The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Archives for February 2009

Wii Fit

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This past holiday season we succumbed to the call of the wild and were assimilated into the collective. That is geek for we got a Wii. I love it. Been having a field day playing Guitar Hero and Lego Star Wars with the big guy.

My BIL recently gave us Wii Fit as a gift. If you’re not familiar with it go take a gander at this link. Ok, for those of you who refused to click the simple explanation is that Wii Fit is an accessory that turns your Wii into a useful tool for exercise. It combines Yoga, Aerobics, strength training and balance games that you can use to get yourself to improve your personal fitness.

I used it for the very first time early Sunday morning. It was a bit disconcerting when I stepped on the Wii board and it told me that only one person at a time is allowed on the board. Fortunately the kids weren’t close enough to hear me tell the machine to go bleep itself. In return the machine flashed a picture of Homer Simpson on the television and made some sort of laughing noise.

For a moment I considered jumping up and down on the board. I figured that if the damn thing was going to make fun of my weight I might as well punish it by giving it a pounding. Of course that was ridiculous, machines don’t think or feel pain. Ok, maybe they have some basic A.I. functionality but this sucker isn’t going to feel any pain.

So I continued on and discovered that the Wii Fit considers me to be several years older than I am. Great, the damn thing continues to mock me. But that wasn’t enough to deter me, I have thick skin, like an elephant but not as wrinkled.

Onwards and upwards. Forward I went through the exercises and discovered that Yoga is a cruel activity developed by an angry Indian Rajah whose sole purpose in life was to try and torture me. Damn, I haven’t any flexibility. When did I turn into the Tin man from the Wizard of Oz. Someone get me some oil.

I battled the machine for a good 35 minutes or so. Got a semi decent sweat worked up and figured out that the machine is partially right. I am out of shape, but not the way the thing thinks I am. I play basketball three days a week and lift weights. I have some extra meat on me but I can hang on a lot longer than the dumb machine gave me credit for.

It was a good reminder that I am not twenty any more. Notice how I keep mentioning that age thing. Yes, it irks me a little, I am not real crazy about this next birthday. But I prefer turning 40 to dying so you can expect me to be around a bit.

In the interim I figure that Wii Fit and I are going to spend a little more time together. Can’t hurt to do a little bit more. Besides, I demand satisfaction from the machine and the only way I am going to get it is to spend some more time beating it up.

Blogrolling Notes

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We’re in the process of making some adjustments to the blogroll as well as some tweaks to the template. Please bear with the dust and noise. We’ll do our best to make this as painless as possible.

President Obama Loves Air Force One

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This article is a bit of fluff. Does anyone really expect to hear comments that are critical in nature about Air Force One.

Anyway, I never get tired of reading about the history, specs and capabilities of the plane.

“The aircraft is maintained and operated by the Presidential Airlift Group, which falls under the White House Military Office.

It was founded at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and originally called the Presidential Pilot Office, according to the White House Web site.

During the next two decades, different propeller planes served as the main transportation for the president. That was until President Kennedy became the first to travel in his own jet aircraft, which was a modified Boeing 707, according to the site.

The current plane was first used in 1990 during the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

The aircraft, which is longer than the length of a hockey rink, has 4,000 square feet of floor space stretched across three levels. The plane includes a large suite for the president that includes an office, bathroom and conference room. It also provides sleeping quarters for the president.

The plane has two food preparation galleys that can feed 100 people at a time and a medical suite that can be used as an operating room, according to the site.

While the plane does have its luxuries, plenty of the extras are devoted to security.
Air Force One can refuel in midair, has unlimited range and has electronics “hardened to protect against an electromagnetic pulse,” according to the White House site.

In the event of an attack on the country, the plane, equipped with advanced and secure electronic communications equipment, can become the president’s mobile command center.

“[The president] has the ability to run the country from Air Force One,” said Col. Mark Tillman, who flew the plane for former President Bush during the last eight years, including after September 11, 2001, and into Baghdad, Iraq. “So he has everything that’s available to him at the White House available to him at 45,000 feet.”

On occasion, press briefings take place aboard the aircraft.”

Haveil Havalim Lots to Read Edition

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Friends I’d like to invite you to read the latest edition of the Jewish/Israeli blog carnival, Haveil Havalim at Leora’s place. This edition is called, Haveil Havalim Lots to Read Edition.

Next week is going to be hosted by ~ Sarah’s View ~.

Here is a partial list of past editions:

Feb 08, 2009 Esser Agaroth
Feb 01, 2009 Ima on (and off) the Bimah
Jan 25, 2009 SuperRaizy
Jan 17, 2009 The Rebbetzin’s Husband
Jan 11, 2009 Random thoughts
Jan 03, 2009 Ima on (and off) the Bimah
Dec 28, 2008 Material Maidel
Dec 23, 2008 Jewlicious
Dec 14, 2008 Random thoughts

A complete list can be found here.

San Francisco & The Healthy Penis

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And people claim that LA is weird. The Bay Area takes the cake. Please, they have inferior sports teams and an undeserved superiority complex and a bizarre mascot.

San Francisco, home of the trolley cars, Rice O’Roni and The Big Dick.

“Yup, the Healthy Penis campaign is back in San Francisco and organizers claim it is better than ever. Not since the Sexual Harassment Panda or Larry the Lobster has a mascot been so confusing.

Only in San Francisco (believe us they tried to move the campaign to Los Angeles and our neighbors to the south were not too excited) is a campaign that may be headed by the worst, at least the strangest, mascot in history. An effort to educate people about syphilis is spearheaded (sorry) by an eight foot healthy penis and his friends.

The campaign began in 2002 after the San Francisco Department of Health conducted several focus groups to see how best to raise (sorry) awareness about syphilis in the city and how best to persuade gay men to get screened.

The city says the campaign was a huge (sorry) success because it led to a significant decrease in syphilis cases. The Healthy Penis was later introduced in in Los Angeles, Portland, Philadelphia, Seattle, Santa Clara County and in Winnipeg, Canada but in a less provocative way we’re told.

The campaign has expanded (sorry) to include an African-American penis named Byron the Penis and a Hispanic penis named Pedro the Penis as well. The original penis Clark is heading up the campaign and is still the most recognizable penis in the city. Phil the Sore is also back in the campaign trying to cause all the havoc that syphilis causes. Maybe the scariest part of it all is that the three penises have Facebook and My Space pages, while Phil has his own regularly updated Twitter
page.”

Filed Under: Sex

A World Without Chocolate?

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Oops, sounds like someone is trying to kill The Shmata Queen. ABC reports:

It’s hard to imagine Valentine’s Day without chocolate, but some scientists say that it’s possible that chocolate could one day be in short supply.

What would the world be like without this decadent, delectable and divine dessert?

If you read the rest of the article it suggests that there is a potential sustainability issue for cacao. I am not an expert on any of this, but what I read sounds plausible. Perhaps now would be a good time to change professions and dedicate myself to becoming a “Green” Willie Wonka.