30 Days To X

The days keep changing, will you?

An ode to zinc

By 2 Comments

“Improve all aspects of your health and well-being by making sure you get enough zinc in your diet.”

– Charles Poliquin, Top Ten Benefits of Zinc

[warning: today’s post has nothing to do with my challenge. I’ve been sick all week and wanted to write a post about the only substance that’s managed to make me feel better.]

Having a mild aversion to prescription medicine, I always try to fight my illnesses with natural means. Although these are often times ineffective, there is one supplement that has never failed me: zinc. In fact, zinc is the only material that I trust for helping me overcome the cold.

 According to The Cochrane Library:

“The common cold is often caused by the rhinovirus. It is one of the most widespread illnesses and is a leading cause of visits to the doctor and absenteeism from school and work. Complications of the common cold include otitis media (middle ear infection), sinusitis and exacerbations of reactive airway diseases. There is no proven treatment for the common cold. However, a medication that is even partially effective in the treatment and prevention of the common cold could markedly reduce morbidity and economic losses due to this illness.

Zinc inhibits rhinoviral replication and has been tested in trials for treatment of the common cold. This review identified 15 randomized controlled trials, enrolling 1360 participants of all age groups, comparing zinc with placebo (no zinc). We found that zinc (lozenges or syrup) is beneficial in reducing the duration and severity of the common cold in healthy people, when taken within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. People taking zinc are also less likely to have persistence of their cold symptoms beyond seven days of treatment. Zinc supplementation for at least five months reduces incidence, school absenteeism and prescription of antibiotics for children with the common cold.”

In addition to it’s cold fighting properties, Zinc is also a massive testosterone booster. Whenever I load up on zinc tablets I notice that my gym sessions improve greatly and my sex drive goes through the roof.

I personally use GNC Zinc 100, but there are numerous other quality brands available.

Cost analysis: juicing vs soda

By 3 Comments

“Probably millions of Americans got up this morning with a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a doughnut. No wonder they are sick and fouled up.”

– Jack Lalanne

The following is a quick observation I made while shopping yesterday:

Big Gulp

Large soda: $1.25

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor: $50

One pound bag of carrots: $0.80

Total costs after 365 days of drinking:

Soda: $1.25 x 365 = $456.25

Juice: ($0.80 x 365) + $50 = $342

Fear

By 3 Comments

“Fear cuts deeper than swords.”

– George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

As a child I feared that my parents would drop me off at karate practice, forget that they ever had a son, and never pick me up.

As an adolescence I feared that I’d never outgrow puberty and be forever doomed to having acne and a voice that cracked.

As a high schooler I feared that people were telling the truth when they told me “these are the best years of your life.”

As a college student I feared that everyone else had their lives figured out and would be more successful than me.

As I took a bus ride in Central America last summer I feared that someone would steal my bag, or that the driver would swerve and accidentally drive off a cliff.

As I started this site I feared that no one would read it, or that I’d be a terrible writer, or that a nest of pedophiles would use my comment section to distribute their smut.

As I was modifying a client’s website I feared that I’d make a mistake and ruin the whole thing.

As I was approaching the squat rack yesterday I feared that my legs would give out and I’d be crushed to death.

Each of these fears are united by a common trait, they never happened.

Fight Club: a retrospective

By 5 Comments

“You met me at a very strange time in my life.”

– Narrator, Fight Club

You’re sixteen and you know something is off. There’s a big election coming up, after it takes place “nothing will ever be the same.” Or so everyone says, you secretly doubt that anything will change. Your friends get excited for video games, Jersey Shore, clothes, and high school drama; you don’t care about any of those things. All the adults in your life get excited over the news, politics, and social circle drama; you wonder if they ever actually outgrew high school.

You don’t want to have to go to college. You don’t want to have to get a job. All you really want out of life is to do your own thing. Unfortunately, everyone you know thinks otherwise. You wonder if you’re the only person who realizes how frivolous and stupid most “socially acceptable” behavior really is.

One day fate hands you a book. You’ve never seen it before and you know nothing about it. You are aware that someone adapted it into a film, but you’ve never seen it. The most you know is that the plot involves underground boxing.

“This might be good,” you think. Going to the cash register, you shell out eight dollars. You now own Fight Club, the most influential book of your life.

In anticipation of my birthday, I decided to re-read all of the books that had a profound impact on my teenage self: Fight Club, Teatro Grottesco, The Game, and Think and Grow Rich.

In retrospect, only two of these books withstood the test of time. And neither one was Fight Club. I still enjoyed the book, but I enjoyed it as a story; not an ideology. When I first read Fight Club I was an angry kid, I knew something was wrong with the world and I wanted seek vengeance for it (note: the most “retribution” I ever got was shooting up a couple of things with my paintball gun. I sucked at being an anarchist). I wanted destruction, and Fight Club gave me the “okay” to do it. Four years later I can look back and realize what an idiot I was. Having hobbies and building something is far more rewarding than whatever quick thrill “getting back at the man” can provide.

While the book isn’t as meaningful to me now, it’s impact from the first time I read it has still carried over to the present day. I’m a lot more frugal than my younger self was. I’m perfectly happy with doing my own thing. And I’ve developed a taste for more “alternative” writers and bloggers like Jonathan Frost, English Teacher X, and Matt Forney.

From where I sit now, Fight Club gets a very reluctant recommendation. It’s still worth reading, but the magic is gone.

Challenge 3: closing thoughts

By 3 Comments

“Come ride with the Gucci man, I’ll take you club hoppin.”

– Gucci Mane, Club Hoppin

Saturday sees the end of my third challenge. And, to be honest, I’m kind of glad it’s over. While I met all my goals and did have a lot of fun along the way, I’m actually pretty excited to stay in and catch up on some reading. Since you can probably already tell that I have mixed opinions about my past month, I’m going to weigh out the pros and cons of doing this challenge.

  •  Pro: The first week of this challenge was awesome.

I had more fun during those seven days than a lot of people did over the course of a month. I met some cool and interesting people (as well as some complete weirdos), I jumped outside my comfort zone, I picked up quite a few girls, and I made new friends.

  •  Con: The first week was awesome, the second and third weren’t.

This decline had more to do with thrill wearing off than actual difficulty. If anything the first week was the hardest, the later weeks were just repetition. Saying some clever line that snags a girl’s phone number is fun the first time, doing it every day is boring.

  • Pro: I went to a bunch of clubs and bars.

Despite the fact that I don’t drink (and aren’t even legally old enough to anyway), I prefer going to clubs over attending house parties. This challenge gave me a great excuse to go out to venues every weekend.

  • Con: I went to a bunch of clubs and bars.

Contrary to what rap music taught me, nightclubs really aren’t all that. Filled with roving packs of desperate dudes and hordes of attention seeking party girls, clubbing quickly drained my intelligence and patience. While I know it sounds like I hate clubs, I actually had a lot of fun going to them during the first two weeks. After that, their novelty simply wore off and I started getting annoyed with them. I’ll still go to these types of places in the future, but I’ll do so more sparingly.

The most accurate club photo I could find.
  • Pro: I learned the value of going out during the day.

Guess where the bro swarms and Ke$ha imitators can’t be found? That’s right, anywhere that’s not illuminated by strobe lights. Upon realizing that I could talk to people during the day, I pretty much dropped my nightlife schedule. Not only did this save me money, but it also spared me from duck faces and pseudo-Alpha males. I also noticed that people during the day time are much more approachable. Girls were more responsive when I’d talk to them, and guys were a lot friendlier.

Looking back I had a lot of fun, I learned how to balance work with play, and I became more outgoing. I also used my new found social skills to deliver a knock out presentation, and to seek out new business opportunities. What I learned from this challenge was incredibly valuable to me, and I plan on continually using my social abilities to further advance myself. Also, all whining aside, I actually did have a lot of fun going out and meeting new people. If you’re ever looking for a way to break out of your shell, I highly encourage you to try this type of challenge.