Slam Dunk Your Trunk!

HEY FRIENDS!

Welcome back to another EXCITING episode of Slam Dunk Your Trunk! We've got some really amazing work out routines for you today so grab your leg warmers and let's get movin!!

People who see me on the street often tell me that the hardest part about maintaining a regular work out routine is keeping motivated. "If I could just find a work out tape that I would want to watch again and again..." they tell me.

Well this first routine we have for you is all about replay value! Just watch it and you'll see what I mean. Feel free to "sing" along with Judi if you like:


Wasn't that great? Don't you just feel motivated all through your boogie body? I know I do!

Ok! Now let's move on to something a little more advanced. Here's a routine that focuses on an often forgotten part of the body: your face!


Whew! Feeling the burn? Feel all that blood rushing to your face? That's called embarrassment! Feels good, doesn't it?

Powers of Ten

Maybe I'm stuck on the relative scale of things, I don't know. This video is a little out dated at it's extremes by today's standards, but still very cool.

In nine minutes it spans the distance from the far reaches beyond our galaxy to the inner structure of an atom.

Bedding Fail

I few days ago I sat down to use the toilet and felt something furry brush by my leg. I look down and see our new kitten, Scooter, curl up in my underpants and start to purr.

"This is funny," I thought.

The next day I go to use the toilet again and in runs Scooter, patiently waiting for me to drop trou.

"This is really funny," I think to myself.

Tonight when I went to get ready for bed I decided to take the camera with me, just in case. Sure enough, there is Scooter, waiting for me in the bathroom, looking up at me as if to say, "Step it up, buddy; Where's my bed??"

Now I'm not sure what to think.

Anybody want to come over and hold/kiss/cuddle our new kitty??

A Stroll Through the Solar System

I'm very interested in organizing difficult to conceptualize information into more digestible formats. I get a lot of satisfaction when I can help someone realize something new about a complex subject, or gain perspective about something that's too massive to easily visualize.

One of those things, believe it or not, is our solar system. Most everyone has seen little models of the solar system, usually set up as a mobile and made from painted styrofoam spheres. Or maybe you've seen pictures with all the planets in the correct order, but very few people have ever seen a model of the solar system to scale. The reason for this is the immense size of the distances in between.

To this end, I decided to construct an accurate scale model, and it takes nearly two miles to do it!

If the sun is 27 inches across, then Pluto is 1.8 miles away and is the size of the smallest candy sprinkle you can find! Earth is a little smaller than a pea and is 240 feet away! The distances in between objects in space are really quite amazing!

While we walked we discussed some of the lesser known facts about some of the objects in our solar system. For instance, did you know that the sun rises and sets twice each day on Venus? Did you know that Mars is actually red because it's rusty? Did you know that scientists believe that one of Jupiter's moons might have twice as much liquid water as Earth under it's surface? Did you know that there are three dwarf planets in our solar system? And one of them is closer than you think! (If you like raw data, feel free to peek my compilation of facts about the solar system here.)

I've done the walk twice now, once with friends in Bellingham in May (which was a cold walk down the South Bay Trail), and a second time with my family in July (which was a cold walk down the beach at Fort Flagler). It was really interesting for me and I think the other people involved as well. Learning is fun!

If you're interested in doing one, I'm available to lead solar system walks at birthday parties, bar mitzva's and funerals.

Super Special Web-Only Bonus: Here's a compilation done by NASA of some of the moons of the solar system with the Earth for comparison. Pluto is roughly the same size as Europa (in case you were wondering.)

Intoducing Scooter!

This weekend Kristi and I went to the Whatcom Humane Society and found a little brother for Edison. She's been really lonely since Oscar passed away a few months ago, and we thought it was time.

Turns out it's going to take time for her to warm up to her new little brother; she's always been so sweet and easy going, but this weekend has been full of hissing and growling and generally being a poor host. (We'd never even heard her growl until this!) So we're taking it slow, and only letting them hate at each other under supervision.

He's five months old and shares his birthday with my dad. He's really playful and very sweet. He might end up being our first "lap kitty"; He's already taken a good long nap on Kristi's lap!

We're looking forward to being a family of four again and hope Edison eventually sees him as the cute little ginger tabby cat playmate that he is instead of the hideous redheaded stepchild that she sees him as now.