It's Pronounced 'Crisis'

Stop American Censorship — a campaign from Fight for the Future

2012-01-18T10:41:00.000-05:00

Stop American Censorship — a campaign from Fight for the Future

Go here. Do what it says. We must protect the internet from SOPA and PIPA!

Is anybody out there?

2012-01-11T15:04:00.001-05:00

There are so many different sites for posting status updates and sharing thoughts that the idea of a personal blog with no objective seems really pointless. That's probably why there have been no posts here for almost 2 years.

Meh.

USMNT Roster Announced

2010-05-26T16:13:00.001-04:00

Bob Bradley announced his final 23 that he will be taking to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It can be found here: US Soccer

All I have to say is: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... NO CHING!! Bradley FINALLY realizes how terrible Ching is. But Bornstein is in. He is another player that is so terrible at the game of soccer, I wonder how he even gets paid to do it. He played so horribly last night in the game against Czech Republic. He tried to play up as a mid half the time it seemed. He is worthless. He better not touch the pitch in South Africa.

Everything else about the roster looks pretty solid. I am glad he left Kljestan out as well. Gomez played pretty great last night. I'd like to see him starting with Altidore. He hustles and doesn't quit like my boy Charlie Davies (whom I am still upset about not making the roster).

Gooch and Holden were the only starters playing last night since they are both getting over injuries. Holden played a real solid 90+. Gooch came out after 65 minutes to ice his knee and didn't play the greatest, so we'll have to see how he does Saturday to know for sure about him.

Goodson showed some promise and he's tall. He created a goal off a corner due to his height to get up over everyone. Findley didn't even play last night which means Bradley must've planned on bringing him. I am surprised he is going over Ching actually.

Edu played like crap even though he scored his first international goal last night. It was cleanup though. He is not a great ball handler or distributer so he shouldn't play in the middle and he played awful defense causing a goal for the Czechs, so I am not sure where else he could be useful. I am not surprised he is going, but I will be surprised if he sees any time over Donovan, Dempsey, Holden, Torres, Clark or Feilhaber.

I am really looking forward to see how we do on Saturday against Turkey in the friendly. It will give us a chance to get some minutes with everyone before we head over and see how the new crew meshes with everyone.

Appalachian Trail

2010-05-21T18:55:00.000-04:00

My roommates and I hiked on the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! What an amazing experience!

Chuck Deezy (aka Charlie Davies)

2009-10-16T13:48:00.000-04:00

Just read a great article about Charlie Davies and all his contributions to the USMNT. It really is hard to describe how I felt when I heard this tragic news of his crash early Tuesday morning. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I was so excited to see him and the rest of the team play on Wednesday, October 14 against Costa Rica live at the stadium. I had never been to a professional soccer match before and I was starting it out big by going to a World Cup qualifier. But, when I read the news about Charlie, it really dampened my excitement. He was the one I wanted to see play the most.

Ever since he made his debut in the Confederations Cup for the national team, I was a big fan. He showed more determination and hustle than any other player on the field. Something that I felt had been lacking from our team. His positive attitude and outlook really contributed something special to our national team. But due to this horrible event, he will be down for 6-12 months and probably won't be ready to participate in the 2010 World Cup next year; if he recovers fully at all. Can you imagine how it must feel to be such a rising star.. finally catching your break on your country's national team and getting picked up by another great team, Sochaux, only to have your dreams crushed by such a terrible tragedy?

It really just makes me sad.. Charlie, my prayers are with you. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you play in the World Cup next year.

Here is the goal heard 'round the world by my boy Chuck Deezy. Get well so you can outdo this one:

USA vs Costa Rica

2009-09-24T15:37:00.001-04:00

So I finally (after MUCH coaxing) convinced my housemate to come to the USMNT vs Costa Rica game in Washington DC on October 14 at RFK Stadium. This is the last time we will be able to see our boys play in the US for quite some time. Not until after the World Cup which isn't until next summer and there is still a while after that until the qualifiers for the next one start. So, suffice to say it is a pretty great opportunity.

On another note, neither of us have been to DC before and we will be there all day the next day. Anyone have any suggestions on what sites to see? Also, what kind of transportation do they offer there? We're not planning on renting a car since RFK is only 6 miles from the air port and 2 miles from our hotel. Anyways, it will be a great experience overall. A lot of firsts for us both!

Some shameless plugs for some of my boys on the US Men's National Team:
Check out my boy Stu Holden on Twitter making some big moves on the team. Also, Charlie Davies who is hustlin to score those goals! Can't wait to see you guys in action on the pitch!

Rock Climbing

2009-08-25T11:24:00.001-04:00

I haven't been rock climbing in quite some time, but just saw this video of Alex Honnold free soloing a 2000ft sheer cliff and it made me want to get right back into it.

Here's the vid:

Alex Honnold free solos Half Dome from Hennie vJ on Vimeo.

Can you imagine the rush he must've felt? I need to get back out to Wyoming and hit the trails again..

UPDATE: Looks like he made the video private. Sorry to those who didn't get a chance to check it out!

Google Sites, cont'd

2009-08-25T11:03:00.003-04:00

After playing around with Google Sites and getting my mom's site up at Yardmaids.com, I think you can host your own site by using the 'Delete this site' option in the Site Options area. Haven't tested it out yet, but once I get moving on my own sites at CoolCriSyS.com and MatthewWestover.com, I will try it out and post the results for sure.

Google Sites

2009-08-11T00:15:00.000-04:00

Man, it's been a while since my last post. Definitely need to get back into the swing of things. Changed up the layout and added some stuff. I have been using Google Reader for my RSS feeds more religiously so I have discovered a bunch of great blogs which I have linked on the right now so check those out!

In regards to Google Sites, I have been creating a site for my mom for her yard clean-up/landscaping business for which I bought the domain yardmaids.com through Google Apps. Now it seems that I am only able to edit the code on the site using Google Sites. Maybe I need to find my own hosting and have it put up in that domain, but I haven't ever done this through Google Apps before so I am not quite sure how it works. But, when I get it figured out, I will post my discoveries here.

T-Mobile sucks

2008-10-31T14:26:00.000-04:00

So, I finally decided that I was going to get the T-Mobile G1 with Android when it came out on Wednesday, October 22. I did some research on the HTC phone and hardware and I really liked the phone layout. Android is new, but the software can be updated. Also, T-Mobile's network sucks, but that is also being worked on. Regardless, I knew I needed something since my contract with Verizon was up and I needed a phone as sweet as the iPhone that wasn't the iPhone, because as cool as the iPhone is, it is just not for me.

I go in Wednesday to pick it up and start up my account and all that stuff and everything went great. The guy said it would be overnighted to my house which would be perfect timing for my network to change over to T-Mobile.

Next day comes and UPS attempts to drop it off at my house while I am at work. Unfortunately, the package needed to be signed for and I am without a phone at that point after work since the service kicked in to T-Mobile. So my only choice is to drive the 30 minutes to UPS to pick it up which is super inconvenient.

I get there and get my phone, open it up and turn it on.... Error: No SIM card detected. Ok, so I have to find the SIM card in the box and put it into the phone myself. No big deal. I find the card that holds the SIM and there is a place for a SIM card, but no SIM card... I open up the phone to discover that there was, in fact, already a SIM card in there. So, I call up T-Mobile to confirm it is the right SIM card, but when doing that I discover that the card is impossibly lodged in the SIM holder and prying it out of there caused it to cut into the contacts on the card. AWESOME!

The next morning (Friday) I take it into T-Mobile and explain what happened. They try a new SIM card and I get the same error. PERFECT! At this point we know the phone is defective which is what I was hoping would not be the case. The guys at the store were super cool throughout the whole process. They gave me a $100 credit to my account for all the inconvenience. It was the same guy who signed me up. So he goes to bat for me and tries to get me another one ASAP. After spending like 30 minutes on the phone with a few different people, we finally get a girl who I talk to and I am telling her I need one like now or yesterday, so get it to me quick. She says the best she can do is Monday or Tuesday. I find that this was acceptable and she places the order saying I would be credited back and recharged. Fine. I confirmed that I would receive an email to confirm everything and get a tracking number.

Monday rolls around and I still haven't recieved an email. At that point I started to get worried, so I called up my local T-Mobile to see what the deal was. I find out the guy I had been dealing with is gone on vacation all this week. SWEET. I decide I can wait till tomorrow at the latest.

Tuesday rolls around and I still haven't heard anything or received a new phone. After work, I call up the T-Mobile customer service line and get through to a woman who sounds very apologetic after I explained my situation. She said she didn't see anything on my account about getting a new phone to which I am getting VERY frustrated about, but she reassured me that we'd get it taken care of and get me one ASAP. So she cold transfers to another department which is actually just the same line and I have to wait on hold again. I finally get on with a new rep, and I have to explain everything again to him plus how I was already transfered back into the same line. Furious at this point, I tell him I want my phone IMMEDIATELY. He looks on my account and somehow he finds some notes about the transaction on Friday about getting me a new phone. He finds an order number, but it is not rush processed or anything and the phones aren't coming back in stock until mid-November and there is nothing they can do to speed anything up. WONDERFUL!

So, I say to the guy how the rep who SAID she ordered it for me and that it would be here Monday or Tuesday straight up lied to me. I cussed out his company and hung up the phone. So here I am with a piece of crap Nokia replacement phone to tied me over until I finally get the G1. Good thing is: I got the chick's name and Rep ID. Plan: Get the bitch fired for lying to customers AND get the next few months free.

Some of you may wonder why I would even stick around with them after all of this. Well, it's simple really. No other carriers have any plans to release Android phones any time soon. I need to be connected and the HTC G1 is my ideal phone. Bad thing is is that it's only offered on the WORST network there is. I know one person on the network out of hundreds of people I have asked.

Moral of the story: Don't ever go with T-Mobile if you can avoid it. I am barely hanging on without my G1 and I have a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better...

Updates to come when I get the chick fired and get my phone.

Nutrition

2008-10-08T17:40:00.000-04:00

This is my first blog post that was originally on Facebook that I thought I would migrate here since it is a passion of mine.

There is one main thing I would like to convey to everyone:

STOP EATING TO THE POINT WHERE YOU BECOME FULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Up until recently, I was a victim of this problem. Overeating. Every meal. The result was me being overweight. I still am slightly overweight, but I can tell you when I step on that scale every week, it's less than the week before. It takes time, but in the end I will be in the best shape and the healthiest ever in my life. I am doing it the right way, too. I am not on some crazy 'diet'. I changed my lifestyle. I no longer crave Wendy's #6 spicy chicken, medium sized with a mountain dew. I think about that and cringe at how unhealthy it is... and it's the chicken which isn't even as bad as those burgers... gross.

Oh, and I am sick of marketing campaigns such as one of the Taco Bell ones where they conveyed that being full was a desirable state. "I'M FUUUUUULLL". Stupid. How about "I'M SATIATED!!!". I'd like that one better.

What you can get out of reading this is that no matter what you are doing now, I can help you get healthier. I have absorbed so much knowledge on this topic in the past few months that I should literally write a book. But since there are so many of those books out there, I thought I would just share it on here with my friends because I care about you all and your health.

Ok, on to the good stuff. If you do any of this, please just do this step: go to Calorie Count and create a free account there to track what you eat and your activities EVERY DAY! In doing this, you can utilize all their tools and guides that they have available in order to lead a healthier lifestyle. It's completely free and takes 2 minutes to set up. It's not just counting calories; it's watching your saturated and trans fats and making sure your diet is balanced the way it should be (45% carbs, 35% protein, 20% good fat).

Next, read this article: 20 super foods you need to build muscle & lose fat which has a great list of healthy foods and their benefits. All the other links on that page are fantastic reads as well.

Mainly, I think the biggest problem that people have is overeating during meals. Someone said that you should have 3 meals a day: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Whoever decided that should be shot for leading soooooo many people astray. Realistically, you should eat more like 5 meals a day. I know you're wondering, "If I am trying to lose weight or become healthier, why would I eat MORE??". Well, I will tell you: Metabolism. Your metabolism is like a fire. Eating 3 big meals throughout the day gets it burning REALLY hot right after a meal, but going so long to the next meal it dies down a whole lot, whereas, keeping it burning consistently all day by eating smaller meals more frequently, it will be much healthier and...consistent. Here is my current meal plan:

7am Breakfast (NEVER, EVER, EVER skip breakfast!!): I have 2 bowls of cereal or egg whites (high in protein). Protein is great in the morning, but it doesn't even matter what it is you eat because eating absolutely anything in the morning to jump start your metabolism after it has been dorment all night long is the best thing you can do to start your day.

While I am at work, at around 10 or 10.30, I will eat a protein bar. 16g protein and 36g of carbs. I just ordered some new protein bars that flips those numbers because I am trying to build some muscle mass while losing fat and getting more proteins than carbs is critical in doing that. Essentially, I am going for 45% proteins, 35% carbs, 20% fats in my diet (diet being what I eat, NOT that I am on a 'diet').

Lunch time, which is around noon, I go out for lunch with the guys at work and eat a normal lunch trying to keep in mind healthy food choices. Anywhere you go, even most fast food places now, will have some healthier alternatives for you to choose from. The key here is to not eat to become full, just to tied you over until you will eat again. More recently, however, I have been trying to stick to subway to shed a few extra calories so I can lose fat a little quicker. DO NOT CUT TOO MANY CALORIES! Women should get at least 1300 calories per day and men 1500 MINIMUM! Anything lower than that and your metabolism suffers.

Depending on how I am feeling from lunch, I have a Nature Valley or equivalent granola-type bar before I leave work. The key here is to never have the hunger feeling like your stomach is wanting food. I can't remember the last time I had that feeling because I eat so frequently.

After work around 5.30-6, I have dinner. Dinner should be light. I recommend a protein shake like I have or any other meal replacement type drink or food. Dinner should not be a huge production. It is to wind down your day and keep you satisfied before you go to sleep. What I usually do is take a banana, some strawberries, a little honey, flax seed or another healthy grain, whey protein, and a blender. Do the math and it produces a tasty beverage.

To finish out my day, I do something physically active such us going to the gym, going to my muay thai (martial arts) class (which kicks my ass - burn 2000 calories in 2 hours), playing soccer, playing tennis, running... any number of things that make you happy and keep your heart rate up. Try to do that for AT LEAST 30 minutes. Anything over 30 minutes and you are burning fat. Anything under 30 minutes is a waste of time (unless it's fun).

Some of these articles you read say it's better to have the protein shake AFTER a workout, which is true. Your body starts to eat at your muscles after a workout looking for nutrients to replenish itself. It is always a good idea to get some protein and carbs after a workout, so I will usually have something like a yogurt mixed with grains or flax seed.

Get plenty of rest at night as well. I try to get at least 7 hours. You'd be surprised at how hard this can be (for me at least). And I don't have any responsibilities or time constraints besides work.Oh, and don't drink your calories. This is very important. Cut out the soda and sugary drinks. Those are empty calories which means you get the calories without any benefit from them besides gross, unhealthiness.

I do this every day - day in, day out. All of this is relatively easy for me because I don't really have any outside responsibilities such as a wife or girlfriend, children, etc. I can just get home from my job and do whatever. It used to be get home and choose to play video games. Now I have decided that I would like to live a little healthier and get some benefit from my time (I do still play video games though). So for those of you who don't have the extra time to exercise but still want to live healthier and shed some pounds. You can skip the physical activity and I promise you will still lose weight and feel better overall if you follow these few guidelines.

If any of you want to talk about any of this or have any questions, just leave a comment or get in touch with me any way you know how and I will be more than happy to answer them. I still have a wealth of knowledge on the subject that has yet to be tapped by this blog.

Wow. This was long... Did anyone actually read all of that? I hope so.