But... Who Will Build the Roads????

I saw this picture on the Facebook today:


Everyone's a small government conservative until their state is buried under 2 feet of snow.

It makes my head hurt.  I mean really really really bad.  The creator of this graphic assumes that ONLY government can clear the roads.  This leads into the real issue.  Many simply believe that only Government can build infrastructure.

The hard facts are that, in many places, government has a legislated monopoly on the creation of infrastructure.  They have said that only they can build, and maintain the roads.  However, when relieved of government limitation, anyone has the ability to build infrastructure.  All it takes is investment.

A good example of private road building comes from the Oil and Gas industry.  They need to get their rigs to the wellsites.  These rigs are transported by trucks.  Trucks need roads.  Wellsites, for the most part, are in remote areas where there are no roads.  How do the trucks get there?  The company builds the roads, bridges, and other infrastructure to get their equipment to the site. The investment that the put in to the infrastructure building, is recovered by the sale of their product.

Let's come back to the situation above.  Even with proper planning, no company, or government, would have bought the necessary equipment to handle the situation there.  The company, or government would not be acting in anyone's interest to pay for the upkeep and maintenance of so many snow plows.  However, with proper planning, a situation like the one above could have been mitigated had the government entity responsible for the clearing of roads had a contingency where private citizens and business could have contracted with the government to aid in the road clearing.  Many business would have done it out of their own pocket, and, in the real world, many do illegally.

For some unscientific, anecdotal evidence, we look to the great snow storm in Oklahoma City on Christmas 2009.  About 15 inches of snow was dumped on the completely unprepared city.  Everything shutdown.  The government had no ability to clear the roads, as they only had a single vehicle that could have a snow plow attached to it.  However, they didn't have the snow plow.    So...  What happened?  Did OKC just shut down and everybody rolled over and died? No.  Illegally, business and private citizens attached snow blades to their private vehicles and cleared the roads.  Within a day or two, before equipment arrived from other states, everything was running smoothly.  There were a few people that were ticketed for clearing roads.  But all in all, the problem was solved by private citizens.

Knee Surgery

Remember back in August when I was looking for a gym?  I said I had a nagging knee injury?  It just wouldn't go away.  It prevented me from fully flexing my knee, and would POP very loudly when forced to fully flex.  After it would pop, which would happen in just about every class I would go to, it would swell up and be very sore for about a week.  I could only show up to about one class a week because of the problems.  So...  I went to the doctor.  I thought that I might have a torn meniscus, and that was the case.

He sent me to get an MRI.  That confirmed a significant tear in my left medial meniscus.


Only one way to fix it, so under the knife I went.

When he got in there he saw that the meniscus was not just torn.  It was "shredded." What was causing the problem of me not being able to flex the knee fully was because the meniscus was bunching up under the femur, and the popping sound came from the femur riding over the bunch, and slamming down on the other side.  Instead of a meniscus repair, I underwent a meniscectomy.  The cut most of the medial meniscus out of my knee.

I ended up with good news and bad news.    The good news was that recovery would be easier, because...  well...  There wasn't anything there anymore.  The bad news was that I would DEFINITELY develop arthritis in this knee that would eventually lead to a total knee replacement later on.  Unless medical science can figure out how to regrow me a meniscus and other cartilage between now and then.

So, while recovery was easy, after the swelling went down, I regained full strength in my left leg within 3 weeks, I still needed to give it time to heal fully.  My wife and I agreed that I would not go back to the gym until January 2014, giving me three full months of recovery.
The only think I found strange about the whole procedure was that my knee "squished" right after surgery.  My wife said that it was a combination of all of the fluid that the body produces normally (swelling), and the fluid that the surgeons used to flush out my knee after surgery.  It was yucky.

So, I am ready to head back to the gym.  I have to wait just a bit for the gym to open, the black belt went to Brazil for the holidays.  It will be about two weeks before I can go back.  I am very anxious to come back to training, because I really want the surgery to have been successful.  I think that it was, as I am now able to sit cross legged (Indian style) and sit on my heels again.  I couldn't before the surgery.  But, I also know that I haven't been able to really test the knee out fully since the surgery.  I hope that I can go back to training.

The Power of The Suit

I used to be one of those guys who really didn't care how he dressed.  I would push the absolute limits of any company I worked for's dress code.  I resented being told what to wear.  Then I went to work for a large management consulting firm.  Their dress code was very specific.  I had  to wear a shirt and tie every day, including Friday.  I had to wear a suit to any meeting with a client.  It was then that I learned the power of the suit.

We at the Firm, would go to a client meeting, many times with other competing firms in attendance.  The other firms would typically be wearing the same thing as the client.  Knit Polo shirts and khaki pants.  Many times the other firm would wear matching shirts.  We would be in our suits.
We would present our ideas, they would present theirs.  Sometimes our ideas were better, sometimes their ideas were better.  Almost every time, regardless if we had the better idea or not, or if the client had a long term relationship with one of the other firms, the client sided with us.

This really interested me, especially after we won some business off of a proposal that was so obviously inferior to the other firm's proposal that I almost told the client that they were making a big mistake.  So I asked an executive that I had been working with what he thought was up.  He told me something quite profound.  He told me that no matter what ideas the other firms bring to the table, we would carry more credibility than they would simply because we LOOKED like we should be listened to.

He said that when we walk in to the room, we look like the more successful, and therefore better firm, because of the way we are dressed.  He said that the other firms look like the check out guys at Best Buy.  We look like serious business professionals.   Therefore when we presented our ideas, even if they were substandard ideas, our proposals carry more weight.

But, I objected, don't business people make decisions, with potentially millions of dollars at stake, using reason and facts and figures?
That's bullshit, he said.  People make decisions with their hearts, then use reason to back up their decision.  Getting them to make that decision in your favor means going out of your way to look like someone that they can trust, then talking to them in the way that they like.  Why do you think I had you do this proposal over Kick Ass Sales Guy?
I thought that you needed a tech guy to answer any tech questions.
Were there any tech details discussed or even mentioned that we needed you to explain?
No.
Then why take you over Kick Ass Sales Guy? The other firms had their kick ass sales team there, why not us?
I guess I don't really know.
Because that client hates sales guys almost as much as you do.  In fact I have heard him use the term "Sales Weasel" before, just like you.  That client likes tech guys.  He likes guys that get to the point, and are all about providing a solution.  If I would have brought Kick Ass Sales Guy, or if you would have shown up not in a suit, we likely would have lost that business.
That absolutely shocked me.  Not because of his rather cynical take on human nature, but the fact that he was absolutely right.

I have taken this advice and moved it forward.
I always wear a suit on the first day of a new job.  I always wear a suit to any type of presentation.  I make sure that my suits are property tailored to fit me.  I make sure that my tie is of yellow or red, and that the knot is perfect for the occasion.   I take care to make sure that the tie has a proper and natural looking dimple, or no dimple at all.  My shirts are pressed, and of high quality.  All of this is to cultivate an image of someone you can trust.  Someone who "looks" confident.  Someone you can rely on.  This is all from the power of the suit.
And it works.

Think about it for a moment.  Picture two people exactly the same in every way.  Experience, ability, everything.  Put one in a poorly fitted wrinkled shirt and a tie that is poorly knotted.  His pants are of low quality and they are wrinkled and ill fitting.  His shoes are a cheap slip on that are badly scuffed.  He looks like he perhaps slept in the clothes.

The other one put in to a perfectly fitting, high quality suit.  His shirt is high quality and pressed.  His tie is tasteful, red and navy striped and is tied with a Windsor knot.  The dimple is centered and symmetrical with the knot.  His shoes are of good quality and shined.  He looks like a million bucks.

Both of these guys are up for a job that will pay six figures a year and potentially make the company millions in return.  Who do you hire?  The guy in the nice suit, every time.  In fact I have seen this very scenario play out when I was doing hiring for the firm.  The ones dressed correctly, always got preferential treatment.

I no longer look at my dress to the office as something that is simply required of me.  I take pains to make sure that I now dress just a little bit better than anyone in the office.  I take a little flack from the other IT guys, but when it comes time to present ideas and have decisions made, my ideas are adopted, more often than not.  It isn't because my ideas are better.  It is because my dress amplifies my confidence, and amplifies my credibility.  Therefore, my ideas speak louder than the others.

Oktoberfest

I went to Oktoberfest in Munich this year.  It was something that I have always wanted to do.  I really enjoyed it.

A little history first.
Oktoberfest started out as a celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig's wedding on October 12th in 1810. He was married to  Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  As was the Bavarian tradition, a series of horse races were held.  After the event, the grounds were named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's meadow") after the Prince's bride.
The city of Munich decided to hold races, with an agricultural show, the next year, and Oktoberfest was born!

Now, beer has always been a HUGE part of Bavarian culture, mainly because the water in the region has always had a good deal of bacteria growing in it.  The boiling process in the brewing of beer killed the bacteria, and the hops used to spice the beer acted as a natural antibiotic, so the bacteria never had a chance to grow back.  Thus, beer was drank instead of water.  Over the years, the festival became more and more focused on beer than on horse racing or agriculture.  Today it is mostly about beer.

There is only one style of beer served at Oktoberfest.  It must conform to the Reinheitsgebot or the ancient German beer purity law.  The Reinheitsgebot states that the ingredients of beer can only be barley malt, water, hops, and yeast.  Also the beer served at Oktoberfest must only be brewed IN Munich.  This limits the beer vendors to just 6 breweries.

The beer style is the Oktoberfest beer or Märzen style. Why Märzen??  Well, before refrigeration, it was nearly impossible to brew beer in the summer due to the hot weather and bacterial infections. Brewing ended with the coming of spring, and began again in the fall. Most beers were brewed in March (Märzen get it??). These brews were kept in cold storage cellars over the spring and summer months, or brewed at a higher gravity, so they’d keep.
Oktoberfest celebrates the beginning of fall, and the new brewing season, so the beer that was served in the good old days was all of the left over beer that the brewers wanted to get rid of before their fresh brews were ready.
Now, because the beers that were to last throughout the summer were brewed with a little bit more hop and a little bit higher gravity, and set to ferment longer than other German beers, they tended to be full-bodied, rich, toasty, typically dark copper in color with a medium to high alcohol content.
The common Munich Oktoberfest beer served at Wies'n (what the locals call the Theresienwiese) contains roughly 5.0-6.0% alcohol by volume.

Who has the best beer?  That you will have to taste for your self, but, in my opinion the Augustiner-Bräu version is the best.  It also has the added touch of authenticity of being fermented in the traditional large wooden barrels.  It is not as high in alcohol as the other brews, but it is much more complex and rich in its taste.

Because the early Oktoberfests were mainly agricultural shows, the people who attended them tended to be of the farming class.  And what did these farmers of Bavaria wear?  Lederhosen!!!!
Today you can go to Oktoberfest without wearing lederhosen, but it is much more fun if you do!!
What I found was this...  the Munich locals tended to be kind of aloof of most of the visitors.  If you were wearing normal clothes, they kind of pretended you weren't there.  They really wouldn't go out of their way to let you sit at their table, but they wouldn't prevent you from sitting down either.
If you were wearing on e of the really stupid Oktoberfest hats, they treat you with outright disdain.  They actively prevented you from sitting down with them or even being in their general area.
If you were wearing a bad quality lederhosen they might give you a little nod, but mainly they rolled their eyes at you.  They would let you sit down, and might even make a little room for you.

If you show up wearing a good quality lederhosen, it is very easy to tell the difference between good and bad lederhosen, the correct shirt, and a good traditional hat, the locals treat you like one of their own.  They make room for you at their tables, they ask you who you are and where you are from.  I had one table insist on buying us beer when they learned that we were from the United States.  This was the same table that told the guy with the funny hat to pound sand.

So...  What tips do I have for Oktoberfest?

• Buy some good quality lederhosen.  I went to Angermaier in Munich.  They sell the good stuff.  You will end up spending about 200 Euro for a full outfit, so plan for that.  You can get away with lower quality stuff, but see above for the local's reaction.  We went all out, and the reception we got from the locals was well worth it.  They went well out of their way in every tent to make sure we had a seat, beer, if we needed help with food, everything.  Those not dressed as we were did NOT get that same treatment.
• Find a day during the week to go.  The tents hold about 10,000 people, and they fill up FAST.  If you go during the week, you might get a seat without a reservation.
  If you go on a weekend, or on the holiday, forget about getting in to a tent.  The tables will be mostly reserved, and you just won't get in. 
• If you ARE going on a weekend, you can get a table reservation online.  Do it WELL in advance, because they go fast.  Unfortunately, you will have to stay there the whole time because, "Shuffle your feet loose your seat" rules are in FULL effect.
• Tip your server FIRST.  Yes, yes, yes, you aren't supposed to tip in Germany.  That's if you are not competing with 3,000 or more people for a single waiter.  If you give the server an extra 10 Euro after when she comes with your first beer, you can rest assured that she will visit you often, and bring you your food and beer quickly.
• Do a little research and know how to pronounce the food choices, AND what you want to have, before you sit down...  The servers do not speak English and they don't have time to wait while you stumble over words or try to decide what you want to eat.
• There is only one style of beer, Märzen, and there is only one size, 1 liter.  Each beer costs about 10 Euro, so bring enough cash.  
• The beer is STRONG.  Be careful.  Take it easy and drink slow.  If you are dressed correctly, many people will want to cheers with you, so just sip.  The beer sizes are huge, and it is very easy to drink too much.
• I suggest that you go to the Augustiner-Bräu tent first.  They have traditional bands and traditional dancing.  Lots and lots and lots of fun.
• If you stand up in the Hofbräu tent to chug a liter, you better be prepared to drink it very fast and not spill a drop.  If you spill even a little bit, or if you drink too slowly, the entire crowd will jeer you and throw pretzel pieces at you. 
• End your night in the Hofbräu tent.  It seats almost 13,000 and they play Mowtown.  You can get up on the benches and sing with the crowd.  

 

New Town, New Gym

My last couple of days in Oklahoma City tore me up. I had a nagging little knee injury on the left side that bothered me from time to time. That opened up in to a full on medial meniscus tear. My knee is painful and feels very unstable as it is fully flexed. It was popping and felt like it was slipping out of joint when the injury became evident.

If that wasn't enough, I also managed to break a toe bone. I have broken toes before and they have never been a big deal. BUT this one was different. Check out the image.


You see where the phalanges of the second toe meets the metatarsal? The phalanges bone forms the joint and kind of curves around the metatarsal. Mine broke off right there. It interferes with the joint and makes walking very painful, because the toe is unstable at that point. Essentially it is a massive, painful, imperfection in the ball of my foot.

So, I took some time off to heal. I hired people to do the move to Birmingham, so I didn't do a lot of lifting and moving. That wasn't too bad on my injuries.

I took about a month and a half off, and I now feel that I am reasonably healed enough to go and look at gyms. There are two real contenders in the area, Gracie Barra Birmingham, and Samuel Puccio BJJ. Both are run by BJJ black belts. Both guys are Brazilian.

Gracie Barra is about 13 or so miles away from my house in a town called Pelham. Kaliffa Oliveira is the instructor. Kaliffa is a brand new black belt, and I mean BRAND new. He got his belt last month. I don't have a problem with this. A black belt at Gracie Barra is a big deal, and they don't just hand those things out.

The school is new as well, Kaliffa has been teaching for about a year. The mats were very well taken care of, and the school was spotlessly clean. He had many changing rooms, as well as two showers. Very big pluses.
He has about 30 students, of various levels, I didn't see anyone above the purple belt rank. The guys were good and technical BUT, they were all from somewhere else. This really isn't a big surprise, because Kaliffa's school is brand new. He has a good number of white belts, which is good, they are the future of the school.

Being a Gracie Barra school, Kaliffa teaches the Gracie curriculum. If you are a direct Gracie affiliate, you are required to teach their techniques, on the days they want you to teach it. What's more, Gracie also dictates your school costs and your class structure. This is why many in the non Gracie BJJ world call their schools a "cult." The good news is that you can walk in to any Gracie school anywhere in the nation and pick up your training exactly where you left off. Also, if you sign up with one school, you are signed up with all of the others. If you are in a different city, you are able to just walk in to the Gracie school and start training.
The class structure is VERY structured. They have a fundimentals class where all you do is technique. They then have an advanced class where they do the same technique with a little variation, then a bit of live rolling.

Kaliffa also offers a 10am Muay Thai class taught by a former Lumpinee Stadium champion... At least everybody says he is. I didn't catch his name, so I can't check it out... I do know that he has excellent technique and runs a very good class.

Samuel Puccio BJJ is an independent school that has ties to the Carlson Gracie Jr. side of BJJ, as well as the Brazilian Top Team guys. Samuel got his black belt in 2007 from Rodrigo Medeiros. While he has no official connection to Rodrigo Medeiros, Samuel regards him as his instructor, and he competes at IBJJF under the Revolution BJJ team.
His school is older, and shows its age, however the mats are clean, and he has several changing rooms. The school is completely focused on BJJ but balances everything evenly between gi and no-gi workouts.
He has about 30 students, a good mix of belts, but I saw none over purple belt in rank. The guys are much younger at Samuel's school, likely due to his close proximity to the University of Alabama Birmingham campus being literally across the street. So, the guys are very aggressive being young guys.
Samuel runs class with a light warm up, then he shows a technique, then you roll. A little exercise afterwards and class ends.
All of the guys, with an exception here and there, are Samuel's guys. So the technique is uniform.

Technique wise... Both schools are about even. I would expect that Kaliffa has the better ability to learn and grow, being in the Gracie organisation, but, for now, he and Samuel are about even. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will not grow as much in Birmingham under these guys as much as I grew under Giulliano Gallupi. Giulliano was a student of basic technique. He knows the basics so fundamentally that all of his other techniques are absolutely solid. Both of the guys in Birmingham are not as technically sound.


I like Samuel's class structure better. He has his own guys, and the classes are much more comfortable compared to the Gracie class where, because everybody has trained differently, class can be a bit awkward under the surface. Kaliffa, a new black belt, is a little uncomfortable in his role, especially since the Gracie protocol requires the students to refer to him as "Professor." I hate that. I really do. One of the things that drew me to BJJ was its informality.
Samuel being old school and independent, has no such silly rules.

The Gracie school is expensive. VERY expensive. Almost $200 a month for Muay Thai and BJJ, but only doing two classes of each a week. PLUS you have to buy all of your gear from them. The standard uniform is the Storm Kimono, which is an excellent brand, but it costs over $200. MT class you have to have the Gracie rash guard and shorts, along with the gloves and pads they sell. Another cost of almost $200.
You put all of that on top of the distance from my house, and the traffic that I have to fight to get there, no interstate all surface roads, and the typical drive is between 30 and 40 minutes one way.

Samuel's school is about 5 minutes away just over the "mountain" that separates Homewood, where I live, and Birmingham proper. He runs about $100 a month for however many classes you can attend.

Other than the Muay Thai, there are no real compelling reasons to spend the extra time and gas it would cost to go to the Gracie school. Let alone their idiotically high costs. I chose to go to Samuel's school and paid for an initial trial period of 3 months.


Now we get in to the weird stuff. Kaliffa used to be Samuel's top student. About a year ago, Samuel promoted Kaliffa to brown belt, and encouraged him to open a school. Samuel's plan, of course, was for Kaliffa to become a satellite of Samuel's gym. Kaliffa went to a Gracie seminar, and realized that he had no real connection to the BJJ world. Samuel is an independent gym. Kaliffa wanted more, and found more with the structure and common name that a Gracie franchise offered. So he joined the Gracie organisation, and started the process to become one of their instructors. He attended the various classes and seminars that were required, and received his black belt instructor certification last month.
When Kaliffa opened his gym and didn't open it under Samuel's name, but under the Gracie Barra name, Samuel was upset. He got very angry with Kaliffa and called him a "Creonte." This is a very bad word in BJJ, it basically means a traitor, but has very strong and negitive undertones. So, just looking at schools in Birmingham starts the gym drama. Both guys talked bad about the other. I don't like that, but both did it as a warning to me to avoid the other guy.

In the end I just want to train. Short of walking up to some other gym and saying, "Hey do you want a BJJ class?" this is the way I will have do it. Giulliano said I am welcome at any time to come back to the gym and do privates. He even offered me his couch to sleep on. I will likely take him up on it.

Magic???

I hate cleaning, but I like things to be clean, so I look for any cleaning product that will let me cheat. I fall for just about any marketing scheme on new and improved products.
Very few things do what they are advertised to do. Most, like the Hoover Hard Floor Cleaner, make more work than just cleaning old school.
Then I found the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Holy freaking crap. I thought they were making wild marketing claims with its "magic" properties. It turns out, they should have been selling it harder.

This thing cleans EVERYTHING. That is not so amazing, steel wool cleans everything too. The magic eraser cleans like freaking steel wool, but is non abrasive. My Mazda got road paint on it when an asshole government worker decided to paint the curb the car was parked next to. Nothing worked to get it off. The auto body guys said they would have to scrape down to the metal and re-paint. Out of desperation I used the Magic Eraser on it. With very little elbow grease it took the road paint off, but didn't scratch or take off the car's paint or clearcoat. It is just amazing.

I used to use harsh chemicals and the Scrubbing Bubbles with a rough sponge to clean my bathtubs and showers. It would take a while and was hard work. I hated it so much that I would wait long periods before cleaning again. Now... 10 minutes with the Magic Eraser and I am done.
We moved in to a new place. The previous tenants didn't take care of their bath tubs. No problem. Magic Eraser.

I am pretty much like the Father in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was with Windex, only my Windex is The Magic Eraser. I can't say enough good the thing is without abrasion. It scratches nothing, but cleans everything. My nice wood tables, clean, no damage to the stain or varnish. Toilets and sinks, clean, no problems with porcelain. It is just awesome.

Zimmerman Trial Thoughts

Watching the reactions and whatnot of the Zimmerman trial has brought one interesting conclusion... Normal people have no idea as to what violence is. They don't experience it, they haven't been confronted by it, and they have not a clue what it is to be on the receiving end of a beating that will only stop when the aggressor wants it to.

Violence is romanticized in movies, boxing, martial arts, and in life in general. If you are not used to violence, you really don't know what it is or what it feels like. Couple this with the fact that fighting, like sex, everyone assumes that they are good at it. They don't know what it feels like to have someone punch them in the face with bad intentions.

What's more, normal people don't know the feeling of helplessness that comes when you realize that this person can do whatever they want to you, and there is no way for you to stop it. This feeling ignites a primal fear deep within a person, it leads to panic. If the aggressor knows how to deal with a panicking opponent, and can remain in a dominant position, it leads the opponent into a very dark despair. They give up.

In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one of the big lessons beginners learn is how to control the feeling of helplessness, the panic, and the despair when nothing you try works. They are taught to overcome these feelings, and work for better position, until they realize where the aggressor's balance points are, and can attack these points intelligently. BUT, in those days, months, and years that the beginner is learning, the fear is very very real, and many people leave the gym because they can't deal with it.

George Zimmerman was mounted. He had an aggressive opponent pounding on his face, and slamming his head in to the pavement. Zimmerman could do nothing to stop the action. I have had people I have had in bad position actually believe that I was going to do them real harm. In the gym. In a controlled environment. Martin and Zimmerman were on the street. I have no doubt that Zimmerman felt in fear for his life or grave bodily injury. I guarantee he felt that way.

I know this because I have been there. Pinned underneath a strong, skilled opponent, and having no ability to escape. I have felt the despair. I remember, vividly, of my first BJJ instructor, Ed, mounted on top of me slapping my face. I reached the point where I just lie there letting it happen. I told him to get off of me. Ed, wanting to teach me a lesson, said: "Fuck you. Make me. I'm gonna slap you like my bitch until you do something. I got all night."
Ed taught me that you always must control your feelings, you always must be looking for a place to attack the balance to escape. Zimmerman did not know this. He felt that he was in his last moments of life. So he pulled his gun and fired.

Those of us who know violence know that it is not pretty. It isn't cool. You don't take punch after punch and walk away smiling. We know of the dead spots in vision that occur, the headaches, the broken bones and bruising. But worst of all we know what it feels like to be in that position where there is no hope of escape.

Zimmerman should have never been in that situation that night. He was a wannabe, with no concept of violence, a couple of MMA classes under his belt, and a gun on his hip. A 6 year old could have taken him. He should have just called in the suspicious person and let it be. He didn't.