Snow's A-Comin'!

0715

Well, it looks like we are going to be getting snow tomorrow. The big question is what time of the day and how much we are going to get. The real x-factor is going to be how far north the low-pressure system coming from the west tracks. If it tracks further north, we could get more than they are predicting (1-2"). There should be a better feel for what is going to happen tonight.

This morning's musical moment is a tune by a group that seems appropriate for today---Snow Patrol:



1117

Still monitoring the weather forecast. The latest forecast map is below:

It's Wednesday!

0700

Got up this morning to find a VERY windy day. The wind was actually scary fierce this morning. Carpooled this morning and, when we made the merge onto I-85 from 316, for the first mile or so on 85, I was dodging numerous patches of black ice. It made things a bit exciting, and brings me to my musical commentary for this morning:



Just doing my thing this morning. More later, I am sure.

0730

I just ran across this and am really getting a kick out of it. Apparently a group of unnamed investors have purchased space on a number of billboards around the country. Check out the picture below. Interesting how the worm has turned and the Obama Express continues to run out of steam...



0900

This Saturday night, Julia, several of our friends, and I are going to see the Journey tribute band DEPARTURE play at Dos Copas mexican restaurant. I am close friends with Doug Ballard, the bass player, so it is always good to see them play. We last saw them back in August and, according to Doug, they have added several new songs, including the title track from the ESCAPE album (my all-time favorite Journey song), to their set, so I am anxious to hear them again.

Rolling it all together

0850

I had largely abandoned this blog because I have been semi-maintaining a blog strictly devoted to my brazilian jiu-jitsu training. I have decided to move back to this blog so that way I can comment on anything and everything going on in my life.
Sitting here at work, doing my thing early in the day. This morning, I heard a really killer song called "Electric Worry" by a band called Clutch. The little hook ("Bang Bang Bang Bang! Vamanos Vamanos!") is stuck in my head, likely not to depart for some time.



Listening to Larry, Eric, Steve, and Tim ramble on this morning. Going to do jiu-jitsu tonight. No-Gi night! More later, as the need arises.

0909

Just ran across this article. Man tries to buy crack with a credit card. WHAAATTT?

0930

Just ran across this little tidbit. The news just gets happier and happier. "Independent voters see Pres. Obama in a negative light by a nearly 2-1 margin, according to a new Marist College survey, while almost half of voters say he has failed to meet their expectations.

The poll, conducted Feb. 1-3, showed just 44% of registered voters approving of Obama's job as president. 47% disapprove. But among indie voters, Obama's approval rating sits at a terrible 29%, while his disapproval rating is at 57%.

Obama's 44% job approval rating is the lowest he has scored in any non-internet poll since moving into the WH, according to a review of data compiled by Pollster.com."



1330

Two James Madison University students have been charged with felony snowball throwing in the wake of the recent heavy snowfall. Really? Wow. Link

2035

I didn't end up going to BJJ tonight. I got home and was a little tired. Plus, it is raining, windy, and basically yuck out. I decided I just really didn't want to get back out in it. So, I didn't. So there. We're watching THE BIGGEST LOSER right now and getting ready for LOST. G'night!

Bruise Reviews and More!

When I return from my jiu-jitsu classes, Julia and I have a ritual: Bruise Check. She jokingly says that if I don't have a new one, I am not training hard enough. The latest in my "collection" is below:




Tonight is UFC 87: Seek And Destroy. Below is the main card and my picks.

-Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch: This one is going to be tough to call. A lot of people are saying Fitch may pull an upset here. I am going to go with the safe bet and say GSP by submission in the 2nd round.

-Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta: This one has fight of the night potential. Both fighters are extremely talented and I am predicting a war. This one potentially could go the distance. However, I am going to say Florian by submission late in the 3rd round. His technical skills are just too strong.

-Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring: This is Lesnar's "make or break" moment in his attempted transition from professional wrestler to legitimate MMA fighter. Lesnar, physically, is a beast. Once he gets a stronger jiu-jitsu game and some more experience in the octagon, he will be a force. He actually was pretty impressive against Frank Mir. He just made the rookie mistake of leaving his leg exposed and got kneebarred. Lesnar by TKO, second round due to ground and pound.

-Demian Maia vs. Jason MacDonald: I am not too familiar with either fighter. I have heard of MacDonald, so I will pick him to win.

-Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson: I will pick Manny by TKO late in the first round.

Be interested to see how my picks pan out

Affliction: Banned thoughts, Elite XC, etc.

I wanted to post again and give my thoughts on last weekend's AFFLICTION: BANNED card as well as the UFC Fight Night that aired against it on Spike TV. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the Affliction card. There were a few technical hiccups (occasional dead air, problems with the audio, etc), the musical intro and mid-show performances by Megadeth were a little over the top, but the general quality of the fights was pretty strong. This was the first opportunity I had to see Fedor Emelanenko fight and I was impressed. He is a quiet, but very dangerous man. I expected it to be more of a fight, with the size difference (Tim Sylvia is 6'8 to Fedor's 6'1) and such. However, Fedor walked through him in 36 seconds, dropping him with a couple of fast punches and applying a rear naked choke. The other fight that made an impression on me was the Andrei Arlovski/Ben Rothwell fight. It appears that the old, aggressive Arlovski may be back.

The UFC Fight Night show was interesting as well. CB Dolloway redeemed himself by submitting Jesse "Uno Cerveza Mas!" Taylor with a great little move called the Peruvian Necktie (more on that below) in the first round. Anderson Silva continued his winning ways, even with the change in weight class, quickly knocking out James Irvin in the first round.

Last Monday, went to class to discover that Frank has really taken a liking to the Peruvian Necktie. He taught it to us and then proceeded to catch me in it when we rolled. I tapped pretty quickly but was seeing spots when he released it, so I don't think it was going to be long before I went to sleep if I didn't tap. The next day my neck was quite sore as it is a combination neck crank and carotid squeeze.See below for the Peruvian Necktie demonstrated:

The Affliction:Banned card is really stacked. This should be a very good show. I am pulling for it to be good because having a second legitimate federation/competition for the UFC will only be good for the sport. My picks are below:

Fedor vs. Sylvia- I pick Fedor to continue his winning ways in this one, KO, round 1 or 2
Barnett vs. Rizzo- Barnett by submission, round 2
Rothwell vs. Arloski- Arloski by KO/TKO, round 1
Lindland vs. Negao- Lindland by submission, round 2
Whitehead vs. Babalu-Babalu by submission, round 1

I will be interested to see if my picks are anything close to accurate

As for the competing UFC free card...

I am predicting Henderson to pull an upset and beat Anderson Silva
I am also picking CB Dolloway over Jesse Taylor

Tonight

I plan to try some light rolling during class. This will be the first time since the injury. Hopefully I can find someone who is willing to go at less than full force. I want to get in there and roll a bit, but I don't want to aggravate it. I am hoping for the best. I will report back later.

This weekend should be an interesting weekend, MMA-wise. Tomorrow night is the Elite XC show on CBS. I am interested to see this Kimbo Slice guy fight. I have watched some of the videos of his "backyard" bare knuckle fights on Youtube, and looking at the guys he has beat up, honestly I think a trained fighter with technique is going to hand him his head. The guy seems to be just a brawler and a thug. I would love to see a skilled jiu-jitsu fighter take him to the ground and make him tap. Here's hoping it happens.

Sunday night is the Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver fight for the WEC featherweight title. I am pulling for Pulver on this one. Pulver is a good guy and willing to be open about his Christian beliefs. The fight is in Sacramento, which is Faber country, so I dunno what will happen. Should be a good fight. If it goes to the ground it is likely to be Faber's fight. If Pulver can keep it standing, he stands a good chance at knocking Faber out. I'll pick Pulver by knockout.

Last night was a good night

We had a good time at Hooters last night for UFC 84. It was definitely crowded, but we got there early enough to get a good seat near a TV. On my main card predictions, I went 2-1. I had predicted Tito Ortiz to beat Machida, but Machida got a unanimous decision over Ortiz, which he deserved. Tito looked less than impressive in this fight. Wanderlei Silva went through Keith Jardine in 36 seconds, knocking him down and then pouncing on him for a referee stoppage/TKO. The Penn/Sherk fight was stopped at the end of round 3 after Penn caught Sherk with a knee and pounced on him. The horn went off, but the ref declared Sherk unable to continue and stopped the fight.
See below for the end of Penn/Sherk:

Vegetables and other things

This morning, we went to Home Depot and got tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants. We had experimented in past years with tomatoes and peppers and had had limited success because we were growing them in pots under our back deck, where they weren't getting as much sunlight as might be optimal. This year we decided to designate part of the back yard near our fence as the vegetable garden. The veggies are planted and watered and time will tell how they do. We then came into the house and did some baking together. We baked a Caribbean pineapple rum cake that we are going to be taking with us when we go to my folks' house tomorrow to do Mother's Day. We also baked 2 loaves of banana bread. Yum!

I went to class again last night and again did technique work, working on the armbar, the variaton on the Ezekiel Choke, and the Von Flue Choke again. The ribs are at about 70-75% I think. Going to give it at least another week before I roll with anyone, though. It is tough sitting there watching the others roll, though. I am looking forward to getting back in there soon.

Julia and I are going to go to the Hooters in Lawrenceville this evening to watch UFC 84: Ill Will. It should be a good card.

The headline fight is BJ Penn Vs. Sean Sherk. I think it is going to be a good fight, but will predict BJ to win by submission in the second round.

Another fight will be Tito Ortiz Vs. Lyoto Machida. Pundits on the web are predicting Machida to beat Ortiz decisively. That may very well be true. However, I think that Ortiz wants to go out of UFC with a victory and be able to rub Dana White's nose in it, so I will go with Ortiz as the winner here. I will say TKO by strikes in round 3.

Another fight on the card is Wanderlei Silva Vs. Keith Jardine. Jardine has some interesting and unexpected wins (Forrest Griffin, Chuck Lidell), but he is up against a nasty opponent here. I will say Silva wins here. Not going to predict how or when.

I am interested to see how my predictions work out.

Ribs, Gas, and life

I just returned from another visit to see Dr. Dave at Dacula Chiropractic. I had debated canceling the appointment and not going, but I am glad I went ahead and went. He only adjusted the anterior (front), which is where my pain is centered at this point. He just used the activator device so it is an easy, "finesse" adjustment, not a brute force crackle-pop fest. I am going to go to class again tomorrow night and see how it goes. Probably will hold off one more week before trying to roll, but I think things are moving in a productive direction

This morning, on the way in to work, I went to QuikTrip at 85 and Chamblee-Tucker to gas up the Honda. $3.80 a gallon, adding up to over 50 dollars to fill the tank. I am really not sure how people who are only making minimum wage are doing it. If gas prices continue to rise, and they say that they are going to, there is going to come a point where those people will be LOSING money by going to work. What happens then? I don't know.

Life is good. I am in a very happy place. I have a great life, a wonderful wife, a great home, good job, incredible dogs, hobbies that I am passionate about. Things are really coming together nicely. And ya know, even when things are temporarily tough, they will get better, you'll learn from them, and come out better and stronger. As our boy Forrest Griffin said so wisely, "the juice is worth the squeeze"



Drink up, my friends!

Things are looking up

The pain is slowly fading. It is definitely still a bit tender, but not as bad anymore. I went to the gym this morning and ran 3.4 miles and have plans this coming Monday to run the Memorial Day 5K in Dacula Park. I am planning to go to class tomorrow and Friday evening. I am probably not going to roll, but will do technique drilling and such. Below are two more techniques Frank taught us last Friday night. The first one is a variation of the Americana, done from side control. The second is the ankle lock. The Americana I feel pretty comfortable with. The ankle lock is interesting in that you are strongly encouraged to tap early with that hold. You'll feel pressure, but if you start to feel legitimate pain, damage has been done. If someone sinks it in good on you, it is a good idea to call it a match and not end up with a damaged knee.

Arm Triangle from Mount

This is a demonstration of the arm triangle from the mount that I learned last night. This gets very tight very quick.

Tales From The Spinebuster

Well, I am feeling a bit better. I went to class last night and told Frank that it was not one, but three ribs that were out. He sympathized a bit, but not too much. It is, after all, part of the jiu-jitsu game---and, I can accept that. Karl was the only other one there besides me. We did a short class where Frank showed us some techniques that really didn't put any stress or pressure on the chest. We did an arm triangle from the mount, a triangle choke from the mount, an Americana from side control, and the ankle lock. I really like the arm triangle. I think that one is one I am going to try to really become very proficient with. That hold is very much based upon leverage. It is in no way a strength-related hold. Once you are positioned right and put the squeeze on, the lights will start to go out pretty quick without a tap. Good stuff. I will try to post videos of the techniques later today.

I went back to the chiropractor this morning and they hooked me up to an electro-stim machine, which runs low-level current through your muscles, while icepacks are applied. It felt HEAVENLY. Then I got adjusted again. That was less than heavenly but I do think it is helping. The acute pain area is definitely the left front ribs. But, all is well.

In pain

I am hurting this morning. The pain is actually a bit worse now than it was prior to seeing the chiropractor. I hope I did the right thing by going. We will see. Hopefully it is going to start to feel better.

Double Under Hook Guard Pass

This was one of the first guard passes I learned and the one I feel the most competent with thus far.

Back from the Chiropractor

I went to Dr. Dave this afternoon. I told him what had happened, in some detail so he could have a picture of the mechanics and forces that were at play. He then had me lie prone (facedown) on the adjustment table and palpated down my ribs. THREE ribheads were out! He told me "this is gonna hurt like a sonuvagun" and then proceeded to adjust them, popping them back into proper alignment. He also said it is possible I may have some slight cartilage damage in the front. He advised me to keep icing the areas and taking Aleve. I have 2 more appointments to make sure (one on Saturday morning, 1 more on Monday afternoon). I am going to go to class tomorrow night, but have no plans to roll. Just observe and try to pick up some technique. I am still sore, but it is different, and I feel like I am (hopefully) on the mend.

Rib Injury

This pas week, I have been nursing a rib injury sustained as a result of BJJ. I was at class on Friday evening. I was the only one who showed up, so it was just me and Frank. He was showing me some general theory and some guard passing and such. I had him in my guard. He went to pass, put pressure on my chest, and we both felt something pop. He thinks he popped a rib head out. I have been in mild to moderate pain from this for the last week. I have done some research and have found out that with this type of injury, chiropractic care can sometimes assist. I have made an appointment with Dr. Dave in Dacula this afternoon and will report later on what happens.

Rear Naked Choke

This one is also very effective and works very quickly if it is sunk in deep. It quickly becomes a choice of tap or go to sleep

Americana From The Mount

This was the first submission I learned. Very effective. Definitely feel it when applied properly.