Represent: Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee for Tampa Bay Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization

Downtown yesterday, I was asked if I would represent Eastern Hillsborough County's interests on the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) for the Tampa Bay Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. Katharine and I were there to represent the college and our need for adequate bike lanes to our campuses as a way to reduce our carbon footprint.

 The committee's website is here.

How Small We Really Are...

Sometimes it's hard to imagine, or even have time to think about, how small we really are in comparison to this universe..

Today, I watched a movie (for free) from Hulu.com entitled Cosmic Voyage. Narrated by Morgan Freeman and full of neat views of both the macrocosm (big stuff) and the microcosm (little stuff), it's a real eye opener to all that's around us and where are universe came from..

It was quite humbling, especially when the film zooms out to a view like that below (from the Hubble telescope), and you realize that all of those millions of galaxies have billions of stars, which most likely have planets, and most probably life.

Take a look at all of these galaxies:

Towards the end of the film, they show two spiral galaxies colliding into one... What they don't explain is that this is what will eventually happen to our galaxy and our neighboring Andromeda galaxy (which is quite a bit bigger than ours) in about 3 billion years...

This video is from Youtube.com entitled How the Milky Way Will End:



If two galaxies collide, and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound??

Intriguing and educational.. I love films like these!

Special: Healthy Kids

Well, I don't have kids myself, but I've certainly mentored enough kids and been around enough of my friends that have kids...

Kids want to be just like us. They want to talk like us and do the same things as us.. They're interested in the things that the adults are interested in, and then are very impressionable... They want to be just like mom.. or dad.. or friend... Any one they think is cool, they watch and imitate..

It's no wonder that so many kids are now starting out towards an unhealthy lifestyle, when all of the adults around them are overweight and unhealthy..

The best way to lead others, whether it be an adult or a child, is by example.. When they see us eating junk, what kind of an example is that? Or when they never see us do anything except for sit in front of the t.v. or computer for hours on end, how can we expect them to do anything different?

Yes, every child growing up these days in America has never known the world without t.v. or a computer.. I remember that when I was a kid, we didn't have but one small t.v. that we never watched because we were always outside... And we didn't get a computer until I was about 13, and even then we only really used it for school work.

Kids just need to get re-interested in getting outside and have someone that they can look to for a healthy lifestyle... Why not get outside and play some ball? Or have some fun in the kitchen making something healthy together? It'll help the child that needs that good role model, and it'll help you at the same time!

Weight a minute...

... did you say weight training? For women? Yes, I did.

Weight training is a great tool, not just for men, but for women too. Some people think that to stay healthy or to lose weight, all that's needed is good eating coupled with some kind of aerobic exercise. But weight training needs to be in the mix, too!

Weight training helps to not only tone and shape our body, but it also helps to raise our metabolism and keep our bones from getting brittle as we age. After weight lifting, the metabolism raises for about 48 hours. The effect on your metabolism for aerobic exercise is instant, then gone almost as soon as you're done. Aerobic exercise doesn't do much for your bones either, where as by putting extra weight on our bones, we are actually strengthening them. Women also tend to lose more muscle as we age compared to guys. We get weaker and get fatigued faster. Lifting helps to slow this aging process down..

Exercise can sure make you feel good inside too. It feels good to be able to do more sets or a longer duration of exercise. It also feels great to see the jiggle disappearing from your body, or even being able to walk up stairs with out being winded..

I like to alternate my muscles worked in the gym. I usually don't work my legs, but stick to my upper body. Of course, each of us is different. Maybe you'd like to work on your legs. And don't forget to always listen to your body and don't over do it.. If you hurt yourself, it's definitely a de-motivator and puts you off course for a while.
Typically, I will work my back and triceps one day, and then my chest the next day. If I work my biceps specifically at all, they'll start to grow as big as my husband's fast.. And you're almost always working more than one muscle at a time. For instance, when working your back, it's impossible not to work your biceps. And when working your chest, you work your triceps.

Start with a light weight and do sets of about 15-20 to warm up. Concentrate on your form and slowly work up to a heavier weight. Don't worry about getting a guy's bod either-- we just don't have the testosterone for it.

I like to keep my workouts short and sweet. I tend to finish up in about 30 minutes. And if you are lifting at a good pace, it's like doing an aerobic exercise at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone in a short amount of time.. And who has tons of time these days?