New Brave Melky Cabrera

The Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees agreed on a deal sending SP Javier Vazquez and left-handed reliever Boone Logan to NYY for OF Melky Cabrera, rookie left-hander Mike Dunn and right-handed pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino.

The Braves, who had an abundance of starting pitching, had hoped to retain Vazquez’s services and instead tried unsuccessfully for the past month to move veteran Derek Lowe.

But, in the end, they found no teams willing to take on Lowe’s hefty contract, which still had three years and $45 million remaining on the original four-year deal he signed with Atlanta last offseason.

The Yankees will pick up all of Vazquez’s $11.5 million salary for the 2010 season.

Vazquez, who will be eligible for free agency next winter, enjoyed a career year for Atlanta last season, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA and 238 strikeouts in 219 1/3 innings pitched.

While Vazquez proved to be a valuable asset to Atlanta’s rotation last year, the Braves felt comfortable enough with their depth at starting pitching to make this move in an effort to improve other areas of their club while also receiving increased financial flexibility.

The Braves rotation stood atop the National League last season with a 3.52 ERA.

Vazquez also had a no-trade clause to West Division teams which limited the pool of suitors Atlanta could engage in trade talks with about the right-hander.

Throughout his career, Vazquez has struggled in the American League, often proving to be much more effective with National League clubs.

This will be Vazquez’s second stint with the Yankees.

It comes as somewhat of a surprise that the Bronx Bombers would pursue Vazquez again.

He spent the 2004 season in pinstripes but posted an unimpressive 4.91 ERA in 32 starts with the club and was dropped from the postseason rotation.

In Cabrera, the Braves added a bat to their line-up but not the power hitter many had expected them to acquire.

In 2009, the 25-year-old switch-hitter posted a .274 average with 13 HR and 68 RBI in 154 games for the Yankees.

Cabrera, who primarily played center field for New York last season, has the versatility to play all three outfield spots and possesses a strong arm and provides solid defense.

With Nate McLouth expected to start in center for Atlanta next year, Cabrera is likely to begin spring training in right field for the Braves, barring another move.

The highlight of the deal for Atlanta comes in prospect Arodys Vizcaino.

Vizcaino, 19, was recently rated by Baseball America as the #3 prospect in the Yankees organization.

Last season, Vizcaino went 2-4 with a 2.13 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 10 starts at short-season Class A Staten Island.

The third player coming over to Atlanta in the deal for Vazquez is left-handed rookie reliever Mike Dunn.

In four appearances with the Yankees last season, Dunn posted an inflated 6.75 ERA.

However, the 24-year-old lefty went 4-3 with a 3.31 ERA while racking up 99 strikeouts in 73 1-3 innings in the minor leagues in 2009.

He also had two saves in 38 appearances in AA and AAA last season.

This move appears to be a pre-cursor for other moves for Atlanta.

ESPN.com reports that the Braves have freed up approximately $9 million dollars with this trade after subtracting Vazquez’s $11.5 million and adding on the estimated $3 million Cabrera will receive in arbitration this year plus figuring in the $500,000 the Braves will receive from the Yankees once this transaction is complete.

With the money saved in this deal, the Braves look to continue their pursuit of a power-hitting outfielder, first baseman or perhaps both.

Johnny Damon and Jason Bay were linked to Atlanta recently but both still figure to cost more than Atlanta is willing to spend.

The Braves may still opt to pursue free agent Xavier Nady, who could play the outfield or first base, and should come cheaply as he is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.

Atlanta could also decide to make a trade involving an outfielder, maybe even the newly acquired Cabrera, for a better upgrade.

Dan Uggla remains a possibility for the Braves, who could shift him to first base, if needed.

Do you find it hard to talk to prospects on the phone, getting hung up on, or handling objections?

I used to be like that, constantly taking the prospects that I would generate on the internet and vomit my business opportunity to them. 

Time after time, I would basically get laughed at followed by am immediate “Click”.

I just couldn’t figure it out.  What was I doing wrong?  There were so many people out there that were effortlessly sponsoring people on the phone.

I did this for what seemed like a lifetime.  I wasn’t getting anywhere with my business, basically sponsoring one or two every now and then. 

But then I found something that changed the way I talked to prospects forever.  It was a video interview with Mike Dillard, and master recruiter Mark Wieser.

In this video Mark get grilled by Mike on how he is able to personally sponsor over 254 reps in one year and how he is able to do it with such ease.

I figured out that I needed to change the way that I was talking to the prospects.  I needed to qualify them to see if they are right for my business, not if they would be interested in joining.

I also figured out that I am the boss, I need to control the situation, I am interviewing my prospects to see if they would be good enough to be part of my business.

Basically think of it as if you were the manager interviewing to hire a new employee.

By changing the way that I approach the conversation and the attitude that I have in the conversation, I am now not getting hung up on.  I am sponsoring more than ever.  Prospects are actually thanking me for the conversations that we have.

Sponsoring and talking to prospects doesn’t have to be hard, frustrating, or filled with rejection.

All you need to know  is how to do it the right way, the fun way, from someone that knows how to do it and do it well.

So if you would like to learn how I overcame my fear of talking to prospects on the phone, now sponsor more than ever, and how I never hear the word no again, then you need to get your hands on this free 1 hour video interview.

Get instant access to the free interview here…

Enjoy,

Narelle Preiss-Yeates

Are you tired of the old school network marketing techniques? You know the 3 foot rule, hanging flyers, bugging your family and friends, and holding hotel meetings.

I know that when I first joined my first network marketing company, I was told to use these same techniques.  I was told to make a list of 100 people that I knew and basically call every one of them to ask and see if they would be interested in making some extra money.

I was only faced with questions I wasn’t able to answer, getting hung up on, and faced with nothing but rejection.

When I was officially shunned by everyone that I knew, all my upline told me to do was to go out and buy some opportunity leads.

This only led me to some more rejection and spending a bunch of money.

Now I was out of money, and had nothing to show for it.

Then just as I was going to give up, I found what I consider to be the “life saver” for my business. 

This life saver I speak of was Mike Dillard’s 7 Day Free Video Boot Camp.

In these 7 free videos Mike explained how I could attract an endless stream of prospects to me ready to join and actually get paid to prospect.

These videos have really changed the way I do my business, and I think they can help you too.

You can get free instant access to these free videos here…

Enjoy,

Narelle Preiss-Yeates

Paul is my twenty-six year old Facebook friend from Kenya. We have never met. Recently Paul told me on “chat” that he gets inspirations from “Seeds of Insight” and that he was moved to share Antonio’s story with his friends in Kenya. Paul is one out of many persons who have sent me e-mails/e-messages to let me know that they have been inspired with Antonio’s story.

At least 50 persons have been engaged around the world; Jamaica, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Cambodia, Philippines, Russia, Venezuela, Cayman, Kenya.  

Achievements

Stats

As of December 13th, 2009, I have eighty eight (88) posts with over two thousand, nine hundred and eighty eight (2,988) views, and at least one hundred and (160) comments from my viewers. November was the busiest month with 828 views. 

Seeds of Insight: Views per Month

The Top 3 Posts to date are:

Ann Marie E. Campbell (my bio).

“Gone With the Wind:” A Special Teacher From Rusea’s. 

“Spanking and beating: spare the rod and save the child”

Books

“Saving Your Teenager”

“Saving your Teenager: Develop an Implementation Plan” was first published as a concept on WordPress May 15, 2009.  It focused on implementation plans and contracts for the parents/guardians of late teens.  I am now finished with the second draft of the book after making the changes based on feedback from my reviewers. I am still waiting to get feedback from the Chief on the conceptual diagram…if I am not able to get this within the next few months, I might just go ahead and start the proofreading. I know that these tools are needed.    

“Seeds of Insight”

The third draft of my second book “Seeds of Insight: Strong Memories of My Favourite Men” was completed by the end of October and is now being edited by Bethany. Thanks to Jennifer, Althea and Tazh for their review. I want to thank the Reverend Earl Thames for his comments on the entire book and not just his chapter. My goal is to get it to the publisher by the end of the year.  

Antonio’s Story: Child Poverty and Disparities: what good is a campaign without compassion?

Antonio’s story is already written on-line. I followed his case for 51 days (up to December 11th, 2009) and made regular entries on my blog. Anthony’s story with co-star Tamian Beckford generated the most interest among my readers and pushed the number of views up to 828 in November. His story has inspired many persons to act positively on behalf of others (Kerrel) and has motivated others (Allison and Novia) to show direct support.  Even the leadership at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture was compelled to act when his “story” was eventually told in the media. Antonio’s story deserves a place in our libraries and some of my readers are asking for the book, so if it is the will of the Universe, the book will be published.    

Acknowledgements

From a Blog to a “Business.” 

Special thanks to Jennifer, Bethany, Tazh, Jaevion and Caryl for sharing in my vision to spread and nourish “Seeds of Insight.” 

Mrs. Prospect you should know that you are the one who “kicked” me to go and reserve the name at the Companies Office. If it were not for you, I would not have met Andrea. There are many prospects ahead for you as long as you “move closer to being a better and more humane person.” You are a success story waiting to be told!      

I must acknowledge all those who have given me Inspirations. It is because of those inspirations that I can inspire others like Paul in Kenya. It is indeed because of Dr. Campbell-Forrester’s vision for adolescent health and her quiet passion why I was motivated to read extensively on adolescent health. As the Chief Medical Officer for Health in Jamaica, she is more than “sympathetic” to adolescent needs; she is a visionary who is now “drinking from her saucer.” 

I must thank my husband, my two sons and Jaevion; they motivated me in different ways to start this blog. 

Then there are the four women – Jennifer, Tazh, Althea and Bethany who gave their time and talents unselfishly to review my books and asked me those forbidden questions. When the history of “Seeds of Insight” is written, the world should know that Jennifer was my psychotherapist, Tazh was the first person outside of Cascade to call me “Mar,” Althea thought “it was inevitable,” and Bethany was the editor. 

Moses felt that my real stories on health issues and the lessons learned from my blogging experience should be told at EduVision 2009 International Conference. I truly respect him for giving me access into the traditional halls of education. Now I know that “Seeds of Insight” is a legitimate child of Jamaica. Respect to Moses Everytime!

Ian strategically recruited me into the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) when he invited me to attend the “Jamaica Drug Policy Conference” held in early November at the University of the West Indies (a conference sponsored by “Caribbean Harm Reduction Coalition” and “Caribbean Drug & Alcohol Research Institute”). That was the first time I introduced myself as “Ann Marie E. Campbell sowing ‘Seeds of Insight.’” Ian knew that I was an activist and I could not deny it in the meeting.  

For those who have started a blog (Jaevion and Norwell), I hope you are enjoying the experience. If I have inspired you (Mia and Bridget) to start a blog, I hope you do so before the New Year starts. 

Michele, we are now connected through Antonio and your “New Generation” Rotary Club. I will accept your invitation and come to your meetings when I can.

Andrea, I will be calling you next week because I am excited about the Prospects.  

Last but certainly not least, thanks to Patricia Muller, the designer of the “Connections” theme and much appreciation to WordPress for providing me with the affordable new technology to make this happen. I hope to meet you all one day!   

Full Moon, Pegasus and Prospects

I have been enjoying the sweet scents even more so after the wise old man brought my attention to the Full Moon in August. I am patiently waiting on his arrival every month.

Moon in the Morning

The Pegasus now has meaning; not just for me but for many of you out there. HALLELUJAH! 

There is a job prospect on the horizon with the ICI/OAS (IIN/OEA)…thanks to  Antonio, the CDA and my passions.  

 Challenges

I wish I could blog on a full time basis but I cannot (at least not for now)…blogging requires a lot of energy!

Thy Will Be Done! I was reminded at 12:30 am on December 12th that the energy supply will always be there…the breezes were there again in my room…so beautiful, supplying me with sweet scents. So I will continue to blog!     

Plans for 2010:

- Balance my blog into my work…continue spreading the seeds and nourishing them

- Take advice from Andrea re: the idea

- Get at least two of my books published 

- Write a 100,000 word book about the “Jamaican Cherry Juice.” Jennifer and Bethany told me about the nourishment of the seeds and Ian, Audrey and Ivan have already given me some ideas to get the “juices” flowing. It will be a book on “How to Arouse Your Sweet Scents Just Before Dawn;” a book for women on how to nourish the seeds.”

Blessings to you all! Have a wonderful holiday season and may your positive thoughts and energies guide you to find your Purpose in 2010.

So what I’ve heard is that Michael Backlund is the only prospect worth talking about, and he is a long shot to make the team. I think that one more year in Sweden will have this kid seem so mysterious you’d think he’s the second coming. Me? I think that this talk is just a distraction from all the old players hanging outside the Saddledome wondering if they’ll have a place to play this year.

This piece could have been in either of two blogs but I put it in my Taxing Times thread. Please feel free to visit!

Dear friends,

have a great St. Nicholas day! Today it might be even harder than usual to stick to your nutritional program and stay disciplined when there are all this sweet decorations on the table. Think about it, it is not that bad to go for a nice sweet – but keep in mind not to overdo it.

My suggestion would be that you should try to keep extra calories in a range which you can train down during 1-2 days. So, between 500 – 1000 cal extra should not be a problem, as long as you keep up your training schedule in the next day. Have fun and if it works keep this method in mind for X-mas!!! The only aspect you have to find out: how many calories and what ingredients did your grandma put into that cookies?

Meanwhile, I am used to ask my grandma for her cooking receipts, because this way she understands my interest as a compliment (which it is, and her food always tastes delicious). And additionally you have to find out a polite way to stop your grandma putting all that delicious food on your plate, even when you are full already!

My workout & food yesterday, Day 18 of David Kirsch`s Sound Mind Sound Body:

Workout day 3, week 3: I did my “Forrest Workout” (find the workout pictures here: The Forrest Workout) so that I did already rows, chin ups and cardio training. Then at home I executed push ups with close grip, crunch with leg scissors, bent forward row with dumbbells (find here how you can vary the arm movement : Row, bent forward), triceps kick backs with dumbbells, crunch on physioball, stretching & relaxing for finishing the workout.

Food yesterday: some almonds and a coffee for breakfast, for lunch I prepared a baked spicy chicken with vegetables (will prepare the receipt and post it in the food section), for dinner scrambled eggs with orange and kiwi. Well, after that, we had a DVD-evening, so I had beer and wholemeal crackers – it was fun

Food today: late breakfast almonds, low fat joghurt, orange and a coffee, for lunch I plan fish and vegetables, p.m. snack egg white, ham and fruits and for dinner I will only have a protein shake.

Workout today: Before lunch I will go for my “Forrest Workout” and combine it with interval sprinting (3×50 m sprint with 50 m pause, 3 times in a row) and do lunges with jump at two stations in the forrest. At home I will add David`s workout for day 4, week 3: I will skip the jumping  jacks, do dumbbell flys on physioball, standing shoulder press with dumbbells, shadow boxing, skip again the jumping jacks, lateral raise with dumbbells, front raise with dumbbells, shadow boxing, upper body twist, David`s african dance step and finally stretch & relax. That will do it for me today.

I wish you the best St. Nicholas Day in your life, good luck with your food & workout and a good time! Catch up with you again tomorrow!

Yours, Jens

SOUNDTRACK: BLACK SABBATH-Paranoid (1970).

Black Sabbath’s second album is certainly their most famous.  I mean, it features “Iron Man,” the first song everyone learns to play on the guitar.

But the whole first side of the disc is pretty famous.  “War Pigs” is a wonderful anti-war song.  “Paranoid” was their first big hit, and I read recently that it was a last minute addition to the album.  And it’s really short, too!

The next track, “Planet Caravan” is, in context, insane.  It is an incredibly slow, meandering track.  Back in the day, we used to skip this track all the time.  But since then I’ve grown to appreciate this trippy psychedelic song.  It feels a bit long, especially when you want to rock out, but it’s still pretty interesting.

And then there’s “Iron Man,” and, well, there’s nothing much to say about it that hasn’t been said elsewhere.   Except of course that it rocks!

Side Two was pretty unlistened to before CDs made it all one side.  “Electric Funeral” is a major downer about nuclear war, but it has an amazing opening riff with a wonderfully wah-wahed guitar.  “Hand of Doom” begins slowly with what’s more or less just bass and vocals.  And then guitars blare forth like sirens leading to some cool heavy sections.  About half way through it turns into this fast rocking song and becomes yet another anti-drug song.  This anti-drug stance is rather surprising given what lies in store in the not too distant future.

“Rat Salad” is a short instrumental.  It’s one half extended guitar solo with the second half comprising a drum solo.  Despite that, the riff of the song is pretty awesome.  The final track is the wonderfully named “Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots.”  The opening is another cool riff with lots of drums that melds in to a wonderfully heavy, bad-assed song (“a fairy with boots dancing with a dwarf”).  It ends the album very well.

For a record that’s nearly 40 years old, it’s still remarkably heavy and it set a great standard for heavy metal.

[READ: November 29, 2009] “The Not-Dead and the Saved”

This was a sad story about a woman with a dying child.  The child is older (late teens) and he has been coping with this issue for all of his life.  Consequently, he is cynical and more than a little bitter.

It’s hard for me to be critical of the story seeing as how it won the VS Pritchett Memorial Prize.  However, I didn’t find the story all that compelling. I think it was the completely detached narrator (third person distant, I would say) or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, I just couldn’t connect to it.

[UPDATE:  December 15, 2009.  The story also just won the National Short Story Award.  Maybe I need to re-read it].

The story begins with the son in the hospital.  He is transferred to several different hospitals, because in one location he pulled his IV out and watched the fluids drip away.

In the final hospital, he meets a nurse who is very kind to him.  The narrator explains matter-of-factly in this weird future tense that he will soon drop out of school to marry her.  It seemed so out of left field that I thought the story was turning into a kind of fantasy story in which the mother envisions something worse than the truth: her son blowing her off for a new woman.

But this relationship is the truth, and suddenly the mother is more or less ostracized from her beloved son. The jump from sick and dying young man to married with child was too fast and it seemed unreal to me.

I just never found the heart of the story.

There were a number of details about the story that I did like, particularly the part about the son’s explanation of who at the hospital was not-dead.  But for the most part I feel like I should have been more emotionally affected by such a sad story.

For my workout I plan only a light 30 Minute run today – and instead of a longer workout I will prepare the earlier promised foto & text material for meditation and further workout. Also I will check out today a software for podcasting to provide you with easy audio instrucions. Step by step you will find not only text posts for the book reviews, but also adiovisual backup!

My food today: Breakfast tea and wholemeal sandwich with curd cheese, ham and salad, as a.m. snack I plan egg white, an apple and a tea, for lunch most probably a mixed salad with chicken. As p.m. snack I took an orange and for dinner I plan a vegetable soup with fish.

Take care and plan your day well,

Jens

To sum up my first month’s work on helium will be exciting because I will get to look through the first things I’ve written on helium.com and see my growth and progress through a critical lens and then share it with you!

Please enjoy!!

Always and forever

Based on three separate poems, I’ve created this poem which is basically what I consider to be an engagement, newlywed or recommitment poem about marriage, being together and loving each other always and forever and the prospects of this new way of life. Helium has rated it 2/37.

How motherhood changes a woman

A friend of mine laughed at the fact that when I started on helium, most of the articles I had written were in their Parenting & Pregnancy channel, even though I am not a mother. I just wrote to titles that stuck out to me when I joined helium and this was one of them. I found that this was a title that was part of a writing contest helium was writing and it placed me at #14 in the list of publishers who wrote for the selected titles of the contest in the topic of Parenting & Pregnancy. I don’t quite recall how I first even found the title but I want to say that through rating, I came across many titles that stuck out to me, which I then would look up in order to write for.

This article has been 1/51 but the ratings went down and I could not understand why but when I was honest with myself, I knew that the couple of typos I’d corrected weren’t the only thing wrong. I realized my article was missing key information when it comes to physical and when it comes to professional, occupational and career changes that motherhood has on a woman. So, I “leapfrogged” the article (revising, adding to and editing an article and submitting it to be rated by the helium community as compared to your original article for the approval to, ultimately, leap over and literally replace the former article), which actually resulted in it going from two pages in length to four but all I knew was that I was making sure I put what I needed to say there in order to reflect my real take on the title. Needless to say, it reclaimed its rightful place in rating!

Should teachers have a right to deny a students need to use the bathroom?

Now, I came across this title and saw that it was a debate title, meaning you can come on the page and vote yes or no and can write an article relaying your argument for your side and your stance. A writer who wrote for the “No” side had a post on her blog/helium zone with a link to vote to “protect” children in public schools. Even though I actually loved her article [even added her to my favorite helium writers list on my profile] as well as her heart, I wrote for the “Yes” side. After writing, I learned that the channel category was for Secondary Education so I leapfrogged this article as well in order to ensure it reflected high school students and high school life at a more in depth capacity than it had previously. The article is rated 1/2 for the No side. In case you’d like to know and would find it to be valuable information, there are currently 4 articles on the yes side as compared to the 2 on the no side.

The impact of father-mother relationship on children’s well-being

This is something I’ve felt extremely strongly about and am glad to have gotten off of my chest exactly what and how I feel about it. Now, others can see and learn from it and they obviously appreciate since it is rated 3/14.

Is there too much sex on television?

I definitely had no choice but to write to this title. Everyone who I know who has read the article I wrote has thoroughy enjoyed it and thought it to be accurate and insightful as well as humorous and very debate-worthy. It is fact-driven and shares personal accounts as well as it challenges and raises questions. Enough of that, though, because what I want to say to you is that it shouldn’t be a question and I think that whoever wrote for or even just believes in the No side should “go spank themselves,” as someone I know says from time to time. Needless to say, I wrote for the Yes side and all I can say now is to just, please, read it yourself. Formulate an opinion if you have not yet done so. Lastly, fight for what you believe in because change does start with one man…every one man makes things how they are and every individual man is needed for things to change, so why not just go ahead and start with you?!

This article was numer 1/54 and was leapfrogged after a while because new information arose. It still sits at the top!

So, there we have it — a poem, two debates and two parenting articles and that sums up the best of  eDITORcHRIS/Christina Bernice’s helium.com writings from October 2009.

I received my second issue of Prospect magazine just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I’m pleased to say that this issue not only confirmed my suspicions of the magazine, it actually impressed me a little bit more.  And it sort of made me wish I had done something similar with all the magazines:  do a write up and then see how the latest issue compares (but I won’t).

I’m not going to go into extravagant detail with this issue, since I just wrote about the previous issue, but I wanted to mention the article that I was not only fascinated by, but that made me wonder why I had to cross the Atlantic to read about them.

But referencing back: yes, If I ruled the world appears to be a regular feature and this one (about abolishing receipts for transactions under £5) was funny and well argued.  And Brian Eno is back, with a funny column about increasing segmentation in music.

In this issue, I enjoyed the article about the sinister use of the word “inappropriate” (which asserts official power) instead of “indecent” (which appeals to you as a human being).  And since I use inappropriate all the time with my kids, I totally got it.

The article about stronger maternity leave (in Sweden) was really great, arguing from both sides and giving me new things to think about (as I think women and men should get more).  And most interestingly, the argument for importing vegetables from Africa was a shocking strike across the bow of the “eat local” argument.  Africans hand pick their vegetables, and therefore use farm less carbon than machine-operated farms; this completely offsets any carbon they use in transport (most of which is shipped on commercial airlines that were going to fly anyway).  Oh, and yes, the money spent on African food would obviously help poor African farmers quite a lot.

On the U.S. front, this was the first I’d heard of a theoretical presidential bid for General Petraeus.

I was also fascinated to read about the shortage of rare earth metals–China is planning on reducing the amount it sells to keep them for home production–which could vastly impact future technologies.  And, in a another cool “word” article, I learned about the new online dictionary Wordnik, which, OED be damned, includes words from all over the web, provides context, and lets people know what words are being used, whether they are stupid or not (example: “awesomepants“).

In the book world, I’ve been getting a lot of requests at the library for Steig Larsson’s The Girl with Dragon Tattoo.  I’ve wondered what the fuss was about, and conveniently, there was a review of the whole trilogy here (which makes me not want to read the books, although I’m delighted to find out the main character is a witch).  Next, Sam Leith has a fun hypothetical: would you rather be bitten by a vampire or a zombie.

And there’s media reviews of both Law & Order (!) and Saw VI (as a metaphor for American political commentary).

I’m delighted to see The Way We Were back with quotes from old authors. And I was fascinated to read a personal history by a mixed-race man who discovered that his white mom grew up with a dog named Nigger.  But when she married a black man, it showed that the name wasn’t mean to be racist, just culturally insensitive.  It was a surprisingly funny recollection.

And of course, the cover article: about dictators using the web to disrupt civil disobedience was absolutely eye-opening for me (even if in retrospect, it seems obvious).

So, yes, Prospect, you rock my world.  Thanks.

I was in Barnes and Noble recently and I looked for Prospect on the shelves.  But the overwhelming breadth (and sheer disorganization) of their magazine section made me give up after a couple of minutes.  So, I’m still not sure if you can get the magazine in the States.  But you can subscribe here.

I started my day with an early run for 60 minutes – it was great, I could watch the sunrise from a hill. The greater surrounding of Zurich has a marvellous landscape. Up the hill I did a light meditation, balance, stretching and mobilisation training, which I integrate regularly into my training. Meditation helps you to keep inner balance – mostly I do certain breathing techniques to calm down. At the same time I visualize my goals, the next steps to it or a certain situation in the future. This helps me to keep focussed.

Balance and mobilization exercises help you to stimulate the neural system and activate your intrinsic muscles. Stretching, together with strength training, aims to avoid muscular imbalances and keep a good posture.

I will prepare photos for this different topics and show possible routines later in the exercise section.

In the afternoon I will do workout as stated in David`s “Sound Mind Sound Body”: chin ups, knee lifts, triceps press, crunch, triceps kick backs.

Food today: Breakfast consisted of an apple, a yoghurt and a tea, as a.m. snack, after the run, I prepared scrambled egg white with paprika and tomato. For late lunch I prepare chicken and broccoli, dinner most probably low fat yoghurt and an orange.

Have a great weekend, Jens