Revisiting Plateaus

 This past Saturday I deadlifted 4 x 250 lbs (113 kg).

A deadlift - moving weight from a floor to the standing position located at the hips and then down again - is arguably the most impressive of the Olympic lifts, at least to me.  That may be a bias on my part, simply because I know of the main powerlifting lifts (squats, bench press, deadlift) it is by far the one I struggle with most.  That, most likely, is due to form (when performing the lift, a neutral spine is critical; a rounded back is an injury waiting to happen), something that I struggle with.

It is a great exercise which uses a great many muscles: the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductor maximus, spinal erectors, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, obliques, and abdominals.  That is a lot of muscles for a single movement.  Also, it this only lift that I can genuinely say I have felt a "rush" as the body chemicals kick in.

The record is 510 kg/1,125 lbs, set by Halfthor Julius Bjornson in 2025.

My only personal (and somewhat less impressive) lift is noteworthy because this has been the first time in 3 years I have hit that number.

---

Being a latecomer to the weight lifting game - I had a number of false starts until I started training regularly in 2014 or - I have become rather famously addicted to it; a week without working out is like a week without sunshine.  But with that comes the realization that I am inevitably fighting a merciless foe - time - and ultimately, the odds are against me.

The idea that I will ever have a physique like Chris Hemsworth as Thor is a hard daydream to give up.

But even with time, what was more frustrating was the realization that I had to scale back training due to unforeseen circumstances, Hammerfall 2.0 and Hammerfall 3.0.  Yes, I was able to come up with a substitute, but nothing compares gym with bars and plates and loud metal music blaring away.  Dumbbell deadlifts and presses are substitutes, at best pushing off slightly the inevitable.

There is something magical about plates and bars.

---

Is there an end game?  Is there a finish line?

The reality is that new PRs (personal records) are likely beyond me at this point:  your late 50's is not your mid 40's.  I say "likely", not "definitely" - after all, the human body can be an amazing thing and, with nutrition and care (that is, not doing anything too stupid), there still may be peaks to see.

It was nice to hit 4 x 250 lbs.  It will be nice to hit 4 x 260 lbs, which is my previous PR.

4 x 265 lbs, looking at you.

A Year Of Kindness (III): The Experience Of Paul

 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.  Against such there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

When I think about kindness appearing in the Bible, these are the verses that immediately pops into my mind (most likely because it is one that I have memorized).  And as I was thinking about these verses in general, thing that popped into my mind is that of all of the fruit of the Spirit, kindness is the one I cannot specifically being called out by Christ.

Love? Joy? Peace?  Christ talked a lot about those.  Goodness?  Faithfulness?  Self-control?  These are either mentioned also by Christ, or alluded to in His parables.  Kindness alone is the one that initially seems to be missing.

A look through where else kindness (chrestotes (χρηστότης)) as used in Galatians 5 reveals something else interesting: the word itself is never used by Jesus. It is only used by Paul (2 Corinthians 6:6, Ephesians 2:7, Colossians 3:12, Titus 3:4).  As Paul was not one to preach that which he had not received from The Lord (as he would say), there is clearly something up.  Why would he speak of a fruit of the Spirit which alone seems to be one which Christ never directly spoke or taught of?

He speaks of it, I think, because of his experience with Christ. 

---

No-one can reasonably claim that Christ did not evidence kindness.  His invitation to let the children come to Him (this, from a man who was constantly interacting with people almost all the time), his words to Peter in Luke 22:31-32 predicting Peter's betrayal and his restoration, and even his interaction with the rich young ruler where he did not confront him mockingly when he assured Christ he met all the conditions - Christ knew and practiced kindness.  And yet He does not seem to have specifically addressed it.

And yet, Paul does (everything that follow here is obviously my opinion) because Paul directly experienced Christ's kindness.

Paul's (then Saul's) experience on the Damascus Road is one I wonder if any of us can fully understand or appreciate.  A enemy of Christians, in his mind serving the God of his fathers, he is literally on his way to drag believers back to Jerusalem for trial and quite possibly execution; he is said to have been "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples".  We know he approved of the stoning of Stephen; we do not know if any others had died because of him (but it was possible).

And suddenly, he is confronted directly by Jesus.

Jesus does not accuse Paul, He does not threaten him with punishment for the damage he had done to believers or what he had said of them or even ask him what he is on his way to do.  He simply asks "Why do you persecute me?"

Paul's response is "Who are you, Lord?"  With the answer of "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" reality becomes painfully clear.

Christ never reminds Paul of what he was after his conversion.  He never has too; Paul remembers all too well.  He likely remembers the names of every person he persecuted, he can see himself standing at the body of Stephen after stoning.  Paul remembers - but God never speaks of it.

Instead, God through Christ gives him the Hebrew hesed, loving kindness pouring over him and running down him.  Paul was trained in the Law; he understood very well the idea of hesed.  Perhaps for the first time, he actually lived it.

Every day, then, became a reminder of God's kindness to Paul.  

Which is why - at least to me - Paul mentions it among the fruit of the Spirit, even though it is not spoken of in the same manner in the Gospels.  Once he experienced the kindness of the Lord, he could not go back.

Which is why I think it is so important for us to practice it as well.  In being kind, we can give people such a different experience from the world that they will inevitably return - and in returning, wonder and perhaps ask how and why we are this way.

We are this way, because we, too, have experienced the hesed of God.

Adjusting

One of the great differences between New Home 2.0 and New Home is the fact we have a Winter in New Home 2.0.

To be fair, we had a "Winter" in New Home, during which the temperature could plunge in the the low 20's F and ice could be a real concern, but in general it never seemed to run as long and we could just as likely have temperatures in the mid-70's and 80's F.

Here in New Home 2.0, we hover easily in the mid-40's during the day (with an occasional excursion in above 50 F) with nights and mornings quite regularly in the 30's or mid 20's.

This has definitely impacted my morning walks.

Last year, everything seemed exceptionally cold from sometime in November to early March.  Going out was an experience (it felt) in Arctic survival.  Polar explorers had nothing on me as "braved" the weather to get my steps in.

This year, things are different.

Part of the difference comes heeding the advice of those that lived here longer, which runs something like "The weather will not change." Get the gear and go do things."  So my morning stroll gear is much more oriented specifically towards colder weather, a cobbled together hodge-podge of items I already owned, items I have purchased, and "free gear" from my employer.

The other part, it seems, is I am simply getting used to the place.

More than once over the last two weeks the following conversation has taken place in our apartment:

The Ravishing Mrs. TB (TRMTB):  "How was the weather?"

Me:  "Not too cold."

TRMTB:  (Looks at phone):  "It it was 34 F outside."

Me:  "Hmm.  It really did not feel that bad."

This conversation seems to be happening more and more.

The reverse has happened as well:  during our visit back to New Home for Christmas with our usual mid-70's F weather (and attendant humidity), I thought to myself "This is actually kind of uncomfortable" more than once.

I am not quite sure what it fully means when cold is not as cold and warm is a little too warm, but perhaps it at least means that this place is becoming more like home.

Book Review: Be Unstoppable

 One of the things I enjoy looking for are success parables: fictional stories which are meant to be instructional in matters of success or business.  

I enjoy looking for them, because most of the ones I have read are poorly designed fables masquerading as tales "cleverly" giving guidance and advice in a fictional format.  The standard industry one, once upon a time, was Who Moved The Cheese? which I read once and wondered what all the fuss was about.  Another was a similar book that I no longer remember the title of which presented ones career as a fantasy quest (as an old Dungeons and Dragons fan, I was not impressed).  The best by far I have read is The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldblatt (which introduces the Theory of Constraints).

Today we will review a success book written as a fable.

(Note:  This edition is a later one.  I have the earlier, first edition published in 2013)

Be Unstoppable takes us to Hardwork Harbor, where everyone goes to school and at the end of their schooling is given a boat.  From there, they are to make their way in the world, learning to travel different routes and building their careers. In a reflection of their careers, their boats come to reflect their owners and how they spend their lives.

Our protagonist is Tim, a recently graduate of UpToYou University, who is just starting his career.  Tim works hard upon graduation to learning the routes and winds and sandbars of Hardwork Harbor.  He begins to venture out until on his first trip to the North, he runs aground on a Harbor and has to be towed back.  Disgraced in the eyes of his classmate Ted to whom everything seemed to come easily, a remarkable ship pulls into the harbor and docks next to Tim. Named Persistence her Captain, Peter, invites Tim to dinner and makes him an offer:  would he like to learn the Master and Commander Code, the code that teaches young seamen like Tim how to become captains that chart their own course and sail the world?

His answer of "yes" - and his commitment to do whatever the code requires - leads to a day and half of conversation with Captain Peter aboard the Persistance, learning the 8 principles that make up the code (seen on the paddle above as UPERSIST).

At the time (2013) this was Mills' first book.  He uses his experiences, from starting out as an asthmatic child to rowing team to attending the Naval Academy to becoming a SEAL to founding his first product, The Perfect Pushup (Now the Perfect Fitness Company), as a background and supplement to the story.  After each of the 8 steps, he lists a personal story of how he applied this principle to a personal challenge.

The principles? 

Understand the why

Plan in three dimensions

Exercise to execute

Recognize your reason to believe

Survey your habits

Improvise to overcome

Seek expert advice

Team up

The book is a relatively easy read and - if this was Mills' first writing effort - is well done. Although the world is somewhat contrived, the characters are all authentic and real.  Captain Peter, for all the fact he knows the answers, comes across as someone one might actually meet (I suspect, undoubtedly, a compilation of such men in Mills' life).  His crew members Jacques (the chef) and Robert (the Engineer) fill particular roles to move the story forward, but are not quite the cardboard cutouts that such characters can be.  Tim, as an eager student, is written to be not too naïve - sometimes he makes connections before it is fed to him by Captain Peter which is a realistic touch.

Is there anything novel here?  If you read the principles above, you will probably find things that you have seen in other motivational or success materials.  I do think the building of the 8 elements one another works well - after all, if you do not not why you are doing something for example, why plan for it?  And his personal applications help to demonstrate each principle in action.

(Warning:  As a former SEAL and founder of a fitness company, Mills is pretty physically focused.  At least one of his principles - Exercise to execute - really is about physical fitness, and it is mentioned more than one time in other parts of the text.  The idea - that physical health helps drive performance both mental and physical - is sound; it may ring a bit hollow to those whose health is not the best.)

Bottom line, of course, is what did I think?

I re-read this book at the beginning of this year; that I can recall, this is first time since I read the book (in maybe 2016).  The things I underlined then still applied, and I highlighted a great many more.  While there is nothing necessarily novel in the book, the story is real enough that the lessons sort of slide into the general flow of the narrative - which is exactly the sort of success or life lessons fiction book that I think can relay these lessons the best.

Verdict:   Worth a read at 140 pages, especially if you are looking for a different take on principles to do better.  It is enough of a fiction book to be enjoyable and the lessons are simple enough that even 10 years after reading it, I still had things to learn.

A Year Of Haiku (II): Winter Bloom

Winter's snow-shadow:

only in the petals of

 my mother's roses.

2025 Cambodia And Vietnam: Angkor, A Brief History (II)

 In A.D. 1177, the Khmer Kingdom was invaded  by the Cham people from what is now Vietnam, who sailed up the Mekong River to the great freshwater lake of the Tonlé Sap.  They sacked the capitol of Yasodharapura and killed the reigning king before being driven back and defeated on land and lake by the future king JayavarmanVIII.  Under his rule, the Angkor kingdom reached its highest peak.

(Ta Prohm Wat)

(Ta Prohm Wat)

Interestingly (and an unknown fact to me), the origins of the temples of Angkor were Hindu, not Buddhist as is now associated with this country.  Over time, the religion changed and the temples changed with them - for example, Angkor Wat originally started as a temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, but was later transformed into a Buddhist temple.

(Ta Prohm Wat)

Another interesting sidenote is that in A.D. 1296, a diplomat from the Yuan dynasty of visited Angkor.  The record of his visit is one of the few - if only - records we have of life in the Khmer kingdom by an eyewitness.

(Angkor Wat)

(Angkor Wat)

In A.D. 1431, the capitol was again sacked, this time by the kingdom of Ayutthaya (in modern day Thailand). The Khmer capitol relocated twice before finally locating in Phnom Penh in A.D. 1618.

(Angkor Wat)

The city was never really forgotten: the first European visitor, a Portugese Friar, visited in the 16th Century, and there were notable Japanese settlements along with the local Khmer residents in the 17th century. 

(Angkor Wat)

It was not until the 19th century that city began to emerge from the forest and the restoration process started, which continues to this day.

(Angkor Wat)

Prior to 2020, approximately 2,000,000 visitors a year came to Angkor.  That number, after decreasing, is starting to come back.

2025 Cambodia And Vietnam: Angkor, A Brief History (I)

If you quizzed an average person about Cambodia,  they might possibly have heard of two things.  The first is (maybe) the Khmer Rouge.  The second (probably) is Angkor Wat.

(Entrance Gate, Angkor Thom)

Angkor Wat, while a place, is also a bit of a misnomer.  There is a place called Angkor Wat located in a larger place called Angkor, which has a multiplicity of surviving archaeological sites. In some cases, those sites maybe be attributed (incorrectly) to Angkor Wat.

(Bayon Wat)

The history of Angkor actually predates the city, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II established the Khmer Kingdom in A.D. 802 by declaring independence from Mataram Kingdom located on Java,  uniting portion of the country we now know as Cambodia (up to the then-border with China) and parts of what are now Vietnam (Champa).  The capitol he built was named Haiharalya; circa A.D. 889, his successor Yasovarman I ascended to the throne and moved the capitol to a new location he called Yasodharapura, which we now know as Angkor. 

(Bas relief, Bayon Wat)

Following its founding, the location continued to serve at the capitol of the Khmer Empire until A.D. 1431.  Within its confines, which are now estimated to included (with urban sprawl) to have been almost 1000 sq. km/390 sq miles), a multiplicity of governmental/religious sites were built.  Currently there are over 700 sites known, 72 of which are within 24 km x 8 km (15 mile x 5 mile) area.

(Bayon Wat)

In terms of size, it is now estimated that (with supporting agricultural lands) it was the same size as modern urban Paris and supported a population of between 750,000 and 1,000,000 during its height.  It is now estimated to be the largest city prior to the industrial revolution.

(Bayon Wat)

The city's use of stone eclipses that of all the stone used in all known Egyptian structures combined.

(Elephant Terrace)

What remains unseen from the usual set of pictures (but is revealed via satellite imagery and on the ground observations) are a sophisticated set of canals and reservoirs that were used to manage the waters brought on from the monsoon climate of Cambodia. It is also theorized that these canals were used to ship the stone required to build the various temples and monuments over the 600 year period of its history.

(Elephant Terrace)