Yet another absence caused by alot of real world drama. Some day I hope we will get past all of that. Among other things, after the recliner fell apart and the bed issue, we had a computer croak on us and had to replace it. That also allowed me to replace my keyboard, which had been acting up. New one is the same model with some design “improvements”. It’s a Corsair K70. The housing is still metal, and the keys are true mechanical ones, like the earlier version but they have a softer touch. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean Corsair cheaped out on newer releases. Either way, it’s corrected all the errors I was formerly having with missed keystrokes and unwanted double spaces.
While I’m bummed out that the old one died, it did last about 5 1/2 years. Given the heavy use my keyboards get, that’s not bad. Most others have only lasted about a year and a half. Still, I remember the 80s when a keyboard was all but indestructible.
Anyway, there was quite a bit of drama trying to salvage the broken PC. A new drive got it working with Zorin Linux (M$ Winblows of course wouldn’t work), but other hardware related issues started showing up and we finally went out and bought a new one. It runs laps around the old one even if it isn’t bleeding edge technology.
Beware of Bagged Produce!
We got burned by Costco getting pre-bagged lemons. It turned out that the lemons hidden by the label were completely shriveled and covered with blue mold. I’d have taken a picture, but with my mold allergies, I wanted the bag gone ASAP. We’d take it back to Costco, but it’s a long drive from here and not worth the refund price in gas and time.
I should have known better. It seems like any time we buy ‘bulk’ bagged produce anymore, it’s partially rotted to the point of contaminating the rest of the bag. It’s just not worth the savings vs buying individual items and being able to select the best products in the store. The lemons were going to be used for homemade lemonade using Xylitol (link to previous blog post) instead of sugar. Now that gets to wait.
The Home Gym:
A few posts back, I said I’d eventually get around to showing what our home gym looks like. It’s time to make good on that promise. We’re lucky that the house we’re currently renting has an enclosed sun room with it’s own mini HVAC unit.
First there’s our weight bench and our buddy B.O.B. (no girls, not THAT kind of B.O.B. lol), AKA Century Martial Arts “Body Opponent Bag”. We picked it up half off years ago when Sports Authority was going out of business. Now they’re twice what the non-sale price would have been.
The Bench is a Weider Pro 6900. Honestly, while it fits within the space profile of our sun Room, I wouldn’t recommend it. Assembly was a beast, but more importantly, the actual design limits what you can do with it. The opening for the top pulley is limited, and has rough edges, so if you use it for anything other than nearly straight vertical movements, it strips the casing off the cable. That took away our ability to use it for any kind of abdominal crunches type moves.
The seat position means you can only use the leg bar for one exercise where as it was built with a full length bench, they could have added the second padded bar for a totally different leg exercise. Likewise, while there’s a pulley on that lower bar, the cable tends to stick a little AND the cable gearing means the lower pulley has the most resistance. IF you try to do anything other than preacher curls (link to YouTube) using the lower pulley cable, either nothing moves or the whole machine does. No bueno. ☹️
We can still get in 5 or so exercises with the machine, but if we had a chance to see it in a store, I don’t think we would have bought it. There are other machines with the same footprint and cost that do twice as much.
As you can see, we also have a gym mat in the center of the room for stretching, free weight workouts, and other kinds of training. Next up is the exercise bike and the kitty command center (kitties must always be in the middle of everything, lol).
The bike is indeed a genuine Concept 2 “Bike Erg”. After going through too many cheap bikes over the years, we decided to get one that was top level commercial grade, and you can’t get much better than Concept 2 in that regard.
Oh and yes, I despise the tile floor. Looks exactly like the flooring in the Burger King I started working at in the 80s, and it’s just as big a pain to keep looking clean also.
Next up is the rowing machine:
Yes, another Concept 2. Again, decided upon after our earlier rower failed to live up to expectations. Concept 2 rowers last a lifetime and their workout computers are insanely accurate. Because of those facts, Concept 2 is the go to brand for professional training and any sort of indoor rowing record keeping.
I’m a huge believer in rowing, as it works roughly 85% of your muscles all in one workout. You’re never going to get that from any other single exercise. It’s not as good for cardio as a bike or aerobics though, and if you don’t use good form, you WILL strain your lower back.
The green thing barely showing is a Gorilla Bow (company website link). Another goodie that didn’t quite live up to the hype for us. Resistance bands don’t provide full resistance throughout an entire movement, so you don’t get near the workout that you would using free weights. Of course, that can be offset with more work, and for those with limited space, something like a Gorilla Bow can be a good alternative to a set of free weights.
Lastly there’s our most recent addition; our Mook Jong or Wing Chun wooden dummy:
Some day I imagine I’ll be as good with it as Donnie Yen or Michelle Yeoh, LOL.
The wall mounted TV we connect to a laptop and use it to stream entertainment or training videos. Right below it is the wall mounted heater / AC unit. The TV tray is where the laptop goes when I’m not working on it like I am now. OH, and the black paint can… That’s actually filled with sand (And it’s padding wrap needs to be replaced). It’s a training trick to master the Wing Chun 1 and 3 inch punches. When you can substantially move it via the proper technique, you’re on your way to mastering the technique. Still a far cry from THIS though:
And yes, I believe the video is legit. I’ve seen too many incredible strikes with those punches.
That’s it for this time. Part two of my “Butterfingered Padawan” Star Wars story from last Wednesday will be up tomorrow, so look for it then.
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