Mr. Bigsoup Strikes Again

Curried Beef Stew With Winter Squash

2 tbsp.vegetable oil
1/2 white onion (appx. 1-1 1/2 c.)
1 1/4 lb. stew beef, cubed
1 tbsp. curry powder¹
1 can chick peas (15 oz.)²
2 cans diced tomatoes (15 oz.)³
1 golden acorn squash, peeled and cubed
16 oz. beef or chicken broth⁴

Saute onions and curry powder in oil over medium high heat for 2-4 minutes, or until translucent. Add beef and cook until browned. Lower heat, and add chick peas, tomatoes, squash and broth. Cook until squash is tender.




1. If you were really cool, you could make your own curry powder. Or you could just be lazy and use McCormick's like I did.
2. I guess you could be really fancy and cook your own chickpeas. Or you could do something productive with your time.
3. See Note 2 supra.
4. Don't even get me started on making your own broth.

Link Whore

Video for Geto Boys, "Mind Playin Tricks On Me" done with Star Wars action figures. Bonus points for recognizing the Isaac Hayes track (and it's basically the whole damn thing) they rap over. (via catchdubs via cocaine blunts)

Speaking of Cocaine Blunts, head on over and catch some nice Goodie Mob and Outkast tracks.

Java-based chess game. Very cool way of displaying analyzed moves. See it to believe it. (via screenhead)

Abraham Lincoln goes to a gay bar (again, via screenhead)

Sports Hydration Notes

I was talking with my uncle today about Gatorade, and he asked about the value of sports drinks like Gatorade. Indefatigable fact-checker that I am, I did some digging, and this is what I discovered: There is a lot of crap online about sports drinks.

Most of what you find is marketing material. However, I was able to find a few articles that appeared to be of use.

THE BOTTOM LINE: For exercise lasting fewer than 60 minutes, sports drinks are unnecessary. Water is sufficient to replenish the body's needs. For exercising lasting more than 60 minutes, the American College of Sports Medicine states

During intense exercise lasting longer than 1 hour, it is recommended that carbohydrates be ingested at a rate of 30-60 g per hour to maintain oxidation of carbohydrates and delay fatigue. This rate of carbohydrate intake can be achieved without compromising fluid delivery by drinking 600-1200 mL per hour of solutions containing 4 to 8 percent carbohydrates (g/100 mL). The carbohydrates can be sugars (glucose or sucrose) or starch (e.g., maltodextrin).

Ingestion of moderate amounts of sodium is also recommended. Look HERE for details.

In short, most sports drinks like Gatorade or Cytomax are just fine. Look HERE for a carbohydrate/sodium comparison of some popular sports drinks.

I have heard that adding a small amount of protein to a carbohydrate drink (in a 4:1 ratio) may increase endurance and speed recovery. While I am not convinced that adding protein is necessary, I did find some literature that supports this theory. Look HERE for details. If you are looking to try a protein-carbohydrate drink, try Accelerade.

FWIW, I tried the vanilla Accelerade Gel and did not like the taste. The vanilla flavor was overpowering. Both Banana Gu and Vanilla Gu taste better to me.

Finally, look HERE for a good article on the basics of post-race nutrition.

In Case You Were Wondering...

SF Gate has a short piece on the 42 (or 43 or 53, depending on how you count 'em) hills of San Francisco. How Mt. Olympus, with its storied history, did not make the author's Top 20 is unfathomable. However, the article noted that Mt. Olympus rises 570 feet above sea level, which should give some good indication of the ad hoc cardio session I get every day coming home from work.

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And another thing, it turns out that I ran a personal best in the 400m and 1200m last Thursday. I ran the 400m in 1:29 and the 1200m in something like 5:25. I sure wasn't trying for a personal best. What I was actually trying to do was smoke these two girls.

See, what happened was this. Last week was an easy training week for me. My goal at track was to run a steady 1:50 pace for all intervals, regardless of distance. But these two new girls showed up. Their modus operandi was to run just behind me for 700m, then pass me on the final straightaway.¹ Both girls were tiny, so they took lots of tiny little steps. In every set all I heard was this scurrying behind me.

Whatever. Behind this mild-mannered exterior lies the heart of a raging Type A personality. I don't like to get passed by anybody, much less by scurrying girls. So in the final 400m interval I decided to go for it. I set my pace to that of Gwyneth, a Fast Chick. Needless to say, the Scurrying Girls were left sucking dust.²



1. The girls ran a maximum of 800m, even on the 1200m intervals.
2. Or mist. It had rained earlier that day and the track was wet.

Ten Four Gay Things I Like

1. You know that song by Kylie Minogue that they always play at the gym? The one where she says if you don't give her what she needs she's going out on the dancefloor to get it? Yeah, that one. I can't remember what it's called or which album it was on. But I do know it was either on that one album she had or the other one.

2. Moopia. Can't get enough of that stuff. OK, so it's really not called moopia. It's called "marabou," which is actually a kind of stork. Feather boas are made of marabou (or more likely, artificial marabou product). But I can't ever remember the word "marabou." So I call it moopia. And now that I think about it, I really don't like marabou. I just like to say "moopia."

3. Candles. Because they flicker.

4. - 9. [Reserved for future use]

10. Dudes.