Humpday, Feb. 10, 2010

A few tidbits to get us through the week …

Been gettin’ alot snow round in these parts. Lotta folk been complainin’ ’bout havin’ to shovel it.

Now, we all know shoveling snow is not as simple as the video below makes it out to be. But in the links that follow, we’ve build a solid game plan to take on anything that Jack Frost sends our way.

• Have Snow Shovel, Will Travel: A History of Snow Removal – For perspective, American’s have been shoveling snow for a long time. Think early 1700’s. So when you’re out there, cold and alone except for Jack Frost biting you in the face, just remember our forefather’s did it also. But they had no snowplow services. So they had to do clear their own streets too. They did it into the night. They did it without the North Face, without Thinsulate or lightweight plastic shovels. We don’t have it so bad.

• In The Bleak Mid-winter: 10 Tips for Safe Snow Shoveling – [ …While most people recognize that snow shoveling is very hard work, and can put severe stress on your heart, fewer people recognize the stress and strain that it places on your back. So, as winter gets underway, we’ve outlined 10 tips for how to keep your back healthy when shoveling snow …]

• Music and Motivation: The Power of Music – No doubt about it, music changes the way we look at things. And when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Music also stores memories. For some, a vivid memory of a high school football season is enough motivation to tackle that two-foot frozen sheet of snow covering the driveway. Pick the right tunes, and shoveling snow could rekindle a bit of dormant youth.

• Easy High-Protein Meals – Unless you suffer a serious injury while shoveling, chances are, the aches and pains in the days that follow are most likely from overworked muscles. Muscles heal faster – and hurt less – when they get the protein they need. So eat up high protein and be well after shoveling.

… and don’t forget to stretch.

Enjoy the jumps! Come back and see us when you can …

Humpday, Feb 3, 2010

A few tidbits to get us through the week …

I’m always interested to see how men in the spot light raise children. Moreover, I think it’s healthy to sometimes take a step back – way back at times – and look at fatherhood from an entirely different viewpoint. Given my average lifestyle, a celebrity viewpoint is vastly different.

A few insightful reads below on fatherhood, by some familiar faces.

• Dave Grohl – Front man for the well-known rock band, Foo Fighters, and former drummer of the grunge gods Nirvana, Grohl says he embraces fatherhood, and reflects on how it permeates everything he does personally and professionally.
• Michael Douglas – With an older son in jail (again) on drug related charges, and a busy acting career behind him (arguably), Douglas, now 65 years old, gets a second chance with his two younger children and admits the importance of putting family first.
• Matthew Broderick – Many of us know him as Ferris Bueller, the inspiration of countless hooky days. Nearly 25 years later, (how is that possible??) Broderick is now married with three kids, two of which are twins still in diapers. I like Broderick’s perspective on being a dad, specifically that he sees parenting as “basically improv.” I get that.

Enjoy the jumps! Come back and see us when you can …