Elections are held so the people can choose who they believe to be the best candidate and there will always be people who like one candidate over the next… there’s nothing wrong with that.

BUT, when someone votes without knowing much, if anything, about politics and the job in which the winning candidate will be holding, the numbers are simply flawed… they hold no meaning!

Those who follow politics and have a good understanding of what each candidate can do for their city, state or Country, WILL vote.

Those who DON’T follow politics, don’t have any idea what either candidate can offer, other than the biased promotions put out by each candidate, most likely won’t vote and they SHOULDN’T vote!

I’m sure there are a select few people who do follow politics, but don’t know how to vote or for some other reason don’t vote. They SHOULD be encouraged to vote, but how many people out there fall into that category? VERY few I would say!

That’s something I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a while Take it how you will.

A few months ago I realized it was time to get back in shape and after 5 years in the Army I went back to what I was doing then… lots of running, push ups and sit ups.

I’ve been making some great progress, but I constantly measure my current fitness level with that 3 or 4 years ago, when I was at my peek physical shape.

At that time I was scoring a 280/300 on average on my PT tests. Now, although I do feel like I’m in decent shape, I wouldn’t come close!

I thought people might think it’s cool to see how they would do on an Army PT test, so I’ve pasted a link below that goes to the official PT Score card. It’s a PDF document. Just scroll down and you’ll see a scale for the 2 mile run, 2 minute of push ups and 2 minutes of sit-ups.

Just go to your age group and gender and look over at what constitutes what as far as points. Add up your points for the push-ups, sit-ups and run and you have your final score. You must get a minimum of 60 points in each event in order to pass the test with the max being 300. (you’ll probably need to zoom in to see them)

Here it is: http://www.ncsu.edu/army_rotc/APFT_scorecard.pdf

(Just ignore “test 2,” “test 3″ etc. those are just for future tests.)

For more on Army Physical Fitness Training, see FM 21-20

It’s basically an affordable, very cool way for runners to keep track of the logistics of their runs, during and after running, via either a sports band or an Ipod Nano, which communicates to and from a small chip inside a Nike + compatible shoe.

You can see your distance, time, pace and calories burned and you are able to keep a record, compare stats, set goals and even interact and compete with other runners around the world through a neat online interface (image below,) which you gain access to once you’ve purchased the Nike + system.

So far, after a VERY PAINFUL experience in receiving a working Nike + sports band (more about that below) I’ve only been able to use it twice and the first time was for a required “calibration” run, which was only .25 miles.

However, it seems to be pretty accurate and it’s very cool seeing all of these stats.

Overall I think the small amount of money (around $50) I paid for the sports band was worth it.

BUT Nike Really Disappointed me!!

That’s it for the review of the product. Now I’ll give a review of NIKE, as a company!

Holy SHIT! You’d think a top company like Nike could do some things right, wouldn’t you?

Let me tell you the horrible story of my experience getting my Nike Plus sportsband!

Nike F*** Up #1 - I hear about it online somehow, not sure how. Looks like a neat concept, so I read a bit about it, then I purchase. I didn’t read anything that I needed Nike+ compatible shoes for this thing to work accurately. So there’s Nike F*** up #1.

Nike F*** Up #2 - I decide to go ahead and get some Nike + compatible shoes because the alternative (some kind of pouch you put on your shoestrings) is supposed to take 20% off of the accuracy of the system. No big deal… not happy with Nike, but I’m looking forward to receiving my sports band and getting going with it. I get it… it DOESN’T WORK… no big deal, things happen… I send it back.

Nike F*** Up #3 - A week later I FINALLY get an email saying they received the junk band and have send the new band… great. A WEEK AND HALF LATER I still haven’t received it, so I call a Nike + rep. This lady was nice, but she either didn’t have a clue or the system she was working on didn’t have a clue (either way it’s on Nike the Company.) I simply ask if I can track the package and see where it is… very simple right? haaaaah

She says “Sure, we can help you with that.” 10 minutes later (after ok, no problem, just one moment, ok, no problem just a moment, ok no problem just a moment) I ask if she’s making any progress “Yes sir, just waiting on our system, sorry, just one more moment” 10 MORE MINUTES… still nothing… Finally I just say screw it and hung up the damn phone.

Nike F*** Up #4 - The next day I still don’t receive it, so I call Nike once again and speak with someone else. This guy seems to have somewhat of a clue and tells me the reason it’s taking so long is because Nike takes the cheap route and sends exchanges ground, which could take up to 15 days.

Now I’m not Bill Gates, but if you send a customer a JUNK PRODUCT, I believe you should expedite the shipping of the good product right?

Nike F*** Up #5 - I FINALLY get my sports band and it WORKS HAHHH amazzzzzzzzzzing! I read EVERYTHING and watch the introductory video. It says I need find a track or somewhere with a known distance so I can calibrate the band. I don’t know of any place close so I go to a Gym with a track, about 20 minutes away and pay a on-time charge of $12… no big deal.

I do the run and calibrate. Then the Nike+ online interface tells me I now need to do another calibration, except this time I need to walk. AND I have to do it at the same spot as I did the running calibration!

NOWHERE in the “getting started” guide did it mention this, NOWHERE!

So it’s late in the evening and I have to drive another 20 minutes there, pay another $12 to get back into the gym, drive 20 minutes home and FINALLY upload the walking calibration!

I guess Nike doesn’t care as long as they’re getting their money, but they sure are pathetic!

So, to sum everything up, Nike+ is very cool, but NIKE as a whole is a PATHETIC HORRIBLE COMPANY!

I still haven’t tried it, but I did make an account at GeoCaching.com and learned more about it… it’s actually really cool and believe it or not, it’s becoming very popular. I put in my location and saw that there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of caches in the Indianapolis area and there were even several in my little hometown of Washington, IN.

What is “Geo Caching?”

Here is a snippet from the F.A.Q. section of the official Geo Caching Website:

“Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.”

So, you can go to the site, do a search for caches in your area and go find them. Obviously you will need a GPS that shows grid coordinates, but you can find these for fairly cheap (you can get a GPS here.) Some are hidden very well, so only the creative adventurer will be able to find them, while others are extremely easy to find.

What’s in a “Cache?”

That’s a good question

It’s normally a small waterproof container hidden somewhere like under a rock or behind some bushes. Inside you may find a million dollars, a shoe string, a candy wrapper or nothing at all. From what I understand each and every one should have, at the very least, a “log book” which is written in by each person who finds the cache and if you find something you should leave something.

Here is yet another snippet from the F.A.Q. section of the official Geo Caching website:

“A cache can come in many forms but the first item should always be the logbook. In its simplest form a cache can be just a logbook and nothing else. The logbook contains information from the founder of the cache and notes from the cache’s visitors. The logbook can contain much valuable, rewarding, and entertaining information. A logbook might contain information about nearby attractions, coordinates to other unpublished caches, and even jokes written by visitors. If you get some information from a logbook you should give some back. At the very least you can leave the date and time you visited the cache…”

How do I Get Started?

Go to GeoCaching.com and sign up, it’s free, but I believe there is a “Premium” upgrade you have the option of taking, which gives you more features, not sure what though.

What if Someone Leaves a Bomb in a Cache?

lol that was my first thought when I initially heard of the game. All I can say is that this is a very popular game, going by the sheer volume of caches that appear all over the world (yeah, it’s everywhere.) Our friend, Rolf, is in Germany and they are all over the place there too. So, I’m guessing it hasn’t been an issue so far and if it does become an issue I’m sure it will be big news lol

I think it sounds like a really fun game (I guess it would be considered a “game”) and I’m looking forward to playing

“Confidence” is one of those words that’s thrown around all the time. I think most people understand that confidence is a good thing, but I don’t believe many people really understand how important it is to be confident in everything you do.

Does the average person really understand just how important it is?

If you’re not confident in what you do for a living, chances are you don’t make much money.

If you’re not confident in managing your own life, chances are you don’t lead a very happy life!

This could be said about just about anything, yet so many people don’t address the issue and do something about it.

The first step toward success is to analyze your life, not just your job, and acknowledge everything that you lack confidence in. Obviously you then need to figure out why the confidence is not there and work on it.

However, the most important thing is to keep working at it and NEVER quit!

I remember several years ago when I first started my online business. I was excited and told friends, family and colleges (I was in the Army at the time.) Some supported me all the way, but many thought it was a joke.

It took me over a year to make any decent money and over 2 to actually make enough to support my family. But now I do well for my family and love my job… I don’t even consider it a job. All because I decided this is what I want to do and I’m GOING TO DO IT, no matter what! I was confident, not because I was extremely knowledgeable, but because I knew I would eventually find success because I would never give up!

photo credit: Haani

I have no idea what provoked this decision, if any, but I told Claudia and we both decided to quit and we did.

I used Commit® lozenges (mints) to help me fight the urge and they actually helped quite a bit, but 6 months later I’m still taking them, although only every once in a while as opposed to a few months ago when I was taking 10 or more per day.

Claudia is stronger… she didn’t use Commit or anything else… she just quit!

Thousands of people have quit smoking in the past, so I don’t think we’re special, but there are thousands more who think they “can’t” stop, so I want to point out a few things that hopefully with help.

1. I was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army… I run my own business… I workout regularly… I could go on. I know a thing or two about self-discipline. If you tell yourself you “can’t” do something you simply won’t do it! The fact is you can do just about anything you want to do, but it’s human nature to doubt yourself, especially when it gets tough.

Most people can quit smoking for a day or two if they REALLY want to, or have to, but most of those same people will cave in after 3 or 4 days because they simply can’t resist the urge… they convince themselves, not even realizing it, that they can’t do it, but they really can!

Go against that and tell yourself you WILL do this, no matter how bad the urge to smoke is, you WON’T smoke another cigarette!

2. Come up with at least 1 powerful reason to quit. This is what you’ll think about when you REALLY want to smoke. Something that triggers emotion is the best (kids) but health should be nearly as important. For Claudia and I it was a combination of our little guy, Aaron and our own health. Money is also a good one, especially if your budget is tight. I know when we quit a carton of Marlboro’s here in Indiana was somewhere around $40.00; that adds up!

3. Replace your smoking routine with something else! This is something I didn’t start doing until several months after quiting, but I think it would have really been helpful back then. The toughest thing for us was forgetting about the “smoke breaks.”

Our smoke breaks were our time to sit outside, relax and talk. Now they’re gone, so it’s tough. It’s important to get your mind off of that and replacing that time with something else is important. For me it’s doing curls with a 25 lbs. barbell. It’s a stress reliever and it’s helping build my muscle at the same time.

Hopefully this will help you quit smoking too, but what it all comes down to is what I stated above (1.) self discipline. You MUST convince yourself that you can do it because if you doubt yourself you’ll never do it!

Good Luck!

Claudia and I feel GREAT after 6 months being smoke free! We go for a run on an almost daily basis and we can actually BREATH deep and feel great! No more coughing, no more money thrown away etc. etc. etc.

About a year ago I started having a dull pain behind my lower, right rib. I wrote it off as gas for several months, but it eventually became extremely annoying, so I decided to look into it.

I asked my sister, Kelly, who is a Registered Nurse and after explaining all of the symptoms etc. she told me it must be my gallbladder.

So, I went to the VA clinic (I have a health insurance plan for Claudia and Aaon, but I just go through the VA ugh) and went through several tests including:
- blood analysis
- 2 x-rays
- ultra sound
- 2 gastroindoscopies

What did the good ol Veterans Affairs doctors tell me? I have a few “micro” gall stones, but nothing serious. They were kind enough to offer surgery to have the gallbladder removed though lol

The VA is known for having substandard doctors and clinics, so the thought of going under the knife at the local VA hospital honestly scared me, even though it is a very basic procedure. So, instead I decided to do some research on Gallbladder flushes, well Claudia did

After looking through several sites, both German and American, the same basic flush kept coming up (below.) All of these sites claimed it was extremely safe and effective in cleansing both the liver and the gallbladder, so I gave it a shot.

After doing the flush I passed HUNDREDS of pea sized gallstones and feel GREAT…it worked!!

Not only is the pain gone, I don’t feel as bloated as I did before after eating… I’m running much better when working out and I just feel better in general!

NONE of the VA doctors even hinted toward a flush like this, yet after doing it, all of the symptoms are gone… pathetic!

Here are a few important notes:

- The flush is supposed to be 100% safe and I tend to believe it! One doctor said it’s “safer than safe.”
- Many people recommend doing this once a year, whether you have gallbladder disease symptoms or not… it’s just good for your digestive track, liver and gallbladder in general! Some even recommend it if you’ve previously had your gallbladder removed, as gallbladder removal normally doesn’t remove all of the stones.
- It typically takes at least 2 flushes, with 2-3 weeks in between, to remove all gallstones, although the first flush will make you feel MUCH better… I know it did for me!
- It’s very important to follow this procedure EXACTLY “to a T.” Every where I found the procedure, it was stressed that the times and procedures were very important… don’t “cut corners” or do your own thing.

The World Famous Gallbladder Flush

What you’ll need:

* 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
* 1 Large GrapeFruit or 3 Lemons
* 4 tablespoon EPSOM salt
* 3 cups water
* 4-8 Ornithin Tablets (optional)

note: You should start with a Friday, Saturday or the day before a day in which you don’t have much going on… you will be having MANY bowel movements the next day and you may be tired, so it’s good to be free of commitment the day after you start the flush!

Don’t take any medications, vitamins, supplements or anything else during the process.

Procedure: Eat a non-fat breakfast and lunch on the day you begin. I ate oatmeal for breakfast and some steamed vegetables and a baked potato, seasoned with salt, for lunch… it was actually pretty good. This causes “bile” to build up and develop pressure in the liver, which will cause more stones to be pushed out later on (very important.) I read stories of people throwing up and feeling like crap when not obeying this first step.

2:00 PM - Don’t eat or drink after 2 P.M. Mix 4 tablespoons Epsom Salt with 3 cups of water and pour it all into a pitcher. This will equal 4 servings (3/4 cup each,) which you’ll be using over the course of the procedure. Put the pitcher in the refrigerator to get it nice and cold (it’s even worse when it’s not cold!) Don’t drink anything yet. I squeezed some lemon juice in with the salt mixture to help with the taste.

6:00 PM - Drink the first serving of the salt water mixture (3/4 cup.) You can drink a couple mouthfuls of water afterwards to get help with the aftertaste. If you REALLY can’t stand the taste, you can skip the next dose of saltwater, but you may not get as many stones… I did both and recommend you do as well.

8:00 PM - Drink your second serving of the salt water mixture (3/4 cup.)

9:45 PM - Mix 1/2 to 3/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit (pulp removed) with EXACTLY 1/2 cup olive oil in a shakable container. Shake vigorously until it’s “watery.” If you have anything you need to do before bed, or feel like going to the toilet AT ALL, go now, because once you drink the olove oil mix, you MUST go to bed immediately for the flush to work properly!

10:00 PM - If you typically have trouble sleeping, take 4-8 ornithin tablets to help you sleep. (I’m in the U.S. and the 2 pharmacists I went to had no idea what it was. I eventually had to order it online.) Now drink the olive oil mixture you mixed while still standing up! Try to get it all down within a minute or two. The quicker the better… and IMMEDIATELY after you’ve drank the last sip lay down and try not to move for at least 20 minutes. If you don’t lie down immediately you may not get nearly as many stones out. After 20 minutes remain in bed, but relax and go to sleep. Don’t get up for at least several hours unless you absolutely MUST. (I got up at 4 a.m. and had a bowel movement, passed some stones and went back to bed… woke up later and passed more… everything was fine)

Morning - As soon as you wake up drink the third dose of your salt mixture (not before 6 a.m. - this was the worst one for me… nearly made me puke.) You can go back to bed after this if you want. Two hours later take the last dose of the salt mixture. By this time I had about 5 bowel movements and ended up having about 15 (yeah, it was bad… but so good,) so I didn’t even take the last dose of salt mix. Whether or not you take the last dose should be determined by the amount of bowel movements you have… your call. If you’re not sure then go ahead and drink the last one.

Every bowel movement you have for the rest of the day (for me anyway) will probably contain gall stones. They are typically bright green in color and the size can vary. I had hundreds and hundreds of tiny stones with 40-50 pea sized stones and a few about twice the size of a pea. Their consistency (for me anyway) was really waxy. Not hard, but not soft.

Congratulations, you’ve just flushed your liver, gallbladder and digestive track without surgery.

You should feel MUCH better now

2 Weeks Later - Repeat to get the rest of the stones out!