Mishmash Musings

So which country do you think is doing the best at the Olympics? I guess that depends on whether you live in the United States or in the rest of the world. Apparently, when viewing American-based news sources, the table listing Olympic medals shows the U.S. at the top because of the total number of medals won (i.e. gold, silver, and bronze).

News sources from most other countries, however, show China at the top of the medals chart because they base the count on gold medals only. All of the European and Asian news sources that I’ve checked list the Olympic results this way. Here’s a medal table from the Guardian newspaper in the UK:

And then there are some places that prefer to list the top countries based on medals per capita, which at this year’s event, would put Jamaica in the lead. After all, these people argue, of course China and the U.S. are going to get a ton of medals when they each send nearly 700 athletes to the games!

I personally don’t care how people rank countries in the Olympics because I hate almost all the events. But I just thought it was interesting that there are so many different kinds of tallies out there.

I’ve been committed to being a healthier person this year, and towards that end, I’ve been following a fairly good diet and exercise regimen. I’ve been pleased with the results (for the most part), as I’ve lost 9 pounds in about six months. That doesn’t sound like a whole heck of a lot, but I was only carrying around an extra 15 pounds to begin with.

Anyway, while my weight has dropped, I haven’t noticed the same decrease in my overall body fat percentage. When I started my new regimen, I was on the high side for a healthy female of my age and height, something like 28.7%. In six months, I’ve seen that number drop just 2%, even though I’ve been doing my best to tone my muscles and cut my fat intake.

I’d like to get down to between 20-23% body fat, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to do it all on my own. That’s why I’m now considering trying a supplement like Fenphedra. I’ve read some reviews that say this is a pretty good fat burner, so maybe it’ll give me the boost I need.

I won’t rely on these supplements alone, of course. I plan on sticking to my regular diet and exercise regimen as well. But any extra help at this point would be welcome!

I have had a Nikon D70 digital SLR camera for several years now, but it has been out of commission for the last two. Something happened to the lens that came with the standard kit, so the camera couldn’t Autofocus. I had to shoot everything in Manual mode, which, not being much of a photographer, left me with very few usable pictures. I ended up buying a small point-and-shoot camera instead, and let my D70 gather dust.

But then I started feeling guilty that I was letting such an expensive camera simply sit around, so I finally bought a replacement lens from an online store. The lens is not a Nikon, but it’s compatible with the brand and thus far has worked just fine. I paid $219 for the lens, plus another $29 for a new compact flash card since I couldn’t find the old one, and now have a very good digital SLR at my disposal again.

I’m not sure why I waited so long to get a replacement lens for this camera. I should have just done this as soon as the problem occurred!

I’m not that interested in the Olympics, but softball is one event that I don’t mind — probably because I played it while growing up. So I kind of follow the Olympic softball team every now and then, especially since they usually have no trouble beating their opponents. In fact, they were something like 21-0 in Olympic play heading into yesterday’s gold medal game against Japan.

But then the unthinkable happened: The U.S. lost when it counted most. Just like the New England Patriots, being undefeated meant nothing when it came down to the championship game. The Pats lost the Super Bowl, and will forever be remembered as the team that couldn’t close the deal. The 2008 Olympic softball team lost the gold medal game, a disheartening way to end their time in Beijing. The fact that softball will not be back as an Olympic event for at least 8 years (and quite probably more), doesn’t help matters either.

Anyway, Japan ended up beating the U.S. 3-1 to secure gold on Thursday night. Some people are pointing to this game as a reason that softball should continue to be an Olympic event, saying that there is “parity” throughout the world after all. Um, yeah… Did they forget the part where the U.S. team had outscored opponents 57-2 in this Olympics prior to the medal round? Does that sound like parity?

Well, we’ll see what happens to softball eight years from now.

Back when I was in high school, one of my best friends and I had a rather, uh, unique hobby. We liked to practice picking locks! It wasn’t for illegal purposes or anything like that. My buddy’s uncle was a locksmith, and we just thought it was really cool to play around with his tools and try to pick locks. Plus, it helped that we were both huge mystery/detective fans, as picking locks made us feel like Philip Marlowe or something!

We actually became pretty good at picking locks — good enough to know which locks were easy to pick and which were more difficult. I always had trouble with Schlage locks for some reason. That’s a weird thing to remember, right?

Anyway, I haven’t picked a lock in more than 15 years, and doubt that I could do it today without first practicing a bunch. After all, I’m sure locks and deadbolts have become more sophisticated over the years. Maybe I’ll order a set of picks and tension wrenches and try my hand once more!

Well, I had been enjoying my first summer of clear, blemish-free skin since I was a pre-teen, but I think that’s over now. As I was washing up for dinner tonight, I saw that I’ve got a bunch of clogged pores on my forehead, leaving that surface bumpy and disgusting looking. I thought my latest skin care regimen was working, but I guess I’ll have to start shopping around for more acne cures after all.

I tell ya, this gets pretty exhausting. I’ve been battling bad skin for more than 20 years now, and I never manage to stay clear for than a couple of months at a time. I drink eight glasses of water per day, avoid foods that trigger breakouts, gently cleanse my face twice per day, use benzoyl peroxide on existing blemishes, and am careful not to touch my face with dirty/oily fingers — yet I still have problems. What else can I possibly do here??

I don’t get it. I’ve been hearing a lot about how this is the last time softball will be an official Olympic event, and I simply don’t understand why it’s being dropped. Is it not exciting enough? Are some teams too dominant? Is the sport not mainstream enough? I have no clue what the official reason is, but I have a feeling it’s bogus anyway.

Why would I say that? Because I was just perusing a list of other Olympic events and came across the following: Synchronized swimming, Canoeing, Equestrian, Fencing, Field Hockey, and Handball. Do you really mean to tell me that any of these events are more mainstream or draw more of a crowd than softball??? Are you freakin’ kidding me? What a complete joke. No wonder I stopped watching the Olympics back in the ’80s.

I know cabin fever usually applies only to the winter months when it’s impossible (or at least very difficult) to get out and do things, but I’ve been feeling that way this summer as well. It’s probably because for the first time in years, we couldn’t afford to take a family vacation and have just been sitting around the house every weekend.

I have to admit that I never really appreciated any of our past trips before, but now that I’m looking back on some of our fun San Diego and Orlando vacations, I’m starting to feel differently. We’ve done a lot of fun things as a family and have seen a lot of great places, and for that I am thankful. Hopefully we’ll be able to start taking vacations again next year, as we really need to get away from it all!