All Things Rowdy

if i'm on the bottom, my guard gets passed and i'm unable to replace. lucky to get half guard if at all. they normally pass to side control and then i'm flattened and done. if i'm on top, i can't pass their open guard and i get swept. see above. the only position i have any success with is if i get someone's back. other than that, i am getting steam rolled completely by every single purple belt in the gym. i feel like i'm a jiu jitsu charity case sometimes..... "everyone has challenges, the trick is to not let them become excuses" B2BA2012

Front row, left to right is Ronis Gracie, Rafa Mendes, Kid Peligro, Andre Galvao, Gi Mendes, Mark. Second row, far right is me, Rowdy!

Things to do this weekend: -go up a driver level in Forza 4 Sat or Sun. -attend seminar from Kid Peligro Sat. -help Killer with a speech Sat or Sun. -wash the mini cooper Sat. -dishes Sat. -put away my clean clothes Sat. -take another practice GRE exam to gauge progress Sun. -pick up SuperD from the airport Sat. -skateboard Sat. -get groceries for Sunday's meal Sat. -watch Supercross race Sat night and MotoGP race Sun.

La Familia Michoacan, Cartel Del Golfo, Los Zetas, Knights Templar y todos los narcos. Things like this need to be totally eliminated: Corruption, secret alliances, murder of innocents, denial of freedom and libertad. There is no more chance for reform or bargaining with these groups. Only through their complete destruction can things begin to be made whole. It frustrates me greatly that I can do nothing to make this happen. My efforts to reduce consumption of drugs in the US is only a drop in an ocean sized bucket. They don't care or notice. And I'm fearful of the upcoming Mexican election. How to win the drug war: -Reduce to as low as humanly possible the need and desire in our population to consume drugs. Of any kind. An all out blitz of social and educational means for our own citizens. To save them. -Kill every single nacrotrafficante. The time for rehabilitation, amnesty or negotiation has passed. Rule of law is already desecrated. Honest, strong Mexican citize...

You know how when you get knocked down by someone or something and in retaliation you want to know someone or something else down? That's what I am about to do. Basically that while I am improving each day in my physical and mental pursuits I am still getting clobbered as well. So a little lashing out at easy, defenseless targets. Nurses versus Doctors. I'm not really a fan of nurses. You better be have a BSN at a minimum for me to even talk to you, or even better a NP. But it still boils down to the difference in philosophy. Nursing is about 'caring', medicine is about 'curing'. I want to be on the 'curing' team. Coffee and tea. Let's face it, if you need a stimulant every morning just to do your normal routine, you have some problems. Anyone who wears "UFC" branded clothing. Unless you really and actually train mma, don't even think about this. It totally pegs the douchebag and poseur meter. People going to graduate school to ...

1. Pay attention to where you stand in relation to the instructor. I know not all classes are a full as this Renzo one, but where you stand is important. Think of a baseball diamond with your instructor's head being home plate. If you are not in between the baselines (yellow in the above picture) you are not in the prime spot to see what is going on. Almost always moving to this location will give you the best vantage point for viewing the demonstrated technique. I don't think the power of where you view the move from can be overstated. 2. Mental imagery. If you've been in jiu jitsu any length of time you have already heard, "OK, let me show you one more time," from your instructor. Normally a move is shown three times and during that third time you should be actively visualizing yourself successfully completing the technique. Even go so far as to slightly move your hips, hands or whatever. Open and close hands to match the various grips you will be using. 3. ...

I can't tell if I look younger than my chronological age and life experience here or if I look my age and life's events........

After going to my conference this weekend at Cedars-Sinai I realize my job will not exist in 20 years. Here are the reasons why: 1: The time frame for technological research and development is a shorter cycle than it is for human cellular biology and pharmacology. Technological issues are what other modalities are trying to overcome in providing similar clinical information as can be gained from nuc med studies. Whereas nuc med needs advances to be made in our understanding of the body on a cellular level, its physiology and pharmacology. The pace at which these fields advance is different. Technological breakthroughs will happen first. 2: An CT or xray exam use the machine to make the radiation for the test. MRI and ultrasound originate their diagnostic "source" as well. Nuclear medicine requires us to take radioactive material and place it in your body. And the isotope for 80% of all, ALL, nuc med studies is not produced in the US. It is a by-product of creating highly ...

You can tell by the look on my face surfing requires farrrrrr too much concentration at my beginner level.

Friday is 'fun' day! And for those who lament, "there is nothing to do" then maybe you can use my Friday as an example. 7am-play tennis with my friend KL in Clairmont 9am-go get donuts at the SE Asian bakery 11am-longboard skateboarding around Mission Bay Noon-Mexican food lunch at Don Bahia in Bird Rock 1pm-surfing at La Jolla Shores 3pm-quick stop at DQ for a Artic Rush float. Cherry 330pm-finish frosty treat in the shower. 331pm-Think about breaking the world record for showering. 4pm-drive to Los Angeles for a weekend of 'education' for your professional license. Stay in expensive hotel. With this as your view from the rooftop hot tub.

I can sing this song perfectly. Working on the dance.

This is what I'm gonna be driving my week in Norway. BMW 1 series. This is where I'm staying in Oslo, the Ritz. And at the other end the Grims Grenka. Ritz, in the embassy quarter. Boutique hotel, Grims Grenka. So I'm gonna go to the Viking and Kon-Tiki museums in Oslo. I wanna go to Telemark where I have ethnic/ancestral roots. (I'm 50% Norwegian) Then it is off road tripping to Hardanger, Bergen, Tronheim, Lillehammer and such. No hotels, no agenda. Just roaming Norway for a week. Fjords, mountains, fishing villages, museums, sights, amazing nature. IF I can stand a major driving day a trip above the Arctic Circle as well! Two years ago my computer crashed and took all my pictures from my multiple trips to Rome, London and all my Iraq pictures. All of them from Morocco, Germany, Malaysia and Vietnam. I'm just soo sad about that. The memories are only in my mind. Nothing to show my one day grandkids that I've been around the world. Now I have an external hard d...

The above phrase, "It's not an adventure unless something goes wrong" has been something I've told people around me for years. Whether it was hiking, rock climbing, motorcycling, international travel, war or whatever. If everything goes fine, in spite of the danger or risk, then it was just 'fun' or maybe 'tense' but not truly an adventure. For something to be an adventure, something you didn't plan for or have an answer for has to happen. Two of my friends were riding a tandem bicycle across country. They were 245 miles from their destinations end at the east coast when a dog attacked them, resulting in a crash and broken bones. What before was an amazing journey is now an adventure! Bad weather, flat tires, broken bike parts, getting lost. They are all part of the journey. But a trip to the ER........ Something has to go wrong. Then it's an adventure. Which has me wondering, will this vacation to Israel and then driving around Norway be a ...

First in the Wednesday's list of "who knew?", the price of plane tickets. If you want to fly business/first class from San Diego to Tel Aviv, Israel and then from Tel Aviv to Oslo, Norway and then back to San Diego it is going to cost about $13,000 US dollars. Per person. Who knew? Not me...... Secondly on Wednesday's "who knew?" entry is the vast variety of animals that I've eaten. The secretaries at work were talking about our 'middle eastern' lunch and refusing to eat lamb and such. In their words it is "too weird" to eat lamb and such. Which let me to thinking, 'just what animals have I eaten?' and being surprised at the lengthy list. Animals and Sea Critters Rowdy Has Eaten the Flesh of: Alligator Antelope Bear Buffalo Clams Cow Crab Chicken Deer Dog Elk Eel Emu Goat Grouse Kangaroo Lamb Lobster Ostrich Octopus Oyster Pheasant Pig/Wild Boar Rabbit Rattlesnake Quail Salmon Shark Shrimp Snails Squid Swordfish Trout Turkey Tun...

I am climbing Mt Whitney in June with 4 other guys. This mountain is the tallest one in the lower 48 states. 14,505 feet. 4,421 meters. My group got a one day permit in the lottery. So no camping or anything at altitude. Fortunately I've spent time at over 10,000 feet before, so I know altitude sickness and such won't be a problem for me. And I'm also in a team for the Camp Pendleton mud run again. All these things mean I need to work on my leg strength and endurance. No way these will be fun to do just 'off the couch' with no special training. I'm still going to jiu jitsu, racing bmx, working out at home but I am adding a once a week Cowles hike and running stairs. Cowles will be done with a pack and at a good pace, with the hope of doing laps up and down the mountain. The stairs I run are at the ampitheater on the top of Mt Helix. 50 large steps that increase in slope at the end. I try to do at least 10 laps of them. At least one go up just jumping, plyometric...

There is an old country music album entitled, "My rough and rowdy ways". My parents listened to a variety of music but especially old country and rock n roll. I don't think I knew music from other than the 60s or 70s existed until I was 16. Where am I going with this? Well I raced the 'cruiser' class in bmx racing last year. Basically it is a class for adults on bigger wheeled bikes. Just so happens that all of these adults were expert racers as kids. So I never finished better than 3rd. Out of 3. If there were 6 guys, I was 6th. Continually crushed. Well I just ordered a 20" bmx bike, a nice one by Intense. No bike excuses can be made for not winning. But the beauty of it is now that I am on a normal bike, I get put into an actual skill class. So I will be a true novice in with other novices. They may be 9 years old, but at least we are all novices. Maybe there will be a return to my "rough and rowdy winning ways", as I eventually got pretty good a...

I know I like to be all about "action" but sometimes, actually often, I like words as well. Physical stillness but my mind fully engaged. Here is a list of my current reads: "the Atlantic"the magazine, current issue. "the filmmaker's eye-learning (and breaking) the rules of cinematic composition", this book makes me want to take serious notes. GRE test prep materials for my Kaplan course that starts soon. And my GRE is last week of May. "Foreign Policy" magazine, current issue. "Norwegian Phrase Book for Travelers", I don't get this language at all.

These are the things I would wish for: Honda CBR600RR $11,000 Triumph Bonneville SE $8,500 Ducati Hypermotard 796 $10,300 Ruger Mini-14 rifle $900 SigSauer P226 pistol $900 Transition TR250 $4,200 Cannon EOS Rebel T3i $800

For my nuclear medicine conference next weekend at Cedars-Sinai I am staying within walking distance at a nice, make that very nice, hotel in Beverly Hills/West Hollywood. A 600 square foot suite was the smallest room! Ha, I've lived in apartments smaller than that! Beautiful place that will make being bored out of my mind worthwhile. And much better than my previous trips to Albuquerque. (where i got chased by muggers, missed a full day of presentations, staph infection and a mild concussion snowboarding) This time I won't make the same mistake I did when I stayed at a nice place in San Francisco. Don't ask........... This year my birthday is a number never to be mentioned. HORRIBLE!! To soothe myself through the awful reality of it, I'm going to daydream a wish list of presents that would make a cooing sound of "there there Rowdy, it's gonna be ok" as I opened them. Like I said, treating myself to some luxury.

Medications I am taking for an infection on my wrist are causing me serious issues. Drug induced peripheral neuropathy. Basically my nerves in my hands and feet are being destroyed by the medication. More strongly in my hands than in my feet. The back of my hands feel as if they are simultaneously on fire and "pins and needles" tingling. The toes in both feet feel tingly and they mildly feel "on fire" in comparison to the inferno on my hands. Sunshine, water, pressure. All of those things make my hands cry out in agony. Taking a shower that barely is warm enough to keep me from shivering it still too painful to have my hands in for more than a second. One medication is done in two days, another in 18. I hope my hands and feet return to normal quickly! The pain is getting to be to the point where I can no longer just ignore it.

This weekend I flew away to be with family out of state. But no way was I paying a bag fee. Or taking my truck and getting 15mpg to drive to the airport. Taking inspiration from my 2009 vacation that included Viet Nam, where I saw things like this: I decided to load everything up onto scootie! Backpack between my legs and two carry on bags strapped down on the seat behind me! Oh yeah! BTW, one of those bags is a knock off bought on the streets of Hanoi! So double points!

I was hanging out with one of my nephews while out of town this weekend. We were in the living room just playing and stuff and he decides he wants to watch the Puss in Boots dvd. Again. He asks me very nicely if he can watch it, and I say "No." Nephew, "Why can't I watch Puss?" Me, "'Cause Puss is dead. So you can't watch him on tv anymore." Nephew, starting to look a little sad with a quivering lower lip, "Puss is dead?" Me, "Yep, Puss is dead. All cats die." Nephew, running away and wailing "No!!!!!!" He runs in the other room crying for like 10 minutes. Coming back he walks up to his mom and says, "Is Puss dead mom?" He really was worried about it. Real tears out of both sides of his eyes. Being his mom is my sister, she was trying not to laugh as she saw the whole thing. Poor little guy, I relented and told him Puss was still alive and that yes we could watch him again. Poor little kid was shattered f...

How am I about to break the rules? Like I always do.

Quintessential San Diego. Sun. Skateboard. Vans. Ocean. Me.

Guess what I did yesterday? That's right!! Dodge all the Zonies here in SD on spring break. hahahahaha

A few bumps in the PA school road. It isn't helpful to try and make decisions after sleeping angry, restricting calories in my diet and dealing with a broken garage door. -no community colleges are offering summer course in microbiology or anatomy and physiology. they claim budget issues. all community colleges in CA are effected and are offering only minimal classes for people already in a program. -ucsd has summer sessions that are great time wise, but do not offer any of the classes i need/want. -sdsu has a "maybe" for the classes i need, but they start at the time i had planned a two week vacation in norway and israel. on further checking, they have a second summer session that starts july 9th. registration is may 3rd, but i leave on may 28th for vacation. not a good time window to gamble but i think i'm gonna try it as i really don't want to take online classes. -the clearing house that does all the applications for all of your schools need them by october. a...

oh, btw i was 145th out of 1,657 guy runners in my age group. nothing like being in the top 10% without even trying..... and also i was 618th overall! in 5,199 peeps. pats self on back.

Eaiser course, not as many costumes, not the same obstacles but still fun. It was especially nice to not have a bandaged stomach this year.