He doesn't travel well. He's like fine shrimp.

Anya ,'Touched'


Natter 78: I might need to watch some Buffy for inspiration

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


DavidS - Apr 08, 2025 10:40:53 am PDT #6641 of 6853
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Swimming and lifting right now. I could do more with lifting, but right now I'm just giving myself credit for going, and it certainly helps a bit.

I forgot to mention they have specific sessions to focus on cardio, flexibility or strength, so I'll probably be doing some stuff with small, free weights going forward. Which I know is one of the most important things you can do for your health as you age.

just have to, you know, actually go try it.

As with friendship, the key to exercise habits (for me) is Proximity. (Not that I don't love and depend on my friends that live inside my computer.)

Back when I didn't have any money I used Kezar Stadium to run because it was right across the street. Finding a studio eight minute walk from my house is huge.

One of my friends said I was lucky it was so close, but it had been there all along and I didn't know until I did the research and found it.

Talking about it with my neighbor, Lorraine, she said, "Oh yes, the Koret Center attached to USF is available for use to locals and it's affordable." That's also eight minutes walk from my house.

So there have been options, I just hadn't done the work to find them.

Anyway, it's not always about finding the right exercise but finding something that's easy to access.


Tom Scola - Apr 08, 2025 10:55:06 am PDT #6642 of 6853
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

Still plugging away with the rowing machine. It works well for me; I find it a good balance between strength and cardio, and it saves me from ever, ever having to subject myself to the horrors of working out in a public place.

I ought to be doing at least 150 minutes each week, but I’m averaging 100–125 minutes. Hopefully, the amount of walking I do in the city kind of makes up for some of that.


DavidS - Apr 08, 2025 10:58:21 am PDT #6643 of 6853
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

I ought to be doing at least 150 minutes each week, but I’m averaging 100–125 minutes. Hopefully, the amount of walking I do in the city kind of makes up for some of that.

You're doing great! 100 to 125 minutes a week is significant for a rowing machine. And you can't beat the proximity!


meara - Apr 08, 2025 11:16:54 am PDT #6644 of 6853

Yeah, 100-125 minutes is a lot!

I got a new smart watch last year and since then every month have had a competition with friends for the most steps that month. It’s surprising how sometimes it’s super close and sometimes we are all far apart. And while usually the same couple people are at the bottom, it’s pretty variable! That said, I do feel like my cardio has very much gone by the wayside—I’ve been lifting 2-3 times a week, but I feel like if I tried to run a mile I’d fall over. But I also feel like adding more is a big ask. May try to get back on my treadmill.


Trudy Booth - Apr 08, 2025 11:53:29 am PDT #6645 of 6853
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

I had a rowing machine jam going for a while a few years ago. It was great.

I don't think we're past the point of no return here so we should keep on fighting - but I'm pretty sure they're crashing the economy deliberately. Authoritarianism thrives in chaos. Desperate people are extra stupid and malleable.

My main question is how much of global financial collapse of the last Fascist ascension was similarly engineered. Obviously oligarchs didn't create, for example, the dustbowl - but they exploited the hell out of it. It was our last major round of tariffs.


Laura - Apr 08, 2025 12:03:39 pm PDT #6646 of 6853
Our wings are not tired.

I have an abundance of exercise options in very close proximity including a couple gyms with classes, including Pilates. The gym in my building is almost always empty and I can swim an elevator ride away. No excuses, Laura. They moved us from row 31 to row 7 to balance the plane. I packed my sugar free powdered creamer which TSA dude tested. Didn’t think about it. It could have stayed north.


DavidS - Apr 08, 2025 12:52:38 pm PDT #6647 of 6853
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

I don't think we're past the point of no return here so we should keep on fighting - but I'm pretty sure they're crashing the economy deliberately

I'm really not sure if that's what's happening (though I'm certainly not discounting it) or if Trump is just stupid and intransigent and likes to bully people. There's just a lot of evidence for that. The whole Signal chat supports the notion that these people are idiots.

Also the Trump family is making big bank right now because the chaos, so...could just be his usual grift.

Say outrageous shit. Do outrageous shit. Make billions. Worked in his first term.

For anybody doing anything physical with the time and work and life restraints you have to juggle - you're doing great.

Setting goals is fine and I know we've got a lot of achiever beavers here, but I'm here to say modest and mediocre activity is way better than nothing.

Set your goal at the lowest bar and just try to do something every day, or if you're more active and need rest, then take those rest days.

JZ got a lot of exercise at the hospital simply by taking the steps instead of elevator every day, and riding her bike to work and back.


Steph L. - Apr 08, 2025 1:25:50 pm PDT #6648 of 6853
I look more rad than Lutheranism

I'm here to say modest and mediocre activity is way better than nothing. Set your goal at the lowest bar and just try to do something every day, or if you're more active and need rest, then take those rest days. JZ got a lot of exercise at the hospital simply by taking the steps instead of elevator every day, and riding her bike to work and back.

I'll have to dig up this study, but it's honestly true that just 10 minutes of activity is where people start to see real improvements in their health and life expectancy. You obviously need longer amounts if you're training for a sport, but, for real, 10 minutes is good in terms of health outcomes. Doing more has more benefits, but doing a small amount is worth the effort.


JenP - Apr 08, 2025 1:32:25 pm PDT #6649 of 6853

Yah, the neighborhood Y is seven minutes away and pretty new and very clean and spiff -- so we are MUCH better about actually going than we were to the Planet Fitness, which was 15 minutes away and in a weirdly in between industrial and commercial place. These things make a difference, apparently!


erikaj - Apr 08, 2025 2:14:41 pm PDT #6650 of 6853
Always Anti-fascist!

Some drama llama totally flipped out about her cut at the hair place. The stylists are foreign; not sure they know what a "choppy cut" is, and she wasn't finished.