Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. don’t touch it.”

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Evening Open Thread: Updated With More Redshirts!

Reader Interactions

196Comments

  6. 6.

    Mike in NC

    When I first met her, my wife liked to wear a mock turtleneck sweater that was red with a black collar, and paired with black tights. Eventually I confessed that it looked like a Star Trek uniform and she immediately swore never to wear it again.

  9. 9.

    cintibud

    The actor who plays the most interesting man in the world played a redshirt character in TOS. But he can truely say “I don’t always play a red shirt character on Star Trek, but when I do I survive until the end of the show!”

  13. 13.

    Heliopause

    Gonzaga is putting an epic beatdown on Utah. Some tourney historian tell me what’s the biggest margin an 11 seed has ever won by.

  19. 19.

    cynthia ackerman

    After all the discussion of F1 Australian Grand Prix last night, I’m looking forward to the actual race, and comments on qualifying.

  20. 20.

    redshirt

    @Adam L Silverman: Redshirt 1112 scaled the icy mount and seized the Frost Controller that was operating from the peak. Breaking the wave and saving the world, yet at the same time freezing completely as the Freeze Power came crashing backwards.

  21. 21.

    Adam L Silverman

    Since we normally seem to devolve into comic book stuff, I just thought I’d actually post this as I keep forgetting. There’s an artist named Yale Stewart who has taken the DC Comics Justice League characters and done a web comic, JL8 of them as elementary school students. Technically I think this makes them chibi. His webcomic is reminiscent to the occasional X-Babies episode that used to get published. You can find it here, where a fan has gotten permission to collect them as they come out in an archive, so you don’t have to mess with tumblr.
    http://limbero.org/jl8/archive

    The only non Justice Leaguer is elementary school age Power Girl, the Supergirl of Earth 2 and long time Justice Society of America member.

  32. 32.

    LAO

    @efgoldman: holy crap! Hats off to the Mrs efgoldman, that’s my favorite episode.
    A hundred years ago, the summer before I began undergrad, I interned in the office of senator Paul Trible and our soft ball team was named after that episode.

  34. 34.

    Wag

    Aka the Expendable Crewman. First rule of Star Trek– never beam down to the planet with Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and Bones.

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    So, another protestor sucker-punched as he’s being escorted out of a Trump rally. This time the attacker was actually detained. And later at the same rally, this happened:

    In a second incident, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appears to get into an altercation with another protestor. I want to be clear what we know in this caee and do not know. The video below was posted by CBS News reporter Jacqueline Alemany. She identifies the man with close cropped hair, to the protestors left, as Lewandowski. That appears correct to me but I can’t independently confirm that. The man identified as Lewandowski appears to grab the protestors collar and yank him back.

  39. 39.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Lewandowski is a former cop. Not sure if he got his 20 years in, in a force that still only requires 20 to fully vest for pension, and then retired or he left for some other reason. He’s only 42 and if he keeps this up he’s going to wind up in jail. Unless he’s defending himself or someone else, or he was trying to keep this person from falling down, putting hands on anyone without their permission is not good. From what I understand from some of the reporting on the Michelle Fields incident he has a history of aggression towards others, especially women.

  45. 45.

    Feathers

    @Adam L Silverman: Wikipedia doesn’t show anything about him ever being a cop. Neither does that Politico piece about his troubles in past jobs. According to Wikipedia, he ran for the Mass House while still a college student, and then got a Masters at American U. Looks like he’s worked on campaigns and slushy jobs since (like Executive Director of the New England Seafood Producers Association after being campaign manager of a failed Republican Senate bid in New Hampshire).

  48. 48.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I appreciated the (I think?) GA prosecutor who was at least willing to consider charging Trump with incitement, but I suspect that– given the toxic mix of politics around it and a defendant with more or less limitless resources– would be a really tough prosecution, unless the judge’s part was scripted by David E Kelly or the team from The Good Wife.

  50. 50.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    I knew one of those people, but since she lived out here, she was able to parlay it into an actual career. She switched to teaching after seeing two different people drop dead of heart attacks while working on TV shows. I’m blanking on her name at the moment, though.

  51. 51.

    Tubular Balls

    @efgoldman:

    As a teenager. long before we met, mrs efgoldman – and a bunch of other ST teenage nerds – wrote scripts/sent story ideas for TOS. Never got a credit or a penny. “Trouble with Tribbles” was hers.

    Or, you know, David Gerrold’s.

  52. 52.

    John Revolta

    Yeah, well, I wants you nerds to know that I am the posessor of a certificate from the American Heritage Center for having won their “Name the Tribble” contest. So there.

  53. 53.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Feathers: I would put money on the fact that I saw an article about the Fields incident that indicated he had been a cop.

    From the Politico article:

    His last campaign management experience before Trump was an utter failure ― he ran former New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith’s reelection bid in 2002, when he became the first sitting senator in either party to lose a primary campaign in a decade. After taking a break from professional politics to work as a New Hampshire state police officer, Lewandowski, who sports a buzz cut, hooked up with the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, which prides itself on being independent from the Republican establishment in Washington. Now, the fast-talking Lewandowski boasts to associates, he’s in line to be White House chief of staff in a Trump administration, according to one person close to the campaign.

    (emphasis mine)
    Found here: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/donald-trump-corey-lewandowski-220742#ixzz43PQxWR4H

  54. 54.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: North Carolina sheriff. His departmental attorney determined they didn’t have enough to charge him for incitement after they charged the 72 year old white guy who sucker punched the African American protestor and then stated next time that guy might need to be killed. Mr. 72 Year Old Sucker Punch is going to be serving life in prison by default when they’re done with him.

  55. 55.

    sinnedbackwards

    @efgoldman: “Tribbles” was a script Trek received from David Gerrold, then an unknown young writer. The story had some derivation from Heinlein’s Flatcat pets.

    Lots of ideas have bounced through the sf community for years. Back when we sold buttons at conventions, Gerrold and Walter Breen got into a yelling match in front of our table arguing about who had coined the phrase “Prosecutors will be violated” (which was mine from the late sixties). Dudes, we almost all thought it up independently, along with probably 100,000 other people.

    I’m not surprised the pre-Mrs.efgoldman thought up a good story. It almost certainly wasn’t leaked to new writer David Gerrold for an over-the-transom submission.

  56. 56.

    RaflW

    Rubio donning a red shirt:

    “I’m not going to be Vice President,” the Florida Senator told reporters Thursday. “I’m not running for governor of Florida, I’m going to finish out my term in the Senate over the next 10 months… and then I’ll be a private citizen in January.”

    Can he just get scrambled in a transporter malfunction now?

  59. 59.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    Who always got the credit? Fontana/Rodenberry

    I always thought it was David Gerrold.

    ETA: Looks like I’m late to the party. Again.

  60. 60.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I really hope so. I imagine a civil suit against Trump would get tied up in knots like Jarndyce v Jarndyce and not be worth the victims’ time, but it’s a nice thought.

    (WP autocorrect is quite selective about correcting proper names, Kasich is Katich, Schumer is Schemer, and Jarndyce wants to be Jaundice)

  62. 62.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well based on the outcome of Jarndyce V Jarndyce, I’m a bit jaundiced about the viability of suing Trump for the behavior of his supporters. Eventually this may leave me jaded.

  65. 65.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @RaflW: Shorter version of the Marcobot: “You won’t have Marco Rubio to kick around anymore”.

    ETA: I’m thinking of hiking Rubio Canyon, it’s got some nice waterfalls.

  67. 67.

    randy khan

    @Adam L Silverman:

    He didn’t say that – he said he’d serve out his term, i.e., collect his salary rather than resigning. I’m sure he’ll continue his busy schedule of missing committee meetings and floor votes.

  70. 70.

    Gravenstone

    @Adam L Silverman: In keeping with the topic of DC characters as teens/kids, I caught about a minute of the new DC Superhero Girls show (that was all I could stand). Wretched, simply wretched. I understand they’re trying to appeal to a younger audience (as with that insipid Teen Titans Go dreck), but that was just abhorrent.

  71. 71.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think Marco Rubio has a bright future as a high end real estate agent in Miami. Maybe he can get one of those real estate TeeVee shows.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Gravenstone: I haven’t seen it, just pics and write ups. Apparently the creative team for the Young Justice cartoon has been teasing that they might get a long overdue third season.

  75. 75.

    SFAW

    @benw:

    Temba, his arms wide!

    Mrs. SFAW’s favorite episode.

    I thought the concept was interesting, but the idea of having an entire race/culture speak in palindromes Spoonerisms anagrams igPay atinLay allegories metaphors was a bridge too far for me.

  80. 80.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    Another 20-25 years, there won’t be any high-end real estate in Miami.

    Jim might have meant “high-end” in a literal/topographical sense.

    I mean, Rubio would still suck at it, but still …

  81. 81.

    Mike J

    @RaflW:

    Can he just get scrambled in a transporter malfunction now?

    It was very sad when that happened to the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Bones had the immortal line, “He’s bread, Jim.”

  82. 82.

    SFAW

    @peej01:

    What the heck is the Senate going to do for the next 10 months anyway?

    Ask The Donald to nominate someone for SCOTUS? After all, the people have speaked.

  87. 87.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SFAW: Marco’s a born Gilligan, Christie can be the Skipper. No Professor, cause none of them are scientists, man.

  88. 88.

    Gravenstone

    @Adam L Silverman: Yeah, saw a couple of articles about a possible YJ season 3. That I would be interested in, as I though the show took some very interesting turns in the seocnd season.

  89. 89.

    Tripod

    @efgoldman:

    In river deltas they can build levees, and live below sea level, New Orleans, Holland… South Florida sits on limestone. Water comes up through the limestone.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    @SFAW

    We share a running gag line (immediately created* when that episode first aired) among our little group which still gets dragged out from time to time when the situation merits.

    “Darmok, his middle finger extended.”

    *Humility prevents naming created by whom. ;)

    :)

  93. 93.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    “Darmok, his middle finger extended.”

    Win.

    Unfortunately, Mrs. SFAW is asleep nearby, so laughing out loud is RIGHT OUT, ya bastid.

  94. 94.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SFAW: Huh. The Romneys as the Howells is too obvious, but the Strumpft as the designated rich guy fits in even better for “Gilligan’s Island of Assholes” reboot.

  95. 95.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @MattF: On approach to LAX yesterday a Lufthansa A-380 pilot spotted a drone 2000 feet above him, the jetliner was flying at 5000 feet over Commerce preparing to turn and line up with the runway at LAX.

  99. 99.

    NotMax

    On a whim, suddenly decided to throw stuff together to bake two loaves of no-knead beer bread (one with cheese, one plain) for tonight’s upcoming gathering. Just removed them from the oven. Dearly want to bottle how the house smells right now.

  101. 101.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Gravenstone: I was very impressed with them bringing in The Reach. And the nod to the lesser, non in the comic book characters from the old Superfriends’ cartoon were also nice.

    My understanding is that the real problem has always been Cartoon Network and what they think people want to see. So you get Teen Titans Go!, but not Young Justice season 3. Or Green Lantern season 2.

    BTW: about five minutes ago I saw a commercials for those Super girlfriend dolls you were talking about on my moving picture box.

  103. 103.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Overall, the former secretary of state led 50 to 41 percent among registered voters. Trump led 49 to 40 percent among white voters, while Clinton led 73 to 19 among non-whites. Trump led by five points among men, and Clinton was up by 21 among women. Trump led by 24 points among whites without college degrees, while Clinton led by 15 among whites with degrees.

    49% among white voters is horrible for a Republican. Mittens got 60%.

    And then there’s this:

    Trump’s 24-point lead among non-college whites in WaPo poll exactly matches Romney’s from 2012 — no sign he outperforms with that group.

  104. 104.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: That’s just horrid casting. Isn’t there a female Fox News broadcaster that works better for each of those.

  105. 105.

    gwangung

    Hm. I actually have a Starfleet Security officer named after me in a TNG novel. Got to shoot down an escaping shuttle. AND I survived to appear in another novel.

    Not quite as cool as having a character named after me in an EPISODE, but still….

  106. 106.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Amir Khalid: But will anyone contact the Coast Guard this time and ask them to do something to save those poor castaways that they watch every week on TV?

  110. 110.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    ask them to do something to save those poor castaways that they watch every week on TV?

    Like dropping a small thermonucular device on them? Maybe they can wait until there are Guest Appearances by The Turtle, the ZEGS, Scotty Walker, PaulLePage, and about 1000 players to be named later.

  112. 112.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: Other than a couple of big names, like Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, I don’t have any idea who they are either as I don’t watch Fox. In fact I don’t watch any of the cable news channels if I can avoid it. Hence my previous remarks about watching cartoons and stuff on Amazon Prime on my iPad while doing my 40 minutes of cardio on either the Helix Lateral Trainer or Arc Trainer at the gym.

    If you’re wondering, this is a Helix machine:
    https://helixco.com/

  118. 118.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: The arc trainer is the only elliptical, though it really isn’t an elliptical, that keeps your structure properly aligned. There’s a gym with Helixes finder on the Helix site. I don’t use the Arc Trainer much anymore since I’ve started using the Helix. The workout on the latter makes the workout on the former look like a walk in the park.

  120. 120.

    Jerzy Russian

    @SFAW:

    One needs a language in order to speak in metaphors. One wonders how they develop new technologies like warp drive if they speak entirely in metaphors about past events.

  121. 121.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Major Major Major Major: there’s a gym with Helixes locator tool on the Helix site.

    I do my TRX workout three days a week, which already provides core and cardio along with strength, followed by 20 minutes of the Helix. Then two days a week I just do the Helix for 40 minutes.

  122. 122.

    Gravenstone

    @Adam L Silverman:

    BTW: about five minutes ago I saw a commercials for those Super girlfriend dolls you were talking about on my moving picture box.

    Do not, I repeat DO NOT abuse your eyes or senses with that travesty. Consider for a moment, Amanda Waller as HS principal/house mother. Let that characterization marinate in your mind for a bit…

    Of course, for all the shade I’m tossing at it, I’m sure it’s going to be wildly popular with the intended tween audience.

  124. 124.

    LAO

    @Adam L Silverman: yeah, well. I’m a little lazy. So you know the Helix looks like it might kill me, so I’d avoid. But I would watch all the pretty, young men that workout on it.

  126. 126.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Viva BrisVegas:

    A Happy Equinox to all!

    Autumnal Equinox, of course. (YMMV)

    Total Lunar Eclipse, August 21 2017. Oregon to South Carolina. Make your plans now.
    Linkto NASA.

  128. 128.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That incident seems to be, as they say, “trending” – it’s the top story on my Google News feed at the moment: “Trump’s campaing manager involved in altercation at rally.”

  129. 129.

    SFAW

    @Jerzy Russian:

    One needs a language in order to speak in metaphors. One wonders how they develop new technologies like warp drive if they speak entirely in metaphors about past events.

    I know. That’s among the gaping holes that I tried to explain to Mrs. SFAW. Not that it did me any good.

    ETA: It’s also highly inefficient, and (likely) highly ineffective. Unless EVERYONE has exactly the same knowledge base.

    On the other hand, playing Post Office at kids’ parties always results in 100 percent accuracy in data transmission, right?

  131. 131.

    Feathers

    @Adam L Silverman: I missed that. Grrrr. But, further checking reveals some oddities. This ABC News article Meet Donald Trump’s Campaign Manager, Corey Lewandowski uses the curious locution “Lewandowski is a New Hampshire Police Academy graduate, guest lecturer, licensed real estate agent and notary.” That reads like it came off the “Other Experience” section of a resume. If he was on the Jones campaign in 2002, he may have gone to the academy looking at a future political run as an ex-cop. Very often you see that these guys have some sort of career in the Reserves, but in 2002 that probably wasn’t the kind of gig he was looking for. Anyway, he got the seafood lobbying job in 2003. From there some PR work and then into the loving arms of the Kochs. Unfortunately, my NH police sources are probably all supporting Trump and probably not in the dirt spreading mood.

  132. 132.

    Adam L Silverman

    @karen marie: I have no idea. Maybe he’s decided to personally oversee the security efforts because he’s got a law enforcement certification and experience.

  134. 134.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Gin & Tonic: the campaign spokeswoman has now denied it happened, despite the video evidence from CBS. She is claiming that Lewandowski was just standing there and the collar was yanked by the guy on his left.

    Who you going to believe: the Trump campaign or your lying eyes?

  138. 138.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    She is claiming that Lewandowski was just standing there and the collar was yanked by the guy on his left.

    Well, at least she didn’t try to say the guy yanked his own collar. This time.

  140. 140.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: And so accurate too!

    One of the funniest one I’ve ever seen in real life was a few months ago. One of the women who works out at the wellness center I do is a mighty mite. She’s about 5’1 or 5’2, but she’s a serious lifter and does a lot of different types of cardio. Really nice person. Anyhow, one day I’m done with the TRX and I’m on the Helix and these three women younger than her (she’s in her late 20s to mid 30s – hard to tell and I’m not asking) come in to work out. All in their early 20s, they were clearly college girls home for the winter holidays. One of them is also clearly a serious lifter/fitness athlete. Both in build, knowledge, and gear. And she was dictating the workout to her two girlfriends. So Mighty Mite is over doing V-bar curls and between sets, as she’s getting ready to do the next one, she glances over and these three young women are all working in the space next to her. One is in muscle and/or fitness woman/athlete spandex halter top and leggings while the other two are in spandex shorts and tank tops. Mighty Mite gives them a look that said: “What are you all doing in my space and you, college girl fitness chick, what do you think you’re doing infringing on my gimmick in my gym?!?!?” I wish I’d had a camera and could’ve gotten a picture of that look. It was classic.

  142. 142.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I am confident if not thrilled that there exists some manner of articulated selfie stick that could be set up for this. I don’t think this should be, but I think it is so.

  143. 143.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    cardio on either the Helix Lateral Trainer or Arc Trainer at the gym.

    Any idea what the typical burn rate is on the Helix? No real interest in finding/getting one, just want to see how it compares to what I’m doing. (Which, frankly, ain’t that much, because I let myself go to seed. But eventually I hope to have the cardio capacity of a man twice my age.)

  144. 144.

    Jerzy Russian

    @SFAW:

    Most if not all Star Trek episodes require to stop thinking past a certain level. Like you, I couldn’t get past the plot holes. On the other hand a few of my friends and I have a new way to describe a colleague who occasionally blurts out non-sequiturs. We stand around like the Enterprise bridge crew did after listing to that alien talk about Darmok.

  146. 146.

    LAO

    @Adam L Silverman: my lawyer partner became a crazed cross fit guy because he couldn’t stand all the old naked guys in the locker room. We went to the same gym (we live in the same neighborhood), and I can tell you women’s locker isn’t like that. But we have plenty of strange guys, uber buff guys, that grunt really loudly and pat each other on the butt.

    kinda related, but not really, Josh Barro belongs to my gym and damn is he cut.

  147. 147.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SFAW: By burn rate, do you mean calories per hour? If you go to the link you can see what they say it is.

    What I’ve found is that from a cold start, within five minutes I’m starting starting to pour sweat and at the end of just twenty minutes you could wring my shirt out. From a hot start, for the post TRX 20 minutes, I’m dripping lots of sweat within 3 to 5 minutes.

    The key is that you have to switch sides so you evenly work both legs. So I set the timer on my iPad for five minutes and every five minutes I reverse my direction.

  148. 148.

    NotMax

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Gah. Still shake the head when think back to last year’s NYC sojourn, seeing people obliviously wandering through a very busy Times Square, while a concert was in progress drawing extra crowds, with a selfie stick thrust out in front of them.

  150. 150.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Adam L Silverman: It looked to me like he did touch his collar, but the yanking immediately after didn’t seem to be done at the collar. It’s hard for me to tell who was doing the yanking, but the other guy doing it doesn’t seem too unlikely to me.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  152. 152.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: Men’s locker rooms are strange. The older the men, the more they wander around naked and the length of being naked increases. Frankly its just strange and creepy.

    Crossfit is very strange. Its not for me – not that I couldn’t get through the workout, but I just think its a very, very strange dynamic. And a lot of the exercises are not done with proper form or, in my informed opinion, safely. I know a lot of people who work very hard at it and are in seeming good shape, but I don’t like group fitness classes (outside of martial arts).

    As for Mr. Barro being cut: good for him. A lot of that is genetics. A lot of that is diet.

  154. 154.

    LAO

    @Adam L Silverman: I think cross fit is ridiculous. My partner is in his early 40s and has sustained a dozen injuries in the last 3 years. Also he can barely climb a flight of stairs. But he’s swallowed the kool aide and I’m pretty sure he’s joined a cult.

  155. 155.

    Adam L Silverman

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: It is what it is. The media, and maybe law enforcement, will sort it out.

    My only interest is that eventually someone is going to be seriously hurt and/or killed. Either at a rally/event or by supporters of Mr. Trump. I’m tracking the so called Lion Guard militia that has sprung up to defend Trump. I’ve not posted on it yet because I can’t tell if its really serious, three guys in their parent’s basement, or a put on. But I’m also tracking other violence being done in Trump’s name. Several sanitation workers threatened a medallion limo driver in NY about three days ago. It was caught on film and they invoked Trump while doing it.

    I’m very curious to see how the country reacts when someone is severely hurt and/or killed by Trump’s supporters. And I’m very interested to see how Trump reacts.

  158. 158.

    Steeplejack

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Where did you get (or infer) “Not sure if he got his 20 years in, in a force that still only requires 20 to fully vest for pension, and then retired or he left for some other reason”?

  160. 160.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: Its pretty close to a cult. I’ve repeatedly irritated my left psoaz, which locked up my sciatic nerve, as well as seriously irritated my front right deltoid and rotator cuff lifting free weights over the past 18 months. And that was just from routine lifting. When I got back to Florida, I hadn’t lifted a weight since late 2008 when I switched over to the TRX, so I wanted to mix it up. I’d do 90 days lifting as close to max as possible, followed by 30 days of 40% max with very high reps combined with 40 minutes of cardio. I was on a 4 day split (Chest/back day 1, legs day 2, shoulders and neck day 3, biceps and triceps day 4). By last July I started working the TRX back in – 60 days TRX, 60 days free weights. That lasted until October when I went back to TRX for strength, core, and cardio. I’ve had significantly fewer nagging injuries and gotten very good results. I have a base workout that I tweak by rotating exercises in and out. Takes about 50 minutes to do 21 exercises that cover all muscle groups.

    So doing things that specifically seriously injures you is just dumb. The point of training is to improve your health and wellness, not make it worse.

  162. 162.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack: When I first saw the reference to his being a cop, it was in someone commenting on the Politico article. This listed his age as 42, so I erroneously inferred that if he was in a department that allowed full vestment for retirement in 20 years he could’ve started at 22, or earlier, and retired no later than the age of 42.

    When I went and looked at the actual Politico article that I excerpted in the comment above, it indicated he was only a cop for a year. So clearly I drew the wrong inference.

  163. 163.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    By burn rate, do you mean calories per hour?

    Yes

    If you go to the link you can see what they say it is

    .
    Went there, tried finding something, couldn’t. Probably not looking in the right way, or the right place. Best I could find was “more” and “it depends” (from a review I found).

    This is not a major issue for me, just intellectual [sic] curiosity

  165. 165.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Adam L Silverman: I agree that Trump is creating a very dangerous environment and someone is going to get seriously injured or killed if it doesn’t change.

    Here’s the clip I’ve seen (via LOLGOP). The guy in the sport coat touches the collar, but the guy most agitated about it seems to be the guy to sport-coat-guy’s left in the black shirt with the red piping. It looks to me like the guy in the black shirt with the red piping did the man-handling just after sport-coat-guy put his hand on the guy’s collar.

    But I’m just guessing, and my brain is trying to construct a story from very little information. As you say, it’ll be interesting to see what the investigation turns up.

    Of course, sport-coat-guy shouldn’t have touched him in any event.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  166. 166.

    LAO

    Just googled Lion Guard, it seems phony. Or crazy. Take your pick. Every time I think the lunacy can’t get worse, the bar drops.

  169. 169.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: that’s why I haven’t done a post on them yet. I don’t want to introduce a new product for you, and Bella Q, and SteveATL to get hooked on if its not real and of the proper quality.

  172. 172.

    LAO

    @Adam L Silverman: lol. Seriously, I have become fixated on COWS, but haven’t really had the time to dive in because I caught 2 new cases last week but I will probably tomorrow (cause I have no life) between DD episodes.

  173. 173.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Adam L Silverman:

    My only interest is that eventually someone is going to be seriously hurt and/or killed. Either at a rally/event or by supporters of Mr. Trump.

    Adam,

    Do you see any parallels to the political environment now and how things were in the mid / late 60’s with the upheaval that happened then? I don’t think middle class white guys would be able to throw together a riot like Watts, but Bundymania and now Trump, these things no longer seem to be normal dissatisfaction in the USA.

  177. 177.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Yeah, I saw both those on my first go-through. Lots of “turns it up to 11” statements, but no numbers. (No, I don’t consider “37 percent more better than ellipticals” to be “numbers,” but I’m weird that way. )

    I know what I burn now, know what I want to get to (which will involve dropping a bunch of pounds and increasing my cardio training duration), and have a reasonable idea of what burn rate qualifies as “pretty good.” I know what it all translates to on the C2, but was curious about the Helix.

  178. 178.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Prescott Cactus: I don’t think a riot like Watts is the right historical analogy. I don’t want to default to the obvious German or Italian ones from the 1930s. I think its important to remember that the modern conservative movement is itself a radical/revolutionary movement with reactionary goals. That might also be a reactionary movement with radical goals – I think the argument could be made either way.

    Like all aging revolutionary movements it either transforms itself to something non-revolutionary or it begins to come apart. The latter occurs because it is trying to maintain its fervor. Its quite clear that Conservatives really have no idea what to do once they actually achieve power. What I mean here is that they’re unable to govern constructively. Even when in complete control, say as in Kansas or Louisiana, or Wisconsin, or Michigan, all they do is dismantle institutions, structures, and the social contract that goes with it.

    Given that this is married, in part, to American’s original sin of white supremacy/privilege, I think we’re looking at something new. An analogy to part of what we’re seeing was the anti-African American and anti-Federal/governmental violence seen in the South both before and after the Civil War. Part of it mirrors the crypto-fascists and isolationists and xenophobes of the 1920s and 1930s. And some of it mirrors the extremes of Wallace’s followers in the 1960s.

  180. 180.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    You’re probably right.

    It’s been awhile since I was a kid, and I didn’t get invited to too many parties where either of them was played.

  181. 181.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SFAW: All I can tell you is I get excellent results. Heart rate up to peak target quickly and efficient. Clear thermenogesis/burn rate.

    But again, a lot of this is diet and your specific genetics.

  182. 182.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Heart rate up to peak target quickly and efficient.

    What do you classify as “peak target”? 70 percent of (theoretical) max? 80 percent? 85? (Where “theoretical max” is 220 minus your age.)

    My cardiologist wants me to stay in the 70-80 range, but I cheat.

    Christ, I can’t believe I’m having a nerdy chat like this at 1 AM.

  183. 183.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SFAW: I’m in the 120 to 150 range. I’m working for endurance, stamina, and aerobic effect.

    Its important to remember that even professional bodybuilders who keep their diets clean, as opposed to the old bulk and shred, don’t walk around with 7% body fat or less all the time.

    I read something recently that research has begun to show that people have a ten to fifteen lbs range for their walking around weight. And that trying to get below that was very hard as their own system/body fights tooth and nail to stay in that range.

  185. 185.

    karen marie

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Simply touching him is, legally speaking, “battery,” so regardless of who did the yanking, he could be charged. This makes twice in a week. Interesting to see if he continues to be allowed in the crowd.

  186. 186.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks for insight !

    American’s original sin of white supremacy/privilege

    The rise and disappearance of the Occupy movement showed the disorganization of the Dem’s most liberal wing.

    I wonder if the rise and continued incline of the Black Lives Matter movement has contributed to the racism of Trump? Sorry, I think I’ve answered my own question before I finished typing it.

  187. 187.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I’m in the 120 to 135 range.

    That’s about my range. [Just don’t tell my cardiologist.]

    My intermediate goal is to be able to sustain 1000 cal/hr, but it’s going to take some time. I’d like to hit 1250-1300 per hour eventually, but I’m not sure that’s feasible – or, if feasible, not sure I’m willing to make the commitment necessary.

    ETA: Just saw you revised your top number to 150. I tried that, I’d probably have a heart attack – that’s over 90 percent of my max. As it stands, I regularly go above 85, don’t want to push my luck too much.

  189. 189.

    Ruckus

    @SFAW:
    But eventually I hope to have the cardio capacity of a man twice my age.
    LOL.
    Some days I think I’m already there.

  190. 190.

    Ruckus

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Know this is a dead thread but anyway….
    I used to work out a lot and got it in my head to get my body fat down pretty low to lose wt. Dropped 12 lbs easily/quickly. The next 12 took me months of work 2 hrs a day, all lots of reps, med wt on several different routines. I ended up with that fat index, 2 lbs over what I weighed 25 yr before. I cut back on the routine as it was a huge amount of work and gained 6 lbs in 2 weeks. I came to the conclusion that we all have a body fat min and min working wt and trying to achieve different can be/is harmful. And I later worked with lots of endurance athletes, including pros and with few exceptions carry more wt and body fat than many would believe. Health is not overrated.
    Oh and just for grins, Fuck Cancer.

  191. 191.

    Ruckus

    @SFAW:
    My experience and studies tell me that while the rate of 220-age is not a bad baseline we are not robots and there really is a range. Now finding that range can be a problem if you consistently overachieve. My range was a comfortable 135-140 a few yrs ago and I have done heart tests when fit at a comfortable 170 while barely breaking a sweat. And that was 10 over my age adjusted limit. But I can tell you that now 175 feels like I’m going to explode and I’m glad there was a maned crash cart in the hospital next to me. I now refuse to even attempt to hit that number.

  193. 193.

    Central Planning

    @LAO:

    I think cross fit is ridiculous. My partner is in his early 40s and has sustained a dozen injuries in the last 3 years. Also he can barely climb a flight of stairs. But he’s swallowed the kool aide and I’m pretty sure he’s joined a cult.

    A better cult is rowing. I’ve been rowing for a year and a half. It’s a kick-ass workout and difficult to injure yourself.

    And I don’t mean on the rowing machine in the gym. I’m not trying to say the rowing machine isn’t important… it’s like putting miles on the treadmill to get ready for a race.

    You need to get on water in a boat with 3 or 7 other people. When you’re in the zone and everyone is in sync… there’s nothing like it. I can’t wait for the Erie Canal here in Rochester to fill up so we can get back out there.

  194. 194.

    SFAW

    @Ruckus:

    From some of your stuff I’ve read in the past, I thought you were an old fart like me. 170 bpm? I did that, I’d be well beyond pinin’ for the fjords.

    I know what you mean re: plateauing when trying to lose weight. Although in my case, it’s not as if I’m within 5 percent of my ideal (whatever that means) body weight. I just have to keep eating less, exercising more. (Just to be clear, by “eating less,” I don’t mean to try the starvation thing – just significantly reduce my intake from what it’s been for the last few years.)

  195. 195.

    SFAW

    @Central Planning:

    A better cult is rowing.

    Agreed. It’s a great sport. I did a little intramural sweep, lo these many years ago, but now I only scull. One of my “requirements” for a vacation/retirement home (if I can ever afford it) is to be on a pond/lake at least 2 miles long, preferably with a low volume of power boaters. I paid for Mrs. SFAW to do a local “Learn to Row” thing, so that (someday) we can take a double out on the water. She seems to enjoy sculling, so that helps.

    For what it’s worth: if you don’t already do it, you should consider erg’ing in the winter. Use a Concept 2. (You may already be doing this, I wasn’t sure from you comment.) Then, at the end of February, do the CRASH-Bs, and you’re all set. (Sorry, just a hobby horse of mine.)

  196. 196.

    Tehanu

    @NotMax:

    Darmok, his middle finger extended …

    We need Like buttons, I’m too lazy to write comments every time, but this one is special so Like, Like, Like!! Thanks!

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