Survivor

Katie and I did not become fans of this show until a couple of years ago. We've managed to find a way to watch most of the past seasons, the only ones I haven't seen are the 2 or 3 seasons prior to China (which was the first season I watched as it aired).

It's really interesting that we never watched it until 3 years ago, because it's in our reality show wheelhouse. I'm mildly embarrassed to admit that I've probably seen close to every episode of the MTV Challenges featuring former Real World and Road Rules cast members. And we've watched shows like the Amazing Race for a long time (even if I'm utterly bored with it) and I was a fan of other Mark Burnet productions such as The Apprentice (back in the day, not now).

This season of Survivor has been great. They hand-picked a fabulous cast. Boston Rob! Coach! Tyson! Parvarti! Amanda! Rupert! and on... Some of the best people to play this game over 19 seasons. And of course, Russell Hantz, the most egotistical SOB to ever play the game.

Like a lot of people, I started off hating Russell during his season last year. And slowly, I started to build admiration for him, only to be blown away in the finale when I realized he'd gotten a really good edit from the producers and had ultimately failed to play the social game - alienating just about every single jury member. I was let down by this.

So in this season, Russell is at it again. He took down Boston Rob a few episodes ago, in a rather epic turn of events which started when Tyson stupidly created his own downfall while Russell made a gigantic bet by giving Parvarti the hidden immunity idol.

What some people may not know on the surface is that the Samoa season and Heroes vs Villains were taped only a few weeks apart in the same relative locations on Samoa. Russell went home for less than a week and then returned. This was well before his season aired, so the people on his team did not have the benefit of seeing his gameplay. Boston Rob thinks that he would have been voted out first "without a doubt". At the same time, Probst points out in his blog this week that they were well aware that Russell was one of the most evil of all time. But it's clear there's a benefit there - if the players had seen Russell's season, there's probably no way he gets to the point last night, and there's absolutely no way JT gives him the idol. No way.

Still, here we are, with Russell holding an idol about to go into a merge with a seemingly strong alliance. Sure, there are cracks showing - Parvarti is clearly supportive of him but at the same time doesn't fully trust him - that was clear from her holding back the information about the idol she holds.

I gotta confess though, I'm tired of Russell. He makes bold moves but he doesn't play the social game very well. I don't want him to get all the way to end, because the same thing would result. Andy Denhart nails it at Reality Blurred a few weeks ago. The same thing is happening this season - he's getting a favorable edit because they love him, but there's no way he'll win it all.

I've never been a huge fan of Parvarti. She's like that popular girl in high school that you couldn't stand because she was so evil to everybody behind their back. But I'm even finding myself hoping that she would win over Russell.

Ultimately, I hope Amanda finally wins one. She deserves it. And was the only one that they showed questioning giving the idol to the other side. She plays a much better social game than a lot of the people and is strong in challenges. Rupert, JT and Colby need to go.

But I've been extremely entertained and that's an accomplishment for a show on its 20th season.

My relationship with Apple

I can take or leave a lot of the over the top bloviating over the latest iWhatever device that Apple cranks out. The latest was on display as the iPad was released. I had several friends and family members get caught up in this and be among the first to buy it. That's nice for them and the people that have the money to spend like that.

I have a love/hate relationship with the "i-product". I am the owner of a 2nd gen iPod Touch that I've had for a year and a few months. It is a great device. It's more or less an iPhone without the phone or constant network connectivity. There are very few apps that don't work on it (mostly ones with microphone applications, since it doesn't have one) - so it's probably a pretty good representation of the iPhone, when you can get a network signal. It was a Christmas present from my wife and at the time, I was debating between the iPod Classic, with it's much larger hard drive and the Touch, which was smaller and more expensive, but more fully featured. That the choice between the two was even a dilemma is funny to me now. Because now, there's no dilemma - I'm locked into a product I use every day.

I think having a Touch has kept the iPhone jonesin' somewhat at bay. Well, that, and also that it's only available on AT&T. Which, no thank you. Verizon is probably the only carrier I'm willing to switch to right now.

There is downside to the iPod Touch. The main thing for me is having to use iTunes on a Windows PC. It's a fucking bloatware piece of shit. It takes forever to respond/do anything, it constantly needs to do things like check the library, and locks up on a regular basis. It takes forever to sync my iPod. Which I wouldn't have to do so often if the damn thing could sync podcasts on the device. But I'm willing to put up with this part of the experience for the device because I like it that much.

All that said, I'm sold on getting an android phone for my next phone. I currently have a Windows Mobile device that sucks the life out of me. (it's not really that bad, we just miss out on a lot of stuff). I like what I've seen out of android and the open nature of their platform is more appealing to me.

The next generation iPhone/Pod interface is being unveiled tomorrow. It'd have to be a crazy leap to get me to change my mind. And the iPhone needs to come to more carriers, because I'd rather not deal with AT&T.

The first Interval Run on Couch to 5k

So about a week ago, I talked about starting Couch-to-5K. And yesterday I did. I appreciate everyone's support and suggestions, it's been great. I've been reading the LJ Community and various other support message boards.

I did buy a watch with a chrono stopwatch, but on the suggestion of Kassie, I also downloaded an Ipod App. I researched a few apps and decided on the C25K app which several on the Livejournal community had recommended. It was 2.99, but money well spent. It lets you load a playlist into the app, then plays a voice over it telling you when to run and walk. A lot easier than trying to time it yourself, and you can listen to the music you want to.

I still used my watch to time the overall time but did not time the intervals. This was a good compromise (I also bought the watch to time my wife's contractions should it come to that, although I'm sure there's an Ipod app for that too somewhere!).

I started out from my driveway in my alley, did a few stretches, then went into the program. The first jog was pretty easy, but they got progressively harder. It got to the point where you really appreciated the walk. But there's something amazing about the human body, because I got this second wind and the last couple runs were easier than the middle ones. I mapped the route when I got home and I went almost 2 miles. Not too shabby for my first time out.

I was a little sore in my legs last night, and after popping a couple of ibuprofen this morning, I'm doing really well today.

I really think this is a way I can get into running. I live in an ideal neighborhood to run in and it should be interesting to see how things change for me over the next couple of weeks.

I appreciate all the supportive comments from my friends, and let me tell you, if I can do this, then you can too! I'm doing this coming off virtually no physical activity other than the occasional walk.

Couch to 5k

I'm finally going to get off my ass and do something about the weight. There've been various wakeup calls for me over the last several months - the fact that my pants barely fit anymore (and I refuse to buy a bigger size!), that I've started having more problems with my back again, the life insurance price increase from the original quote that was a gigantic eye opener. Not to mention, I'm about to have a child and I want to be around for that.

I'm going to try running. I've never been a regular runner - I used to jog on a treadmill as a change of pace thing when I got tired of the elliptical. But I now live near one of the greatest urban trail systems in the country, about 2 blocks from the Minnehaha portion of the Grand Rounds Trail system. I'd be foolish not to consider some kind of fitness program involving that.

This represents a massive shift from my largely sedentary lifestyle, so I'm going to employ the Couch to 5K program. I've known others who've had success with it. I should set a goal for what I want to do, like a 5k by such and such a date, but I don't want to do that yet. I would like to fit comfortably into my pants by my birthday though, which is in early July. I think that's achievable.

I'm going to start running soon, as the snow has made a hasty exit. I bought a digital watch with a timer to time the intervals. I'm probably going to go buy some better running shoes soon too.

I'm hovering between 300 and 310 right now, and I'd like to drop a big chunk of that.

Hah

Twinsanity

So, we're about to be launched into not-seen-around-here territory for a while - a new stadium for the Twins is going to push demand to places previously unseen except for postseason play (and frankly, demand was pretty soft for that the last few years).

My personal feeling on this is pretty simple. I'm a fairly serious baseball fan - it's neck and neck with football for my attention. That said, over the last 14 years I've lived here, I haven't gone to that many Twins games. I can't totally explain why but there are some partial explainers- I never particularly liked going to the dome for baseball for one. Growing up in Chicago and Connecticut spoils me on that front.

I'm quite excited about outdoor Twins baseball, but I see the tizzy people are already getting into over getting tickets to the first games at Target field, and my immediate reaction is "Don't want to deal with that shit."

Granted, I've got other priorities, like a baby due sometime in the first month of the season, a house that still needs a lot of TLC and a fair amount of money thrown at it and an utter lack of discretionary income to boot.

But unless you can afford it and are willing to pay exorbitant prices to scalpers or already have some other way in, good luck getting tickets to the first week or two. Demand is going to greatly exceed supply. I already see it where guys are sending around emails to my fantasy leagues offering up their tickets for double face to any home game and 4 to 6x face for the first couple of games. That's fucking nuts, and that's somebody I know. Either he's grossly overestimating demand, or a lot of people are going to have sticker shock.

I still have a small chance of getting tickets to the season opener for near face, but even that's looking like a longer shot. My wife doesn't want to go because she's 8 months pregnant, and frankly, I think I'd rather watch it on TV in the comfort of my own home.

The first week of games features several daytime matchups which will cause work interruptions anyway.

I guess my point is that there's 81 regular season home games and not all of them will sell out. Plus, I'd much rather be sitting outside on a balmy July night than a cold April afternoon anyway. I'm sure the Twins will sell out a lot of their games, but their will be some tickets available for face, no doubt.

But it will be nice to go see baseball outside. Really nice. An entire generation of fans here grew up watching indoor baseball. What a treat to be going back outside.

Snow, Snow and more Snow.

I've had a generally good demeanor about the weather this winter here in Minnesota. It's no secret, I'm not a native and while I've always lived in temperate climates, this area offers the most sustained cold of any other I've lived (Philly, Chicago and New York City metro areas being the other 3) - and usually the most snow as well. Not this winter though, I'm pretty sure Chicago and the east coast has gotten more snow than Minnesota, but we have a lot on the ground because it doesn't melt and we keep getting 3-6" just about every other week.

It's funny that I've had a good demeanor about it, because for the first time, I'm responsible for snow removal around my property. Living in a townhouse with a condo association for the last 7 years spoiled me a little bit. But I've enjoyed the exercise that comes with snow removal (even if it's mostly pushing around a heavy snow-thrower).

That said, my commute is relatively painless - I reverse commute out to the St Paul suburbs and my drive is normally not that bad and the snow doesn't really add much to it. I hear my co-workers horror stories and I'm glad I don't live where they do.

Still, I find myself starting to long for warmer temperatures and not having to go out and remove snow at butt o'clock in the morning a few times a week. Soon enough. But the snows lately have been really pretty when you pause for a second to look around. People should remember this when they get cranky.