Scary places...

Ok, first of all, let me clarify something. I don't believe in any kind of spiritual thing or premonitions or third eye or whatever, so there is no "paranormal" bias here. What I'm describing here it's just the observation of a phenomenon.

A phenomenon that happens to me, sometimes.

During my perpetual wandering on planet Earth I've found places that give me weird feelings.

Places that are scary, for some reason.

It's a subtle kind of scariness.
It's not fear. It's a crawling feeling telling me that the place is not "right".

Those are usually remote places, but still they show the presence of human beings...

Places in which if you scream nobody will hear you, just to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Maybe it is just my imagination: a cross over between years of horror movies, violent music and a big imagination.

For example yesterday.
I was trail running in the middle of nowhere in the Texan prairie. Suddenly I found myself complete isolate, in a flat humid place, surrounded by pounds, mud and trees, but still I could feel the presence of humans. An abandoned doll, the skeleton of an old truck, tall utility poles.
And I felt it. This thing telling me that the place could be a nice place for a serial killer, a monster, the end.

Again, there is nothing spiritual, it's just a feeling. A bad feeling.
Off course, I'm curious about these kind of things. If one part of me (the wise one) is telling me to keep going, another part of me (the curious one) is telling me to slow down, to study every detail, to take a mental pictures and to try to make my own story of the place.
As always, the curious one is the winner, and so far I've been lucky...

Peanut butter is like the Viagra for runners.

Ok, I was thinking to talk a little bit about nutrition (for running, but also in general, since it looks like a lot of people do not know what they are swallowing), so here we go, and I am starting in the dumbest way possible.

Fact: I hate sweet.

I don't eat sweet since I remember.

But due to a stochastic event, Sunday, after my 40 km on trial, I ate a peanut butter energy bar (this one), and I just fucking love it.

So, I made an experiment yesterday: I bought a jar of peanut butter and I had some with bread before my evening run.

Result: I was a rocket. I forgot about being tired, I didn't care about the warm outside, and I just take off like a B52. And while I was congratulating with my self for the positive result of the experiment, I had this epiphany: "Peanut butter is like the Viagra for runners."...

So, starting from yesterday, before every run, peanut butter and bread will be my energy boost.

...another good energy boost:

It's all around you...

Short consideration about something I saw yesterday.

I was trail-running at CRP, and since I ran 40 km, I encountered several people during the run.

Ok. Now, the place is pretty nice: a nice forest, with pounds, up- and down-hills and in some way resembles a pre-alpine environment.

It's full of animals: cute rabbits, mighty squirrels, rattlesnakes, insects and birds. A lot of birds.

Since is spring, Nature is completely awake and the forest is alive. If you listen quietly, you can hear hundred of different birds singing, and you can hear a little rabbit running or a lizard crawling under dead leafs.

And here is my consideration: why do you listen to your fucking iPod* when you could enjoy the singing birds and the buzzing insects?

Seriously, I cannot really understand...
All you need to hear and listen it's already around you.

*the winner of the day was a couple of ... {insert random bad comment here} listening to opera with a kind of portable stereo. Maybe squirrels and birds enjoy Pavarotti...

Mr. Squirrel

It must be very exhausting being a squirrel.

A squirrel never show up before 8 am and after 8 pm is already home: this means something.

12 hours non-stop of squirrel business: run and dig and jump and climb a tree and chase another squirrel and dig a little bit more and jump again. At the end of the day Mr. Squirrel is tired and deserves rest.

...ok, I'm writing this thing because squirrels are the only company I have during my endless running: I'm studying them, I'm observing their behavior and I'm talking to them. I think they deserve a special mention.
Squirrels unite!

A deep thought about Metallica.

Metallica are like parents.

You are a toddler and you love them.

Then, while you're getting older, you start arguing with them: you don't like some of their choices and you start thinking that maybe they are not perfect.

Often they make you angry, and you think you hate them a little bit.

Then you're old, you leave the nest and you lost contact with them: now you have your own life which is probably very different from what they taught you.

But even though now you are so far away from them, you know they are there, and they will be always there for you. And no matter what, you will always love them.

Metal up your ass.

The dumbest problem on Earth.

Fact number 1. Yesterday, despite the horrible weather (almost struck by a lighting*), I went to run on trail (yeeeiii, finally ).

Fact number 2. In the last six months, I keep loosing my glasses. And I mean loosing from my face, not loosing like "Where the fuck are my glasses?".

I don't if the glasses are loose, or if my head is shrinking because i don't have any brain left. Anyway, whatever is the reason, they keep falling of from my face.

Now combine fact number 1 with fact number 2. What do we get?

Running with my stupid glasses on trails is basically impossible.

...and especially in days like yesterday, were sweat and humidity and rain combine together in order to make my life impossible. Every step was a pain in the ass: my glasses were falling off, so I had to adjust them, or trying to catch them while they were still in the air before the hit the ground (and I step on them).

Is that the dumbest problem on earth?

Yes, it is.

But I need to resolve this problem, and there is only one solution: staple them on my face...

* the odd of being struck by a lighting in a lifetime is 1:3000. Actually, I thought it was bigger...

Brainstorming (Pt. 3)

Well, I am really busy.

Experiments to do, papers to read, more experiments and some more papers to read. And also my paper must be written, and I have to find the time for that.

Long story short, no posts (I have a couple of them [actually more than just a couple] on the way, but it takes time). So, there you go a random, stupid, useless, boring train of thoughts.

- Fact: yesterday I woke up at 4:30 am, I ran 14 km, I went to work and I worked 13 hours straight, I went back home and I ran another 14 km. Next time you're bitching about the fact you're tired, please, go fuck yourself.

- Sometime I jump in the past, musically speaking, and I stay there for a while. Yesterday I went back in the golden era of the 90' thrash. Anthrax and Testament were on air all day. So many memories related to that period.

- And speaking of Anthrax and memories: I remember exactly the first time I got an Anthrax' cassette. It was "State of euphoria" from my not-yet-roommate when I was 13. I still have that cassette. I still have all of them. All 7,000 (circa) of them.

- I don't give a flying fuck about the weather: Sunday I'm going to run on trail. Period.

- I had this weird dream last night: I was the last human being on Earth after some mega apocalypse or something, and I was driving my car looking for survivors.

- Hematopoiesis, why are you so complicated?

- How can be possible that a girl smell so bad? Sour and greasy at the same time. I can "feel" her presence from distance. Please, take a shower.

- I really would like to watch a nice Sci-Fi movie.

- Yeeeee, new mice...

- If you stare at me, I'll stare you back, but in a bad way. This is the deal.

- It is almost one year now, but still "One of us is the killer" (TDEP) sucks. Evidently, some records aren't like wine: they do not get better with the age.

- Fucking Friday, is not done yet. I still have in front of me a lab meeting, more experiments, and finally I will go home. Actually I'm going to climb and then I'll go home.




Here some good ol' stuff:

I am a vampire...

Brief consideration.

I wake up every morning and outside is still dark.

Then I'm going to the lab, and the lab is pretty dark, so no solar light for me.

Then I go home, and outside is dark again, because I'm staying a lot of hours in the shadow-lab.

Basically, during the whole day, I avoid natural light. Ergo, I am a vampire.

...and not even a cute one like Gary Oldman in Dracula. No, I'm something more like Nosferatu:

Me in the lab...

Damn, if you look close at the picture, is totally me.

Fuck yeah, I am the prince of darkness!

Andersen Prunty' "Fuckness": book review

For all you miserable brainless creatures out there, barely able to read, here is the book review of "Fuckness".

"I didn't see how anyone could brutalize someone whose shoes had fallen off."

The book could be explained with this sentence.

The story is simple. It's a journey in the life of Wallace Black, a poor teen age boy tired to swallow all the shit that every day others (starting from his parents) throw at him.

And when enough is enough, he gets mad, and bad things happen.

To everyone.

It's been awhile since last time I got emotionally attached to some character, but this time was the case.

I felt so close to Wallace... I was often wondering if Prunty was reading my mind and describing my feels.

Anyway: great book. Turn off the TV and read it.

Stupid weather, you won again.

Today I was supposed to go for some trail and baptize my new trail shoes.
I was so happy...
But I didn't go.
Why?
Because the stupid fucking weather once again ruined my plan.
It has been a wonderful week: sunny and warm (maybe even too much warm)...
But yesterday the weather changed radically, and now we are in the cold again (10 stupid degrees), windy (I hate wind: it's an asshole) and wet (it's raining).
So now I'm in the lab, working... I have a couple of things to do, and I guess I could use the extra time to catch with all the papers I haven't read yet*...
But is unfair. [sad face]
Maybe later I could try to go and run, but is really raining hard.

*

The pile of papers I have to read...

UP DATE: I've run 38 km at least. In the cold and in the rain. Fuck you weather, we're even now.

The new Hercules.

So, yesterday I was in line waiting for a coffee, and there was this guy behind me.

Initially I couldn't see his face, but I could hear what was coming out from the lowest hole on his face: "Yeah, I'm strong, I'm really strong. I'm in perfect shape. I can move things with no problem because I'm really strong..." And so on...

So, I turned my stupid head to look at the guy.

I was curious. I want to see the face of the new Hercules.

And I saw him...

Basically, the same size and shape of R2-D2.

But, at least, R2-D2 is made of metal: it has is own bulky structure.

The dude instead is made of saggy flesh and fat. Really, a cylinder of fat, with two sticks for arms and two -shorter- for legs.

Now, my point is: do you realize what you really are? Or you're really think that you're in the perfect shape?

Example: I'm ugly as shit. I'm not going out claiming "I'm a beautiful butterfly." No, I don't. I know my limits, I deal with them, and that's it.

And you, human R2-D2, do the same: stop embarrassing yourself.