Rowing, Financial Literacy, and Sunglasses

My last couple of entries have been pretty much focused on one topic after a period of writing more than I need to on many topics each week. I switched to just one topic because quite frankly writing a couple of paragraphs about 7 or 8 or more issues each week was pretty freak'n stressful...finding something to write about, then writing it all while trying to actually BE a Balanced Guy with a family, job, hobbies, friends, etc to tend to. But...writing on one topic was kinda boring and so I'm experimenting a bit. This week I'm going for less on each topic but more topics...I think. Of course I recognize the irony of this due to my posting from March 24 in which I extol the virtues of learning about fewer things but in more depth. I'm fishing around to make for the best reading so cut me some slack.

The Competitor - Big sports news this week were the Final Four and Tiger's return (even more so than season opener for MLB). What is that old saying? Something about "Catch a tiger by it's tail"..." Or is it "Tiger catching tail?" Those are the easy stories and no doubt you know the outcomes of them, so I'll go a bit more obscure. Have you ever driven past a body of water and seen those long skinny "speed canoes" (as they were monikered by a rural resident of South Carolina many years ago as we were traveling to Florida for winter training) propelled by people pulling on long, long oars? Of course I'm referring to the sport of rowing, sometimes called crew. It's the oldest collegiate sport in the US, dating back to 1852 and one of the oldest competitive sports in the world with the annual Boat Race between Cambridge and Oxford dating back to 1829. In fact, with some estimates of 120 million world-wide viewers of this race each year, it would be the most viewed single day sporting event in the world. Even if this estimate is a bit inflated, very reliable numbers of 250,000 people standing along the banks of the Thames River watching the 4+ mile race in person make for it to be bigger than just about anything in the US shy of a NASCAR race. And not to burst your bubble but the coxswain (the little person who steers the shell) does not shout "stroke, stroke, stroke...".

 So if you've ever had an inkling of interest in sitting on your butt while going backwards...fast - which by the way is one of the premiere forms of aerobic exercise and calorie burners known to man - take note that June 5, 2010 is National Learn to Row Day. Click on the link to find out where you can learn to row at a club near you. You can also find out what the coxswain actually says.

Oh yeah. For a much better rundown on sports than I can provide, check out my buddy Dave over at The Savage Truth (just bring your dictionary along as he likes to use words like "umbrage").

Your Ride - Those spots of oil in the driveway are telling me that I've got to get underneath the minivan and repair something...but I'm not sure what just yet. Admittedly I'm avoiding it ever so slightly for two reasons: 1) it's messy and will take a good chunk of a day. and 2) while I'm pretty handy around the house, car repair is not my strength. However I'm willing to tackle it, although there will be plenty of praying before, during, and after that I won't, aren't and didn't screw something up in the process. Of course, the prayers will probably be augmented by brief periods of swearing. Should make for an interesting combination. Check out Haynes online for repair manuals for your ride should you want to save a few bucks and DIY.

Greenbacks - From the economic rubble around us, it's pretty apparent that many Americans are financially illiterate. Why is it we teach can high school kids how to calculate differential equations or debate the Middle East peace process but can't seem to provide basic life skills like how to balance a checkbook, assess a car loan or manage monthly bills. Not only this, but a lot of financial stuff out there is either excessively complex (even some of our supposed Wall St Lords of the Universe had trouble making heads or tails of some of the derivatives and other financial instruments proffered by their own firms) or not explained in clear terms. I'll admit that it sometimes takes me a few reads through financial documents to understand them despite the fact that I have an MBA in finance. So how in the world is the average American supposed to understand this stuff when less than 30% of Americans have a 4-year college degree?  Not that a college degree is required to be financially literate or even successful (e.g. Bill Gates) but the odds are not in favor of someone lacking one having at least some basic financial proficiency. Luckily, about 75% of the US population has internet access of some sort (obviously you do since you're reading this). Thus there are resources available to ensure that you AND your kids are financially literate. Take a look at Banking on Our Future as well as Wise Money Choices.

Now...if we can just get the bankers and folks on Wall St to hold up their end of the bargain and do the right thing...

I've also got a couple of books on my reading list: 13 Bankers  by Simon Johnson and The Road From Ruin by Matthew Bishop and Michael Green.

Arguing - The state of political discourse in our country has gotten ridiculous. How the folks in Washington and all over the country spewing venom (both sides) can't see that the majority of Americans are fed up with it is beyond me. If you are tired of the political and economic news being almost universally disheartening (at least as offered to us by the major news outlets), try stopping in at The Good News Network for your daily dose of "Good Things are Happening in the World Today". It may be a bit trite and escapist but it's a nice foil to all the bad, sensationalist, fear-mongering news constantly thrown at us. And the stories aren't sappy stuff about puppies and kittens. Just real news about real people doing real good in the world.

Black Sock and Flip-Flops - Growing up with a father who flew nearly 60 combat missions in Vietnam in an F-4 Phantom left an indelible mark on me. One of those was the sunglasses he wore - Original Pilot Sunglasses by AO Eyewear. The style has been around since 1958 and our men and women in uniform are still wearing it, although the official supplier since 1982 has been Randolph Engineering. It's no wonder they remain popular as, in my opinion, sunglasses don't get any cooler looking. They used to be hard to find but now you can get them through a number of online outlets. Fortunately for me, I got my most recent pair through my uncle, a retired USAF Lt Col. If, like me, you came of age during the Big 80's, you no doubt remember Ray-Ban aviators being worn by Tom Cruise in the 1986 hit movie, Top Gun. They were originally popular after WWII as a result of MacArthur wearing them. I still have my pair bought in 1987 but no longer wear them as they make me look like a deranged bug. These days I go with nothing but my AO's.

And finally, because I do it so often anyway, here's yet another pic of Kim Kardashian.

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The Holiday Season is upon us once again and I hope you had a good Thanksgiving with friends and family. We took the kids and joined my sister-in-law and her family on Thursday and went into NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We drove in through the Lincoln Tunnel and found parking to be a breeze since the parking rules weren't in effect.

If you've been to the parade before you know how much fun it is; if you've never been I highly suggest planning on it for next year even if you're from out-of-town. We flew in a few years ago, stayed in the City and went to watch the balloons being filled the night before.

So on to this week's blog...

1. The Competitor - Sports
2. Mr. Muscle - Fitness and Health
   
3. Your Ride - Cars
4. Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
5. Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
6. Tasty Licks - Music, Movies, Books and other Entertainment
   
7. Arguing - Politics
8. The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
   
9. WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
10. Black Socks & Flip-Flops - Personal Appearance
    
11. Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
12. The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
13. Eye Candy

The Competitor - This refers back to two recent news stories (#1 and #2) - one from before Thanksgiving but I forgot to mention it in earlier posts - so shoot me.; and the other I saw posted today. It seems that Northeastern University in Boston and Hofstra on Long Island have dropped - yes dropped - their football programs after more than 70 years for fairly similar reasons. According to the Northeastern, "the investment required to make it competitive was too high." It was also noted that this was a forward-looking statement in that needed renovations to the stadium coupled with what it would take to make the program competitive were major factors in the decision. While supposedly relatively low attendance (around 2,000 per home game) was not a factor, I can't imagine if the stadium was packed for each home game the decision would have necessarily been the same.

The spokesman for Hofstra said that the $4.5 million annual budget will be directed toward other uses and coupled with "...the low level of interest, financial support and attendance among our students, our alumni and the community, the choice was painful, but clear."

Now a disclosure. Much as you see in a statement when a reporter owns stock in a company about which they are righting a story or some similar happenstance in order to be transparent so as not to be accused of hiding bias, I have to admit a bit of a bias here. My alma mater cut the varsity team I was on in college while at the same time massively expanding the football program. AND...Northeastern was one of the schools my team competed against...AND their program is still there. So excuse me if I see a bit of irony in this story. Next!

Mr. Muscle - Burn 800 calories an hour! Guaranteed! Sound too good to be true? One thing in life I've learned is that if it sounds too good to be true it invariably is. However, there are exceptions to the rule. In this case it's a way to win the annual Battle of the Bulge; and I'm not talking about the WWII event. No, I mean the fight against those unwanted pounds that seem to slip on oh-so-quietly while you are having that extra drink, those too-good-to-pass-up cookies Aunt Mildred makes each year or yet a second, er third, helping at that holiday dinner party.

Luckily I've found a great way to win that weight-gain fight and even usually manage to wind up the holidays lighter than I started. My chosen torture method? The Concept2 Holiday Challenge - this year is the 10th Annual. Between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve the goal is to row 200,000 meters on the Concept2 rowing machine (affectionately known as an "erg"). Not all at once mind you! Not as hard as it may seem but yet not quite as easy either. Mainly it takes dedication (in fact when I'm done writing this evening I have to hop on the erg and row 10,000 meters, which will take me just under 40 minutes). My prize? I get a small commemorative pin...and some personal pride in having completed a goal. You can do this no matter what your form of exercise - set a goal to complete by Christmas or New Year's Eve in terms of distance or time and then make that goal known to your family and friends. Each year my wife knows I've committed to completing the Holiday Challenge and makes sure I don't slack off. That "public declaration" is a tremendous motivator to following through.

Concept2 has a great interactive website with an online logbook to record how far you rowed each session. I've been recording my meters since the 2000 "season" and it's great to be able to look back and see progress over time...and not so great to see when I've slacked off or am starting to see the effects of age!

Rowing is a phenomenal way to get in shape via a low-impact exercise which burns more calories per hour than just about any other exercise. When I'm in good shape, I can burn over 1,300 calories an hour rowing. 1,300! Even when I'm not in the best of shape I can still torch about 1,000 an hour. If you're interested in where to find a fitness club with a Concept2 rowing machine, click here. It'll take you to the website's Indoor Rower Finder. And if you have further interest in rowing as a sport, the best way to find information on a local rowing club is to contact USRowing.


Toys - Do you have an iPhone? Skip down to the next entry; if not, keep reading. This is about the iPod Touch. My oldest son just got one for his birthday. Wow. Just wow. It truly is a small hand-held wonder. Because it's not a phone, it accesses the web via a wireless connection, and since we have Verizon FIOS in the house, this works perfectly. However, it was funny as I was driving him home from practice last night and he kept calling out the wireless networks we were driving through. You can browse the web, retrieve and read email, download and play music (it even has a halfway decent built-in speaker considering that it's only about a 1/4" thick), get apps just like for the iPhone, as well as the usual weather, stock quotes, calculator. Damn - I just realized you can link directly to YouTube and watch videos.

I also have to give my son props - he bought the 2nd generation version from the Apple Store for about $200 instead of the 3rd generation and saved $40. Then for $5 he went online and upgraded to the 3rd generation software. Net savings? $35. Not sure if I'd have thought of that myself. All-in-all even after only having messed around with it for a short while I'd give it two thumbs up.

Honeydew - Want an easy way to make your kitchen look snazzy that you can do yourself? How about a tile backsplash? In a weekend you can fill in that space between the top of your counter and the bottom of your kitchen cabinets with some gorgeous tile, learn a new skill, add value to your home (yes, even in this abysmal market) and earn valuable points with your significant other for a boys' night out .

The pic to the right is a natural stone tile job I did for some friends last year. While the stones came attached to sheets, the shape of the sheets (a slightly spiraled 4-pointed star) and the way they fit in an offset pattern made for an interesting challenge. For my own home I selected sheets of 2" slate tiles that conveniently filled the space between the countertop backsplash and bottom of the cabinets (typically 12") with no cutting. It pays to think ahead!

What tools will you need? Tape measure, tile cutter, tile snips, tile trowel, tile file, scraper, putty knife, level, rubber float (to apply the grout) and a utility knife (always need one of those). While you can do the job with a manual tile cutter, I highly recommend renting a tile saw to make the job go faster and easier. If you can find an assistant (example shown below) that's a big help. You'll also need mastic - that's the "glue" you use to stick the tile to the wall. Make sure you use the right kinds as it differs for ceramic vs. natural stone tile. Finally comes the grout and its myriad color choices. It's amazing how vastly different the project can turn out depending on your choice of grout color. Also determine if your tile choice has bullnose tiles available. Those are the ones with a slightly rounded edge on one side that you use where the tile field dies into an open space on the wall.

Lay the job out ahead of time working from the center, making sure you know if any cuts will need to be made and where. What you want is for any cut tiles to wind up in corners and immediately under your cabinets and not in highly visible areas. You also don't want to have to cut tile once you have mastic up on the wall. Plan ahead! Follow the directions on the tub of mastic; in particular any having to do with preparing the wall to accept the mastic such as a primer or roughing it up with sandpaper. I usually put up 1 or 2 square feet at a time depending on how easy or complex the particular section is. Slab it on with the smooth edge of the trowel then flip it around and use the toothed edge to remove excess and create the ridges necessary for the tile to properly adhere. While you might be tempted to put on "just a little more mastic" than required, think twice - when you put the tile on and press it to the wall, any extra will squeeze out between the tiles and make for a tough time grouting especially if you don't clear it out immediately and it dries.

Working around switches and outlets is often the trickiest part of the job. Shut off the breaker for any electrical switches and outlets in the area to be tiled, then remove the cover plate. You'll need to loosen the switch/plug so you can pull it out and away from the box - just don't disconnect it (unless you want to). Use masking tape to protect the switch/outlet from mastic and grout. You'll have to reset it at a new depth once the tile job is done so make sure you bring the tile close enough to be covered by the cover plate and so that the flanges will rest on the new tile.

Once you get going the job is fairly easy, especially since most tiles these days are self-spacing. I recommend placing the tile saw outside as it can get fairly messy. Even if it's outside, place a drop cloth under it as the dirty spray of water can leave a stain on your floor, porch or deck that is hard to remove. As you complete a section of tile, take a piece of corrugated cardboard about the same size, hold it to the wall over the tile and rub hard with your hand to help level and set the tile. When you are done setting the tile it needs to set up for 24 hours before you grout it. Clean up and have a beer or two. I'll explain the fine art (actually the fine mess) of grouting in my next posting so come back for more!