Christan
Speed Bench
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 3 x 9 vp
Wides
75 x 10
95 x 10
Close Grip Incline
70 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5
OHP
55 x 8
65 x 8
70 x 8
Pete
Speed Bench
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
205 x 3p x 9 vp
Wides
215 x 10 x 2 sets (paused 1, 5, 10)
JM Presses
205 x 8
215 x 8
225 x 8
Standing OHP
65 x 10
115 x 8
135 x 8
155 x 8
Close Grip Pulldown
120 x 12
140 x 12
160 x 12
Friday, September 7, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Meet Write-Up: 2012 Georgia Games
My weight cut was spot on and I woke up Saturday morning at 242. I had five hours before weigh-in so I knew I was good to go. Gage had weighed in on our scale at five the night before at 188. He ran and fasted. By my scale he was 180.4 in the morning.
The meet sight was a nice facility with everything a lifter might need. It was big, but because they stayed open for business it was crowded, especially with 56 total lifters. A whole lot of them were there for equipment check, too. I went ahead and got all of equipment checked. Gage did not weigh in until eight: 179.75. Sweet. Off to get donuts.
Started warming up and Gage looked great. Only then did I find out that they had split the first meet into two flights... and Gage was in the second flight. No mention was made and no flight info was posted. they had a video screen set up in the back, but unless you knew what was going on you had no idea what was going on. So, I am beside myself and worried about Gage, but we kept him warm throughout the first flight. this was tough because the first flight was taking FOREVER.
Squats
Opener: 314.5... three whites. looked easy. That was why I had no qualms about going...
Second: 352.5... missed. He lost his tightness right before he dropped and he could not recover.
Third: 352.5... three reds. Called him on depth. Looked good to me and the video makes it look good too. I really feel he was robbed.
314 opener
352 Robbery
Bench warm-ups went pretty well, just had to take into account the slow moving flights.
Bench
Opener: 264.5... three whites. State Record. Looked solid. I was shocked at how long the "press" calls were. Almost two full seconds.
Second; 292... missed. He gets on the bench and THEN the say American record so they have to scramble to get the right judges. took almost three minutes. Then the head judge gives the down signal but waits another measure before saying, "Start."
Third: 292... missed. Another damn snafu with the judges. A bit annoying.
At this point Gage has given up and his deadlift warm-ups were lethargic and it was taking forever because of the slowness of the first flight.
Deadlift
Opener: 402.5... three whites. Destroyed it. Had a little pep in his step after that.
Second: 434.7... three whites, but it did not look great. State Record Deadlift and Total.!!!
Third: 451.7... three whites. Looked better than the third. Meet PR!!!
402 Opener
434 Second Attempt: State Record Deadlift and Total
Gage ended with the state records in the Bench, Deadlift and Total. He really looked good on his pulls, too.
Then Gage got popped to be drug tested. He had just peed before his deadlifts, so he had to drink a gallon and half of fluids and it took him and hour and a half to pee. Not surprising he was dehydrated from the weight cut.
We did not find out until a half hour before our meet that Logan and I would be in separate flights. I was already tired.
Logan weighed in at 194. I weighed in at 239.5 and I felt good. that soon ended.
Logan was only able to get his opener squat of 396, two benches ending with 264 and got his opener deadlift of 520. The deadlift was a state record. Whatever happened to him was inexplicable, but part of it had to do with the guy that he is. He went running with Gage on Thursday and Friday, then he helped load and get Gage ready on the other lifts, then had to run back and forth with me in a separate flight. It was a bad meet, but I was proud of him, proud of his selflessness and willingness to help.
396 opener
Second Attempt: 264
Opener and State Record 523
I started warming up right before the first flight started. By the time they were through with second attempts, I had not even done 315. I had to rush to get warmed up. I did my last warm-up with 495 as the first attempts got under way. I was sweating and sucking wind because the first flight had FLOWN by. Luckily my opener was 110 pound higher than everybody else's.
Squat
Opener: 545.5... three reds. My problems with depth had begun. It felt low enough, it looked low enough on video, but apparently it was not low enough. they also called me for not "locking out" my left leg. I cannot hyperextend that leg because of the ACL surgery. I never claimed it because I never though it would be an issue.
Second: 545.5... three reds. Depth again. I was at a loss. this was a low as I could get. I was pissed but not despondent. If I bombed than I would be out of nationals. Christan told me that it was absolute bullshit, but you have to go with the judges. As a matter of fact, about 95% of the people who saw it though it was low enough.
third: 545.5... three whites. Holy shit. I was happy to get the lift in, but upset that i ended with such a low squat. that being said, it was the highest in the meet.
Opener 545: 3 reds for depth
Second 545: 3 red for depth
Bench
Warmups were tough because first flight flew by again.
Opener: 325... three whites. Easy.
Second: 352.5... three whites, flet a little heavy, but nothing to worry about.
Third: 369.5... missed. Just got out of the groove. Not a strength issue.
Second Attempt 352
Deadlifts
As usual the first flight was just rolling. I got my last warmup about three lifters into the first attempts. Again, I was the last lifter.
Opener: 556... Killed it. Three whites.
Second: 606... A little heavy off the floor, but it went really well. I was still upset about the rest of the meet so I opted to go for a PR.
Third: 628... three whites. This was the toughest pull I have ever done and it seemed to take forever. I was worried at lockout because I had to really throw my shoulders back. i looked at the head judge and she is just looking at me. I pull back a fraction more and she finally gives me the down signal. I was sure she was gonna red light me. This was a great lift because the WHOLE crowd was in on it and all the lifters were yelling for me.
Opener 556
Second 606
All-time Personal Record 628
This was my highest ever pull, the first time I legitimately had the heaviest pull in a meet and the first time I have ever pulled over 600 twice in a meet. This is the fourtth of five meets where I have both pulled over 600 and had a deadlift heavier than my squat. It was also pulled on a stiff bar, the first 600+ pull that I have pulled that was not on a deadlift bar.
Then I got popped for a drug test. I of course had just peed before my second deadlift. Took me a gallon of water and an hour to pee. But, I did get to spend that time talking with David Ricks, one of the greatest powerlifters of all time. He was a judge at this meet. Just a real great guy. Also got to meet Steve Goggins who is 1) one of the greatest lifters of all time 2) shorter than I thought and 3) a real great guy.
For those not in the know, Goggins was the first man to squat 1100 lbs and has a 881 deadlift to his credit.
Anyway, it was a tiring meet but I got to meet some real nice people and pal around with a few lifters during the meet. I was not happy about the squat depth issue, but it was better to happen here then at nationals. Gonna have to learn from this and fix it.
Thanks to Christan, my dad, my brother, Ceci, Charles and Jacob for coming and rooting me on. Gotta get back in the gym and fix a few things, but I really have to re-evaluate my position as a soon-to-be-master lifter.
This was the most tiring day of lifting I have ever had I will not do another meet with two other people unless I am NOT lifting.
Next up, Killeen.
The meet sight was a nice facility with everything a lifter might need. It was big, but because they stayed open for business it was crowded, especially with 56 total lifters. A whole lot of them were there for equipment check, too. I went ahead and got all of equipment checked. Gage did not weigh in until eight: 179.75. Sweet. Off to get donuts.
Started warming up and Gage looked great. Only then did I find out that they had split the first meet into two flights... and Gage was in the second flight. No mention was made and no flight info was posted. they had a video screen set up in the back, but unless you knew what was going on you had no idea what was going on. So, I am beside myself and worried about Gage, but we kept him warm throughout the first flight. this was tough because the first flight was taking FOREVER.
Squats
Opener: 314.5... three whites. looked easy. That was why I had no qualms about going...
Second: 352.5... missed. He lost his tightness right before he dropped and he could not recover.
Third: 352.5... three reds. Called him on depth. Looked good to me and the video makes it look good too. I really feel he was robbed.
Bench warm-ups went pretty well, just had to take into account the slow moving flights.
Bench
Opener: 264.5... three whites. State Record. Looked solid. I was shocked at how long the "press" calls were. Almost two full seconds.
Second; 292... missed. He gets on the bench and THEN the say American record so they have to scramble to get the right judges. took almost three minutes. Then the head judge gives the down signal but waits another measure before saying, "Start."
Third: 292... missed. Another damn snafu with the judges. A bit annoying.
At this point Gage has given up and his deadlift warm-ups were lethargic and it was taking forever because of the slowness of the first flight.
Deadlift
Opener: 402.5... three whites. Destroyed it. Had a little pep in his step after that.
Second: 434.7... three whites, but it did not look great. State Record Deadlift and Total.!!!
Third: 451.7... three whites. Looked better than the third. Meet PR!!!
Gage ended with the state records in the Bench, Deadlift and Total. He really looked good on his pulls, too.
Then Gage got popped to be drug tested. He had just peed before his deadlifts, so he had to drink a gallon and half of fluids and it took him and hour and a half to pee. Not surprising he was dehydrated from the weight cut.
We did not find out until a half hour before our meet that Logan and I would be in separate flights. I was already tired.
Logan weighed in at 194. I weighed in at 239.5 and I felt good. that soon ended.
Logan was only able to get his opener squat of 396, two benches ending with 264 and got his opener deadlift of 520. The deadlift was a state record. Whatever happened to him was inexplicable, but part of it had to do with the guy that he is. He went running with Gage on Thursday and Friday, then he helped load and get Gage ready on the other lifts, then had to run back and forth with me in a separate flight. It was a bad meet, but I was proud of him, proud of his selflessness and willingness to help.
I started warming up right before the first flight started. By the time they were through with second attempts, I had not even done 315. I had to rush to get warmed up. I did my last warm-up with 495 as the first attempts got under way. I was sweating and sucking wind because the first flight had FLOWN by. Luckily my opener was 110 pound higher than everybody else's.
Squat
Opener: 545.5... three reds. My problems with depth had begun. It felt low enough, it looked low enough on video, but apparently it was not low enough. they also called me for not "locking out" my left leg. I cannot hyperextend that leg because of the ACL surgery. I never claimed it because I never though it would be an issue.
Second: 545.5... three reds. Depth again. I was at a loss. this was a low as I could get. I was pissed but not despondent. If I bombed than I would be out of nationals. Christan told me that it was absolute bullshit, but you have to go with the judges. As a matter of fact, about 95% of the people who saw it though it was low enough.
third: 545.5... three whites. Holy shit. I was happy to get the lift in, but upset that i ended with such a low squat. that being said, it was the highest in the meet.
Bench
Warmups were tough because first flight flew by again.
Opener: 325... three whites. Easy.
Second: 352.5... three whites, flet a little heavy, but nothing to worry about.
Third: 369.5... missed. Just got out of the groove. Not a strength issue.
Deadlifts
As usual the first flight was just rolling. I got my last warmup about three lifters into the first attempts. Again, I was the last lifter.
Opener: 556... Killed it. Three whites.
Second: 606... A little heavy off the floor, but it went really well. I was still upset about the rest of the meet so I opted to go for a PR.
Third: 628... three whites. This was the toughest pull I have ever done and it seemed to take forever. I was worried at lockout because I had to really throw my shoulders back. i looked at the head judge and she is just looking at me. I pull back a fraction more and she finally gives me the down signal. I was sure she was gonna red light me. This was a great lift because the WHOLE crowd was in on it and all the lifters were yelling for me.
This was my highest ever pull, the first time I legitimately had the heaviest pull in a meet and the first time I have ever pulled over 600 twice in a meet. This is the fourtth of five meets where I have both pulled over 600 and had a deadlift heavier than my squat. It was also pulled on a stiff bar, the first 600+ pull that I have pulled that was not on a deadlift bar.
Then I got popped for a drug test. I of course had just peed before my second deadlift. Took me a gallon of water and an hour to pee. But, I did get to spend that time talking with David Ricks, one of the greatest powerlifters of all time. He was a judge at this meet. Just a real great guy. Also got to meet Steve Goggins who is 1) one of the greatest lifters of all time 2) shorter than I thought and 3) a real great guy.
For those not in the know, Goggins was the first man to squat 1100 lbs and has a 881 deadlift to his credit.
Anyway, it was a tiring meet but I got to meet some real nice people and pal around with a few lifters during the meet. I was not happy about the squat depth issue, but it was better to happen here then at nationals. Gonna have to learn from this and fix it.
Thanks to Christan, my dad, my brother, Ceci, Charles and Jacob for coming and rooting me on. Gotta get back in the gym and fix a few things, but I really have to re-evaluate my position as a soon-to-be-master lifter.
This was the most tiring day of lifting I have ever had I will not do another meet with two other people unless I am NOT lifting.
Next up, Killeen.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Training Log: Bench Press Excitement!
Nate
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 5... He said, "That's more than I weigh." "What?" I said. Turns out Nate has trimmed down from 240+ to 211. Amazing.
Logan
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 2p... I knew it was going to be a good night.
245 x 2p
260 x 2p
275 x 2p... solid first, grinding second. Helluva push.
2 board
285 x 1p
295 x 1p
Floor Press
155 x 10
175 x 10
195 x 10
Pete
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2p... took the time to make sure I was balanced on the bench.
315 x 2p
335 x 1p
355 x 2p... SWEET! missed it for a double last week and could only hit 345 for 5 singles last multiple set week.
355 x 2p... even better.
355 x 2p... Yeah, buddy! And no shoulder pain.
Close Grip
275 x 3p
295 x 3p
315 x 3p... these are a little more rougher on the shoulder, kids.
Floor Press
215 x 8p
235 x 8p... I was done.
I cannot believe that Nate has Lost 30 lbs. He looks good, but damn!
Logan has really come on with his benching in the last few weeks. When we started, he could not get over 255. Has a real shot at 285/290.
I think I have finally found my bench setup form. No real arch, just a pinch of tightness in that direction and light pressure between the shoulder blades. If I keep my concentration and form, I have a good feeling about 400 in August.
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 5... He said, "That's more than I weigh." "What?" I said. Turns out Nate has trimmed down from 240+ to 211. Amazing.
Logan
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 2p... I knew it was going to be a good night.
245 x 2p
260 x 2p
275 x 2p... solid first, grinding second. Helluva push.
2 board
285 x 1p
295 x 1p
Floor Press
155 x 10
175 x 10
195 x 10
Pete
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2p... took the time to make sure I was balanced on the bench.
315 x 2p
335 x 1p
355 x 2p... SWEET! missed it for a double last week and could only hit 345 for 5 singles last multiple set week.
355 x 2p... even better.
355 x 2p... Yeah, buddy! And no shoulder pain.
Close Grip
275 x 3p
295 x 3p
315 x 3p... these are a little more rougher on the shoulder, kids.
Floor Press
215 x 8p
235 x 8p... I was done.
I cannot believe that Nate has Lost 30 lbs. He looks good, but damn!
Logan has really come on with his benching in the last few weeks. When we started, he could not get over 255. Has a real shot at 285/290.
I think I have finally found my bench setup form. No real arch, just a pinch of tightness in that direction and light pressure between the shoulder blades. If I keep my concentration and form, I have a good feeling about 400 in August.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Training Log: Triumphal Return Friday
I was giving my back a rest so I originally planned on doing nothing, but I figured my hammies could use some work, so...
Pete
Romanian Split Squats
Bw x 12 x ea
30 x 10 x ea
50 x 10 x ea
60 x 10 x ea
75 x 10 x ea
Kneeling Pulley Crunch
210 x 15
220 x 15
230 x 15
240 x 15
250 x 15
Conventional Partial Deads
225 x 12
275 x 12
295 x 12
315 x 12
Shrugs
225 x 10
275 x 10
315 x 10
365 x 10
Seizure Kicks
2 sets of 12 x ea
I feel like a simulated a dead lift workout well. Quads, hamstrings, upper back and core all got hit.
Jacob
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
265 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 3 x 2 PR
Chris
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5 x 4 sets
Leg Press
225 x 10
315 x 10
405 x 10
495 x 10... PR! Full ROM and no knee wraps
415 x 3... this video should have been lower
Gage
135 x 10
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 1
365 x 5
390 x 5
He was bitchy that the weight felt heavy, but it looked good to me.
415 x 3... He killed the first three and then lost his grip. See above.
415 x 4... hands were the issue. Fourth one is terrible, but his hands were really messed up.
415 x 4
Logan
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 5
365 x 3
405 x 1
440 x 5
500 x 3
500 x 3
Then he had to go for his heavy single, 95% of the projected max we had been working on.
560 x 1...PR!!! The most he has ever pulled in training, in a meet or anywhere.
560 x 1... PR!!!
I am really proud of him. He has only been training a little over three months and he has come a long way.
Pete
Romanian Split Squats
Bw x 12 x ea
30 x 10 x ea
50 x 10 x ea
60 x 10 x ea
75 x 10 x ea
Kneeling Pulley Crunch
210 x 15
220 x 15
230 x 15
240 x 15
250 x 15
Conventional Partial Deads
225 x 12
275 x 12
295 x 12
315 x 12
Shrugs
225 x 10
275 x 10
315 x 10
365 x 10
Seizure Kicks
2 sets of 12 x ea
I feel like a simulated a dead lift workout well. Quads, hamstrings, upper back and core all got hit.
Jacob
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
265 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 3 x 2 PR
Chris
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5 x 4 sets
Leg Press
225 x 10
315 x 10
405 x 10
495 x 10... PR! Full ROM and no knee wraps
Gage
135 x 10
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 1
365 x 5
390 x 5
He was bitchy that the weight felt heavy, but it looked good to me.
415 x 3... He killed the first three and then lost his grip. See above.
415 x 4... hands were the issue. Fourth one is terrible, but his hands were really messed up.
415 x 4
Logan
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 5
365 x 3
405 x 1
440 x 5
500 x 3
Then he had to go for his heavy single, 95% of the projected max we had been working on.
560 x 1...PR!!! The most he has ever pulled in training, in a meet or anywhere.
I am really proud of him. He has only been training a little over three months and he has come a long way.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The further Adventures of Proto-Mechanic: Home Edition or The Return of Dr. Frankenstein
The Place: Case de Proto, Gage's Room
The Job: Another Ceiling Fan
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour... I almost can't write that with a straight face.
Thanks to the piss-poor duct work of the good Doctor, the back two rooms of the house are warmer than the rest of the house. Gage's room is sweltering. I promised him I would install his ceiling fan by Sunday. So, Sunday, I mopped the kitchen floor(one of my alarmingly small TWO goals of the day), and got to the project.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that this was a small ceiling fan. And then it happened. I actually thought to myself: "this is gonna be a cinch." For those of you who follow Proto, you know this doomed the entire job.
The fan itself was already wired for the light, so all I had to do was mount and wire it to the house. That's all I had to do. Firstly, and without hesitation, I went to the breaker box from hell to attempt to cut the power. The switch marked "Back Bedroom" turned off the power to the living room, so I just started making my way along the switches until the light in his room went off. Finally, the breaker switch labeled "Utility Closet" did the trick. I really need to re-label those things. So, I unhooked the light in Gage's room and quickly noticed a few things.
1) There were a hell of a lot of wires up in there, up in there. Two heavy blacks leading to the hot wire, a black and a white leading to the neutral and then two more heavy blacks linked together leading to the Dead Zone for all I knew. Oh, yeah, and a ground wire attached to the bracket. We will go back to that shortly.
2) Thanks to my handy-dandy voltmeter I was assured that there was no power flowing through those wires. I even did the use-a-wooden-sword-to-touch-the-hot-and-neutral-wires-as-I-cringe method of testing... just to be sure.
3) The wiring box is loose as a bum knee.
4) The screws on the mounting bracket look suspiciously stripped and of some alien head type I was not familiar with.
I tried to mount the fan mounting bracket to the wiring box mounting bracket, but nothing was working. I had to find a way to get the WBMB off with the stripped, alien screws. I was able to wedge a flat head into one of the screws and get it out. the other was not budging. I went and sat in the living room for a few minutes and thought about it. After those few minutes I simply ganked the hell out of the WBMB and it popped out. I figured in the back of my mind that I had done some sort of damage to the screw hole, but that was alright, I had a plan.
The FMB came with two types of mounting screws, longs and shorts. For the first hole, the short screw worked well. In the ganked hole, the short screw was, understandably, too small. but, here was my plan: I would use the bigger screw, see, and just overwhelm the ganked screw hole.
The ganked screw hole wanted no part of this. I went back into the living room to think and look at the old bracket with the ground wire attached to it. The wiring box had no ground wire coming off'n it. The ground was just accomplished by attaching the ground wire to the fixture and the bracket which was attached to the wiring box. Now, the FMB came with a ground wire, so I came up with a plan. I would use the ground wire from the old bracket to connect the FMB to the ganked hole. It was pretty heavy duty wire, so why not?
I attached the ground wire from the FMB to the pleasant screw, then jimmy rigged the FMB to the ganked screw hole with the old grounding wire. PERFECT! Except for the fact that, because the wiring box was so loose, the bracket wobbled back and forth. Bracket wobbles, ceiling fan wobbles. Balls.
Went out to the Proto garage and got a drill bit and two long screws. Long story short, I anchored the mounting bracket into the ceiling itself. Then I attached the fan and turned the power back on and flipped the switch... nothing.
I pawed like a cat at the ceiling fan, just in case my grounding was off. No thrumming, no shock. I pulled the chain on the fan... voila!
Then aside from cross threading one of the nuts that attached the fan to the FMB and then getting it all put back together and finding washers for those uncross-threaded mounting nuts, it was a cinch.
I swear it is an adventure anytime you have to do anything plumbing or electrical in this house.The original owner, Victor, was really good at using whatever he had lying around to make things seem like they work fine. Twenty years later, I get a nice surprise each and every time I try a DIY project at the Casa de Proto.
Only one, possibly two ceiling fans to go!
Time to completion: Three hours.
The Job: Another Ceiling Fan
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour... I almost can't write that with a straight face.
Thanks to the piss-poor duct work of the good Doctor, the back two rooms of the house are warmer than the rest of the house. Gage's room is sweltering. I promised him I would install his ceiling fan by Sunday. So, Sunday, I mopped the kitchen floor(one of my alarmingly small TWO goals of the day), and got to the project.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that this was a small ceiling fan. And then it happened. I actually thought to myself: "this is gonna be a cinch." For those of you who follow Proto, you know this doomed the entire job.
The fan itself was already wired for the light, so all I had to do was mount and wire it to the house. That's all I had to do. Firstly, and without hesitation, I went to the breaker box from hell to attempt to cut the power. The switch marked "Back Bedroom" turned off the power to the living room, so I just started making my way along the switches until the light in his room went off. Finally, the breaker switch labeled "Utility Closet" did the trick. I really need to re-label those things. So, I unhooked the light in Gage's room and quickly noticed a few things.
1) There were a hell of a lot of wires up in there, up in there. Two heavy blacks leading to the hot wire, a black and a white leading to the neutral and then two more heavy blacks linked together leading to the Dead Zone for all I knew. Oh, yeah, and a ground wire attached to the bracket. We will go back to that shortly.
2) Thanks to my handy-dandy voltmeter I was assured that there was no power flowing through those wires. I even did the use-a-wooden-sword-to-touch-the-hot-and-neutral-wires-as-I-cringe method of testing... just to be sure.
3) The wiring box is loose as a bum knee.
4) The screws on the mounting bracket look suspiciously stripped and of some alien head type I was not familiar with.
I tried to mount the fan mounting bracket to the wiring box mounting bracket, but nothing was working. I had to find a way to get the WBMB off with the stripped, alien screws. I was able to wedge a flat head into one of the screws and get it out. the other was not budging. I went and sat in the living room for a few minutes and thought about it. After those few minutes I simply ganked the hell out of the WBMB and it popped out. I figured in the back of my mind that I had done some sort of damage to the screw hole, but that was alright, I had a plan.
The FMB came with two types of mounting screws, longs and shorts. For the first hole, the short screw worked well. In the ganked hole, the short screw was, understandably, too small. but, here was my plan: I would use the bigger screw, see, and just overwhelm the ganked screw hole.
The ganked screw hole wanted no part of this. I went back into the living room to think and look at the old bracket with the ground wire attached to it. The wiring box had no ground wire coming off'n it. The ground was just accomplished by attaching the ground wire to the fixture and the bracket which was attached to the wiring box. Now, the FMB came with a ground wire, so I came up with a plan. I would use the ground wire from the old bracket to connect the FMB to the ganked hole. It was pretty heavy duty wire, so why not?
I attached the ground wire from the FMB to the pleasant screw, then jimmy rigged the FMB to the ganked screw hole with the old grounding wire. PERFECT! Except for the fact that, because the wiring box was so loose, the bracket wobbled back and forth. Bracket wobbles, ceiling fan wobbles. Balls.
Went out to the Proto garage and got a drill bit and two long screws. Long story short, I anchored the mounting bracket into the ceiling itself. Then I attached the fan and turned the power back on and flipped the switch... nothing.
I pawed like a cat at the ceiling fan, just in case my grounding was off. No thrumming, no shock. I pulled the chain on the fan... voila!
Then aside from cross threading one of the nuts that attached the fan to the FMB and then getting it all put back together and finding washers for those uncross-threaded mounting nuts, it was a cinch.
I swear it is an adventure anytime you have to do anything plumbing or electrical in this house.The original owner, Victor, was really good at using whatever he had lying around to make things seem like they work fine. Twenty years later, I get a nice surprise each and every time I try a DIY project at the Casa de Proto.
Only one, possibly two ceiling fans to go!
Time to completion: Three hours.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Special Post: Because LiveJournal were not working: Sacrifice
I realized something the other day. Seems I have been making a mistake about the
concept of priorities. I have always thought of them as the things I do outside
of eating, sleeping and such. I have made lifting a priority over the last three
years and writing has gone by the wayside. I saw a video the other day about
training. In the video the narrator (who is apparently talking to inner city
athletes) says that in order to be successful you have to want whatever it is as
much as you want to breathe. I am not geared that way, but he went on to say
that "a lot of you want success but would rather spend time with your friends.
You want success but you want to sleep more." He then goes on to tell them about
the rapper Fifty Cent who was working on a movie and when he as not on set he
was in the studio working on the soundtrack. Someone asked him when he slept.
Fifty said, "Sleeping is for poor people."
And while a little hyperbolic, I immediately understood what I needed to do.
So, starting last Saturday I started to get up two hours earlier than I would normally would. The result:
Saturday: 1200 words
Sunday: I took off and will from here on out.
Monday: 1800 words
Tuesday: 2200 words
Wednesday: 1600 words
All on a brand new idea (that has been cooking for 17 years) and all as clean as I have ever written a rough first draft. All while the family slept so I was not taking any time away from anyone. All without hitting the snooze button once. My goal is 1500 words a morning. Initially it was a 1000, but that is a bit low. I'll stick with 1500.
Lost in a miasma of dissatisfaction with my life, I figured that I needed to something to change that life. It is not possible for me to go back to school right now. It would be too much to leave a job where I do a good work and am needed. I am not giving up lifting because it is too ingrained. Maybe I will never make it as a writer (and by "make it" I mean just scrape by a living doin' it), but I will never be able to do anything if I never do it and this is my response.
Of course, I have made such plans before and they have failed, but they have failed because of the priority factor. I was gonna write on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Other things like the gym, training, yard work, time with family, kept getting in the way. If nothing else, 5:15 to 6:45 am does not take away from anyone but me, and that is huge because I have always felt like writing when you have kids and a wife is an inherently selfish endeavor. All that happens is that my normal eight to nine hours of sleep gets cut to six or seven.
As of right now it is a price I am willing to pay. We will see if it pans out or not.
Then, as a side note, I had to skip the gym. Christan was chosen by one of the top ten students as one of their most influential teachers and was recognized at Honor's Night. I hate Honor's Night, but I was not going to miss it. Ten years ago, Christan received an award at Waycross College. I put up a stink and we did not go and I have never forgiven myself for it. I'll never miss another event.
And while a little hyperbolic, I immediately understood what I needed to do.
So, starting last Saturday I started to get up two hours earlier than I would normally would. The result:
Saturday: 1200 words
Sunday: I took off and will from here on out.
Monday: 1800 words
Tuesday: 2200 words
Wednesday: 1600 words
All on a brand new idea (that has been cooking for 17 years) and all as clean as I have ever written a rough first draft. All while the family slept so I was not taking any time away from anyone. All without hitting the snooze button once. My goal is 1500 words a morning. Initially it was a 1000, but that is a bit low. I'll stick with 1500.
Lost in a miasma of dissatisfaction with my life, I figured that I needed to something to change that life. It is not possible for me to go back to school right now. It would be too much to leave a job where I do a good work and am needed. I am not giving up lifting because it is too ingrained. Maybe I will never make it as a writer (and by "make it" I mean just scrape by a living doin' it), but I will never be able to do anything if I never do it and this is my response.
Of course, I have made such plans before and they have failed, but they have failed because of the priority factor. I was gonna write on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Other things like the gym, training, yard work, time with family, kept getting in the way. If nothing else, 5:15 to 6:45 am does not take away from anyone but me, and that is huge because I have always felt like writing when you have kids and a wife is an inherently selfish endeavor. All that happens is that my normal eight to nine hours of sleep gets cut to six or seven.
As of right now it is a price I am willing to pay. We will see if it pans out or not.
Then, as a side note, I had to skip the gym. Christan was chosen by one of the top ten students as one of their most influential teachers and was recognized at Honor's Night. I hate Honor's Night, but I was not going to miss it. Ten years ago, Christan received an award at Waycross College. I put up a stink and we did not go and I have never forgiven myself for it. I'll never miss another event.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Training Log: Two Bits of Good News and Bench Training for the Kiddies
1) My hamstrings hurt. This is a good thing.
2) Looks as if I might be making it to Men's Raw Nationals after all.
To the training footage... minus the footage.
Jacob: startin' from scratch!
Bench
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 10lp
155 x 10p
155 x 10... first 5 paused, second five tng.
155 x 6... first five tng, sixth paused
155 x 7fp
Close Grip
135 x 5p
140 x 5p
145 x 3p
Charles
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
175 x 5p
190 x 5p
200 x 4p... got out of the groove on the third rep and fought three and four all the way. Missed five.
200 x 4p... but the form was good.
3 board
215 x 3p... ugly
225 x 1p... no tightness at all.
225 x 3p... good boy.
Gage
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 2p
225 x 5p
240 x 5p
250 x 5p.. PR!!!
3 board
265 x 3p
275 x 3p... looked better than first set.
290 x 2p... close on a third.
Jacob was hurting, but we have to start him light and with lots of volume. Charles suffered from lack of tightness and focus. Gage is a benching machine.
2) Looks as if I might be making it to Men's Raw Nationals after all.
To the training footage... minus the footage.
Jacob: startin' from scratch!
Bench
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 10lp
155 x 10p
155 x 10... first 5 paused, second five tng.
155 x 6... first five tng, sixth paused
155 x 7fp
Close Grip
135 x 5p
140 x 5p
145 x 3p
Charles
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
175 x 5p
190 x 5p
200 x 4p... got out of the groove on the third rep and fought three and four all the way. Missed five.
200 x 4p... but the form was good.
3 board
215 x 3p... ugly
225 x 1p... no tightness at all.
225 x 3p... good boy.
Gage
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 2p
225 x 5p
240 x 5p
250 x 5p.. PR!!!
3 board
265 x 3p
275 x 3p... looked better than first set.
290 x 2p... close on a third.
Jacob was hurting, but we have to start him light and with lots of volume. Charles suffered from lack of tightness and focus. Gage is a benching machine.
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