mysterious leaders. Col. Steve Ganyard, USMC (Ret.), a former deputy assistant secretary of state and ABC News consultant, told ABC's Martha Raddatz the State Department's decision is "ridiculous."

"There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman, and that in itself is scary," Ganyard said.

Still, Rodman thinks there are more trips to North Korea in his future.

"I'm not like a diplomat," Rodman told George Stephanopoulos. "I'm [going to] go back, do one thing and find out more, what's going on. Find out more."

Change Your Life

Saw this on Jonelle's page:

Simple Faith: My Truth, The Truth?

I received a letter this week inviting me to explore important questions to discover the Truth. Forty years of living have led me to some personal answers. Maybe wrong, but feel right to me.

Q1. Does God really care about us?
A1. Yes. I believe in God, feel personally cared about, and have been richly blessed.

Q2. Will war and suffering ever end?
A2. "Ever" is a long time so I won't rule it out, but I expect it will continue during my lifetime.

Q3. What happens to us when we die?
A3. We're buried. Afterward? Maybe something, maybe nothing. I focus on life.

Q4. Is there any hope for the dead?
A4. Hard to say. I like to think so.

Q5. How can I pray and be heard by God?
A5. I think a God big enough to create time and the universe is always listening to me.

Q6. How can I find happiness in life?
A6. Give thanks to God, and enjoy the provisions of creation.

Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Goat Edition)

Queen - We Are The Champions Goat Edition

Living On a Prayer (Goat Edition) - Bon Jovi

Congratulations Seniors

The varsity boys basketball team's season ended last night in a close regional championship game.

This is the first group of boys I ever coached at the high school level. They averaged nearly 20 wins a year over their careers.

It's always a sad moment to walk off the floor that last time, and almost everyone does so on the losing end of the scoreboard.

Fortunately, there's so much more to life than basketball.

They were also good students. Community volunteers. Brothers. Sons. Mentors. Workers. Friends.

I'm happy for them, and how successful they're going to be in the next stage of life.