Monday, January 23, 2006

Interesting

Posted by Steve Outing 2:25:54 PM
Google: Financial Boon for Roof Painters
This is either funny or disturbing. My sharp-eyed Poynter colleague, Larry Larsen, spotted the new trend of rooftop advertising in response to Google Maps. Since Google uses satellite images as part of its Maps service, and detail is pretty sharp in metro areas, some people have figured out that that's an advertising opportunity.

The Inquirer reports, "Apparently street wise companies are hiring painters to paint their logos or advertising messages on the roof. The idea is that when the Google satellite passes overhead, users will be able to see company logos stand out in a sea of otherwise bare roofs."

(They shouldn't expect instant results; it can be many months before Google updates its satellite images for a specific neighborhood.)

Here's a Target store near Chicago that would appear to be taking advantage of some free satellite advertising.

So there you have it. Even looking out your window while flying over a city, you won't be free from corporate advertising.

Current mood: Lazy
Current music: Don't Leave Me This Way | The Communards

Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:32 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]

 

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

I love Discovery Health Channel

OMG

I've also recently gotten hooked on Dr. G: Medical Examiner. I'm not a big fan of reality TV, but this particular show is somewhat educational both in criminal investigation and anatomy, and I like that. I'm also inspired by and really look up to women like Dr. G. She's not a Barbie doll or made up for TV in any way, is incredibly intelligent and intuitive, breaks career stereotypes for women and has a dark sense of humor -- I guess you have to have that if you cut open dead bodies for a living ("The smell [of a decomposing body] keeps a lot of doctors out of this profession, but I really don't smell it; it really doesn't bother me," she said with a shrug) -- tempered with a sensitive side that makes it easy for victims' families to open up to her. And as a small bonus, the show is filmed in Orlando -- Dr. G is the Orange County District 9 Medical Examiner -- so it features lots of shots of downtown Orange Avenue, OPD and local highways.

One recent episode featured a dead body found floating in a retention pond off "Orlando's John Young Parkway" -- near my parents' house (ugh). After opening the victim's stomach and detecting a strange smell, she quickly moved her face closer to the body for a better whiff. Then, curious, she quickly grabbed the nearby stainless-steel bowl in which she'd been depositing pieces parts from the victim and sniffed in it. "What do you smell?" she asked an assistant. Then, she answered for her: "Mouthwash!"

Current mood: Lazy

Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:01 PM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]

 

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Welcome to Huff High

Don't you hate that awkward feeling that comes over you when someone you think is attractive unexpectedly comes up to talk to you?

One of the instructors at the coaching clinic I attended yesterday, a guy from Austin, Texas, is, um, very attractive. Late 20s, tall, lanky, Jewish features, dark, buzz-cut hair -- cookie-cutter profile of a guy who would draw a double-take from me, and, to make matters worse, a very eloquent science nerd. (Relationship or no, everyone has those generic 'types,' right, that make you look?)

I'd posed a question to the three instructors for their opinion on something. He didn't answer immediately, but the other two instructors did. After the day's session was over, he came up to me personally to answer my question, because he said he didn't want to bother the whole class with a long story, catching me by surprise. So as he's telling me his tale -- something about as a coach how he'd dealt with a girl who was incredibly fit and strong but had psychological issues -- I'm trying to maintain eye contact, thinking:

OHMIGODI'MNOTHEARINGAWORDHE'SSAYING
TRYTOPAYATTENTIONSHITICAN'T
IHOPEHEDOESN'TASKMEAQUESTION
TRYNOTTOLOOKEMBARRASSEDFUCKTOOLATE
SAYSOMETHINGFERCRISSAKESSOHEDOESN'TTHINKYOU'RESTUPID
CANYOULOOKLIKEABIGGERIDIOT
HOLYFUCKINGSHITIHOPETHISCONVERSATIONENDSSOON

I somehow managed to eek out a couple of related questions, but I realized after I'd asked it that one was on a topic that he'd just mentioned.

I hate that. Stoopid. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to my locker before geometry to get my Trapper-Keeper.

Current mood: Embarrassed

Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:21 AM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]

 

Saturday, January 14, 2006

More boring rowing shit to help you get to sleep

Another class I'm excitedly taking this weekend: a Level I coaching clinic at Stetson. I have a little bit of coaching experience, volunteering at a local high school for a couple of months before I was kinda fired (short story: I couldn't be there 3 days a week, so they hired someone who could), and filling in a few times at my club when the coach didn't show up. So I figured I should get some formal training, especially if it's something I think I might want to pursue at some point.

Coaching's not something I thought would ever jibe with my personality. I've still not figured out whether it does. Good coaches are good leaders, which puts them in the spotlight. I don't like the spotlight. Good coaches work well with people. I like to work independently. Good coaches are patient with those who aren't 'getting it.' I typically don't suffer fools easily. But most importantly, I think a good coach has to be a great communicator, which is something I'm not and tend to shy away from.

With that said, when I did coach, once I got past my initial fears -- driving a launch (small motorboat), taking a leadership role, being more confident in myself and feeling comfortable correcting people -- I really enjoyed it. I think the reason was that I liked to think I was helping people improve themselves. Plus, I figured it was helping me get over my personality flaws by weaving what could be a painful, jarring process into an activity I know and like.

On a related note, I have the strangest resume to cross any employer's desk: Part-time journalist, part-time licensed massage therapist, former Web producer, part-time crew coach. I'm the ultimate jack of all trades, master of nothing.

Current mood: Wiped
Current music: Riptides | Dub Pistols

Posted by Lynniechan @ 11:01 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]

 

Wake-up call

I just erged -- that is, I worked out on the rowing machine -- for the first time in 3 months.

I'd wanted to sprint 2000m (a standard rowing-machine workout all colleges and most clubs use to test fitness level) to see how long it would take me to finish it. My personal best is 8 minutes, 9 seconds, which isn't great but isn't too shabby, either. (Context: My team's benchmark for 'great' is 8 minutes. All of the women in my club's Best Boat Evar a couple of years back had broken 8 minutes for a 2K except for me, who finished with that.)

To my shock, I couldn't even make it a fourth of the way through that short workout tonight before my lungs were on fire and I was feeling light-headed. (That on top of the blister I ended up peeling off my ring finger and the chafing my flat ass was getting from the seat. Wah.)

Now up until a couple of weeks ago, I'd been jogging 5Ks around my neighborhood pretty regularly -- about once or twice a week, and my time has slowly been improving. So I thought I'd be OK on the erg.

But I guess in the time my aerobic threshold has improved, my strength and 'fast-twitch' muscles have waned considerably. I've barely picked up a weight in months, and I haven't done any sprint work. Time to hit the weights full-time again.

In addition, I haven't had much time or energy left to work out. (Click on [Link] below this entry for cut to boring details about work.)

So tonight, I've made a belated New Year's resolution.

I'm going to break 8 minutes for a 2K on the erg this year.

Thoughts: I'd like to do it in the next few months, actually, but I don't want to set myself up for failure by putting too aggressive of a timetable on it, since I'm obviously ill-prepared. But I'm also feeling a little bit of peer pressure to do it, since my double scull partner (photo is not of us -- I wish! -- just a visual) -- whom I used to beat handily in erg tests -- is aggressively working out with a rower/trainer and says she'll definitely break 8 minutes by Feburary, as she plans to compete in an annual erg competition in Melbourne. Is it peer pressure, worrying too much about what others are doing or competitiveness that's motivating me? I guess one person's 'competitiveness' is another person's 'determination.'

Current mood: Thoughtful
Current music: Eurochild | Massive Attack

Posted by Lynniechan @ 09:51 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]