UPDATE: Scratch that, just got an e-mail from Netflix saying they're heard the outcry, and they'll keep profiles. Hooray! So glad they were willing to listen.

Pisses me off: Netflix axing profiles. This is the feature that lets me maintain separate queues for me, my wife, and my kids. Now every time I send a disc back I'm going to have to remember to juggle my queue, and since they don't necessarily send stuff in order, even then the balance won't be as good as when Netflix supported this feature.

(Not a huge inconvenience in the great scheme of things, but a pretty big inconvenience in the little life niche that movies-by-mail encompasses.)

I've heard various excuses: the big one is that profiles present a programming obstacle that will prevent the development of new killer features. Hard to believe. With all the great, sophisticated features the Netflix team has implemented (recommendation engine, what has to be insanely complex demand allocation algorithms, etc.), PROFILES present an insurmountable challenge?! Isn't each account pretty much a profile? They have 8 million of those. When Netflix first launched, I doubt the engineers told the brass, "sorry, you can only sell one account."

Speaking of 8 million customers, the other excuse is that only a small percentage of the population uses that feature (and that therefore the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, since profiles are such a technological speedbump). But even if it's only 1%, that's 80,000 pissed off people. 2% would be 160,000. This is probably not a fun day on the job for Netflix support staff.

The first two seem almost too obvious to post, but it's always nice when science backs up common sense. The third one was interesting to me because I didn't really think you could "bank" sleep.

• Extra Sleep Improves Athletic Performance (study of swimmers).
• Extra Sleep Improves Athletes' Performance (study of basketball players).
• Sleep Extension Improves Alertness And Performance During And Following Subsequent Sleep Restriction.

You've got to be kidding me. Nike Mercurial Vapor SL cleats, $400:

Defying science and expectations, Nike's newest creation is crafted almost entirely of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber, that revolutionary material used in jets, offers unbelievable strength with incredible lightness. It took Nike three years to design and produce this incredible version of the Vapor. The outsole plate is seven layers of carbon composite material interwoven with TPU and polyurethane. This eliminates the lasting board and puts the foot closer to the ground for a smooth feel. A reinforcing rib offers support. The cleats and stud tips are injected molded to the plate for a strong, single outsole piece, which creates incredible durability. An internal heel cradle keeps your foot securely in place. The upper is the first boot to have a molded carbon fiber upper for an incredible performance and feel. UPPER: Carbon fiber. Internal carbon fiber chassis creates instant acceleration. OUTSOLE: Carbon fiber outsole with injected bladed studs for durability and stability on firm, natural surfaces. WEIGHT: (6.7 oz.) Made in Italy.

What part of the cleats is the "lasting board", and why is it good it was eliminated? I'm looking at the cleats I own now, and I don't see much in the way of extraneous parts. I've never once said, "Man, the lasting board is really weighing me down. When is some ingenious designer going to come up with a way of eliminating it?"

I will concede, though, that 6.7 oz. is a VERY light cleat.

I just found, via the Crossfit forums, an Outside article from 2003 on Juliet Draper, a monster competitor at the Firefighter's Combat Challenge. Here's the deal with the course:

Today's racers--some 100 men and two women, all wearing 75 pounds of firefighting gear--will have to lug a 45-pound hose pack up five flights of stairs; hoist another 45-pound hose pack, by a rope, to the top of a stair platform; drive a 165-pound steel I-beam with a sledgehammer; run through orange traffic cones to reach a water-charged hose, which they'll drag 75 feet; and walk 100 feet backward, pulling a 175-pound dummy named Rescue Randy. All this while wearing masks and breathing from the bulky scuba-type air tanks firefighters carry on their backs.

Since then, she absolutely crushed the previous women's world record for the course, at the same time becoming the first woman to break 2:00 (by a significant margin, I might add).

I wasn't going to write anything up about this, as I didn't really think it was significant, but I read this series of blog entries from Ross Enamait:

• Bad Habits and Weight Loss
• Learning How To Eat
• Learning How To Eat - Part II
• Inspirational Display

... and taken together, along with this bit from the last one:

...transitioning to a healthy lifestyle may not be easy at first. If you've lived the last 20 years with poor nutritional habits and limited (or no) physical activity, you can't expect to suddenly transform yourself into the next Jack Lalanne. Self discipline will be needed to kick start the transition. Any change in habit requires a conscious (active) effort on your behalf.

Once you see the light, you'll realize that it's easy to keep, and certainly worth your time and effort. You won't see the light on your first day however. The transition from inactive and unhealthy to active and healthy is one that will take time and patience.

... got me thinking it might be worth posting a little something on my dietary struggles after all.

So, I eat too much sugar and white flour, both poisons. While I've made great strides over the past four years in both exercise and nutrition, I've never managed to kick the habit. HIGHLY addictive, those things. I've read all about alcoholism, and the behaviors I exhibit are the same (without the drunkenness and the social stigma). I've read all kinds of posts from evolutionary fitness folks that once you get yourself off the stuff, you'll stop wanting it, so I thought I'd put that theory to the test.

First, I tried a Thin Red Line approach. On a calendar, I'd draw a line through days I was good (no sugar, no deep fried stuff, no starch/minimal grains, and only whole grains at that), an X through days I was bad, and I'd try to make the line as long as I could. I thought just by tracking it that would be enough reinforcement. No way. The red Xs just piled up. I think I made it 11 days once, and when I'd fall of the wagon I'd stay off for days before climbing back on.

So I figured drastic measures were needed. Time to really give the whole "you'll stop wanting it" idea the best chance for success. I needed an interval where I'd be nothing but good. I thought six weeks would be enough. Short enough I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, long enough that my body would have time to adjust, and the cravings would lessen. I hoped.

So I did it, and it sucked, and through the whole thing I never stopped craving brownies, donuts, french fries, chips, ice cream etc. I thought I wanted it just as bad on on day 42 as I did on day 1 (it didn't help that I pulled my hamstring pretty good 12 days in and really wanted to say "screw it" and eat my way out of the resulting funk).

So I thought my experiment was a failure. I took three days, ate whatever I wanted, and then had a decision to make. Would I basically throw away six weeks of work by reverting to my old habits, or would I go once more into the breach? Well, I'm now two days into another six weeks. Sigh. I must confess I'm not dreading it quite as much as the first round. Here's what I've taken away so far:

1. Holy crap, kicking sugar is HARD. Even at my worst, I was fit, and ate pretty well otherwise. Even after six weeks of abstinence, I still crave it.
2. Jury is still out on whether it's possible to stop wanting it. Since my second six weeks fills me with a bit less dread than the first six, I'm going to take that as a sign.
3. Another sign: after the six weeks were up and I ate whatever I wanted for three days, I did not binge nearly as badly as I have in the past. It wasn't three days to be proud of, but it also wasn't embarrassing.
4. Man, I hope it's possible to stop wanting it altogether, because as Ross points out in one of his articles, any diet based on a feeling of deprivation is doomed to fail over the long term.
5. I suspect that your body chemistry has to change in a pretty deep and significant way before your desires change, and I don't know how long that takes. I wish I did! Pretty long time, it seems, so hang in there and give your body a chance if you embark on a similar effort. However long you think it will take, that's not long enough.

P.S. Some people have it easy, some have it extra hard. I'm betting I'm in the middle. The difficulty of the battle varies with the individual. UPDATE: I posted a bit of follow-up in the comments below.

P.P.S. A reader comment below. EIGHTEEN MONTHS?! Yikes.

Good article on Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I really need to bump The Black Swan up my to-read list.

• If you only read one, read this one: Mark Sisson on The Primal Blueprint.
• Ross Enamait on The Power of Patience.
• Art De Vany notes the potential benefits of High Intensity Exercise Before Sports.
• Straight to the Bar collects some interesting medicine ball workouts and videos.
• Frostillicus again assembles quality links and videos.
• Wohba finds a great contact juggling video (fans of Michael Moschen will dig this).

Two excellent, semi-related posts on building a training program of your very own:

• Get the Most out of Strength Training by Anders Eriksson. « via SttB »
• Ross Enamait on kettlebells.

Whatever you do, you have to really feel like you own it and want to do it if you are going to have a chance of success.

One of the most polished and fun Flash games I've seen in awhile: Robokill. Very little gets between you and the joyous mayhem of blowing stuff up.

Roger Ebert's Journal: How Studs Helps Me Lead My Life.

He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died. 6,697 of 'em. I love projects like this.

I've been enjoying Frostillicus' blog lately. His current post is a good example, on Troy Palamalu's work with Marv Marinovich. Check the crazy (as a fox?) videos. Lots of the sites I read hate stability balls and their ilk so this is certainly a departure. Here's all the SportsLab videos.