2005-07-19 - 11:49 p.m.
Hey, Got any Beer?
Sure.
I really screwed my back up at baronial fighter practice. I pulled a muscle last week, and tried to take it easy so I would be in shape for practice on Sunday. My wife told me I was crazy to go, and she was right.
I was hurting before I even swung the first shot, and after about 15 minutes of pick-ups I was really in misery. I went and got out of armor and it just kept getting worse, and by the end of practice I couldn�t even sit at the picnic table.
I spent Monday flat on my stomach and it didn�t get much better. I was able to work very slowly today but I�m still about 70% debilitated. This is nuts, I�ve never had this kind of pain from a pulled muscle. I�ve had lower back problems for years, and some times it flares up so bad that I can hardly move, but this is all across the right side of my back, I can�t even take a deep breath.
Rock Star INXS sucked pretty badly tonight, none of the performers were on and the song selection was pretty sorry. I�m glad I watched the clips on line and not on TV, it would have been a pretty depressing hour.
On a higher brow, PBS aired the second part of Jared Diamond�s �Guns, Germs, and Steel� I�m sorry I missed the first part, I�m thinking about getting the series on DVD.
The original tome was very interesting, and they can only cover so much on TV. I do think they present the major themes pretty well. Last nights episode featured some very nice riding from a modern Spanish horseman. He practices the techniques used by the conquistadors, (and still practiced today by the dressage folks) and his horsemanship was absolutely beautiful.
It�s a shame that when you watch horses on TV it�s probably jumping fences, or rodeo riding. I�ve never seen a dressage competition on the tube, probably because if you don�t know what you�re watching it can be pretty boring. Maybe we can start a movement in the SCA for more dressage, I know that it would make my wife happy.
I�m almost finished with the last book in the �Tales of the Otori� series. So far it hasn�t let me down, I�m really sorry that this is the end of the series and hope that the author comes out with something new very soon.
Since I�m promoting audio books so heavily, I should mention that Audible.com has a deal know that if you sign up for a membership, (14.95 a month,)
It includes one book and subscription per month and a discount on everything you buy, Since the books average about $25.00 each, it makes a lot of sense,
If you sign up. they�ll send you an mp3 player for free. It�s not much bigger than a pack of gum and holds three or four books. Very handy, and perfect for audio books since they take up 7-8 cd�s each and it is a pain in the neck to burn them off your computer.
The subscription is also good for a month of a program like NPR�s �The next big thing� which, since WUNC moved to Sunday night at midnight, I keep missing. I�ll probably move up to a premium membership next month, (22.00 with two books per month)
Since I spend my day engaged in work that uses about 5% of my brain, it�s really nice to listen to a book while I�m painting, or sawing out thirty of the same item. I usually listen to NPR all day everyday, but there are times when either the topic doesn�t interest me, or it�s the repeat news hour, pledge week, ect, I used to just suffer through until the next show came on, but not anymore!
Lets not forget the everlasting road trip! (I should get paid for this.) Anyway, If you love books as much as I do, you should give it a try, I�m kicking myself for all the hours I wasted that I could have been �reading�
Ok, enough of the sales pitch,
Justus
