Don't Crash Your Coffee

[Jeff Gross]

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?


Dont Crash Your Coffee.

I tell NCCC riders that the First Rule of Cycling is "No Falling Down." I kind of forget what rules 2 and 3 are - I make them up every time I talk.

Becoming a crash-proof rider means more practice, but not just on the bike. Professional motorcyclists say you should practice safety ALL the time. "Don't Crash Your Coffee" means to be alert even when you are drinking coffee. You know that feeling of being alive and one with your bike, alert to all the hazards around you as well as the delicate muscle control to make your bike do what you want. It is a heightened awareness that is the opposite of zoning out. That is the alertness you want to practice when you are off the bike.

Practice being centered in your balance, alert to dangers, and aware of your surroundings whenever you move. Stop being accident-prone! When you make a goof, think: "What did I do wrong?" "what if I had lost my concentration like that when I was on my bike?" "What should I have done to prevent that?" Even if someone else is at fault, ask what you could have done to defend against an accident. Will Rogers said, "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."

Read more on common causes of bike crashes and some tips on how to avoid them:
http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/injury-prevention/make-save

The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

These Stretches are Killing Me!

These commonly used stretches are like old wives tales - they seem natural, everyone practices them, they feel good, and they are dangerous!



DO NOT: Sit on the floor, with legs flat on the floor. Touch your toes. The problem: this stretch causes disc herniation in your spine.



DO NOT: Swimmers grab an elbow and pull it across their chest, and then lift it overhead and pull it behind their neck. The problem: this stretch causes shoulder laxity. I did this stretch for years, and had to have shoulder surgery to correct the torn ligaments from my shoulder moving loosely around in its socket.



DO NOT: Runners: Stretching your legs right before you race. The problem: stretching before heavy exercise causes pulled muscles. Do your stretches after the session, when your muscles are warmed up, or as a separate workout.
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?



“Clear”? Clearly Not!.

You want to be a courteous cyclist in your group ride â€" of course you do. So you come up to an intersection, check both ways, and let the others behind you know that it is “CLEAR.” It is a hard habit to break, but here is why you should: what is clear for you is not clear for all the riders behind you. By calling “Clear” you are telling the rider(s) that you are assuming liability if they proceed through the intersection without checking themselves for danger. You are implying that the riders behind you do not need to obey a stop sign or warning signal. You are giving anyone within earshot the go ahead. You are encouraging mass-mindless cycling.

To help you break the habit, if you spontaneously call “Clear” out of your do-good instincts, follow it up with the correction: “For ME!”

Calling out “Car Left!” is different: call out hazards, like cars, holes and rocks, but let other cyclists judge their own safety margins.

Greg Pschaida pointed out that a similar instance of over-polite cycling is waving to a driver behind you to go ahead and pass. This is the same issue of letting other operators judge their own safety margins.

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?



Fun Factoid

Guess you can't help but talk about Vitamin C here.  What a GREAT carb.  I think we need another food category because Carbs should be your largest food group.  And when people say carbs, I think about fruits and veggies. This should be 58% of the food that you consume. That's our BEST anti-cancer diet yet!!  Of course, Diabetics... watch these sugars and think GREEN.  Tangerines are a food color you don't want to be focused on if you are working to get your sugars in order.

Debi Foli


DejaMoo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.




Home Prices Rising at ‘Unsustainable’ Rate

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2013
Home prices have been soaring by double digits compared to last year’s numbers and the National Association of REALTORS® are calling the rises “unsustainable.”

The price for existing home sales surged 15.4 percent higher in May compared to last year.

"Some of the increases can be explained by the fact that it is recovering from an over-corrected situation," says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "But with people's income rising at only 1 or 2 percent and prices rising in double digits, it cannot continue.”

The price discounts for bank-owned homes are vanishing rapidly, says Rick Sharga of Carrington Mortgage Holdings. Prices of distressed homes â€" particularly in markets like California, Arizona, and Florida â€" are rising faster than traditional home prices.

"You can at least make an argument that part of the dramatic increase in median home prices can be attributed to the foreclosure discount evaporating,” Sharga says. “That suggests that overall home price increases may be slightly overstated.”

However, according to NAR’s latest report, more expensive homes are seeing higher price rises. For example, homes priced at more than $500,000 have had prices soar 33 percent in the last year while homes priced below $100,000 have had prices down 9 percent year-over-year.

My observation: investors have become the largest source of buyers today. With all-cash offers not subject to a bank's appraisal, they are outbidding owner-occupied buyers. It is a very speculative market, and they are looking for short-term gains. Look at the employment statistics as a better guide for when the economy is in a sustainable recovery. Realize that unemployment statistics are deceptive because there are many unemployed who have given up on finding a job, and are now out of the job search and off the unemployment rolls.

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

Bike lots,
Jeff Gross
jeff@fullcommitment.com