Fitness Resources

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Doug Porter

A couple of years back I was planning on going snow skiing for the first time in 13 years and decided I should go back to the gym to prevent getting injured while skiing. I lifted weights in college and have been lucky enough to have a high metabolism, but I could tell the years were definitely affecting my ability to stay lean and eat whatever I wanted. In my quest to find some good resources on strength training and nutrition, I ran across two amazing resources that I wanted to share. They helped me improve my strength, diet, and overall health. I also succeeded in not getting injured while I was traversing the mountains on my ski trip.

The first is an incredible book that breaks down overall diet and nutrition into pure simplicity. It is called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating

It is written by Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard Medical School and after reading this book you can see through the silliness of all the fad diets out there. It really breaks down what constitutes a healthy diet and the science behind it. Much of it is based on the Healthy Eating Pyramid that the Harvard Medical School put together (shocking to find out after reading the book that the FDA pyramid was very tied to much lobbying by the dairy and cattle industry). I especially like that the book is very up front about stating things that are fairly certain based on the research, things that they think should be done but need more research, and things that should be ignored until further research is completed. It also goes into great detail about diet and nutrition and how it relates to various ailments (diabetes, high cholesterol, etc).

The other resource I ran across is the website and forums of John Stone. The John Stone Fitness site and especially his site forums are a wealth of information on strength training and overall fitness. You can see on the front page of John’s site the amazing transformation that he did himself. This sticky post at the top of the beginner forum has some incredible links on fat loss, strength training, and nutrition. They are worth spending some time reading even if you don’t dive into the rest of the forums.

His site and forums is actually where I found out about the Dr. Willett book that had such an impact on me. If you are interested in improving your health or just learning more about exercise and nutrition, check out these two resources. There is no down side to improving your overall health.

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Thanksgiving and Charity

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Doug Porter

Hopefully everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. In honor of the holiday it is a good time to think about giving back to other organizations. If you have the means, now is a great time to donate to your favorite charity. Given that the top causes of death across pretty much all genders and races are heart disease and cancer, I would recommend the following two organizations:

American Heart Association
American Cancer Society

Of course if you have a friend or family member that has been afflicted by some disease,then you may like to adopt a charitable organization related to helping people with that illness. There are plenty of worthy charities out there. Find them and give back if you can.

If you are unsure whether a charity or non-profit that you are thinking of donating to is on the up and up, then check them out via the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

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Netflix Streaming is Amazing

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Doug Porter

I had heard of Netflix over the years but it always seemed too expensive and not really for me given the amount of movies I tend to watch these days. That given I have always been impressed with the business model and the execution of Netflix as a company. I was even more impressed when I read about the Netflix challenge where they were giving a million dollars to anyone that could improve their suggestion algorithm. After a long competition a winner was chosen and the prize money was distributed.

Recently I became aware that you could stream Netflix directly to the Xbox (a fantastic gift from Casey last Christmas). This caused me to take a look at the packages available again, and I was very pleased with what I saw. They have a $9/month plan that offers 1 DVD out at a time via the mail as well as access to the entire streaming catalog. I went through checking out the streaming catalog via their website and saw there was a large collection of media that appealed to me. They have new movies available, full seasons of TV shows available, and of course an incredible collection of classic movies. Plus with their selection algorithm they supposedly can estimate what movies you will enjoy based on how you have ranked previously viewed movies. This is a great way to find undiscovered gems that you might not every watch.

To add to the appeal, they offer a 2 week free trial so there is no pressure before you decide if the service is for you. They also allow you to suspend your monthly account at any time if you find the need (the ultimate in low commitment). Given that there was no commitment or pressure, I finally decided to sign up for a free trial.

Much to my internet provider’s dismay, I have been watching and enjoying an incredible amount of streaming content in addition to the discs I have ordered through the mail. With just a minimal amount of watching media it is more than worth the $9/month. I wish I had been told about this service earlier. Oh, and if DVD’s and streaming via the Xbox are not enough, you can also watch streaming content via any PC or from Windows Media Center. It is really a fantastic service.

If you have not tried it I recommend going to their site and looking at the media available. If you see things that interest you, sign up for the 2 week trial and give it a go. I don’t think you will be disappointed. I’m really enjoying the movies and TV shows I have been watching. If you call and I don’t answer, I’m probably in the middle of watching a movie. Got to make sure I get my $9’s worth and then some.

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Angola Prison Rodeo 2009

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Doug Porter

Though I’ve spent my whole life here in Mobile, AL, I’ve never really gotten into many of the things people think of as traditionally “Southern”. Things like mud-riding, country music, hunting, livestock, the Marlboro man, and rodeos have never even vaguely appealed to me. Though I still feel that way about almost everything on that list, I had to cross one off the list recently. It all began when I heard a couple of fateful words: Louisiana state prisoners with no training or experience riding wild bulls.

Yes folks I’m talking about the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA. I had never heard of such a thing until a couple of years ago when the GF Casey attended and could not stop talking about how great a show it was. Though she talked it up something fierce, I still wanted to hold on to my disdain for most things related to livestock and country music. Fast forward a couple of years and Casey was dead set on attending again. I decided that now was the time to branch out and try something new, and boy am I glad I did.

For the uninitiated Angola Prison holds a prison rodeo one weekend in April and every weekend in October. This is a full fledged rodeo with the inmates competing in the events. Angola is a maximum security prison with the majority of the prisoners serving life sentences. This creates an environment where the prisoners are looking for excitement without a whole lot of regard for their individual safety. They compete for the adventure and for the chance to win money for their prison bank account. For spectators this means lots of excitement and daring feats.

Tickets to the rodeo can be purchased online (they currently use Tickets.com but they really should switch over and use Birmingham’s TicketBiscuit) or via telephone, but they sell out almost immediately after going on sale. So if you think you might like to go, you really need to plan ahead and get your tickets. The rodeo takes place in a very nice covered facility built by the inmates and all seats are assigned (the best seats are in the upper sections opposite the shoots since these keep the sun out of your face).

A couple of things to be clear about, the rodeo takes place inside of a state maximum security prison. It is one of the few times people are allowed to roam freely around. By attending the event you agree to have your car or person searched if they so desire. Also, no cellphones or cameras are allowed into the prison (as well as weapons and drugs of course). I was expecting to be wanded or patted down but during our time there we were not searched. If you leave your car unlocked, they will search it (got to make sure no inmates are hiding in there). Approved media personnel can bring cameras and film the event.

That said my experience was completely pleasant. I was a bit uneasy about giving up my privacy rights while inside the prison but there were no incidents and I would definitely go again. While the rodeo is the main event, there is also an arts and crafts show that is equally amazing. The prisoners create all kinds of crafts for sale. From t-shirts to leather goods to drink cozies to fantastic wood-working projects, they have something for everyone. The level of craftsmanship is really incredible. It is obvious these guys have lots of time to spend perfecting their creations.

The prison facility itself is a sight to see. It encompasses 18,000 acres of land in Angola, LA (about 50 miles from Baton Rouge) and is bordered on 3 sides by the mighty Mississippi River. It is a full working farm with the inmates growing much of the food they consume. In the warden’s words related to running a peaceful maximum security prison “you’ve got to keep the inmates working all day so they’re tired at night.” I like the concept of the inmates being able to work and create while incarcerated versus just spending 23 hours per day in isolation. It seems like a model facility though it does cost $98 million/year to house around 5,000 inmates. That works out to about $20,000/year per inmate. At least for that $20k/year the good people get entertainment value from the Rodeo.

When it comes to the rodeo itself, the inmates compete in a range of events that go from mildly amusing to downright life threatening. They ride the bucking bulls, they wrestle calves to the ground, ride horses bareback, and even try to play tug of war against wild horses. But where it really gets crazy are in events like Convict Poker. In this event they seat 4 inmates around a poker table Continue reading →

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FlightCaster Flight Delay Prediction

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Doug Porter

A bit ago I was cruising the Hacker News site and there was a posting about one of the YCombinator alumni companies called FlightCaster. The company and the technology behind it really sparked my interest so I decided to read more. FlightCaster is a company which tries to predict in advance flight delays that may occur on a given flight. By giving you advanced warning of an impending delay, you can reschedule your flight before the masses crowd the counter when the airline officially announces the delay. They do this by scanning the available FAA data, weather reports, and using statistical analysis. The technology they use to accomplish this (Clojure and Ruby on Rails) and their approach is extremely interesting.

You can read 2 great articles about the company and their technology here:

Clojure and Rails – the Secret Sauce Behind FlightCaster

Building FlightCaster’s Frontends for the Web and Smartphones

Their application is available as an iPhone or Blackberry app. Since I was to be traveling to Denver shortly after originally reading about this company, I decided to make my first app purchase for the iPhone (9 months of iPhone ownership and I still had only used free apps) for a whopping $4.99 (the price is now down to $1.99).

The app itself was simple and visually very appealing. As I went to enter my flights, I discovered that you can’t enter your flights until around 24 hours prior to takeoff. This is probably a limitation on the airline data available to FlightCaster so this was not much of a bother. On my flights out to Denver the weather was great and there was no prediction of delay. Sure enough none of my flight had issues.

Unfortunately on the way back home the application wasn’t able to find either of my 2 flights. They were small regional flights, but it was still a bit disappointing to not be able to use the app on the trip back home. That aside, I would still recommend this app to any traveler.

I’m definitely not a road-warrior so this was the only time so far I have tried out the application. Since my flights had no problems I can’t really say whether the app works as they say, but given the comments and reviews it sounds like it does (it did predict my experience on the way out correctly). If you travel much you really should check out this app. Especially with the lower $1.99 price, this should be a no-brainer for frequent travelers. And if you are a technology person, you should really read about how the company approaches and solves the problems of predicting the unpredictable. It is very interesting stuff.

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