GlibFit 4.0 – Coronavirus Edition XXXI: A Week of Meh

by | Oct 18, 2020 | Fitness, GlibFit | 220 comments

This was my second full week back in the gym. Full may be overstating it. Between work and some personal stuff, midweek went awry so I missed leg day.

The good news is the gym is open and I’m going. I am once again reminded how helpful it is to my mental health. Getting up at 4:30 AM is still a bit of a pain, though not as difficult as it used to be. Walking out of the gym at 6 AM or so I am always reminded how good I feel for having gotten my workout in. I can’t think of a single time I regretted a completed workout.

I was also reminded this week that my home workouts during the pandemic were helpful but not as good as the gym. I substituted the cable pulldowns that were part of this week’s routing for pullups. Four sets with a minute or less of rest between them. I knocked out 8-7-6-4.

I noticed two things about my pullups this week. First, gripping an uncoated, straight metal bar is more challenging than a bar with angled, coated grips. That’s no surprise to anyone. I’m deciding whether to switch bars or stay with this for the challenge. Second, JHTFC my forearms are sore. This I didn’t expect. There is no question my grip strength has improved with my pullups. Why I’m feeling it so much after this last session is a mystery to me.

At home conditioning has paid off and continues to improve. I’m still jumping rope and enjoying it. Session times continue to improve.  I’m still eyeing that crossrope but haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet. Maybe for my birthday.

I was reminded I have strayed from regular ab work. That needs to be reincorporated. My weight continues its slow progressions downward. I’m getting near my intermediate goal. I’ll give you a number when I hit it.

My eating was meh this week. I didn’t do anything crazy. It was just eating out more than I would like and eating a bit of candy one of my daughters brought home. Damn kids.

It is unclear if my gym will be able to stay open beyond this week. My county has over 2.4 million people in it. Here are our Covid numbers. I remain dumbstruck these numbers panic people. Because of a slight rise in reported infections we may revert to the purple tier. That would result in my gym having to close. I hate my governor.

Since you’re still with me, this is my kvetch about wearing a mask in the gym. On some exercises I’m literally sucking the mask into my mouth. By the time I’m done with the set, I drink some water whether I need it or not. I just have to get that mask off my nose and mouth in order to get enough oxygen. I hate my governor.

This week’s music choice.  Remove the last “s” and the title is perfect.  One more. It’s Newsom’s response when asked to explain the state’s current Covid rating system.

 

About The Author

Chafed

Chafed

I'm looking California but feeling Minnesota

220 Comments

  1. DEG

    The good news is the gym is open and I’m going.

    Excellent.

    Since you’re still with me, this is my kvetch about wearing a mask in the gym. On some exercises I’m literally sucking the mask into my mouth. By the time I’m done with the set, I drink some water whether I need it or not. I just have to get that mask off my nose and mouth in order to get enough oxygen. I hate my governor.

    Fuck. I am happy my gym is ignoring the Nashua mask ordinance which requires gym goers to wear masks at all times except when actively exercising. All they ask is that we obey the Clown Prince’s orders to wear a mask while entering and exiting. The percentage of people wearing masks while working out has been fluctuating up and down over the last two weeks.

    The staff I’ve talked to about the updated Nashua mask ordinance say they have no intentions of enforcing the ordinance. The updated ordinance conscripts businesses and business employees into enforcing the ordinance. The staff said, if the city government wants the ordinance enforced, they can send the police in. Oh. There are probably a bunch of city cops working out at this gym, so the city police know the gym is ignoring the ordinance. And the city police do nothing, which I like.

    I deadlifted with a kettlebell earlier this week. I’m up to a 26 lb kettlebell. I wanted to jump up to the next level kettlebell, but the trainer whom I was working with nixed it. “Let’s build up slowly so you don’t re-injure yourself.” I tried the Airdyne bike without any problems.

    I have been shoulder pressing with dumbbels, and am up to 45 lb dumbbells. I don’t like that the trainer is having me do them seated. I’d prefer standing. He thinks it will be easier to keep my back in a good position. I have come to see his point. Yep, it is easier to keep my back in a good place.

    My weight stayed the same this week but the body fat monitor says my body fat levels have dropped slightly.

    Unfortunately, either my allergies are acting up or I’m getting sick. I might not make it to the gym that much this week.

    Music selections are good.

    • Chafed

      I envy your msskless workouts. Good work staying with your program and listening to your trainer. You know staying injury free is the way to go.

      • DEG

        Thanks. I don’t want to go through this disc herniation recovery again.

  2. westernsloper

    I was reminded I have strayed from regular ab work.

    Dood, I had to rake gravel for a landscaping project for three days and every morning after my lower back was killing me. I realize these things with pain but can never get my lazy ass to do crunches. In short, I suck.

    As to Covid numbers, thanks to whoever linked this.

    • ElspethFlashman

      I’m back at it too. *sigh*

    • Nephilium

      I have learned (due to the girlfriend) that my core strength is high. My arm strength on the other hand…

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      When I am well into my routine I like to put abs in as a quasi rest period. I will do an exercise from each body part in my splits for the workout and then throw in some core/abs stuff, kettlebell, planks/Ts, turkis get-ups (personal favorite), crunches etc.

    • westernsloper

      ?

    • Chafed

      Good kob Mojo!

      • Chafed

        Job, kob, whatever

      • Derpetologist

        You were thinking Kolob, weren’t you?

        ***
        Kolob is a star or planet described in the Book of Abraham, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Several Latter Day Saint denominations hold the Book of Abraham to have been translated from an Egyptian papyrus scroll by Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement.
        ***

        So…is it a star or a planet? Damn it, Joe, get your story straight. I’m not sure what turned me off to Mormonism more: sloppy astronomy or crappy music.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcFks_graPQ

        This not brainwashing, this not brainwashing, this not brainwashing…

        Nananana leader! Nananana leader! Leader! Leader! BATMAN!

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        No more than any other religion, and we usually turn out nice people so all in all, it’s not bad.

        But lookit, Christianity 101 is bizarre on its face. I don’t see what’s wrong with taking it a few steps farther.

      • Derpetologist

        Cripes, forgot “is” 3x times up there. Derpish is a zero copula language.

        Homer leader song
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1FxfR3lg6Q

        Even if I believed in god, I wouldn’t go to church. I can read. I don’t need people to explain it to me while I sit silently for hours in a hard pew until my butt falls asleep.

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        FWIW, we aren’t going to church at this time, either and we probably won’t till the current leadership dies off, but thise guys are startlingly long-lived.

      • Derpetologist

        Word of Wisdom strikes again.

        ***
        In 1833, Joseph Smith received a revelation called the Word of Wisdom, now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 89. The revelation is best known today for establishing the widely recognized Latter-day Saint practices of abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, as well as coffee and tea.
        ***

        I don’t see anything in there about motorcycles and base-jumping!

      • Suthenboy

        Like politics every man’s religion is sacred truth to him and every other man’s religion absurd on its face.

    • DEG

      Good!

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Nearly half a pound per day! What aren’t you eating?

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        Carbs. But cheat day yesterday and I paid for it in bowel discomfort aka agonizing pain.

    • Gender Traitor

      w00t! Dancing around the block more? (It IS getting dark earlier, so more “less visible” time.)

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        Naw. Right now I am still in parking-at-the-back-of-the-lot mode.

    • Count Potato

      Go you!

    • hayeksplosives

      Woot! You rock 🙂

    • IRBE

      Congrats Mo but are you sure you are losing the weight the right way! / G-fit contrarian.

      Sorry for that…really, am happy for you. You do you!

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        Well, if I waited for the RIGHT way to lose weight, I wouldn’t.

    • Nephilium

      Great job Mojeaux. I hope it’s something that you can maintain.

  3. IRBE

    HI Chafed! Greetings from NOCal and thanks for the new edition. “Hating your governor is so negative, man. Might I recommend loving him..to death, it is much more positive, babe”. –Sgt. Oddball

    Well, it finally happened. The Vid..errr lock-down got me. Donned the old hiking shorts and they were a bit snug. Hopped on the scale for a dry weight. 4# gain…with excess flab as validation. Seems the decrease in hiking mileage (20%) and lack of eating window discipline tripped something in the old metabolism in the wrong direction. I haven’t really changed my diet (thai food last nite..not on diet but damn good).

    Still doing the Wim Hoff. Doing more cold water stress. Still getting positive feedback from it >> Sleeping great, greater waking flexibility/less soreness, more relaxed, and outlook is positive. Down side, I read that one of the effects of Wim Hoff method is some moderate weight gain..probably brown fat..Ha!

    Anyway to deal with the weight gain, I am going to do a 48hr fast. Starting today at 4pm PDST and ending Tues 4pm. Just a cuppa coffee in the morning and salt water. Hopefully, that will switch over my metabolism and help me reset some discipline.

    I did read something of interest related to sleep. It seems as if side sleeping may be better than sleeping on your back. According to the article, sleeping on your side allows for better lymphatic drainage of the brain ( in rats and mice), which clears the brain of undesirable waste proteins. The supposition is that there is some correlation between these undesirable proteins and occurrence of dementia. Joe must be sleeping on his back. As a side sleeper, “..and I got that going for me, too!~”

    Have a great week. Skip a meal or 3.

  4. westernsloper

    Getting up at 4:30 AM is still a bit of a pain

    I can relate. I get up at 0330.

    • Chafed

      I salute you.

  5. Derpetologist

    I bench pressed 185 pounds today – my best in over 6 years. I try to set a new best with each work out for the exercises I do – bench press, squat, dead lift, super arnolds, 2 hand dumbbell lift, and clean and jerk.

    Diet is mostly on point – 2 cups of lo carb yogurt (30 g protein), tuna pack (15 g protein), Kickstart e drink (b and c vitamins), whole grain cereal (iron). Adds up to about 600 calories. I try to stay under 2000 everyday and do at least 400 calories of exercise.

    a few fun facts

    Dysprosium is a chemical element whose name means “hard to get stuff” in Greek. So unobtanium basically.

    relevant GlibFit fact

    ***
    Largest ever documented weight loss, of 419 kg (924 lb; 66 st), until Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari surpassed the record in 2017. In November 2017, Al Arabiya reported that he had lost 542 kg (1,195 lb; 85 st 5 lb) and now weighed 68 kg (150 lb; 10.7 st).
    ***

    Penrose found a infinite pattern that never repeats that can be made with 2 kinds of rhombuses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48sCx-wBs34

    Huge deep sea shark rises from sand and checks out submarine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy_26C-2gSs

    I read today that English Wikipedia has 3.6 billion words. At 200 words per minute, it would take me 38 years to read it all. I weep for the facts I will never know. Alas, I have only managed to read about 5 million words from Wikipedia. For comparison, War and Peace is about 600k words. The King James Bible is 783k words. The complete works of Shakespeare clocks in at 884k words. The longest novel in English is A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight (2.4 million words). That’s 500k more than all the Game of Thrones novels combined. It was written by a British fascist who was disillusioned by his experience in WW1. Stephen King has written about 14 million words in his books.

      • Derpetologist

        Wow. Your competition by the numbers:

        ***
        Danielle Steel, 27 novels, 105 weeks. Average length: 98,024 words. John Grisham, 23 novels, 117 weeks. Average length: 108,214 words.
        ***

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        That’s just what’s published and it took me 13 years to do it.

      • Ted S.

        And 1,729,999 of them are “cunte”. 😉

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        Please be so kind as to add the ™ after “cunte”™.

    • Chafed

      That’s great Derpe! Congratulations on your personal best.

  6. UnCivilServant

    I don’t know what the rate was because I stopped measuring, but I find myself looking for my smaller belt. Yes, I could modify the fat belt, but I already own a shorter one, so I’d rather find it.

    • Tulip

      Congratulations

      • UnCivilServant

        Thank you, but it was not active effort.

      • Gender Traitor

        Losing inches? With no active effort? Happy for you, but…

        ::goes on Bluth walk::

      • Chafed

        UCS do you take pride in any physical accomplishment? That’s a genuine question, not snark. You seem to diminish the importance of your accomplishments.

      • UnCivilServant

        It depends whether or not I was trying. I don’t see it as an accomplishment if it happens by happenstance.

    • DEG

      Congratulations.

  7. westernsloper

    Glibfit ocean girl.

    • Ted S.

      Not an Eric Carmen song?

  8. EvilSheldon

    The only exercise I’ve been doing lately is the shooter’s elbow remediation that Chad Reilly recommends. Curls, wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and skull crushers.

    Positives – it really works amazingly well for treating elbow and forearm pain.
    Negatives – it’s fucking useless for actually keeping in shape.

    Now that it’s cooled off a little, I could probably stand to do a little more walking. In fact…

    • Count Potato

      “skull crushers”

      Sounds painful.

      • DEG

        It is if you drop the weight.

      • EvilSheldon

        Not for very long, though.

      • DEG

        The pain is brief but the squish is forever.

    • EvilSheldon

      90-minute walk with an extra fifteen pounds in the pack. Much better.

  9. Derpetologist

    My latest satire premieres this week. In the meantime, some humor theory: the easiest joke technique is repetition. Almost every Simpsons episode has a joke of this type:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR8avFT6nDM

    The other simple joke type is list-making, which is just a variant of repetition. Almost every Simpsons episode has one of those too:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rdL5pKvsss

    The other basic joke types are puns, exaggeration, and understatement. There’s also shaggy dog and Russian reversal, but those are a lot less common.

    • Suthenboy

      Now do jokes in other cultures.

      *Jokes rarely work across cultures that speak different languages

      • Derpetologist

        Eh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Puns, yeah. But consider this North Korean joke:

        ***
        -Mom, I don’t wanna go to school. I got 2 reasons: 1, all the teachers hate me and 2, all the kids hate me.

        -And here’s 2 reasons you should go to school: 1, you’re 42 and 2, you’re the principal.
        ***

        Reagan tells jokes from the USSR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wPKt5W8I5Y

      • Suthenboy

        The essence of a joke is to lead someone down a logical path and when you reveal the destination (punch line) it is unexpected and the listener realizes the path was not the one they thought it was.

        Now that you give those examples I will say certain cultures. Their logic is different.

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        Since Derpy mentioned shaggy dog stories …

        I wrote one for my penultimate creative writing prof. He LOVED it and used it as an example for the class.

        My last creative writing teacher was from India with an accent thicker than molasses and his specialty was English poetry. Well, this was a short story class. In an effort to be efficient, I turned in the same stories for him as I did for previous class.

        He hated that story. He didn’t understand the point. Never heard of a shaggy dog story.

        He didn’t like anything I wrote though and he and I had to have a come-to-Jesus meeting about it.

        So I always thought he was one of those pretentious profs who didn’t like anything other than middle-aged male midlife crisis fiction, but maybe he was also out of his depth with the English language.

      • Derpetologist

        My bad. Link is to humor writing by Terrible Writing Advice.

      • Mojeaux the Malevolent

        Writing humor is amazingly difficult. Tina Fey is a goddess.

      • Derpetologist

        Funniest book by a woman I read was by former SNL writer Patricia Marx. The book is: Him, Her, Him Again, the End of Him.

        There’s a list joke on almost every page. Monty Python was a big fan of the list joke too:

        What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvPbj9NX0zc

      • Derpetologist

        I heard a joke in Swahili that translates well:

        A guy is tailgating. The car in front stops suddenly and gets rear-ended. Both drivers get out and start yelling at each other. The one who got hit says “why weren’t you looking where you were going?” The other one says “why weren’t *you* going where you were looking?”

        It’s not necessarily logic. It’s the surprise ending – whether that comes from a word with more than one meaning or a situation that ends opposite from expectations.

      • Nephilium

        So there’s a sci-fi story that talks about the origin of humor. The story is that everyone remembers hearing a joke and telling it again, but no one remembers where the joke came from. It turns out it was aliens (of course) who were using humor to study us. Once we learn that, there are no new jokes.

      • Derpetologist

        Asimov’s Treasury of Humor is pretty good. He also wrote a collection of sci-fi mysteries, including a time travel tale similar to the one our Animal wrote. In the Asimov story, it’s a bitter, abusive husband and a long-suffering wife.

        ***
        “Obituary”
        by Isaac Asimov
        First publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Aug 1959

        The wife of Lancelot Stebbins (not his real name) tells of the difficulties of being married to a man who is obsessively driven to find fame as a physicist, even to the point of worrying about what his obituary will say—but perhaps time travel can put that worry to rest.

        “At any rate, he turned full on me. His lean body shook and his dark eyebrows pulled down over his deep-set eyes as he shrieked at me in a falsetto, “But I’ll never read my obituary. I’ll be deprived even of that.”
        ***

      • Derpetologist

        Yakov Smirnov’s jokes all used to be in Russian and he adapted them into English without much trouble. Humor can be translated just as poetry can.

      • hayeksplosives

        Puns don’t generally do well with translation, but other types do just fine.

  10. Derpetologist

    Has this made the rounds yet?

    Twitter refuses to unlock New York Post account unless Hunter Biden posts deleted
    https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/twitter-has-refused-to-unlock-new-york-posts-account

    Palin’s hacked emails were widely reported for some strange reason. Heads I win, Tails you lose. Palin forgive the perp.

    ***
    MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A relative says a man who hacked the personal email account of former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin in 2008 has died.

    Mike Kernell said on his Facebook page that his son David Kernell has died. In a statement obtained by The Commercial Appeal , the family says David Kernell was 30 when he died last week in California of complications related to progressive multiple sclerosis.

    Kernell was attending the University of Tennessee when he guessed security answers to enter Palin’s Yahoo account. He changed the password and then posted the new password, family photographs and some emails online.

    Kernell served 10 months in prison for obstruction of justice after destroying evidence from his computer.

    Palin expressed condolences on her Facebook page, saying the “2008 incident does not define David.”
    ***

      • Suthenboy

        That is some creepy shit. Am I going to jail just for clicking on that link?

      • Count Potato

        No, but there are accounts like the ones she is quoting all over Twitter, and Twitter does nothing.

      • Derpetologist

        Once bestiality, necrophilia, incest, and pedophilia are legalized, the only taboo left is rape.

        RAWR! STEVE SMITH MARCH FOR RAPE RIGHTS MOVEMENT! AND BY MARCH, MEAN…

        attack ads from 1800 – one of the best videos from the old place

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zTN4BXvYI

    • hayeksplosives

      That just shows what a bigoted Christian Palin is.

      Or something.

      • Chafed

        Exactly

        /DNC

    • Count Potato

      “Leaving all the corruption questions to the side, why was Biden — elected to serve the Americans as Vice President — so active in trying to dictate the internal affairs of Ukraine, to the point of demanding the firing of the chief prosecutor? Why does the US try to rule everyone?”

      https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1317879172765786112

      • Fourscore

        Follow the money, everyone has a price, sometimes we just don’t what it is.

  11. Count Potato

    The Giants finally won a game. Washington was stupid going for 2 points rather than kick for overtime, but still.

    • hayeksplosives

      I thought the same thing. It takes a sure-thing play in just the right circumstances to gamble that 1 bird in the hand for 2 in the bush.

      When they went for 2, I knew they wouldn’t get it; none of their plays had looked tight enough to make me believe they could punch in a 2 point conversion.

      • juris imprudent

        Of course if they lose more than the Jets they win the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.

      • Rhywun

        if they lose more than the Jets

        I don’t think that’s possible.

  12. Count Potato

    I wonder why there aren’t more Latinos in the NFL. American football is popular in Mexico, and there are some big Mexicans.

  13. Nephilium

    Never skip leg day.

    /got several bruises at Cedar Point yesterday since my legs were thicker then the usual riders, with a lot less slack.

    • Ted S.

      Shouldn’t that be the Sox of Color?

  14. hayeksplosives

    Jean-Claude Van Johnson was the most enjoyable show I’ve seen in a while.

    6 episodes of goofy retro self-parody. My husband attests that mind altering chemicals enhance the experience.

    Recommended.

    • Chafed

      Who is broadcasting it?

      • hayeksplosives

        Amazon Prime.

    • Gustave Lytton

      I wish they had done more.

      Along with JCVD and his capacity for self depreciation and good natures parody, I have a greater appreciation for Jean Claude over so many others in movieland. Dolph Lundgren I already knew was a mental giant.

  15. Count Potato

    “Anna Makanju, @Facebook’s public policy and legal expert leading efforts to ensure election integrity, was @JoeBiden’s senior policy advisor for Ukraine. She should recuse herself from the @nypost stories.”

    https://twitter.com/FOOL_NELSON/status/1317141307391942657

    • Count Potato

      “Well what if I told you a Policy Director at Facebook was Nancy Pelosi’s Chief of Staff before taking said job directing policy at Facebook? What if I told you the head of algorithm policy at Facebook worked for Hillary at The State Department? Or that the Head of Content Policy worked for the Hillary presidential campaign? What if I told you the person in charge of privacy policy at Facebook used to work for Al Franken, before he worked for Senator Bonoff, before he worked for Congressman Oberstar? Or that the Director in charge of “countering hate and extremism” at Facebook came from the Clinton Foundation? Did you know that the person at Facebook who currently “oversees programs on countering hate speech and promoting pluralism”, and “develops internal third party education and drives thought leadership on hate speech and content moderation” was one of Obama’s policy advisers at The White House?”

      https://www.spinquark.com/welcome-to-social-government/

      • Suthenboy

        Last night Mrs. Suthenboy turned on a Trump rally.

        Trump said that he doesnt do fundraising from big donors but Biden does. “Do you think that money comes for nothing? No, it comes in return for promises”
        They cant buy him, thus OMB.

        I understand the Trump hate from the establishment. They are corrupt and rotten to the core. Everything is about one hand washing another and Trump threatens to upset that. Couple that with his threat to end the ME wars and I can see why they hate him so much.
        About 3/4 of the establishment needs to be in prison and the wars need to end.

      • Count Potato

        Trump’s base definitely has more enthusiasm. But a large part of the establishment’s corruption and how they hold their power is controlling both the mainstream and social media. Many of the people who helped Trump win in 2016 have since been banned and cancelled.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        The left owns the media, big tech, and most corporate boardrooms. They own the education system. They own most fedgov bureaus. They own the non-profit ecosystem. They own NGOs. They own state bar associations. They own licensing institutions. They own the unions.

        Wanna beat back the left? You either need a time machine or an army. Nothing else will work.

      • hayeksplosives

        I picked the wrong decade to quit drinking.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        How frequent are your urinalyses, anyway?

        /jk, don’t answer…

      • Count Potato

        “Nothing else will work.”

        Eventually, they always beat themselves, but I don’t want to have to live through it or die waiting.

      • juris imprudent

        This is also the difference between Trump’s base and the Republican establishment (which is completely comfortable as the “we’re not quite as bad as the Dems” opposition party).

    • Suthenboy

      Why, that description doesn’t sound Orwellian at all.

    • hayeksplosives

      Anna Makanju, @Facebook’s public policy and legal expert leading efforts to ensure election integrity Political officer

  16. Nephilium

    So. After the Browns shit the bed against the Stillers today the real take away was one of the commercials. Both me and a friend were trying to figure out why a local bar (and jazz bar) recorded a commercial that was pro-Biden. Specifically saying that he would re-open the country.

    • DEG

      I have an idea why.

      “He only beats us because he is angry.”

      He will stop being angry if you vote for Biden.

      • Nephilium

        Our guess was that he got paid well for shooting it. It’s a Cleveland landmark, and will probably lose about 25% of its business moving forward.

      • DEG

        How long can he survive on that loss?

      • Nephilium

        Honestly? They were probably already on their way out. FFS, we couldn’t keep the original Wilbert’s or Bop Stop open back when there was full occupancy. If this gives him another six months, good for him. I just hop he realizes what all he sold to make that commercial.

      • Rhywun

        On top of the 75% he lost due to Trump’s shutting down the economy. That’s gotta be rough on him.

      • Nephilium

        While I’m sure there are some out there, I have yet to meet a single Republican voter who’s happy with DeWine.

      • DEG

        Better than NH.

        I had a chat earlier today with the woman whose state rep campaign I’m giving a bit of help to.

        She has been out knocking on doors and talking to people in town. She has lost count of how many people have said that the Clown Prince has done an amazing job.

        The town leans Republican.

      • Rhywun

        He’s no Luv Guv, though.

    • leon

      Joe “I’ll shut the whole damn country down” down?

  17. Derpetologist

    NPR listeners – asking the smart questions
    https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/10/16/924665201/coronavirus-faqs-open-windows-in-winter-holding-your-breath-mask-enhancements

    ***
    I live in a cold (North Dakota) climate and will very soon have to give up outdoor socializing. If I want to try indoor socializing, it’ll be too cold to keep windows wide open for a long stretch. Would it help to open a window or door for a minute or two every so often?

    Would spraying some kind of oil — like WD-40 or a silicone or lube-type spray — on the outside of my mask help trap viral particles better?

    Does holding your breath while walking by an unmasked (or masked) person help reduce the odds of transmission?
    ***

    I find that listening to Spanish Flea on a loop makes my derp hunting more placid. Don’t know why.

    • Fourscore

      “Would spraying some kind of oil — like WD-40 or a silicone or lube-type spray — on the outside of my mask help trap viral particles better?”

      Flex seal, son, the viral particles will ricochet off.

      • limey

        Also use it to permanently seal the mask to your face.

    • limey

      +1 Homer’s lyrics version

      • Derpetologist

        youtube comment gold

        ***
        There was a little Spanish flea
        A record star he thought he’d be
        He’d heard of singers like Beatles
        The Chipmunks he’d seen on TV
        Why not a little Spanish flea?

        And so he hid
        Inside a doggie from Madrid
        Arriving here in the city
        Still singin his sweet harmony
        As brave as any flea could be

        He walked around
        As if he owned the town
        Humming his pint sized melody
        With his guitar he knew he’d be a star
        And in his old home town, how proud they’d be

        Then all at once he met a man
        Who said, “I’ll help you if I can”
        He listened first to his song
        And then sang right along for you see
        He loved the little Spanish flea

        You’ll be the rage
        I’ll put you on the stage
        In costumes like you’ve never worn
        While at a glance
        He knew this was his chance
        Yes all at once a Spanish star was born

        For when the people heard him play,
        They all began to shout “OLE!”
        He was the pride of the nation,
        A singing sensation was he
        Though he was just a Spanish flea!
        ***

    • Count Potato

      “Does holding your breath while walking by an unmasked (or masked) person help reduce the odds of transmission?”

      That probably does work.

  18. Rhywun

    Biden droppin’ the Beastie Boy beats in his latest commercial LOLOLOL

    Some hipster-looking dude bitching about how Trump destroyed his business and his only hope is Biden.

  19. Derpetologist

    suggested music: They’re Coming to Take Me Away Ha Ha

    ***
    Kirsten Small, an Australian professor at Griffith University, according to American Web Media, is asking the World Heath Organization to change the name of body parts she thinks are “irrelevant and misogynistic.” Small argues that since some body parts are not gender or sex-specific, their names should be changed in order to reflect the entire population, not just those who are male.

    In an interview with The Courier-Mail, she said, “We have a personal choice to decolonize our language, and these historical terms will fade out.”

    Small teaches anatomy at Griffith University in Australia, running a practice as an obstetrician and gynecologist.

    She teaches her students both the traditional “dead man’s name” and alternative names.

    Through this, Small hopes to change the vocabulary of future doctors.
    ***

    https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15920

    • Count Potato

      Decolonize our language? When was England colonized?

      • Gender Traitor

        1066?

      • Caput Lupinum

        The viking raids, the Norman conquest, the Anglic and Saxon invasion, the Roman invasion, and the arrival of the Celts, plus the earlier people lost to history.

        It has been several centuries since the last time England was colonized, but it has happened.

      • Rhywun

        It is in fact the reason the English language is such a mongrel, more so than other languages in its “family” like German.

      • Caput Lupinum

        In grammatical terms, yes, though we can’t blame English spelling on the jumbled mishmash of languages English formed from. I do enjoy some of our grammatical oddness though, Old English’s gender and case systems make modern German look like child’s play in comparison. The haphazard move from a highly inflected language to an isolating one makes for some odd grammar, but I can’t imagine the depths of stupidity that could be reached with language policing if we hadn’t made that switch.

      • Count Potato

        Were they ever an actually colony? Anyway they didn’t speak “English” then.

      • Caput Lupinum

        The Celts, Angles, Saxons, and Normans went native pretty quickly so you could argue whether those counted as colonies, but the Viking and Roman occupations were pretty standard colonization.

  20. R C Dean

    JFC. Fed Ex just dropped off an 80 lb slam ball.

    https://www.roguefitness.com/catalogsearch/result?q=slam

    Mrs. Dean has me learning barbell form in our garage (she’s a personal trainer, certified in blah blah; she’s good at this). Starting with deadlifts, hang cleans, some kettlebell. Rowing warmups. Seems to be squat focused so far.

    I’m old and weak and doughy. We’ll see if I’m mean enough to get out of this hole.

    • limey

      Seems to be squat focused so far.

      She’s firming up your buns? I like a woman with her priorities in order.

      • Ted S.

        Her anaconda don’t want none unless he’s got buns hon.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Seems to be squat focused so far.

      Mrs Dean is directing your workout to her benefit.

    • Nephilium

      I mean this in the best possible way.

      I hope your wife beats you into shape. 🙂

      • Count Potato

        I’m going to need pics of her outfit.

    • IRBE

      Hey RCD! I saw your Q about leaving Cali…Yeah, it is all but inevitable for me; my wife not so much (native). But the profound idiocracy here is making my case so much easier. I am intrigued about Boquete Panama as an ex pat destination. I think moving btw there and David (or both) would provide satisfactory weather and scenery for much of the year. Seems like Panama is courting…

      I am planning a trip in Feb/Mar time, provided the ‘rona restrictions are lifted. Any advice.

      • R C Dean

        Not really any advice.

        Make a Glibs post about it!

  21. Sensei

    I’d suggest she must be posting here, but this was in the NYT where no self respecting glib would be publishing.

    He Married a Sociopath: Me

  22. Gustave Lytton

    I just have to get that mask off my nose and mouth in order to get enough oxygen. I hate my governor.

    Make lemonade. You don’t have to move to Colorado Springs for Olympic class training.

    • hayeksplosives

      I was having a little stirring up of asthma trouble, not too bad I thought, until I got to the top of the stairs at work with my mask practically inside my mouth.

      That little bit was enough to push me over to real struggles breathing. I stayed home a few days so I could go maskless until my lungs were good.

      Let’s not pretend those masks aren’t hurting anyone, even those without asthma.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Judging from Lockdown Sceptics, England has a much broader health exemption than most of the US on masks, despite seeming generally worse on liberties. Throw a home-printed form excuse on a lanyard and Bob’s your uncle.

  23. hayeksplosives

    Middle Eastern Woman’s Casting as Middle Eastern Woman Sparks Outrage

    The casting of Gadot, lamented Hanna Flint in The Guardian, is “a backward step for Hollywood representation,” one that “perpetuates a white standard of foreignness.”

    Yet far from celebrating this milestone, critics blasted it as an instance of Hollywood “whitewashing” history, and expressed outrage at the prospect of Cleopatra being played by an Israeli actress.

    The notion that dramatic roles must go only to actors who check the same demographic box as the people they portray may line up with progressive identity politics, but it flies in the face of what acting is.

    https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/18/opinion/egyptian-queen-israeli-actress/

    • limey

      oH No!11 oNe Of (((THEM))) iS plaYiNg aN AFRIKAN KWEEN???1111

      *faints*

      • UnCivilServant

        You mean a Greek Macedonian queen?

      • limey

        Well, yeah, but facts are problematic, or something.

    • Drake

      She’s probably darker than the actual Cleopatra – who was Macedonian.

      • hayeksplosives

        The article says scholars think she might have been 3/4 Greek/Macedonian and 1/4 Copt, the Native Egyptian “race.”

        Article does a good job pointing out the history, including that the Arabs didn’t take over Egypt until 700 yrs after Cleopatra’s death.

        Amazed it’s the Boston Globe.

      • UnCivilServant

        While I saw the “We don’t have records on who her mother was” but it looks like the author doesn’t want to recognize the fact that the Ptolemy family tree doesn’t branch.

      • Rhywun

        But leave all that aside. Assume for the sake of argument that Cleopatra and Gadot are from two wholly different racial/ethnic categories. Why should that matter?

        A-MEN

        So, so tired of this nonsense.

      • Gadfly

        And highly inbred. So really, for accuracy’s sake she should be played by an ugly white woman.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      She was almost certainly white and not even the North African version of white. The Ptolemys were northern Greeks and they continued the Egyptian royal practice of marrying their siblings, she might have been downright glow in the dark white.

      • Drake

        And completely fucking nuts from the inbreeding.

      • hayeksplosives

        No, no—that was just Elizabeth Taylor.

      • hayeksplosives

        THAT IS JUST LIES PERPETUATED BY THE WHITE DEBIL TO DENY AFRICAN SUPREMACY!!

        CLEOPATRA WORE CORNROWS AND LONG PAINTED FINGERNAILS!! SHE WORKED AT THE CAIRO DMV!

  24. Drake

    My asshole Governor thinks I should wear a mask too. I disagree, so does everyone else at my gym so we don’t. The first time I tried to do an overhead press wearing a mask I nearly passed out. I can’t even imagine trying to do cardio while trying to breath through cloth.

  25. Derpetologist

    a new low for the NYT

    How The Babylon Bee, a Right-Wing Satire Site, Capitalizes on Confusion
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/technology/babylon-bee.html

    ***
    What media scholar Brian Rosenwald told me is that the humor always has to come before the politics.

    So this is a blog about distortions and misinformation, and one thing I’ve noticed recently is that a lot of The Babylon Bee’s most successful articles in terms of online engagement are the ones that are … less obviously satirical.

    Totally. And that’s landed them in some hot water.

    Like, one from the other day was called “NBA Players Wear Special Lace Collars to Honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

    People were sharing that thinking it was real.
    ***

    clutch those pearls, you vermin

    • leon

      And people share onion articles thinking they are real. But since the Onion is owned by HIllary puppets, its ok.

    • Rhywun

      Capitalizes on Confusion

      OFFS.

      The NYT readership gave up on the concept of “humor” a couple decades ago.

      • hayeksplosives

        Ok, what you said, and with fewer typos than I managed.

    • hayeksplosives

      IFFS.

      They’re just jealous because they have no sense of humor or joy and wonder what it’s like.

      • limey

        Plus, bad faith assumptions about people sharing the article, without enough context or understanding of how those people engage with social media to really know whether they “think it’s real” or not. However, in The Narrative, these people are wrong and bad and therefore they must be stupid and evil or both.

    • limey

      Heavy, heavy derp. Didn’t there used to be an entire, very popular website dedicated to people who thought The Onion was real? Let’s just ignore those. It’s only bad when it’s right wing, never mind the fact that the number of people derpy enough to think it’s real is infinitesimally insignificant, and who appear to be mostly lefties who have no concept of satire.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        same playbook as always…

        right leaning thing gets cultural traction. Lefties come out of the woodwork to decry it as harmful/evil/ineffective/whatever.

      • limey

        I like your succinct approach. I use too many words. I need to acquire some artful brevity.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        “I didn’t have time to write you a shorter letter.”

      • juris imprudent

        Writing you a shorter letter is less billable time.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Satire and parody that doesn’t resemble reality isn’t satire and parody. Get fucked NYT, you mendacious bastards.

    • leon

      This is NYT of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” fame.

      They don’t care about people believing or sharing flashoods. What they are mad about is that they are not the sole arbiters of “the Truth”

    • juris imprudent

      NYT gives Babylon Bee the Streisand treatment. Well done you knaves.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Whycome our reality is resembling satire? Dig up Jonathan Swift and burn him at the stake! /NYT

  26. Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

    I put on about 5 pounds yesterday due to our Oktoberfest celebration. Hopefully I can shed that weight before I do my century ride next weekend.

    • IRBE

      I did a paved trail yesterday in the EB. I have never seen so many cyclist. There were at least 30 groups of 5 or more. Sublime weather for a ride along the water which had a hint of coolness from a lite breeze. Best weather of the year.

    • westernsloper

      Century ride? *tips glass* good on ya.

      • But Enough About My Wild Culinary Fantasies

        I’ma gonna do one of those. Across Belgium. With a brewery (preferably abbey-based) at the end of each day.

        Assuming, of course, our slide into global fascism doesn’t continue to its logical conclusion.

      • DEG

        Across Belgium. With a brewery (preferably abbey-based) at the end of each day.

        YES!

      • EvilSheldon

        I read an article a while back, about a marathon in the south of France that’s sponsored by a bunch of wineries and cheese makers. Every mile or so, you run through a checkpoint and get samples of wine, brandy, cheese, pate, steak bites, ice cream…the list goes on. It sounded absolutely wonderful, even allowing for the running.

      • But Enough About My Wild Culinary Fantasies

        One of our Canadian foodies (Bob Blumer) had several TV shows for awhile, one of which (Glutton for Punishment) had an episode wherein he ran that exact marathon. If memory serves, he was in pretty rough shape by the end of it, ’cause he kept trying to take it a little more seriously than most of the locals. Which was odd, ’cause in most everything else, he wasn’t that serious of a guy.

      • Nephilium

        You mean something like the Tour de Donut? Where it’s a race that takes time off for every donut you eat before doing a long ride?

      • Nephilium

        At the end of each day? A century is a 100 mile ride in a day.

        /has the metric century sticker on his car

    • DEG

      I’m skeptical it will amount to much.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Maybe not, depends on how big it is I suppose. I suspect they’ve been holding back the bigger stuff for later release though and hopefully they haven’t blown their wad with the initial stuff. If that’s the case you’re definitely correct.

      • Drake

        I would agree unless the active pedo angle is true. That’s so juicy the mainstream won’t be able resist – then the who bribery scheme comes out too.

        And Biden reacts really poorly when confronted – he gets nasty and insulting. Look for him to absolutely melt down.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Last debate still scheduled for 22nd?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Looks like it.

    • LJW

      I’m not sure how strategic this holding off emails is. Sounds pretty dumb to me. The closer they get to election day the less likely they are to change votes. Especially with mail in voting.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Release them early enough where not too many votes are in and late enough so people can’t forget it in the noise of the election before they vote. It’s a balancing act and the news cycle has gotten ridiculously short.

  27. Lackadaisical

    They make you workout with a mask on?

    That’s a hard no for me. Maybe good for simulating high altitude?

  28. But Enough About My Wild Culinary Fantasies

    Nephilium wrote up-article:

    I hope your wife beats you into shape.

    “To dreaammmmm, the impossible dreaaammmm . . . “   ;-)

    • Nephilium

      Again! Meant in the best possible meaning!

      The girlfriend gets upset when I consider a five mile walk easy, and a 10 mile bike ride a warm up.

    • R C Dean

      Paging Creosote Achilles . . . .

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Orange County is still purple-y.

      Armenian enthusiasm! ??

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      PS. Landscape orientation, lass!

      I can’t imagine how tired I would get of constantly hearing “God Bless the USA”. I think I went the whole Bush the Younger administration without ever having heard that song.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        That song‘s enough to drive me to the Biden camp. I freaking hate it.

      • dbleagle

        I hate that song too. For years it was at every military event, I could not escape it. For a counterpoint I included “The Liberty Bell March” whenever I had a say. (aka Monty Python’s Flying Circus theme)

        But driving me to vote for the biden/HARRIS ticket? Nope. Every time I see them the Soviet Anthem or Floyd George (Horst Wessel) Lied come to mind.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Link won’t work. Is it Lee Greenwood?

  29. Sean

    GF made roast pork this afternoon. The house smells fantastic.

  30. Sean

    Just tossed the strips on the grill. ?

    • Count Potato

      Just curious, do you ever eat anything besides beef?

      • Sean

        I eat pork products and chicken too.

        I grilled 4 pork chops just before dinner to have during the week.

  31. dbleagle

    Heading out for a sail soon. TB is putting a beat down on the Packers. GB must have been reading their press clippings again.

    But to give credit where it is due, Brady and Gronk still have chemistry.

  32. SP

    If you’re keeping track, I’m now on Day 77 of 100% plant-based with no steps off the straight and narrow.

    After mixed good and annoying news at one of several cardiology appointments this week, I will definitely be staying with it as my primary mode of eating after the 100 days are up. I’m thinking there might be one carefully-planned dinner a month with my beloved cheese/cream/eggs/butter, but it looks like I’ll be missing bacon and sauerbraten forever.

    (Sorry for the late check-in, Chafed. Thanks for keeping this going!)

    • Tundra

      Good news. Out of curiosity, how are you supplementing?

      • SP

        I take many supplements: a high potency B-Complex, of course; Vitamin D3; magnesium citrate and potassium chloride; zinc citrate; and a good food-sourced multi.

        I am especially careful with the B and the magnesium and potassium. A new med I am now taking depletes stores of both, so I’m glad I’ve been taking them all along.

        I guess I should have also added, that while I am now on a new med, I was able to get rid of one completely.

      • Tundra

        Nice!

        I take the D3/K2 mix. You are probably sun-lucky, though.

        None of my business of course, but maybe check your iron next time. Chicks are typically low.

        Congrats on dropping a med! My new goal is to present a giant ‘fuck you’ to the establishment medical profession.

        Looking forward to the 100 day summary!

  33. Tundra

    So late, but thanks, dude.

    I am once again reminded how helpful it is to my mental health.

    This.

    I was also reminded this week that my home workouts during the pandemic were helpful but not as good as the gym.

    This x 1000.

    Both musical choices are sublime, but you know which one I dig more!