I've been doing the tuesday trivia offered on the Ken Jennings blog (of Jeopardy fame) for the last few weeks now and it is really hard. No "googling" is allowed in coming up with your answers, only stuff you just know. Most people I know consider me to be pretty good at trivia so I thought it would be fun. Now with that being said.... So far in 3 weeks I have gotten a total of 1 question right out of 21.
Here was this week's quiz and my answers, I have since "googled" the questions to determine if I got any right, and only my answer to question one is correct, bringing my grand total of correct responses up to two. Although I am still not sure about question six, as I can't find the correct answer. If anyone knows please clue me in.
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. What classic American toy was originally invented as a wallpaper cleaner?
Play Doh
I actually heard about this somewhere so it wasn't a guess, but I don't remember where
2. What's the more common name of Leontopodium alpinum, subject of the last song Oscar Hammerstein II ever wrote?
The Lion King
The "Leon" part of the first word had me thinking about Lions, and I'm assuming that this is the Hammerstein of "Rogers and Hammerstein" so I was thinking that maybe the Lion King was based on something he wrote?
3. Whose official title, until he lost power in 1979, proclaimed him "Conqueror of the British Empire?
Mao Tse Tung
The only world leader I could think of that lived around that time that I figured would be arrogant enough to have that title. Although I couldn't think how China ever conquered the British Empire or any of their colonies but it was the best guess I had. Turns out that Tung died in '76
4. What novel was adapted into successful silent movies called "On the Barricade" and "The Bishop's Candlesticks"?
War and Peace
The only old novel I could think of, so a bad guess
5. What ballroom dance is named for the vaudeville actor who originated it at the New York Theater in 1914?
The Tango
A complete guess and way off at that. I had no idea
6. Inside what world landmark can you see a plaque bearing the equation "y = -127.7 ft x cosh(x/127.7 ft) + 757.7 ft"?
The Statue of Liberty
Still not sure if this one is wrong. The question says "World" landmark but the equation has "ft" or "feet" in it which is strictly an American form of measurement, so I knew that it had to be American or American made. This was my best guess after considering the Washington Monument
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous folks? Lucille Ball, Joseph G. Cannon, Mia Farrow, KD Lang, John Lennon, Eddie Mathews, and Marilyn Monroe.
They were all born on Feb. 29th (leap year)
Another complete guess, but wrong. I still have no idea what the answer is but I know my guess was incorrect. Wikipedia has given me no insights into what these people might have in common.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Fitness Update
This month's body fat test still had me about 15.4%, so I'm hoping to do better next month. I'm told it's pretty common to not change much over the course of a month but I'm hoping to drop some as it's more motivation for me to keep going.
I found something interesting. Below is the first lifting day that I did way back on January 16th of this year and where I am now on the same excercises. I removed the ones that I'm no longer doing, but the progression is interesting.
Monday, January 16, 2006
3 sets of each:
Seated Cable Rows 55
Bench 85
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 12
Barbell Curls 40
Lying Dumbbell Press 25
Seated Calf Raises 105
Currently
Sets of increasing weight, and lowering reps
Cable Rows 125, 135
Bench 100, 110, 120
DB Shoulder Press 20, 25
Barbell Curls 60, 65
Lying Dumbbell Press 35, 40
Calf Raises 115, 125, 135
I really feel like I'm at a plateau. My body fat is staying the same, and I don't seem to be gaining any muscle weight from the lifting I'm doing (although I am getting stronger). I'm trying very hard to stick to my 2500 calories a day to the point of tracking it on a spreadsheet again so that should help. I just think I will be excited to get to the next 8 week training cycle so that I can build some muscle bulk. Currently I am in a strength building phase and the plan is to do the bulking phase next. I just know that I am the type of person to get discouraged easily so I need to do the best I can to head that off.
It does help to think about how far I've come which was the reason for the info above. Based on my calculations (I didn't have it tested), I was about 25% body fat when I first started the calorie counting and I weighed in at 203. I'm 180.5 give or take these days at 15.4%. So it did take me 10 months to drop 10%, and the last bit is always the hardest. It will be cool this time next year to look at my numbers and compare them again.
I found something interesting. Below is the first lifting day that I did way back on January 16th of this year and where I am now on the same excercises. I removed the ones that I'm no longer doing, but the progression is interesting.
Monday, January 16, 2006
3 sets of each:
Seated Cable Rows 55
Bench 85
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 12
Barbell Curls 40
Lying Dumbbell Press 25
Seated Calf Raises 105
Currently
Sets of increasing weight, and lowering reps
Cable Rows 125, 135
Bench 100, 110, 120
DB Shoulder Press 20, 25
Barbell Curls 60, 65
Lying Dumbbell Press 35, 40
Calf Raises 115, 125, 135
I really feel like I'm at a plateau. My body fat is staying the same, and I don't seem to be gaining any muscle weight from the lifting I'm doing (although I am getting stronger). I'm trying very hard to stick to my 2500 calories a day to the point of tracking it on a spreadsheet again so that should help. I just think I will be excited to get to the next 8 week training cycle so that I can build some muscle bulk. Currently I am in a strength building phase and the plan is to do the bulking phase next. I just know that I am the type of person to get discouraged easily so I need to do the best I can to head that off.
It does help to think about how far I've come which was the reason for the info above. Based on my calculations (I didn't have it tested), I was about 25% body fat when I first started the calorie counting and I weighed in at 203. I'm 180.5 give or take these days at 15.4%. So it did take me 10 months to drop 10%, and the last bit is always the hardest. It will be cool this time next year to look at my numbers and compare them again.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
I'll have a Double
For anyone who watches X games, this was a pretty amazing moment. The first ever single backflip was done in competition only 4 years ago. I'm usually only a winter X watcher but I'm glad I picked this year to tune into the summer edition. Pastrana went on to get 3 total gold medals in this year's games. It was quite a show.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
HABEN!!!!
My good friend Dave and his wife Eva paid us a visit yesterday. I don't get to see them all that often anymore as they live in Vienna, Austria. So it was nice to have them over for the evening to hang out as they are spending the summer over here visiting family and such.
They have a son that is only a month younger than Kylie so it worked out really well for them to get to play together. The only setback was that at (nearly) 3, neither of them is quite yet perfect when it comes to communication, and when you throw in the fact that Samuel is bilingual and speaks German as often as English, it made for some interesting moments.
Kylie was very confused at times and would ask why Samuel had said (X) where (X) was the closest sounding English word she knew to whatever he had said in German. He would yell "HABEN" when he wanted to have a toy from Kylie, but she made up for that by bossing him around as she is known to do.
We all had a good time and the kids seemed to as well. Next time we'll have to drop by their house. You know, when we're in the neighborhood.
They have a son that is only a month younger than Kylie so it worked out really well for them to get to play together. The only setback was that at (nearly) 3, neither of them is quite yet perfect when it comes to communication, and when you throw in the fact that Samuel is bilingual and speaks German as often as English, it made for some interesting moments.
Kylie was very confused at times and would ask why Samuel had said (X) where (X) was the closest sounding English word she knew to whatever he had said in German. He would yell "HABEN" when he wanted to have a toy from Kylie, but she made up for that by bossing him around as she is known to do.
We all had a good time and the kids seemed to as well. Next time we'll have to drop by their house. You know, when we're in the neighborhood.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Does Why Matter?
It's hot. Really really hot, and it's been this way for a while now. I'm not just talking about the last few weeks, but weather has been getting steadily more severe more often every year.
Most people spend their time arguing about whether the cause is global warming or if it's just a normal climatic upturn. My contention is that it doesn't really matter which one it is. It's going to get worse and we as a race need to be prepared to survive whatever the climax is going to be.
Obviously we have to hope that it is global warming because if it is, then there is an active role we can take in slowing it down and possibly reversing the effects. If it is just a normal upturn then we are strapped into a roller coaster and have to just endure the ride.
I'm not a meteorologist but I can't think of any "upturns" this drastic that have ever been mentioned in history. The top five hotest years since records have been kept have all been in the last 10. Throw in the massive ice storms, blizzards, and hurricanes that have been happening with regularity and I think we have a lot to worry about.
I just wonder if we will someday be telling our grandchildren how we lived through the "great storms" of the early 21st century or talking about how their used to be over 6 billion people living on earth.
I feel like this blog entry is turning into a pie in the sky alarmist piece but you have to wonder where all this harsh weather is headed. Will it just correct itself slowly, (or quickly, see "The Day After Tomorrow"), or at all?
I can only imagine that we may see a day coming when a cool summer day is in the low 100's and a category 3 hurricane is considered light precipitation. It may not get that bad, we may have seen the worst already for all I know, but you have to wonder what could happen if it gets worse. If the actions of the Katrina survivors are any indication, we could be back in the dark ages in no time if things got bad enough.
So what do you think? Will it get worse?
Most people spend their time arguing about whether the cause is global warming or if it's just a normal climatic upturn. My contention is that it doesn't really matter which one it is. It's going to get worse and we as a race need to be prepared to survive whatever the climax is going to be.
Obviously we have to hope that it is global warming because if it is, then there is an active role we can take in slowing it down and possibly reversing the effects. If it is just a normal upturn then we are strapped into a roller coaster and have to just endure the ride.
I'm not a meteorologist but I can't think of any "upturns" this drastic that have ever been mentioned in history. The top five hotest years since records have been kept have all been in the last 10. Throw in the massive ice storms, blizzards, and hurricanes that have been happening with regularity and I think we have a lot to worry about.
I just wonder if we will someday be telling our grandchildren how we lived through the "great storms" of the early 21st century or talking about how their used to be over 6 billion people living on earth.
I feel like this blog entry is turning into a pie in the sky alarmist piece but you have to wonder where all this harsh weather is headed. Will it just correct itself slowly, (or quickly, see "The Day After Tomorrow"), or at all?
I can only imagine that we may see a day coming when a cool summer day is in the low 100's and a category 3 hurricane is considered light precipitation. It may not get that bad, we may have seen the worst already for all I know, but you have to wonder what could happen if it gets worse. If the actions of the Katrina survivors are any indication, we could be back in the dark ages in no time if things got bad enough.
So what do you think? Will it get worse?
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