While there are lots of ways to injure a back, the sit-up is an easily preventable one. According to his research, a crunch or traditional sit-up generates at least 3,350 newtons (the equivalent of 340 kg) of compressive force on the spine. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that anything above 3,300 newtons is unsafe.
So McGill suggests replacing sit-ups with exercises to strengthen the core while not bending the spine: bridges, planks, leg extensions, bird dogs, and “stir the pot.” The bird dog, for instance, simply involves getting on all fours and, while keeping the core muscles tight, extending the opposite arm and leg, then switching limbs. “Stir the pot” is a more complex movement: moving shoulders in a small circle while in a prone push-up position with forearms balanced on an exercise ball.
Patricia Treble, The man who wants to kill crunches, Macleans.ca, Jan 19th, 2010
No More Crunches For Me
Posted in Opinion
Tagged Abdominal, Ads, back, Back Injuries, Back Pain, Core Strength, Crunches, Exercise, Stomach
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Google Tries for High Ground in China
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.David Drummond, A New Approach to China, Official Google Blog, Jan 12th, 2010
Versatile and Elegant, WordPress, Democratizing Publishing
The combination of the elegant and versatile WordPress and the ground breaking Kubrick made that possible, turning the democratization of publishing from an idealized concept into a concrete reality.
Tina Daunt, “The Secret History of Kubrick, the Blog Theme That Changed the Internet“, Huffington Post, Jan 8th, 2010
Posted in Computing, WordPress
Tagged Kubrick WordPress Theme, Software Design, Software Products, Tina Daunt, WordPress, WordPress Themes
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Adoption Strategies First
In some ways, technology has reshaped the way I approach and solve problems — forcing me to think in terms of adoption strategies first, rather than always trying to find the simplest, cleanest design, because of the disadvantaged position I occupied as a non-coder.
Chris Messina, “Happy birthday to me! I’m joining Google“, Jan 7th, 2010
I think all of us, non-coders or non-non-coders, could benefit by focusing more on solving customers’ problems, and focusing more on how we get our solutions into customers hands.
Oh, and congratulations Chris on the new job!
Posted in Computing, Consuming
Tagged Chris Messina, Google Employee, product development, Production Adoption
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Microsoft Windows First on Mac
The first thing I install when I’m setting up a Mac is Microsoft Windows XP.
I’ll likely never start up Windows again, but I’d like to have it available just in case my need becomes great in this Windoze world. Re-partitioning later could destroy your Mac OS X installation and all your precious data that you have on. Better to get it out of the way right away.
I do a similar thing if setting up a non-Mac desktop or laptop, but there I install Linux Ubuntu, and Windows.
I like to imagine Apple adding to the end of their beautiful Mac setup guide a suggestion to delay playing with your new tool and to install Windows right away. Now that would be awkward.
Or I imagine being able to order from Apple with Windows pre-installed. Makes me laugh, partially because it makes too much sense.
Posted in Computing
Tagged Apple Computers, Bootcamp, Dual-Boot, Linux, Mac OS X, Mac Setup Guide, Microsoft Windows XP, partitioning, Preinstalled, Ubuntu
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Old Toy Trains and New Memories
I”m really feeling the spirit this season. Nothing lightens my mood lately like hearing someone offering a “Merry Christmas”.
At my in-laws’ place on the weekend, they put on Nana Mouskouri’s “Petit Garçon”, and lamented not having the English version “Old Toy Trains”, which they grow up listening to it at Christmas time on a reel-to-reel.
Here are lower quality recorders of both songs.
Nana is a singer who has recorded about 1,500 songs in 15 languages on 450 albums in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling artists and highest selling female artist of all time. Incredible!
Nana Mouskouri’s singing feels familiar, but I can’t recall her being part of my family’s traditions growing up.
It took me a while to find the album with “Old Toy Train” on it. It’s “Christmas with Nana Mouskouri [IMPORT]
These songs are really enchanting. When I hear “old toy trains”, I think of new, but olden style wooden toy trains.
My wife’s mom recently got a used Brio train set for our 19 month old son. He is really enjoying it and continues to say “train” in excitement in his over pronounced way.
My co-worker Ryan, with two young boys of his own, shares in “Kid Gear”
Laying down wooden tracks and pushing wooden trains is favored over all of the electronic gizmos we’ve bought them.
Wooden trains bring back some of my oldest, fondest memories.
Posted in Personal
Tagged Brio, childhood, Christmas, folks singing, memories, Music, Nana Mouskouri, nostalgia, Old Toy Trains, Petit Garçon, rituals, Ryan Boren, thomas the tank engine, traditions, xmas
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Counterfeit Intellectual Property
What’s interesting is that there’s clearly a collateral campaign underway to support ACTA by hammering on the wickedness of counterfeiting – allowing the bait and switch game to be played again. Here’s an example:
Canada trails far behind the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and France by not enacting tougher laws and penalties for selling imported bogus goods, an anti-counterfietting conference heard yesterday.
Lorne Lipkus, of the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network, said a private members’ bill will soon lobby Parliament for expanded copyright laws, seizure rights similar to those that block suspected fake goods entering the U.S., plus heavier sentences for convicted sellers and importers.
The Toronto lawyer and conference organizer estimated Canadian manufacturers lose $20 to $30 billion and thousands of jobs to cheaper knockoffs.
We are warned against “knock-offs”: counterfeit goods are clearly knock-offs, but so, in the minds of the media cartel, are unauthorised copies of copyright material. The difference between counterfeit and copyright has been subtly elided. As a result, the solution demanded for this large-scale counterfeiting of goods – clearly *physical* goods – is “expanded copyright law”.
Glynn Moody, “The Great Digital Bait and Switch“, Dec 3rd 2009
And remember boys and girls, pirates dont’ steal copyrighted ink and bytes, they kill people or work for Disney.
Greatest Teacher
My greatest teacher is my son. He is a year and a half.
The Clear Six Apart Open Web
One of my inspirations Simon Willison, as well as his excellent deep analysis on numerous web development issues, provides pithy links and comments in from “elsewhere” on his blog. I highly recommend subscribing to his feed.
Today, he shared this quote from Anil Dash:
“It’s clear that, even those who are privileged by access and wealth and the ability to amplify their own voices have anticipated that we’ll all be disenfranchised by the private companies that own and control our networks of communication. And yet, most of our effort and ambition in the technology industry are not going towards building for the open web.”
Anil Dash, The Web in Danger, Nov 16th, 2009
Oh, how clear it is. As I commented on Simon’s post:
Anil is a VP at Six Apart.
Why do images on TypePad not have file name extensions?
Why are there no export features for Vox?
I could go on… I’ve emailed Anil Dash personally months ago about each of these issues. As has historically been the case with my interactions with Anil, I’ve only got hand waving back.
Here are the Get Satisfaction threads on those two issues:
This is something that gets me emotional. Even if Six Apart did not compete with us (WordPress/WordPress.com/Automattic) in some spaces, this issue is one of my emotional Achilles’ heels.
For all of their tooting about the open web, not only are Six Apart’s main services not open source projects, but they have long outstanding issues with locking in their customers.
Being able to get your content and data out is the greatest fundamental of the open web!
Update (later the same day): Announced today at Web 2.0 NYC, Anil is no longer employed by Six Apart. He is now Director of Expert Labs. I wish him all the best in his new job trying to effect change on the greatest scale.
Posted in Free Culture, Web
Tagged Anil Dash, datacide, Export, Open Web, Six Apart, TypePad, Vender lock-in, Vox
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