I’m back after the holiday hiatus from blogging.  Over the Christmas holiday, I actually slept in three states (MA, CT, and ME) in three days  and four different houses in five days in light of all sorts of gatherings in different places.  Needless to say, it was quite a bit of travel, but well worth it.  I’m back and feeling pretty refreshed as 2009 gets underway.  So, without further ado, it’s back to the madness.

1. Today’s music selection goes back quite a few years, but it’s a classic that’s gotten some play around the gym recently: Only by Anthrax.  Press play, if you want:

I’m really not an angry person, I swear.

2. I got an I-Pod for Christmas and finally caught up with the 12-year-olds of the world.  If I can actually figure out how to use it, I suppose that I’ll be considered an adult.

3. On Christmas Eve, my older brother commented on how I was getting “thin up top” – confirming a suspicion that I’m gradually losing my hair (my girlfriend thinks I’m nuts when I say it).  I mentioned it to Brian St. Pierre the other day, and he told me to bump up my flaxseed intake.  I guess it can’t hurt.  Hmm…

4. Speaking of Brian, he was the inaugural Cressey Performance Fantasy Football League Champion.  Thanks for keeping the hardware in the family, dude, and congratulations.

5.  I was asked the other day what I thought of online master’s programs, and here was my response:

“My first recommendation, above all, is that if you want to do graduate school, you should absolutely, positively do it IN-PERSON, if possible.  There are a lot of online master’s programs, but none of them hold a candle to the experience that is graduate school.  At UCONN, I had daily interactions varsity athletes, the best professors in the country, and experienced researchers in the human performance lab.  The coursework was valuable, but was secondary to the tremendous benefit I got from those opportunities.  You just can’t get that online.

“The online master’s route may be appropriate for someone who is already working in a position – such as collegiate or professional sports – where those experiences are already taking place.  If you opt to go the online master’s route, I’d also highly recommend you apply for an internship somewhere under someone who is doing what you’d like to do.”

6. Here’s an old article of mine that deserves a mention in light of all the New Year’s Resolutions that are going around:

Rotten Resolutions

The goals might be outdated, but the message isn’t.

7. My girlfriend and I asked for a food processor for Christmas, and my grandparents came through with a nice one.  Of course, I chose to christen it by gashing open my thumb as I took the blade out of the box.  Luckily for us, the Gourmet Nutrition Apple-Cinnamon Bars we made with the new toy (once I had clotted) turned out great.

8.  I coined a new term today: scromelette.  A scromelette is what results when you screw up while making an omelette, and after some cursing, wind up with scrambled eggs and vegetables.

9. Another great article (this one more recent) from Mike Robertson worth reading:

Facts and Fallacies of Corrective Exercise.

That’s all for today.  Have a great weekend!