The person you met isn't always the one you headed out to meet

Friday night I left my Greenlake apartment to a bar called Rookies in Columbia City. I took the 16 bus downtown, and caught the light rail to Columbia City. I was heading to an after party for a local podcast (with national and international recognition) called TBTL. TBTL stands for Too Beautiful to Live, hosted Luke Burbank, and co-hosted by Andrew Walsh. I caught a 7:30ish bus, and arrived at Rookies around 9ish. No one that I would have recognized was there yet when I arrived. I sat down at the bar and nursed a drink. Shortly after, another dude sat down next to me, and chatted me up about the Seahawks and the Mariners. His introduced himself to me as Thumper. 

I'm not totally sure what I should and shouldn't say about Thumper's life, but I think I'm comfortable relaying a few of the things he told me. What is to follow is an abridged account of our conversation. Thumper told me he ran away from home when he was 13. He said he attended Stanford, and then enrolled in the military. He served 8 years. He showed me the two scars where he said he was shot, by lifting up his sweatshirt, and the leg of his sweats. He was a fully engaged, and unique spirit. He was someone that I was happy to meet.

Half way through our conversation I had noticed that the hosts of TBTL, Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh had arrived, but I stayed at the table with Thumper because our conversation wasn't done. It wasn't until I actually had to leave to catch the light rail back to downtown Seattle that I made my way over to the actual podcast after party. I talked to Andrew Walsh for a few minutes, and then also said good by to Luke Burbank.

It's funny to think that I headed to see these two people that I listen to daily, and then spent 98% of my time talking to a stranger. 

Get Happy!... And Smarter!

There was a greater article from the Time Magazine website about the benefits of walking. Nothing new, or surprising, but still completely worth telling people about. Yes, walking will healthier, including: happier, and smarter. The article isn't very long and work the read. Check it out in the link below.

The Single Most Proven Way to Get Smarter and Happier

Coincidently, I was listening to something recently that said walking for 30 minutes, 5 times a week (or 60 minutes for 3 times a week), was 3 times more effective than Zoloft. MedlinePlus has a list of Zoloft (Sertraline) side effects that include hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist), and changes in sex drive or ability. I think I'd definitely choose walking.

I found supporting information on Exercise and Depression, at Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School.

Facebook and Sedentary Culture

Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus_Rift 

The news of Facebook acquiring the virtual reality company Uculus for $2 billion dollars, seems like an appropriate follow up to Wednesday's post about the risks of sedentary lifestyle, and my own fear that we are a society promoting sedentary culture. The image to the right scares the ever-loving bejeebuz out of me. The idea that we are spending more and more time consuming media and pop culture from a seated position is horrifying enough (and I do plenty of that myself), but now we're going to choose to isolate ourselves from the real world even further by wearing goggles and earphones.

I think there is a hint of good news in that Facebook's stock took a little hit after the announcement, but I'm not sure if that is really any indicator of whether consumers will buy into this kind of technology. And to be fair, maybe Facebook has no intention of trying outfit every Facebook user with some kind of a virtual feed. It's very well possible there is something about the work Oculus is doing that is important to Facebook.

This post is really a gut reaction to the photos that have attached to this story. Could there eventually be people, sitting in coffee shops, wearing this kind of head gear, and completely unaware of the world going on around them? The idea is obviously fraught with challenges. Thieves that would take advantage of tuned out individuals, and tuned out individuals being unable to immediately respond to those things in real life that require immediate response.

Ultimately, my worry is that this is just more technology (in the vein of video games) that promotes sitting for hours more at a time. It's already been shown that sitting for too long is unhealthy, and were creating new excuses to sit a longer, and little longer everyday. I'd rather see this kind of technology be rejected for a pick-up game of soccer in the park, where you have an opportunity to meet new people, and experience the fun of physical activity.

Research shows sedentary behavior is a risk for disability

A little over a month ago, the LA Times posted an article titled, Research shows sedentary behavior is a risk for disability. The article was written by Mary MacVean, and based on the a study published by the Journal of Physical Activity & Health. I believe this article is a true public service announcement, and should be read by everyone. It does a great job outlining the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle. And, I might be extrapolating the premise out too far, but I think MacVean does a tremendous job of starting the conversation about sedentary culture, and how our children are being raised, as well as what kind of far reaching implications that might have for the future of healthcare. I think each of us need to be candid with ourselves, our families, and our friends about the implications of having a sedentary lifestyle. This information concerns our young, our old, and everyone in between. Please take a moment to read the full article by following the link above.

Here are a couple stark points from the article:

• A sedentary lifestyle is associated with a variety of poor health outcomes, including increased incidence for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality.
• People who replace even half an hour of sedentary time with 30 minutes of light activity can improve their health, researchers said.
• Even a large daily dose of moderate-vigorous activity may not be sufficient to offset the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle.