Tips-o-the-day

This post comes from Arthur Agatston, M.D., a cardiologist who's writing about last weekend's Chicago marathon and the guy who died from it. Though the man had a heart condition, this doc thinks the weather conditions (unusually hot and humid) were the culprit.
Agatston offers tips in exercising in the heat.
Anyone want to weigh in?

Grief

"I wonder if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night."
--The Kite Runner

Heard this beautiful quote the other day. Though it's from a different context, I think of friends who have lost loved ones--unexpectedly--in the past few days. Two friends, who are parents, had their baby girl delivered stillborn over the weekend. Another friend, after hearing of the death of his mother (which was more timely, given her age), received news that his brother died just hours later while jogging. So our friend is going to Texas first to deal with his brother's family, and funeral, then on to St. Louis to attend his mom's.
Grief has no rules. It hits us all at one time or other. It's not just death that brings grief, of course, but these sudden ones are on my mind. Grief has its own time. Years ago, a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay brought comfort to me. It begins: "Time does not bring relief: you all have lied." (from "Soliloquy"). This offers sustenance to those of us who think grief has an end. Not really. Life may go on in expected ways--doing laundry, running errands, perhaps remarrying after the death of a spouse--but there will always be pain. (While I do think there are healthy ways to grieve, in order to move on, I'm also not a fan of the concept of "closure." If you loved someone, that person will always be part of you.)
So to those of us who grieve: Take your time. Be patient. Cry. You don't have to meet a deadline in this.
Internet, what has helped you at such times?

"In all my years ..."

I have never seen someone exercising on a unicycle. But I did today, on our Riverwalk. By the time I got to roughly the 8-mile mark, I met up with this group of cyclists from Alabama; and they told me they'd met a woman on a unicycle who'd ridden 15 miles already. A few minutes later, she came by and was headed back toward town, another 8 miles. I'm thinking, If you exercise on a unicycle a) your legs are in great shape and b) so are your abs.
So I did some checking. Here's some info, according to our friends over at Wikipedia.com:
Unicycles are composed of a few key parts: the wheel (which includes the tire, tube, rim, spokes, hub and axle), the cranks, pedals, fork-style frame, seatpost, and saddle (the seat of the unicycle). The wheel is usually similar to a bicycle wheel with a special hub designed so the axle is a fixed part of the hub. This means the rotation of the cranks directly controls the rotation of the wheel (called direct drive). The frame sits on top of the axle bearings, while the cranks attach to the ends of the axle. The seatpost links the frame to the saddle.
There are many different types of unicycles, which can include (but are not limited to): freestyle unicycles, trial unicycles, MUnis, giraffes, and long distance unicycles, which all have special components unique to that type of unicycle.
The unicycle's history began with the invention of the bicycle. Comte De Sivrac first developed bicycles during the late 18th century. His device, called a celerifere, was a wooden horse that had two wheels joined by a wooden beam. Germany’s Baron von Drais improved the design by adding a steering mechanism and introduce his Draisienne or Hobby Horse in 1818. Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith, added cranks and pedals to the front wheel in 1839, and called it the Velocipede. The first mass-produced riding machine, the Michaux Velocipede, was designed in 1863. In 1866, James Stanley invented a unique bicycle called the Penny Farthing with a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel. It is this vehicle that is thought to be the inspiration for the unicycle.

P.S. And wouldn't it just be a tad unfortunate if your name were Penny Farthing?

Letterman at McDonald's

Not that we at the Spin Cycle are advocating eating at McDonald's, but here's a funny video of David Letterman working the drive-in.

Drinking the yuppie Kool-aid?

Whole Foods. You might sneer at the so-called yuppie chain or love it (depending, perhaps, on your annual income.) Mark Morford here at SFGate.com has taken to love it, while at the same time poking good humor at the Texas-based success story. (That's Morford in the photo above.)
You do get sucked in, if you've ever been in a Whole Foods. Even if you don't need something on a particular aisle, you find yourself a voyeur. Wow, who knew there was something called organic shampoo? Who knew a rare steak could look that succulent?
There were rumors last year that we here in River City were getting one. But for now that's just rumor. There are quite a few up the street in Atlanta. Here's the current list of seven.
I dare you to get out for less than $20.

Sad or glad?

Andruw Jones, outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, won't get his contract renewed. He'll be released as a free agent after the World Series.
He's 30. He makes $70 million. (No, that's not a typo.) He's slumped, at least for the Bravos.
Follow this link to comment on the AJC story. Or, vent away here.

Imaginary playmates

Did you, Internet, ever have imaginary playmates? (I mean, as a child. Don't tell me if you have them now as an adult.) I did. Their names were the following: Poopsie Gardner and Mr. and Mrs. Sweep Broom. In my case, the neighborhood where I grew up contained only boys, plus my older brother. I could play with them to some extent but inevitably there would come a time when I'd start crying, or they'd beat me up or both (which, upon reflection, was good training for my current profession.) I was age 3 or 4. So I just made up people who would be nice to me, notably a couple of girls. I remember Poopsie the most vividly. Kind of resembled the Lucy character from "Peanuts." My parents tell me that I even had an elaborate system with my plastic toys in the bathtub (this is probably more than you wanted to know) in which I enacted scenes with the imaginary friends.
Whew, there's an article that validates this. Click here.
I think Poopsie and the Sweep Brooms went to live with another child, eventually, after a girl neighbor moved in down the street and I didn't so much need them anymore.
You know you had them yourself but were afraid to confess. Until now.