Get in my bell-A.

An interesting article in the NY Times today attempts to answer the question, "is junk food really cheaper than healthy food?".

For what it's worth, the author maintains that the answer is no, although I believe his argument is a little on the shaky side.  His logic resides entirely on the notion that FAST FOOD is what is doing everyone in, rather than processed food in general.  While I grant that a head of lettuce is in fact cheaper than a bag of potato chips, that is not where I believe the issue lies.

To me, it's a matter of palette (or to be more precise, the lack thereof) and frankly, a bit of laziness.  The latter being a point on which the author and I agree.

Regarding the first point, it's been my experience that our food in the United States is somewhat reflective of our personality in a couple of ways.  We desire instant gratification for the most part and the idea of breading your own bits of fish pales in comparison to the thought of a guy in a yellow rain slicker making them magically appear before us.  (Fair disclosure, I eat these all the time.  They're yummy.)  And while occasional indulgence is cool, overdoing it can be painful.  We get our kids into the act all the time too by caving in and making little fried hot dogs instead of the turkey sandwich we doubt that they'll eat.  They normally don't because, ahem, we often give up trying when they complain the first time.  We also tune everything up with something that is either syrupy sweet, or horribly salty.  By the time we're adults, we'd absolutely kill for a plate of fries covered in ketchup than we would a plate of sushi.  Not that everyone needs to love sushi by any means.  My point is that we enjoy the bland processed safety of Ore Ida and shun many things that are different.  Newsflash: Broccoli isn't better than a plate of chili cheese fries.  It just isn't.  But I eat it anyway.

As for the second point, cooking is work, man.  I get the that more than you know.  This is where the author and I agree with the notion, but disagree with the execution.  He says that people will just go to McDonalds.  I say the decision is made well before you even leave the store.  The options you have at the supermarket are not always that great if you are a) poor and b) being a little lazy.  It's cheap as hell to bust out the Hamburger Helper or the Tony Chechere's to save a little time.  The problem is that you might as well inject some of it directly into your ass cheeks, because that's where it's gonna end up.

Because I know you're going to ask.

I don't want to wax too academic.  Mostly because I really want another Bass.  Not the fish, the beer.  (That's what we call hypocrisy by the way.) But it seems to me like we, as a nation, would be just a bit healthier if we'd do two things: expand our horizons and sacrifice 30 minutes of Dr. Phil to make a decent meal that didn't consist of Ramen Noodle and sliced Slim Jims.

Of course who knows, after a few more beers that might seem like a good idea.  I'll make sure to post a review.

By Marcus with 2 comments

Curry, An Apple, and a Red Dawn

As I said in my last post, I was on a bit of a forced hiatus.  This was largely a result of family and school obligations, but the disaster that is/was my HP laptop played no small role either.

The good news was that I didn't experience a full-blown crash of my system.  The bad news was that the portability feature (you know, like the REASON you buy a laptop) was less than fully functional.  The long and the short of it was that my laptop had a bad case of electronic narcolepsy whenever it was unplugged from the wall.  This is not generally helpful when you're trying to write a master's thesis and don't have a permanent office.

So me being me, I decided to fix it.  I'm sure it's a familiar refrain, but after 5 plus hours on the phone with HP customer support in India, I was told that a new battery would not be forthcoming and frankly, I needed to stop calling and asking.  Well then.  Allrighty.  It's an experience not worth recounting in wretched detail but suffice it to say that when my wife saw QWERTY etched into the skin of my forehead she knew two things: 1) Banging my head into the keyboard of my HP probably didn't help and 2) all of my Urdu/Hindu speaking charm couldn't make the situation any better.

So I did what any disgruntled consumer would do in such a circumstance.  I bought a MAC, and oh baby, Daddy likey.

I've honestly wanted to anyway ever since my wife got one four years ago.  In that time it has never "not worked" and has never failed to start up, shut down, download things, and you know, work & stuff.  I've officially defected and let me tell you, being a traitor never felt so good.

(Ironically though, I upgraded to an android phone.  It was 9.99 and has all the capability of an Iphone.  Can you blame me?)

Once I got everything on my new 'puter just the way I liked it, I decided to check up on ye olde blog statistics.

This blog is not a money maker.  Nor is it particularly popular.  Occasionally though, I get something going that interests folks and it shows.  Generally I can see this coming.  I did not however, anticipate this:

This is from ONE DAY last week.  And it was prior to any kind of new posting.

Naturally, my first thought was of course:

WOLVERINES!!!!

Has Russia taken a sudden interest in minimal running?  Is there an operative named Jackalope on the run?

How the hell am I supposed to know when to run to my father's extraordinarily well-stocked and unreasonably remote sporting goods store and get what I need to survive in the hills while I conduct insurgent activities?

By Marcus with 5 comments

Reports, of one kind or another

First of all, please allow my to apologize for my absence.  I know that both of my readers are simply starving from lack of semi-interesting pontifications in the form of blog posts.  I've had more than a few things to take care of recently and time simply became a valued resource.  Judgments were made.  Carpets were shampooed.  Episodes of Mad Men were viewed.  Final projects for school were accomplished.

As a result, we now have a very clean carpet, I totally dislike Betty Draper, and I got an "A" on my math project.  Winner winner chicken dinner I say, despite the lack of attention paid to the blogo-tubes.

I did however manage to run a 5k on September 11, which is another report worth sharing.

Now, let me first say this.  Obviously for anyone in the military, September 11th has a great deal of meaning on a number of levels.  It's shaped my life in ways that I would never have imagined on September 10th of that year.  Furthermore, any charity that chooses to support a cause benefitting our military has an immediate "in" as far as I'm concerned.  I've got no issue with forking over money when asked to do so.

So when the opportunity to participate in the 9-11 Heroes Run 5k here in Monterey, Ca came along, I jumped at the chance.  To be honest though, it was my wife that suggested it.  This only cemented the idea in my mind.  My wife doesn't really enjoy running in the same way that I do, but she does enjoy a challenge and she was looking forward to the opportunity to run another 5k with me.  Sold.  Let's do this.

So we signed up, and dropped our 25 bucks a piece for the race.

Now, before I start complaining, let me throw out a few caveats.

I know this isn't the Marine Corps Marathon and they're running on fumes as far as volunteers are concerned.

I know that races are hard to organize and execute; I've had to do it before.

I know that "fires happen" and "things burn" and sometimes you can't do anything to prevent that.

So when criticize here, I'm saying two things: 1) I would have just given them my 50 bucks without a race in the picture and 2) I know the challenges one faces when planning these sorts of things.

The morning began with "on-site" race pickup right before the race began.  This obviously isn't the preferred method but perhaps unavoidable given the amount of volunteers they had.  Either way, it might not have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the race site itself was kind of difficult to find and well, not exactly in the prettiest of locations.

What used to be Fort Ord (closed in the 90's due to the Base Realignment and Closure process) is now a hodge podge of either really nice areas such as some new housing and Cal State Monterey Bay, or really crappy areas such as old run down barracks buildings that I'm almost positive my grandfather lived in.  And I'm not being facetious here, he was actually stationed there before being shipped off to Alaska to fight.

I'll give you one guess which part of Ord they held this race in.  There were old couches in the parking lot, busted out windows everywhere and I generally felt as though I was on a post-apocalyptic movie set.  Yuck.

Once we did find the location, at the end of a dead-end street, I stood in line and when I got our bags, we were presented with two XL t-shirts.  Uh, okay.  "This is all we have left." I was told.  I wasn't thrilled, but there didn't seem to be much that could be done and I wasn't really willing to downgrade my wife's morale at this point.  After all, she was a bit nervous already.  While 5k isn't much to me, it sure as hell is for her and I was going to do everything I could to help her finish.  Griping wasn't going to help.

So off we went, pinning our numbers on and then realizing, much to our collective disappointment, that there were no port-a-lets.  ( I found out later that there was in fact ONE, that was hiding behind the firetruck)  With over 200 people here, this seemed to be a problem.  For me, I needed only to find a reasonably high bush but obviously for the ladies here, this was going to be an issue.

At the sound of the gun, we took off.  The course itself was pretty isolated, which made spectating impossible and our kids who came to support us just went back to the car.  The course was an "out and back" and pretty damn hilly to say the least.  This isn't a complaint per se, but throwing a basic map up on the website might have been helpful.  It was right up there with some of the most difficult non-trail 5ks I've seen and people deserve to know what they are getting into.

Wifey did fantastic.  She really gutted out this run on a course that was easily 4 times as difficult as her previous race.  She PR'ed and was really looking forward to the "bling" at the end.  For this race, the finisher's medal is a dog-tag.  A fitting symbol for the race and a great reward for a job well done.

Unfortunately, they ran out.  Ouch.

I stood with my wife (who had worked pretty damn hard over the last 30 minutes or so) while we were told "Sorry, we had same day registration, so we ran out."  Awesome.  He didn't really have a solution either, which didn't exactly illicit hope that we'd ever see one.  Pretty disappointing.

So listen, I get it.  It's a great cause and I'm happy they got my money.  But honestly, if you are going to commit to doing something, such as putting on a race, then one has to do their best to take care of people. Being a great cause doesn't provide one carte blanche to be sloppy.

So unfortunately, I can't recommend this race unless they make some serious improvements.  I love the organization they support and I believe in its mission, but the race itself left much to be desired.

I say all this not out of frustration or disappointment, but out of a genuine desire to see this race improve and frankly, make some money for the charity.  I'm afraid though, that won't be happening unless they want to make this a race to be remembered, for all the RIGHT reasons.

By Marcus with 3 comments

Barefoot Training Sandals: A first impression review

I suppose you know that you're a full-on running/shoe/barefoot running geek when your history professor drops you a newspaper article about barefoot running on your desk . . .during class.

Les Waddell is a local chiropractor who has been running for quite some time.  Obviously an advocate for the minimal style, he decided to create a sandal that would allow for the proper transition, without the risk of splitting your foot open on a rock.  Let's face it, Vibrams aren't for everyone.  This sandal is designed to fill that gap.  So I headed over to Doc's place to check it out and give it a test-drive.

For anyone remotely interested in barefoot running, Born to Run has become mandatory reading and a meaningful part of the book is the discussion of the huarache running sandal worn by the Tahuramara.  This sandal is designed in a similar vein but without the potential annoyance of the string in-between the first and second toe.

Essentially, what we have here is a running specific "Teva" sandal.  Overall the construction is pretty simple.  A Vibram sole for durability, a half-inch of semi-hard foam, and a thin layer of leather or faux leather (which is the part that contacts your feet).  The idea is that the sole provides a small amount of cushioning but compresses over time to the point where it keeps up with your movement "downward" towards less shoe.

I like this philosophy.

The challenge of barefoot running and the misnomer of "transitioning", is that it's very difficult to slowly scale down to nothing on your feet.  In order to truly get the muscle memory into your feet, there is simply no substitute for getting out there and doing it.  And by "it" I mean straight up taking off your shoes.  The issue is that it's not always feasible and something like the Vibrams gives you very little margin for error.

The sandal compresses over time, giving you an adjustment period.  You still need to take it easy of course, and Doc Waddell totally understands this.  Which is why his shoe is built this way.

For those of you wondering (like I did) whether or not there are friction points, I can tell you that from my short run in them, it seems evident that if they are fitted properly, you won't have an issue.  (That being said, I haven't pounded them for a 20 mile run either.)  The upper strap is resting on a thin piece of neoprene while the rest of the straps are a very pliable and comfy nylon webbing.  They felt secure and stable, and honestly, downright enjoyable.  I could easily sport these all day (and for those that care about such things, you could wear them without a second look from your spouse).

According to Doc, you can get 800 miles out of a pair too.  I believe it given the durability of the sole, but I haven't run in them long enough to verify that.

In sum, these things are pretty cool and I hope to pick up a pair at some point.  The Jackalope Running shoe budget is in a rebuilding phase right now and I'm afraid if I add one more pair to the rotation, Mrs. Jackalope is going to making clandestine runs to the Goodwill store.  If you're looking to "transition" downward, and need a shoe to do it, these might be just the ticket.

For what it's worth:  No I wasn't paid for the advertisement, I wasn't given a pair, and I don't know Doc outside of our 30 minute conversation.  Though I do think he's pretty cool.

By Marcus with 4 comments