Best of the Week #79

What a week! Want to know the fun things I did? Work-wise, this report/blog post. And life-wise, my post-work fun included rock climbing, pooling, and dinner at Ghana Café.  So nothing too too crazy, but all fun times.

In other news, presumably Sister2 made it to Thailand. Sawadee ka! (Follow her blog here.)

And in other other news, I got some great feedback on Sara’s By the Book yesterday. And now I want to go back and read The Chronicles of Narnia…

My most popular post this week was my Backyard Burn 10 Mile Trail Race Report. And I’m doing it all again this weekend, so think me some fast thoughts around 9 am on Sunday!
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This is wonderful and I want to go: “Puppeteers, public broadcasters planning 'Million Puppet March' on Washington.”

• Puppeteers and broadcasters are planning a 'Million Puppet March' to protest calls to end funding for PBS.
• More than 1,000 puppeteers and public broadcasting supporters have signed on for a march on the National Mall in Washington three days before the election.

I am sold. "You. Must. Vote."

I have been to 7 of the “38 Essential DC Restaurants.” If only I were independently wealthy…

The whole concept of pain confuses me a lot. I just don’t understand how to quantify it – like, on a scale of one to ten? I have no idea. It either hurts or it doesn’t!  “Can Athletes Handle More Pain?”

• We see it all the time: The NFL running back who’s tackled by a 270 pound linebacker; the ultra-marathoner who pounds through 100 miles of trails; and the soccer striker who battles injury and dominates the Olympic Games. So what helps athletes who get knocked down get back up again? Scientists have found compared to the average Joe, athletes certain cognitive strategies that help them deal with the pain.
• Researchers looked at 15 studies that examined pain threshold and tolerance in athletes and non-athletes. While both groups had similar pain thresholds (the point when pain is felt), athletes consistently tolerated more pain (the maximum amount one can handle before it becomes unbearable — fun!).

This is an MRI of broccoli.

Awesome and hilarious, I am always impressed and surprised by how clever and creative and funny some people are: “Meet the Mom Bloggers Behind @PaulRyanGosling.”

• Daily Intel can now reveal that @paulryangosling is the creation of five humor writers, three who live in the New York City area and two in Texas. All mothers of small and school-age children, they blog at a website called “The Mouthy Housewives,” an advice site that one of them described as “Dear Abby if she were a little bit tipsy.”
• Today, PRG has 70,000 followers. Praised byForbes; aggregated by HuffPo and the Daily Beast, and declared “over” by this website, @paulryangosling is read by political junkies everywhere: Politico’s Mike Allen is a follower, as is Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post. Someone even flew a PRG-esque banner over an event by the actual Paul Ryan. It read, "hey, girl, choose me, lose choice. P Ryan."
• And what, exactly, do the women behind Paul Ryan Gosling hope to accomplish if they are allowed to stay open for business? “We hope to be in Mitt Romney’s binder. Obviously,” says Kay. 

Sometimes I remember to try to work on my posture.  Here’s a good infographic about posture at work, and this article, “The Ultimate Guide to Good Posture.”

Optimist Mollie would like to point out that the news does not have to be ALL doom and gloom: “Social Change’s Age of Enlightenment.”

• After looking at hundreds of examples of social change efforts, I see a side of reality that goes unreported: namely, that we’re getting smarter about the way we’re addressing social problems….Today’s Enlightenment stems from new understandings and practices that have taken hold in the social sector and are producing better and measurable results against a range of problems.
• We are not econs. It may sound strange, but we are increasingly addressing social problems with the recognition that human beings don’t behave rationally much of the time, or even most of the time. Recent research from behavioral psychology and neuroscience has shed light on the different ways that emotions, unconscious drives, group identities, and situational cues guide human behavior. 
• Just the facts. Alongside these behavioral insights, we are increasingly using data, well-conducted studies, and evidence-based decision making to evaluate and sharpen the effectiveness of social interventions.
• The Integration of Labor. For the past century, society has grown ever more specialized and balkanized. Today, we’re getting smarter about bringing people back together to build comprehensive solutions.

Oh dear. This is too good. "Maxipad Company Replies to Man’s Facebook Rant with Awe-Inspiring Sarcasm."

• Last week, a guy named Richard Neill posted a long, funny comment on UK maxipad maker Bodyform's Facebook page about how the company had lied to him through their advertising campaigns over the years, leading him to believe that periods involved a lot of blue liquid, extreme sports, and fun music. It received nearly 85,000 likes. Instead of ignoring it, Bodyform responded with the video above, featuring CEO Caroline Williams (played by an actress) apologizing to Richard personally, explaining that the company needed to lie to protect men from "the blood coursing from our uteri like a crimson landslide." And then she drinks blue liquid and farts. Amazing.

A little Friday inspiration. (Though, my alarm went off this morning and I definitely made the executive decision to skip my run and sleep another hour. I fail at running in the morning alone. So do as I say, not as I do!)

Oh Glee. This is so emotional it’s a bit awkward…but at the same time awesome. And this is just 100% awesome.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!