Dieting Is Not A Product
September 2, 2010
Our society is a hypocrite. We hold up idols that spend enormous amounts of time and effort to look thin while we continue to shove cheeseburgers in our faces and rarely move from the couch. When we do try and lose weight, we inevitably take one of two paths: Stay lazy and barely eat enough to survive or start exercising and keep cramming food down our throats. We’ve gotten so good at finding excuses as to why we shouldn’t be fat that we don’t spend any time thinking of why we are.
The science behind body fat – and body fat is really what we’re talking about here, no one is crying over too much muscle mass – is very simple. There are 3500 calories in 1 lb of fat. Period. Metabolism makes people ‘burn’ calories at slower or faster rates, but 3500 calories is the absolute limit. Anyone that thinks you can gain 1 lb of fat from eating a Snickers bar because you have bad metabolism doesn’t understand the first law of thermodynamics.
Weight gain (and weight loss) works like a formula. Food you eat adds calories, exercise you do removes calories and your body removes calories by maintaining itself. If you are left with a positive number, you gain weight. A negative number, you lose weight. There are things that affect these numbers, such as different types of foods, different rates of metabolism and your current body mass, but the physics stay the same.
Knowing everything that affects your weight gives you a very strong tool to control it. Learn your Basal Metabolic Rate to determine how many calories your body needs. Learn how many calories you burn through normal activities. Once you add those numbers together, you now know exactly how many calories you burn every day.
Don’t try and diet your way to health. Don’t try and exercise your way there, either. Do both! Losing weight (and really, getting healthy) is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. While it might sound easier to “just diet” or “just exercise”, you’re really making yourself do twice the work. Why jog for an hour or not eat lunch when you could have jogged for half an hour, still had a smaller lunch and gotten the same result?
Oh, and anyone selling you a pill to lose weight is lying to you.
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How UOC Almost Wasn’t
September 1, 2010
For decades, the practice known as “open carry” has been legal in California. This practice allows the ‘open’ or unconcealed carry of an unloaded firearm. While seldom practiced in many urban areas, it nevertheless has cropped up from time to time and is used by some on a regular basis. In late 2009, this practice started to become more widespread and gained popular media attention.
On February 17th, 2010 Lori Saldana introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1934, which proposed to alter the current Penal Code (PC) 12050 that related to carrying a firearm. While the code currently allowed the carrying of an unloaded, unconcealed (“open”) firearm, AB 1934 would turn open carry into a crime.
Over the following months, the bill was passed by committees, amended several times and made its way to the Assembly floor in June 2010. It passed, leaving only the Senate vote (and avoiding an unlikely governor’s veto) before it became law.
From the Assembly to the Senate, AB 1934 was again amended, reviewed by another committee and finally reached the Senate floor. Just days away from the Constitutional end of the voting calendar (11:59pm, August 31st), the Senate ignored the bill until August 30th. That day, after taking the vote no less than seven times, a final vote of 20-16 in favor of was reached. Despite Senator Ducheny changing her vote from No to Aye that day, AB 1934 was not able to pass.
Not to be outdone, the Senate unanimously voted for reconsideration on the bill, which gave it one more chance at a vote the next day. During this time, several Senators that had not yet voted made up their minds and the stage was set for the final day of voting.
August 31st, the last day of voting for the State Assembly and Senate saw a vast number of bills. AB 1934 came up for vote numerous times and at 10:15 PM, not 2 hours from the end, Senator Yee came up with the necessary vote to pass the ban on open carry.
Then, to those watching, a strange thing happened.
Despite AB 1934 having passed the committees, passed the Assembly and passed the Senate, the bill itself had not yet passed! You see, after passing the Assembly the Senate amended it several more times; amendments which also needed to be passed by the Assembly. They had effectively passed two separate bills, neither of which could pass without the other side voting!
And so in the final hours of the vote, over in the Assembly, debate ruled the floor. At 10:50pm, AB 1934 was presented as Lori Saldana tried to fulfill the necessary procedures in order to pass it.
However, many Assemblymembers were unwilling to end the debate on the open carry ban and soon it seemed that midnight might be reached without a vote ever taking place!
Saldana refused to suspend the debate (and the vote) until later. Eventually, with pressure from other Assemblymembers, she agreed that they would vote on it later that night and allow the six or seven other bills in line a chance to be voted on.
Unfortunately for Saldana and fortunately for open carry fans, that time never arrived.
AB 1934 failed to pass and will not become law; this is the story of how it almost did.
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Plans are for the unprepared.
August 28, 2010
New haircut today! Feels great to get all that extra shag cut off. All that hair was a damn freeloader, I say. Serves it right!
Earlier today I had derby practice. No, not the kind with horses. This is roller derby, Women’s Flat Track Derby to be precise. Now, I know what you’re saying. “Tyler, you’re not a woman and what’s a flat track?” And, you know, you’re right. That’s why I’m a referee and not one of the players. Also, a flat track means they play on a level surface, whereas some roller derby leagues have a banked track (like in Nascar).
If you haven’t before, take a moment to find out what it is.
Some of you may (think) you remember roller derby from back in the 80s. That strange, costumed, WWF-style fake combat on roller skates, right? WRONG! Harken back to the early 20th century, when men were men and women beat the crap out of each other on a banked roller derby track. It’s all very real, nothing is staged and there are a few more safety rules today than back then.
Come support the Mission City Brawlin’ Betties in their bout against the Bakersfield Diamond Divas on October 2nd in Santa Barbara!
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