The Ilio-Tibial Band

I stole this from somewhere. The "band of connective tissue" is aka a tendon.

What exactly is the iliotibial band? It's not a jazz group whose members tap in time to their music with their tibias. The central feature of the iliotibial band is a key muscle, the tensor fascia lata, which runs down the outside of the thigh just below the hip. Like all muscles, the tensor fascia lata has a band of connective tissue at each end which bind it to bone. The upper band merely ascends vertically a short distance to attach at the top of the hip (thus the name ilio-), but the lower one runs all the way down the side of the thigh before attaching to the lateral side of the tibia, just below the knee (hence the name -tibial).

Overall, the iliotibial band scoots down the outside of the leg from the hip to below the knee, kind of like a broad stripe in one's 'musculo-tendinous uniform'. If you're curious about the muscle's name, the word 'tensor' means 'makes tense', 'fascia' means 'band', and 'lata' signifies 'wide', providing a pretty accurate description of the characteristics of this key muscle.

Sheba poses

Sometimes cats just know they look good! 

25 Years With My Wife

So we celebrated our 25th anniversary with little fanfare and no blogging, which really reflects the fact that we've been so busy. We got away for a couple of days, saw a RS game (who goes to a RS game on their 25th? We do!), and had a lovely ride home on Route 2, reacquainting ourselves with some old haunts, and, in general, recharging some tired old batteries. But I want to say just a word about having been married for 25 years to the woman of my dreams.

Problem is, I can't put my finger on the perfect word. Thrilling and ecstatic are too transitory in meaning. Thrills and ecstacy don't last very long. Blissful is hackneyed, and bliss isn't really what it's all about anyway. I do like "tickled pink", but it doesn't do justice to 25 years.

It may be that "fulfilled" is the proper term. I get a feeling of tremendous satisfaction in knowing that we've been married for 25 mostly happy years. I'm very proud, in fact, that we've accomplished this, and very, very pleased with the place at which we've arrived after what has been a long journey. I think I'm fulfilled.

And now my wife has spent an entire week working like the devil to pull off a party for the boys. Through it all she's remained cheerful, mostly, and lovely to look at. I stand in awe, and I give thanks for my incredible good fortune.

Wal-Mart goes off the deep end

This was sent to us via e-mail by a person we know well. My heart is broken.

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Last October, Walmart CEO H. Lee Scott pledged to transform his sprawling company, which employs 1.8 million people worldwide and ranks No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list, into a lean green machine powered exclusively by renewable energy, producing zero waste, and selling sustainable products. Those goals are so lofty they sound downright deluded, but Scott has followed them up with specific, seemingly achievable commitments and timetables. He aims, for example, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions at Wal-Mart's existing stores and distribution centers 20 percent by 2012, and invest $500 million in environmental improvements each year.

Andy Ruben, Wal-Mart's vice president for corporate strategy and sustainability, reasons that the 100 percent renewable-energy goal could be met largely with greater efficiencies. "We can use 70 percent less energy to do what we're doing today, and supply the rest with renewables," Ruben suggested at last week's meeting.

The gathering brought forth more green goals from divisions throughout the company. In the area of seafood, Wal-Mart is working with the World Wildlife Fund to identify, and purchase exclusively from, sustainable fisheries. It's moving toward organic cottons in its apparel and bedding lines. The jewelry division is developing a sustainable certification program for the gold mines it works with, and exploring outlets for recycled gold. The transportation division is planning to double the efficiency of its truck fleet, one of the largest in the U.S., within a decade. The construction division is developing prototype stores that are 30 percent more energy-efficient than current stores, and the company also aims to improve efficiency at existing stores by 20 percent. The packaging department is working to eliminate its waste stream by 2015, using reusable, recycled, and biodegradable containers.

The produce division is ramping up its organic offerings, and plans to move toward more local farm purchases in order to save money on truck fuel costs and refrigeration. Ron McCormick, an executive in Wal-Mart's produce division, said he plans to purchase a broader variety of produce based on what's available in each region, rather than insisting on a "monoculture" of produce at stores nationwide. "Our whole focus is: How can we reduce food-miles?"

These internal aims aside, Scott said Wal-Mart's most meaningful environmental impact will be in nudging its 60,000 suppliers toward more eco-friendly practices -- working with them, for instance, to reduce packaging, which in turn would mean fewer raw materials consumed, less energy expended in transit, and, in the end, lower prices for consumers. "Ninety percent of the impact Wal-Mart can have is on the supply chain," he said.

Wal-Mart's Ruben, who this spring testified before a Senate committee in favor of federal greenhouse-gas regulations, also acknowledged that in addition to the 23 million tons of CO2 equivalent that Wal-Mart emits each year, there are an estimated 220 million tons of annual greenhouse-gas emissions in the company's supply chain.

Scott's grand goal, as he explained it in an interview with Grist this spring, is to "democratize sustainability." To wit: He wants to use Wal-Mart's unparalleled economies of scale to put everything from organic T-shirts to compact fluorescent light bulbs to pesticide-free foods within reach of the masses.

Of course, he believes this green push will make the company money. "The benefits of the strategy are undeniable, whether you look through the lens of greenhouse-gas reduction or the lens of cost savings. What has become so obvious is that [a green strategy] provides better value for our customers."


http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2006/07/19/gore-walmart/index.html?source=weekly

Games 2 & 3

The game was great, again, with the Sox taking an early lead and then almost blowing it before cracking the game wide open in the 8th, sending all the Oakland fans home early. I predicted a Trot Nixon homerun in his first at bat, and in his 2nd he broke his 0 for 126 at bat streak.

One thing you never see at home is Papelbon warming up. It's especially noticeable in Oakland, as the bullpen is along the side of the field. If the Sox have a lead, Papelbon is up and moving around in the 6th, stretching his legs and jogging a little in the 7th, and waving his arms all around in the 8th. He starts throwing nearly 3 innings after he starts stretching. The Oakland fans mocked him a little bit, mimicking his frantic arm swings and twisting torso.

The Oakland fans were a little less hospitable last night. The frustration with their teams performance and with the number of Sox fans in the stands was palpable. One guy in our section kept chanting durogatory things about New England, including "Chappaquiddick," which I probably just butchered. The guy behind me leaned forward and said "Trot Nixon is gay, you shouldn't wear his jersey, 'cause he's gay." Trot then walked in a run and blew past a stop sign to score from first on a double, which is a very gay thing to do. The Sox won convincingly and all the As fans had gone home by the 9th.

Today's game was less exciting. We got there early for batting practice and Root Beer Float Day, but the Sox skipped BP. We watched Foulke throw a side session from about 15 feet away. He threw ~30 pitches, and he and Nipper seemed pleased with it. He's due to come off the DL next week. Ruth got Jermaine Van Buren to sign my ticket, but I let her keep it. Because it just didn't mean that much to me. In the game, Haren and the As offense managed to appease the As fans, who seemed to have forgotten that they got spanked in the first two games.

Tomorrow morning I'm on an early plane to the east coast, where i'll be visiting some friends before joining the Frey family on Cape Cod for a few days.

What a lightning strike looks like

This happened last night during an intense storm, with the most horrific simultaneous flash and crack and smash that I think any of us have ever heard. The result: the living room TV is fried, as are the satellite TV, a fencer at the barn, and the phone lines in the house and the barn. My office phone line, oddly enough, is fine -- possibly because I just ran that line through a new battery backup system that also kept my computer running without interruption, or possibly just because lightning is a flakey thing.

We don't know where the lightning actually hit -- it may not have been the house itself. It could have been a telephone pole or somewhere on the garage or the barn. We may never know. Whatever it was, those of us in the kitchen did not seem to hear quite as loud an impact (although it was plenty loud) as did Laura and Jason, up in her room -- Jason said he had trouble hearing for a few moments afterward. Everyone is fine, though, and glad that nothing worse happened.

One result is that we did not see last night's RS game and won't see tonight's either -- the DirectTV people aren't coming to fix the system until tomorrow. So, Caleb, we can neither watch for you nor record the games. :-( Please give us especially detailed reports!

Game 1

Zito vs. Beckett was a pretty intriguing matchup, even though the last time the two faced each other the Sox were pummelled 15-3. We had great seats, halfway between first base and right field, about 25 rows behind the Sox bullpen, and were very excited. Beckett did not disappoint, though the Sox bats quickly ended what could have been a great pitchers' duel. Gonzalez hit the first home run, and was really the star of the game. He got to field many ground balls and start a couple of double plays, which were all "ooooh" inspiring for the crowd, which was overwhelmingly full of Red Sox fans. Papi's home run was an absolute laser. I thought it was a single or a lineout to right and it just kept going. He also pegged a foul ball off of the wall above us, which landed about 10 seats away. There were two young A's fans in front of me who grew more and more dejected as the game went on (it was the only game they were going to all season!), so I was trying to get them a foul ball as a souvenir but had no luck.

Tonight: Schilling vs. some rookie. On paper it sounds like a lopsided matchup, but the Sox bats often struggle with young pitchers. Tonight and Wednesday we're in less wonderful seats, but Wednesday is Root Beer Float day (Free Floats Served By Local Celebrities!) and $1.00 hotdog day, so the game will be second fiddle to the food.

Why Laura didn't go to SUNY Purchase

Having fun with Google Earth

The arrow is approximate, but close.

Tickets in Hand!

If you wanna see where we'll be sitting, go to:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bos/ballpark/seating.jsp

find the number 24 and follow it toward home plate. When you reach the little purple section, stop. That's us.

Life is good.