Elations product lineup (fresh fruit not included)

Not too long ago, a box arrived at ShrinkGeek Orbital HQ from the folks at Elations, with a few samples of their stuff. Since Mike isn’t the only one complaining about the inevitable grind toward getting old, and years of questionable behavior have been not entirely kind to my joints, I decided to give them a try. As a delivery system for glucosamine and chondroitin, Elations take a Flintstones Tablets approach (or maybe it’s Mary Poppins) – making what is usually One More Bland Or Yucky Tablet into a sweet-tasting beverage.

How well does it work? And why would you want to take glucosamine and chondroitin, anyway?

The penguins from "Happy Feet" doing their impression of the beginning of a crowded race. Lemming impersonation optional. (c) Kingdom Feature Productions

The assertion that we’ve got happy feet may be a slight overstatement, but it’s certainly more true this morning than it’s apt to be mid-morning on Saturday, when your intrepid scribes (that’d be me and Mike) will be hitting the road, literally, for a 5k race together for the first time. There will be several friends and colleagues of ours there, both from our day job and other circles, not to mention several thousand other other folks.

Much like the first time you step into a PvP arena (I’m partial to Quake ]|[, which tells you how long it’s been since I was any good at that sort of thing), where it’s you against other actual humans, the very act of being surrounded by fellow athletes with an actual scoreboard brings a certain crispness to the proceedings. Sure, it’s just going for a run – in our case, it’s pretty much the same one we do several times a week – but doing it “for real” brings another dimension to it, beyond the fresh route and, shall we say, interactive scenery.

Homer Simpson (c) Fox Media

It’s not unusual to think you’re hungry. What might be surprising is that, once you’ve begun losing weight, your brain actually responds differently to the sight of food. However, that seems to be exactly what researchers at Columbia University are finding, as NPR reported yesterday.

The complex dance of hormones and neurochemistry that controls our reaction to food, at both a cognitive and physical level, is something that can be hacked to our advantage, however. It just takes a little insight, planning, and discipline. Fortunately, most weight-loss programs, from the insanely strict to the lifestyle maintenance, consciously or unconsciously include a mechanism that allows you to out-smart your cravings. Some of them are even built around it.

Cheat codes days for the win.  It’s not God Mode, but it’s a start.

Image courtesy of kkimpel on Flickr

From time to time, you’ll see us do a review of a fitness product, exercise game, food or diet supplement, or whatever else around here. Most of the time, it’s because one of us owns it already; sometimes, we’ve gotten a trial sample of something, or are given the use of it for a while. A lot of the time, what you’ll read here originates from very close to home – Mike and Krystalle get a ton of use out of the exergaming titles they have for their Wii; both they and Scott and have made Weight Watchers a guiding principle in their eating habits; and my copy of Starting Strength sits right here on my desk, underneath the notebook where I log my daily workouts. It’s not just fiction authors who live by the dictum, “Write what you know.”

The companies that have been kind enough to send us review samples have done so knowing that we’re going to be giving you, our readers, our honest assessment of whatever they may be offering. Whether it’s effusive enthusiasm, a thumbs-up with a caveat, or some well-earned derision, we’re not going to sugar-coat what we say.

That’s not how we roll, whether it’s 1d4 or 8d12.

It's never too early to play a little RL Dig Dug (image by abbybatchelder on Flickr)

“Strong people are harder to kill, and more useful in general.” – Mark Rippetoe

Having grown up in Buffalo, I’m no stranger to encountering large amounts of the white stuff vigorously and repeatedly burying the upper-right quadrant of the United States. However, living in Florida, we’re missing out on the fun.

I’m not actually being facetious or snarky, for a change. Mowing the lawn on New Years’ Day is nice, but kind of lame when it comes to instilling that whole “winter” motif. We can’t make a decent backyard ice rink, have a snowball fight, or get a “snow day” away from the office.

Put down the shovels, torches, and pitchforks, people. Well, not the shovels. Record snowfall is obviously a huge inconvenience, and we want to make sure everyone stays safe, warm, and all that good stuff. However, you can still turn it to your advantage, even if you’re not a frost-spec Mage.