fit Fenty

excerpts:

"The Discipline That D.C. Mayor Brings to Cycling, Running Also Marks Politics, Some Say.

Many know that Fenty (D), a triathlete, likes to start his mornings with an early run three times a week. But what's little known are his twice-weekly midday cycling and swimming sessions, reserved by his staff as two-hour blocks of personal time."

"You've got to squeeze it in. If it's a priority, you'll find the time," Fenty said of his workout after he had completed a 33.8-mile course in about 90 minutes. "To be honest, there are times I wish I could be out there longer."

"At 6 feet and 180 pounds, Fenty appears the picture of fit, but he hasn't always been that way. In 2000 -- the year his twin sons were born, he wrapped up a long campaign for a D.C. Council seat, and he and his wife renovated their kitchen -- Fenty did not run a single time. He also reached about 215 pounds, Shawn said."

read the rest about the mayor here

Dealing With Close-Mindedness

Steve Pavlina is the author of a popular web site and blog dedicated to personal development, you can wiki the author for his bio, here is an interesting post from 2006 about close mindedness:
excerpts:

"How can you intelligently deal with people who are close-minded, totally stubborn in their beliefs and unreceptive to new ideas? Perhaps you feel certain you’re right and they’re wrong, but you can’t seem to convince them to see things your way. And maybe you are in fact right, but that doesn’t prevent the other person from resorting to irrational arguments to keep from agreeing with you. What can you do in such situations?...

...You’ll probably notice that when you get into an argument with a close-minded person, you become more rigid and close-minded yourself, at least temporarily. You might even argue with the other person in your head for days. But the more you develop the ability to compassionately accept people wherever they are, the more open-minded you become. The less you resist, the more you can forgive and accept...

...Being open-minded doesn’t mean being gullible. Being open-minded means that you’re receptive to new ideas and willing to consider other perspectives to see if they hold any value. If they hold no value for you, dump them. If they strike a chord with you, explore them further. The more you can openly consider ideas without resisting the people behind them, the faster you can grow as a human being...."

read the rest here:

Tom Wolfe on Mark Twain, Muhammad Ali and Silicon Valley

Interesting words from Tom Wolfe, many will find his commentary on Silicon Valley and its culture of rejecting the ostentatious ways of some other parts of the country (particularly New York and to some extent southern California) quite interesting, according to him there is a difference in the way silicon valley accumulates wealth,he also points out that though during the dotcom debacle Silicon Valley lost the most money, no financial scandal of the size of Enron or Adelphia ever came out of companies based out of this region.

In quoting himself from an article he wrote about Intel-founder Bob Noyce and the birth of Silicon Valley, he mentions how America might benefit by re-embracing Midwestern values such as self-reliance, hard work, discipline and decency. He also shares an anecdote about the Intel founder on how when the man with great ideas built his mansion with an Olympic size swimming pool and three tennis courts he made sure to have thick forestation as part of the property's landscaping not just to protect his privacy but more so that it doesn't become a vulgar display of wealth, he also pointed out that unlike those living on the East coast, where one likes to be driven or flown, the silicon valley culture allows you to buy expensive cars, only if you will drive it yourself, or even keep a company jet only if you will fly it yourself, you can hear all of it here, (Tom Wolfe starts speaking after 8 minutes).

I found this quite interesting as I just got back from San Francisco this morning, I can say that even though the real estate around that region is expensive so much that only millionaires can afford a decent place, I did notice a certain nice way in the attitudes of the locals, it may be due to the great weather, the beautiful scenery all around or just a few right rules of conducting ones life set by the people who first established silicon valley as the technology power house of the country I left San Francisco with a lot of pleasant memories, I think I wouldn't mind returning soon.

Plug-in hybrids a necessity

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are vehicles that not only rely on an engine and an electric motor for motion but whose battery can be charged using an external electric source, these cars can be plugged in to any regular power outlet and charged. right now with existing battery technology there are plug-in that can run solely on electric power for around 100 kilometers (62 miles) per charge; better and longer range vehicles are coming out at a lighting pace, so the future of hybrid looks bright, though none of the mainstream car manufacturers currently produce PHEVs, most of the production is currently from boutique car manufacturers or enthusiast mechanic shops who retro fit your existing Toyota prius with an additional lithium polymer battery pack and some circuitry that works in tandem with out of the box prius power management/distribution system.

Imagine, a person driving every day a distance shorter than the car's electric range would never have to use fossil fuel (you can generate electricity from clean sources such as solar, wind, hydal and to some extent nuclear).

According to EPRI, half the cars in the U.S. are driven 25 miles a day or less. "A plug-in vehicle with even a 20-mile range could reduce petroleum fuel consumption by about 60 percent," says Bob Graham, Manager of EPRI's Electric Transmission program.