Wedding crasher: UK queen drops in on ceremony

March 26th, 2012

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II smiles during her visit to the Manchester Central convention centre, Manchester, England, Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II smiles during her visit to the Manchester Central convention centre, Manchester, England, Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)

(AP) ? Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has become a wedding crasher.

The monarch dropped in moments after the nuptials of John and Frances Canning at Manchester Town Hall in northern England on Friday.

The newlyweds said Saturday the queen chatted and posed for wedding photographs. The queen and her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were visiting the venue for lunch at the same time the wedding took place.

“It was very special ? it was so lovely that she took the trouble to speak to us,” bride Frances Canning told The Sun newspaper.

The 48-year-old groom knew beforehand that the queen would be visiting the town hall, and jokingly wrote to Buckingham Palace to invite the monarch, the tabloid reported. He received a polite reply declining the invitation, but palace officials secretly arranged the meeting, the paper said.

Canning said he spoke with Prince Philip while photos were being taken.

“He was a charming fella ? for me it was the icing on the cake,” he told The Sun.

The 44-year-old bride was impressed the queen addressed them by their first names.

“She said I looked lovely and she wanted to wish us all the best for the future.

“We’re going to have to get a bigger wedding album now,” she was quoted as saying. “Not many people will have pictures like that.”

The British monarch was in Manchester to visit a number of sites, including a new BBC headquarters building in nearby Salford, as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour. The queen is celebrating the six decades since she ascended to the throne in 1952.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-03-24-EU-Britain-Queen/id-8e7c735515594072ae49510e176f0d4d

ray j anthony shadid gary carter this means war bobby brown suzanne somers colbert

Woods shares the lead going into Bay Hill weekend

March 26th, 2012

Tiger Woods acknowledges the crowd after putting for par on the 18th green during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tiger Woods acknowledges the crowd after putting for par on the 18th green during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tiger Woods waves his club towards the ball as he misses a birdie putt on the eighth hole during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill, Friday, March 23, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tiger Woods lines up a putt on the third green during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill, Friday, March 23, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tiger Woods hits a shot on the fifth hole during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill, Friday, March 23, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Charlie Wi, center, hits a shot from off the ninth fairway to the green during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill, Friday, March 23, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

(AP) ? He looked like the Tiger Woods of old, making his way around Bay Hill with such ease that he putted for birdie on every hole and never came seriously close to anything worse than par.

And after a 7-under 65 for a share of the lead, he sounded like the Woods of old.

Even when he was winning with regularity, Woods never looked beyond the next round to the trophy presentation. But he could sense the feeling of inevitability from those seated in front of him Friday afternoon, so Woods on more than one occasion mentioned what was left.

“I want to win ? yes, absolutely,” Woods said. “We’ve got a long way to go. It’s not like it’s over right now. We’ve got 36 holes to go.”

Woods ran off four straight birdies on the front nine, then put his name atop the leaderboard with a two-putt birdie on the 16th, followed by a 6-iron to 15 feet for birdie on the 17th.

Not long after Woods signed his card, Charlie Wi made four birdies on his last six holes for a 68 and joined him in the lead at 10-under 134. Wi has known Woods since their junior golf days in southern California ? Wi is four years old and went to the same high school as Jerry Chang, who is Woods’ best friend.

Wi doesn’t recall ever being paired with Woods on the PGA Tour, although he recalls beating him once when Wi was 13.

“He was 9,” Wi said. “I was outdriving him then.”

Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell had a tournament-best 63, which featured an eagle-par-birdie finish, and was one shot behind along with Jason Dufner, who had a 69.

So much of the focus is on Woods, and that much hasn’t changed.

His recent record alone ? and not his six wins at Bay Hill ? would be reason to believe that this tournament is not quite over.

It’s the first time in 30 months that Woods has been atop the leaderboard at a PGA Tour event, going back to the 2009 Tour Championship, won by Phil Mickelson. More recently, Woods had the 36-hole lead at the Australian Open, only to struggle in the third round and rally on the last day to finish third.

He did win the Chevron World Challenge in December, which was meaningful to Woods, especially that birdie-birdie finish at Sherwood. Then again, it was only an 18-man field of players from the top 50 in the world.

“So it really has not been as long as people might think it has been,” Woods said. “I’m comfortable up there, and I feel like I’m playing well. We’ve still got a long way to go. We still have 36 holes to go. Still need to continue doing what I’m doing out there, just kind of plodding my way along.”

Woods at least is in better shape than he was two weeks ago. His future looked as muddled as ever when Woods was taken off the golf course in a cart at Doral because of soreness and swelling in his left Achilles tendon, the same injury that forced him to miss three months and two majors a year ago.

One week later, he was practicing at Augusta National. Now, he’s the player everyone is chasing on the weekend.

“I saw him on television at Doral and didn’t look good there,” said Ernie Els, who played with Woods at Bay Hill, and played with him when Woods shot 62 on the last day of the Honda Classic. “Today he was on, and today was the same as I saw at the Honda ? very on.”

Woods only had a couple of nervous moments.

He ran off four straight birdies on the front nine to quickly get into the mix, and then couldn’t decide how to play his tee shot on the 10th. It didn’t help that earlier in the round, he looked over at adjacent first tee and saw Nick Watney ? affectionately known as “Rube” ? pipe his tee shot out-of-bounds to the right.

“I got over there and for some reason I’m thinking, ‘You know, I probably really shouldn’t hit this driver; I’ll take something off of it, and just hit a little softy out there.’ And bailed on it, because I didn’t want to hit it right out-of-bounds,” Woods said. “And I chalked that up to just not listening to my instincts of hitting a 3-iron down there or just chipping a 5-wood ? or not watching Ruby hit that shot.”

Woods was lucky. The snap hook bounced off a net fence protecting the houses, and he had just enough room to play to the middle of the 10th green and walk away with par.

He also was disgusted with his approach to the par-5 16th, turning in anger and swiping at the ground. It wasn’t a great shot, but it was dry, catching the left side of the green 50 feet away and setting up a two-putt birdie.

Woods also had a two-putt birdie at the par-5 sixth. He made birdies on the other par 5s with his wedge game. Over two rounds, he has had such improved control of his play that he hit 19 consecutive greens in regulation at one point. That streak ended on the 13th hole Friday, when he two-putted for par from on the fringe.

Some of that is familiarity.

“I’ve had a few places where I’ve felt comfortable and I’ve played well, and this is one of them,” Woods said. “For some reason, I just understand how to play it.”

And some of that is becoming more confident with his swing, especially how far he is hitting the ball. Woods said he was not hitting his irons as well before going to work with Sean Foley, and a straighter, tighter ball flight has led to more distance ? and more adjustments.

He felt as though he hit the ball better on Thursday in a round of 69, although he didn’t have nearly as many birdie chances.

“My bad days are not as bad as they used to be,” Woods said.

Woods had eight birdie putts inside 15 feet on Friday, compared with only five putts of that length on Thursday. He holed five putts longer than 6 feet on Friday, compared with only two on Thursday.

The best round came from McDowell, and it was a reminder of how far he has come in one year. McDowell had a dream season in 2010 by winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, winning the decisive point for Europe in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, then ending the year with a record comeback against Woods in the Chevron World Challenge.

McDowell had a hard time managing his time, much less his expectations, and the eye-opener was at Bay Hill last year when he shot 80.

This time, McDowell was 17 shots better.

“That 80 was a wake-up call, but I didn’t wake up for another four months or so,” McDowell said. “It was more of the panic button. It was a pretty awful four or five months for me.

“But like I say, I feel like you learn more from those types of experiences than you do from shooting 63 at Bay Hill. There’s not much to learn out there except that if you play great and hole some putts, you can go low.”

That’s just what he did. And that’s what someone will have to do on the weekend to win ? including Woods.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-03-24-GLF-Bay-Hill/id-e03b0046a5374481a7198246ab58b558

grammys 2012 ll cool j deadmau5 phoebe snow jennifer hudson tribute to whitney houston nicki minaj grammy jason whitlock

China’s Not-So-Super Computer Program

March 25th, 2012

SHENZHEN, China?The supercomputer in this southern boomtown is named Nebulae for the interstellar clouds of gas that give birth to stars. The machine symbolizes China’s soaring ambition to challenge the U.S. and other developed nations in technology, but also underscores the limitations of what China can achieve.

China’s unexpected progress in developing supercomputers, the brains of modern science and an engine of economic development, has caused an outbreak of anxiety over the past two years in the U.S., which has long been the field’s undisputed leader. China’s advances in computing have been critical to its ability to build spacecraft and advanced warplanes and to its growing prowess in genetics. China overtook Japan in 2010 as the number two investor in research and development, according to Battelle Memorial Institute, a Columbus, Ohio, research outfit. Though China remains well behind the U.S. in R&D spending, it is gaining ground.

But a closer look at China’s supercomputers reveals a program that is far less of a threat to U.S. technological dominance than commonly believed. Chinese researchers say decisions about how supercomputers are used are often made by local politicians more interested in local development projects than breakthrough technology.

Associated Press

The Tianhe-1A supercomputer at the National Center for Supercomputing in Tianjin, China.

China’s bureaucrats meanwhile haven’t figured out how to mount software development projects that come close to U.S. or European standards. Chinese scientists also lack the funding, and freedom, to explore technologies that haven’t already been endorsed by the government, which can keep them well behind the cutting edge.

The result is that China’s supercomputing projects aren’t producing the kinds of breakthroughs that can create new industries. It is instead being deployed to help the country simply catch up with the U.S. and Europe, in areas ranging from health care to automotive design to aviation. That is important economically, but it is also a reminder that China remains a developing country whose main goal is to close the economic and technology gaps with richer nations.

“The strategy has been never to lead, but to follow” technologically, said Qian Depei, a Beihang University researcher, who has worked for decades on China’s advanced computing programs. “That was the most economically efficient way to develop.”

Richard Suttmeier,a University of Oregon expert on Chinese science policy, said China hasn’t figured out “the right formula” to pioneer new technologies in part because researchers are rewarded according to the number of academic papers they publish rather than the quality and novelty of their work.

Supercomputers are largely seen in China as local economic-development tools. City governments play a much larger role in setting China’s supercomputer research agenda than they do in the U.S. because Chinese cities finance a larger share of the projects.

Shenzhen, which paid three-quarters of the $1.3 billion cost of the Shenzhen supercomputer center, “doesn’t care about climate change and astrophysics”?traditional supercomputer research projects?said Feng Shengzhong, deputy director of a Shenzhen research institute that develops applications for the Nebulae. “They care about local problems.”

He is working on a plan to use the Nebulae to improve health care services in South China?a socially important goal but not one that makes use of the power of what is ranked as the world’s fourth-fastest supercomputer.

China is now home to 74 of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers?which can make trillions of calculations every second?up from just 10 in 2007. Changes in the way the machines are designed have helped the country.

In the 1980s, when Cray Research in Minneapolis was the world’s supercomputer technology leader, the machines were powered by a few enormously powerful processors, whose design was difficult to match. Exports were tightly controlled. Starting in the 1990s, supercomputer researchers began to lash together tens of thousands of off-the-shelf microprocessors to work on a single job. China could buy those computer chips from Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and other firms and make its own machines.

Analysts say that Chinese scientists have benefited from training at top computer centers in the U.S. and Europe and the availability of computer chips and other parts from abroad, as well as consistent Chinese government funding and support. The supercomputer effort isn’t dogged by charges that the Chinese have ripped off foreign technology. Rather, Chinese scientists say U.S. restrictions on some high-technology exports have required them to redouble their domestic efforts.

Still, China remains largely dependent on U.S. made microprocessors?the brains of the computer?which puts it behind the leading edge. Beijing has developed one computer that uses locally designed microprocessors, but doesn’t run commercially available software. Another microprocessor in development, the Loongson, would use existing software and could eventually become a competitor to Intel and others.

Some of China’s supercomputers have been used to design wings for China’s stealth fighter, now in test phase, and to design parts for China’s first commercial jet. Beijing lags well behind the U.S. in both efforts.

In Shenzhen, the Nebulae, which is still being tested, is expected to improve storm warning systems and help genetics companies search for the causes of disease. But it is also scheduled to be used for far less demanding tasks, such as processing video animation.

In the U.S., said Steve Conway, a supercomputer analyst at market researcher IDC, in Framingham, Mass., cities and states chip in money for local supercomputer centers, but they generally have little say in setting the priorities for the machines. U.S. supercomputer centers nearly always focus on advanced scientific research, such as designing drugs tailored to individuals.

Research at the edge of technology is risky, but can have big payoffs and leave competitors like China well behind. “American alarmism isn’t always well-founded,” said Mr. Suttmeier, of the University of Oregon. “The critical point is keep devising strategies in the U.S. to stay way ahead of the game.”

One of China’s greatest weaknesses is in software development, a potentially crippling problem because the usefulness of the machines depends on the quality of the software applications. Less than 10% of supercomputing funding goes to developing such applications, said Chinese researchers who complain that political leaders press them to build headline-grabbing new machines rather than focus on whether they are used to their full capabilities.

In the U.S., which spends about six times as much on supercomputers as China, the software budget equals about 30% of hardware spending, and computer specialists say even that level isn’t sufficient.

The battle for software dollars is so intense in China that researchers rarely work as a team on long-term software projects, Chinese scientists say.

To illustrate the uneven perception of China’s supercomputer efforts, Mr. Qian, the veteran supercomputer researcher, holds his palms at hip level. “Generally, we’re here,” he said, “but everyone thinks we’re higher,” as he raises his palms to shoulder height.

Write to Bob Davis at bob.davis@wsj.com

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577298062429510918.html?mod=rss_about_china

mario williams vcu jordan hill unlv sam young ncaa bracket ramon sessions

USDA Deputy Under Secretary Outlines Blueprint for Jobs, Economic Growth

March 25th, 2012

Calling all local officials and entrepreneurs! Imagine high-tech, well paying jobs coming to rural America. It?s not impossible and in fact it?s already happening.? A recent webinar entitled ?An American Economy?Built to Last: Advanced Manufacturing in Rural America? and hosted by USDA?s Rural Development provided a tool kit for attracting Advanced Manufacturing operations to rural communities.? Among the presenters, an industry representative described how the world?s largest semi-conductor chip-maker scouts locations in rural America to set up advanced manufacturing facilities and even shared a sort of ?check list? that his company uses when evaluating a particular area. Officials from USDA Rural Development and the Department of Commerce itemized government programs and financing that can be leveraged to make one?s community more attractive, particularly to this type of investment.

A success story shared on the webinar involved the small town of Martinsville in rural Virginia that has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the State. RTI Metals, based outside of Virginia has a global network. It manufactures high-tech titanium products for aerospace and military applications. After using USDA low-interest loans to improve their broadband network, Martinsville worked with RTI which set up shop creating about 150 jobs with an average salary of $35 an hour and a total local investment of about $100 million.

President Obama is calling for a manufacturing renaissance in the United States, and Rural America can be fertile ground for advanced manufacturing operations, bringing with it well-paying jobs and considerable local investment. That?s why the President laid out a blueprint for an economy that?s built to last ? an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.? The President will continue to work to bring about a new era of American manufacturing, with more good jobs and more products with the label ?Made in the USA.?

I encourage you to take a look, and listen to this truly eye-opening webinar and pass it along to anyone interested in job growth and economic development.

Source: http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/03/23/usda-deputy-under-secretary-outlines-blueprint-for-jobs-economic-growth/

the big chill tony blankley steelers pittsburgh steelers charles barkley beyonce troy polamalu

Engineer targets Facebook, Apple solar data centres

March 25th, 2012

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.crn.com.au — Friday, March 23, 2012
Not the answer to IT and cloud’s green woes. …

Source: http://www.crn.com.au/News/294694,engineer-targets-facebook-apple-solar-data-centres.aspx?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=CRN+Hardware+feed

dan uggla kryptos student loan forgiveness amy winehouse cause of death amy winehouse cause of death white witch white witch

NCAA Hockey Scores, Ferris State Vs. Denver: Bulldogs, Pioneers Locked In 0-0 Struggle

March 24th, 2012

The Denver Pioneers 2012 NCAA Hockey Tournament session is underway on Friday afternoon, but they have plenty of work ahead if they want to defeat the Ferris St. Bulldogs. The Pioneers got off to a slow start by having a tough time shooting the puck. The Bulldogs early on had an 11-2 shot advantage, but by the time the buzzer went off the Pioneers were down in the shot column by just three, 11-8.

Sam Brittain has started in net for the Pioneers while Jason Zucker, who was questionable for the game, has been on the ice for the team. Taylor Nelson has made all eight saves for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State is 0-for-1 on the power play, but the Pioneers were unable to take advantage of their two man-up situations, either. Those penalties were called for hooking and interference (twice).

Stay with this StoryStream for more on the 2012 NCAA Hockey Tournament.

Source: http://denver.sbnation.com/denver-pioneers/2012/3/23/2898302/ferris-state-vs-denver-score-ncaa-hockey

best buy black friday 2011 ads broncos jets jessie james clayton kershaw osu basketball dale sveum jets broncos

Exhibition of important sculpture by Walter De Maria at Gagosian Gallery in Rome

March 24th, 2012

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.artdaily.org — Thursday, March 22, 2012
Rome.- Gagosian Gallery announces an exhibition of important sculpture by Walter De Maria. Each of the three works on view, The 5-7-9 Series (1992), the Large Rod Series: Circle/Rectangle 11 (1986), and The 13-Sided Open Polygon (1984), represents a major series for De Maria during the last fifty years. Although the works engage geometric and numerical progression, they balance stark mathematical fact with the more intangible qualities of the sublime. The 5-7-9 Series is the second of three related, large-scale 27-part installation sculptures. The Rome presentation is edition 2/2; the first edition is on permanent view at the Gem?ldegalerie, Berlin. The work is preceded by The 4-6-8 Series (1966) and followed by Time/Timeless/No Time (2004, from the 3-4-5 Series), on permanent view at the Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima Island, Japan. All works in each series consist of 27 unique sculptural variations, each made of three vertical …

Source: http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=54313

tom brokaw maria shriver andy irons ethan zohn jeremy mayfield occupy oakland general strike occupy oakland general strike

ulick scrawly: gstar jeans Finance Philanthropy Charitable Giving …

March 23rd, 2012

Charity prestige cards venture you one choice way to generously donate money to assorted causes: occasions that serve apt aid others among need In one effort to obtain you to sign aboard as assorted cards,??? ? ???, many card companies are swiftly offering honor cards apt you namely donate one aggregate apt philanthropies anytime you cost Ultimately,gstar jeans, card companies are helping many philanthropies lift the asset they so desperately need and many shoppers favor you are prepared to help: if you don?t necessarily have the supplement cash aboard hand apt donate to your favourite generosities you can immediately aid out such philanthropies by using a medal card is participates among such schemes.
Related articles?

Tags: gstar jeans, ??? ? ??

Source: http://lrqgt1018.blogs.tc/2012/03/21/gstar-jeans-finance-philanthropy-charitable-giving/

day light savings day light savings spring forward daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house greta van susteren

Source: http://howardparrish.typepad.com/blog/2012/03/gstar-jeans-finance-philanthropy-charitable-giving-ubdgyeeodh.html

richard stallman williston north dakota williston north dakota kody brown transylvania carrie ann inaba california earthquake

Source: http://ulick-scrawly.blogspot.com/2012/03/gstar-jeans-finance-philanthropy.html

bethenny frankel david garrard houston weather miguel cabrera dancing with the stars michael bay ninja turtles laron landry

PFT: Saints’ DT: Payton suspension’s ‘not right’

March 23rd, 2012

96484369_crop_650x440Getty Images

As potential whistleblowers go, they don?t get much less sympathetic than tight end Jeremy Shockey.? But the man former Giants receiver Amani Toomer described last week as a ?bad teammate? and ?worse person? nevertheless has rights.

Specifically, Shockey has the right to not be outed as the person who cracked the case of the Saints? bounty program in 2011.? Especially if Shockey wasn?t the person who blew the whistle.

But that?s what happened on Wednesday.? Former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp identified Shockey as the whistleblower on Twitter.? Amazingly, NFL Network thereafter decided (apparently without consulting legal counsel, or perhaps relying on the advice of Lionel Hutz) to put Sapp on the league-owned air and repeat his contention.

Shockey has vehemently denied being the whistleblower.? And now he wants something to be done about the potential damage to his prospects for getting another job.

?Is the league going to come down on their own people when someone does something so wrong and outrageous?? Shockey told Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports.? ?There should be a standard for punishment, like getting suspended or fined or losing your job.? If I say something about officials, the league fines me.?

Shockey said he has been contacted by multiple lawyers about possibly filing suit, and that he has heard nothing from the league.

?I?m 31 years old and this is not good,? Shockey said.? ?People have asked if this is going to hurt me in finding another team.? I don?t know, but it?s not helping me.?

Unfortunately for Shockey, there could be plenty of other factors keeping a team from signing him.? Still, being flagged as a potential whistleblower doesn?t help.? Even if no other NFL team will ever again use a bounty system, the outdated mentality of the football locker room shuns those who would break the code of silence in any way.

In Shockey?s case, the problem is that few would regard him as someone who succumbed to a crisis of conscience.? Instead, many would assume he was simply trying to get back at the Saints for cutting him.

That said, a league source has told us that Shockey wasn?t the whistleblower, and that he wasn?t involved in any way in the investigation.? If that?s true, why doesn?t the league simply say so?

Apparently, the NFL is so sensitive about potentially disclosing the name of the whistleblower that it doesn?t want to comment on the matter at all, even by expressly ruling someone out.? If that?s the reason for the silence, the league needs to accept the reality that the ship has sailed, via the disclosure of Shockey?s name on the league-owned network by an employee of the league-owned network, which necessarily makes him an employee of the league.

The problem isn?t Sapp.? That?s his style and his shtick, and it?s what makes him good on TV.? The problem is that the NFL failed to convene a meeting of its NFL Network and NFL.com staff in early March and explain that any reporting or speculation or discussion of the identity of the person who provided information that helped the NFL discover the existence of the bounty program was prohibited, whether because outing a whistleblower violates the law or because it potentially puts him at risk of retaliation by an unstable fan or because it will cause future whistleblowers to not cooperate or, perhaps the best reason of all, because it?s the right thing to do.

That didn?t happen, which means that in the heat of the process of determining the on-air content on one of the craziest offseason days in NFL history, a bad decision was made.? Before the NFL punishes any of them, the NFL needs to realize that the failure to issue what should have been an obvious directive directly caused the current problem.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/22/saints-tom-johnson-sean-payton-is-our-leader-this-is-not-right/related/

south korea baron davis duggar family fidel castro gilbert arenas dexter dexter

CrossFit Games 2012, Making Fitness Fun . . . Uh, Sort of ? Health …

March 23rd, 2012

When you?re gasping for breath midway through a CrossFit Games WOD (Work Out of the Day), you can?t help but say: ?I?d rather be ?. . . (here?s where you insert the word that best describes what you?d really rather be doing). But you gotta hand it to the minds behind CrossFit who got creative and birthed the CrossFit Games. Perhaps by using the word ?game? people would think fitness at this level might somehow be fun. Perhaps it is, in an odd sort of way.

They must have done something right, seeing that the number of registrants around the world doubled this year to over 55,000 participants!

So far, in the Master?s Men (visualize old codgers from 50 to 55 years old), I?ve completed 4 of 6 weekly workouts. That is to say, I?ve survived 4 of 6 weekly workouts. I?ve been having so much ?fun? I nearly didn?t realize that I?m in 102nd place in this age group. Last I looked there are over 600 other older gentlemen in this age category who are squeezing out their last few drops of Testosterone.

Despite the challenges posed in the WODs, CrossFit does what it?s motto suggests in that it is truly: Forging Elite Fitness. That translates into tremendous personal gains in performance: whether sport, hobby, or in my case, repeatedly launching and catching my active 3-year-old daughter. The payoff is most certainly worth it.

Alright. Here?s the workout that I?ll push through first thing in the morning. If you?ll notice, the list doesn?t include vital information such as ?breathe here? or ?fall down with a sharp stitch in your side here.? Okay. It?s gonna be awesome. Maybe even a little fun. After all, it is this year?s CrossFit Games! (http://games.crossfit.com).

Workout 12.5

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:

3 Barbell Thrusters
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
6 Barbell Thrusters
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
9 Barbell Thrusters
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
12 Barbell Thrusters
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
15 Barbell Thrusters
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
18 Barbell Thrusters
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
21 Barbell Thrusters
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups?
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 21, go on to 24. If you complete 24, go on to 27, etc.

Wish me luck. Now let?s go have some FUN!

?

Source: http://healthandfitness101.com/?p=3035

buckyballs awake mario batali lone ranger aaron brooks dave matthews band solar flares 2012