There’s been a thread going around some of my favorite sites about whether physical strength is the most important thing.  I like the answer given here by Jim Tynan — he hits on a number of points I thoroughly agree with.  But I think there’s another key component to the equation.

My buddy Dan came up with that thought out of the blue just yesterday.  It’s one that I’ve had in my head for ages: the importance of routinely causing our own selves pain.  Sure, having physical strength is important for all the reasons Mr. Tynan mentions.  The process of getting physical strength by causing yourself suffering is equally important.

Here’s why:  the ability to react well when things get difficult is often the difference between living and dying when things get seriously bad.  Key to that ability is the concomitant ability to suffer but push on.  How are you going to have that ability when the you-know-what hits the fan if your main focus in day-to-day living is comfort?

Mentally and physically, then, it’s vital that we become accustomed to making ourselves hurt.  Really hurt.  Really regularly.

I’ve always liked this quote, supposedly from an unknown Marine gunny sergeant:

Comfort is an illusion.  A false security bred from familiar things and familiar ways.  It narrows the mind.  Weakens the body.  And robs the soul of spirit and determination.  Comfort is neither welcome nor tolerated here.

Gizmag had this story about watch company Hublot creating a reproduction of the Antikythera mechanism, a celestial clock dating back to ancient Greece.  The story of how the mechanism was found and studied is amazing; the story of its origins is nearly incredible.

I’m happy the medals got there while he could still appreciate them.

Thanks for your service, Capt. Harrison.

Of the many places my wife and I have lived, we agree Buffalo is our favorite, barring each of our hometowns.

Our friend Mark sent a link to this video, which captures almost everything I love and miss about that dear town.

My buddy Dan has an interesting take on the colossal failure of our elites in every walk of life.  He believes it comes down to the disconnect and value difference in credentials versus achievement.  He points to the products of our elite universities and corporations, along with our government, and their lengthy resumes of merely being in the right place or school or organization or activity to build what looks to be an impressive c.v.  Except on closer inspection it becomes clear they never actually did anything of any note.

So I figured he’d really like this blog entry by Paul Caron on his TaxProfBlog.  I was right — he did.

I just watched this 1973 video of Yes performing the iconic “Close To the Edge” live:

Now I’m listening yet again to their latest album Fly From Here.  And I can’t fathom someone like Steve Howe having the talent he displayed in that video nearly 40 years ago, and retaining that same level of talent on the newest album.  Wow.

I remember in the late ’70s, when I was first really getting serious about bicycling, looking at the Paramount in the Schwinn catalog and wondering who in the world would ever spend $1,500 on a bicycle.  Insane!

I’ve since done so myself many times over.  But that being said, I don’t ever see reaching this price point.

We could use a whole lot more people pointing out to folks that repeating business-trendy malapropisms not only doesn’t make you seem smart, but makes you appear at once idiotic and unoriginal.

Tim Phillips does his part with this article.  Well done, sir.

My latest object of corporate-speak hatred is the use of ask as a noun:  “We need to make sure we understand what the ask here is.”  I’m not sure it’s even possible to sound stupider than that.  Doesn’t make it any better when it’s a VP of Finance saying it, either.

I ran the Monster Dash half-marathon over in St. Paul this past Saturday.  I’d trained fairly well for it, but not really exhaustively, and because of work travel I tapered pretty dramatically the past two weeks.  So I wasn’t sure how well it would go.

It went really well — I set a PR of 1:41:36.  Yes, it was a downhill course.  And yes, the temperature — while inducing shivering and teeth-chattering both before and after the race — was very much to my liking for the running itself.  But the legs always have the final say, and they were happy on Saturday.

Not bad at all for a middle-aged dude, if I do say so myself.

My bro Steve sent along this excellent article about Rush’s masterpiece, Moving Pictures, which came out a gray-hair-popping thirty years ago.

I’ve listened to the album a couple times in tribute, and yes, it’s just one of the very best ever made.

I’d never heard of “A Nice Morning Drive” by Richard S. Foster.  It’s a pretty good story.  I have to say I like Rush’s adaptation of the storyline better than the original, though.

And I did not know that “YYZ” was named for the ID code of Toronto International Airport.  But I’ve never flown to Toronto, so why would I?