TASVideos

Posted: 1/18/2007 9:01 AM

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xebra

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More exciting than any other DD video, I suppose. I sometimes wonder why this series is popular.

Posted: 1/18/2007 8:58 AM

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xebra

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Bisqwit wrote:

Zurreco wrote:
You've only been here a few months so shut the fuck up and get back in the gas chamber.
Please remove that aggressive attitude of yours.

Benevolent schmuck!!!

Posted: 1/17/2007 6:48 AM

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xebra

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This was as exciting as any Ninja Gaiden video I've seen, and much more entertaining due to the novelty.

Posted: 1/15/2007 1:30 AM

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xebra

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I think you just won less.

Posted: 1/15/2007 12:55 AM

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xebra

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NecroVMX, perhaps people call you negative because you are abrasive and abusive, attempt to justify your irrational behavior with poor attempts at reasoning, and generally come across as a big dick. JXQ, "cleverer" is a real word, T.T ... good call on the misspelling, though! There are lots of grammar and punctuation errors in there, but I think it's beyond the scope of this discussion to provide a comprehensive list.

Posted: 1/14/2007 8:02 PM

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xebra

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I just emailed him, hopefully he will respond soon!

Posted: 1/14/2007 7:39 AM

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xebra

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Note: NecroVMX isn't that clever.

Posted: 1/14/2007 7:38 AM

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xebra

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WifeXQ told me he really loves MP and was just sowing dissension because he's a regular McCarthy.

Posted: 1/14/2007 12:30 AM

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xebra

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Are you saying you don't believe in the power of resurrection, Zuri? Jesus was not a lie.

Posted: 1/13/2007 12:12 AM

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xebra

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Haha, I doubt I'm strong enough or flexible enough to do most of those. Preacher Curl 1. 55 pounds, wide grip, 12 reps 2. 55 pounds, close grip, 12 reps 3. 60 pounds, wide grip, 8 reps 4. 60 pounds, close grip, 8 reps Dumbbell Incline Curl 5. 25 pounds, 10 reps 6. 27.5 pounds, 8 reps 7. 30 pounds, 6 reps Cable Curl (Walkdown) 8. 60-50-40-30-20 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps 9. 60-50-40-30-20 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps 10. 60-50-40-30-20 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps Weighted Bench Dip 11. 100 pounds, 12 reps 12. 100 pounds, 12 reps 13. 100 pounds, 12 reps Dumbbell Triceps Extension 14. 65 pounds, 10 reps 15. 65 pounds, 10 reps 16. 65 pounds, 10 reps Cable Triceps Pushdown (Walkdown) 17. 80-70-60-50-40 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps 18. 80-70-60-50-40 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps 19. 80-70-60-50-40 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps Dumbbell Wrist Curl 20. 20 pounds, 20 reps 21. 20 pounds, 20 reps 22. 20 pounds, 20 reps Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl 23. 15 pounds, 16 reps 24. 15 pounds, 16 reps 25. 15 pounds, 16 reps

Posted: 1/12/2007 3:53 AM

Post subject: Paint.NET CodeLab

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xebra

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Paint.NET has a neat plugin called CodeLab that ... well, let me quote:

Here's an "effect" that Tom wrote. Basically what it does is let you write code that is compiled on the fly and that is then executed in the Paint.NET effect engine. This is the same plugin that we made available for Paint.NET v2.1, but it has been updated to work with Paint.NET v2.6. With this you can implement almost any type of effect you want if you have the programming and mathematical talent to do so. This plugin works by presenting you with a simple text editor that you can use to type in C# code that is then compiled and executed (rendered) as soon as you stop typing. Please note that this is experimental technology and is not meant to provide a robust development environment. It is perfect for rapid prototyping and very useful for educational purposes including teaching computer graphics. This plugin especially benefits from Paint.NET's extensive multiprocessor and multicore support. For instance, if you are interested in rendering high resolution fractals on an expensive workstation, this is the way to do it! The code you write is automatically multithreaded and the workload is spread across multiple CPU's resulting in near linear performance scaling (4 CPU's = almost 4x faster).

There are several code samples included with the plugin to get you started. Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun messing around with this and thought you guys might enjoy it.

Posted: 1/11/2007 8:28 AM

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xebra

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I don't actually have an abs routine, I just mix up a bunch of stuff until I feel like vomiting and then do it all over again. Here are some suggestions: http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/abstudy_top.aspx. It's also good to do an exercise that targets your obliques specifically, like side crunches. If your gym has a jackknife crunch machine, those are pretty awesome, too.

Posted: 1/10/2007 10:07 PM

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xebra

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BTK had poor spelling and grammar. Let's extrapolate that example out beyond all reason.

Posted: 1/10/2007 9:14 AM

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xebra

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As was suggested to me, it seems likely the video of the new strategy is just a quick demonstration – it has not been optimized. (Yet it is still faster than the original.)

Posted: 1/10/2007 6:29 AM

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xebra

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Texas is farther away than Quebec :P . Chin Up 1. 8 reps 2. 7 reps 3. 6 reps Dumbbell Bent Over Row 4. 50 pounds, 10 reps 5. 50 pounds, 10 reps 6. 50 pounds, 10 reps 7. 50 pounds, 10 reps Cable Seated Row 8. 100 pounds, 12 reps 9. 110 pounds, 10 reps 10. 120 pounds, 8 reps 11. 130 pounds, 6 reps Lat Pulldown (Walkdown Sets) 12. 80-70-50-60-40 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps 13. 80-70-50-60-40 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps 14. 80-70-50-60-40 pounds, 10-10-10-15-25 reps Dumbbell Shoulder Shrug 15. 65 pounds, 12 reps 16. 65 pounds, 12 reps 17. 65 pounds, 12 reps 18. 65 pounds, 12 reps

Posted: 1/9/2007 7:59 PM

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xebra

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Well you are doubtless more experienced than I am :) . I was always a very skinny runner, and I've only been lifting for about 9 months. (Hence the weak upper body.) Feel free to contribute comments of your own, it may be beneficial for IdeaMagnate to hear multiple points of view.

Posted: 1/9/2007 6:43 AM

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xebra

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If you are looking for specific workout routines, I'll post what I do each day for a week or two so you have some ideas. Dumbbell Bench Press 1. 55 pounds, 8 reps 2. 55 pounds, 8 reps 3. 60 pounds, 5+1 reps 4. 60 pounds, 3+1 reps Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 5. 47.5 pounds, 8 reps 6. 50 pounds, 8 reps 7. 52.5 pounds, 6 reps 8. 55 pounds, 3+2 reps Lever Decline Chest Press 9. 110 pounds, 15 reps 10. 120 pounds, 12 reps 11. 130 pounds, 9 reps 12. 140 pounds, 7 reps Cable Overhand Fly 13. 40 pounds, 15 reps 14. 45 pounds, 12 reps 15. 45 pounds, 8 reps Cable Underhand Fly 16. 30 pounds, 10 reps 17. 30 pounds, 9 reps 18. 35 pounds, 7 reps Lever Seated Fly 19. 110 pounds, 12 reps 20. 110 pounds, 12 reps

Posted: 1/9/2007 6:14 AM

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xebra

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Dan_ and IdeaMagnate, PM me an email address so I can invite you as collaborators on the tracking sheet. Here are some thoughts I have on working out:

Websites: exrx.net is my website of choice: http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html.
Vitamins: A general multivitamin should be sufficient. If you aren't mixing your protein powder with milk you may want an additional calcium supplement. (Most multivitamins don't have a lot of calcium.)
Protein: Get some protein powder (whey protein is a popular choice) and take enough each day to bring your total protein intake to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass. I suggest paying a little bit extra for powder that is low in cholesterol. I take 6 servings of protein a day, so I get 50% of my RDA of cholesterol from that alone. (I would get like 180% of my RDA if I didn't take low cholesterol powders.) I generally take albumen (the protein found in egg whites) in the morning, whey (a milk protein) during the day and after workouts, and casein (another milk protein) before sleeping. Obviously you can adjust how much protein you get from powders if you plan on eating a bunch of meat on any particular day. You also don't need my fancy mix of multiple proteins. Whey protein is the cheapest and is great. Keep an eye out for protein powders that have other junk mixed in, though, like creatine. I personally don't recommend creatine, ethyl esters, or anything like that.
Calories: You need to take in a lot more calories. This would be true even if you were just lifting weights, but since we are lifting and have a very aggressive cardio schedule, you need to eat, eat, eat. The easiest way to increase your caloric intake is simply to eat more meals, not larger ones. Instead of three meals a day, eat six or seven, and snack on healthy foods all day. Your body can only absorb so much protein at once, so that's another reason to keep your meals small and frequent. Looking for something to eat? Pasta, rice, and oatmeal are very cheap and healthy, and pasta especially is a great source of carbs. Chicken and tuna are cheap and healthy sources of protein. You can also get carbohydrate powders and even pure glucose powders if you need to jack up your carbs and calories.
Lifting: You don't necessarily have to follow my lifting schedule, but you shouldn't ever work out the same muscle group two days in a row; muscles need time to heal and grow, period. Personally, I find I can work out arms and abs every other day and feel great, though I never got in the habit of working any muscle group more than twice a week. I've done lots of different routines and combinations of exercises, and I haven't noticed a huge difference in progress when I work out muscles more or less frequently within rasonable boundaries. It's important to mix up your routines (switch up frequencies, orders, exercises) to get some variety into your workout and not get yourself stuck in a rut. If you are thinking about increasing the frequency of your workouts, just remember, if you are still sore, it hasn't healed yet and you need to give it another day.
Reps: If you want to grow bigger muscles, eventually you will need to increase weight and do fewer repetitions. If you are new to working out, sure, for a month or two it's ok to do relatively low weights and 12-20 reps until you get a feel for all your muscles and learn what hurts and what doesn't, but once you want to get serious you should limit your exercises to 5-12 reps. If you can do more than 10 and you still want to increase the size of that muscle, you should increase the weight. Some common workouts are 5-5-5-5 reps (four sets) at a constant weight, or (10-)8-6-4-2 reps (four or five sets) with a continually increasing weight, or something similar. Different people swear by different things, and I personally haven't noticed a difference. As long as I feel like I'm working hard, I make progress. Since overall we are focusing on endurance, it's not bad to sometimes do endurance exercises when you lift, as well. You can do walkdown sets where you do 10 reps at a weight, take off 10 pounds, do 10 more reps, take off 10 pounds, etc., until you have walked down a whole stack. These will own you.
Form: This is incredibly important. I see people at the gym all the time who use absolutely terrible form and they don't make progress. It's much better to do lower weights slowly, completely, and deliberately, and to flex at full extension or contraction and to hold it for a few seconds than it is to just put up 10 reps at high weight in an explosive and haphazard fashion. I'm not saying you shouldn't "explode on the bench" as some people like to say when they describe bench press technique. They are talking about effort. A proper bench press will have you lowering the weight slowly, not bouncing off your chest, holding the weight above your chest for a count of one or two while contracting your pecs hard, then pushing it symmetrically back up without squirming, rocking, arching your back, or any of the other tricks people do to push up weights that are too heavy for them. You will see much better results with lighter weights and good form than you will with heavier weights and bad form, and you will also be far less injury prone. Right when you move up in weight you may find it necessary to do cheaty little squirms on lots of exercises to get the weight up, which is ok if you know what you are doing and you don't hurt yourself. You aren't ready to move up again, though, unless you can do an exercise with proper form. Also always keep in mind what muscle you are supposed to be hitting when you do an exercise. For example, I see a lot of people that bring the bar or handles down way too far when they are doing lat pulldowns. You really don't have to go down very far at all before you are hitting your arms more than you are hitting your back and putting undue strain on a lot of joints.

That's about all I can think to say right now. Umm ... let me just end with a few warnings. Don't use steroids, use proper form, and be very, very careful increasing weight on squats and deadlifts and other exercises that hit your lower back. I've seen too many skinny and ripped guys alike ruin their backs for life (!) because they want to be the big man and squat / deadlift too much. Just take it easy.

Posted: 1/9/2007 2:37 AM

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xebra

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Posts: 1203

Cool, do you want me to add you as a collaborator on the Google spreadsheet so you can track your progress? If you've never worked out before, just start your lifting routines with weights that you are positive you can do. That will keep you from getting really sore the first couple times you work a muscle group. Once your body is more accustomed to the strain, you can push it harder. I'm about to head to the gym. I'll give you some more detailed advice when I get back.

Posted: 1/7/2007 8:50 AM

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xebra

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Uhh, Super Mario doesn't have configurable controls, newb.

Posted: 1/7/2007 3:36 AM

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xebra

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Posts: 1203

Just out of personal experience, I have more problems with the latest version of Firefox than I do with IE7. Firefox tends to lag the crap out of my system, it locks up frequently when the Adobe Acrobat plugin attempts to load, and it frequently neglects to load stylesheets.

Posted: 1/7/2007 1:43 AM

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xebra

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March 1st is the cheap registration deadline, though it's not that much cheaper and probably not worth it to commit any money that early if you aren't sure this is something you want to do. Anyway, here's my workout schedule: XLS download, Google Spreadsheets Some of the scheduled runs have asterisks, indicating part or all of the distance should include sprints/interval training, at your discretion. Everything else should be self-explanatory, though I didn't include any detailed instructions for lifting. Feel free to ask if you want some guidance coming up with lifting routines. Every fifth week or so is an "easy" week where the amount of cardio is reduced. The lifting is also compressed to fewer days and as such you shouldn't do as many sets per muscle group. Stretching is also indicated in the lifting column. That doesn't mean you shouldn't stretch at other times; you should stretch every muscle group before and after every time you exercise it (whether you are lifting or doing cardio.) On the days where stretching is indicated, though, you should spend extra time stretching every muscle group. One last note, don't forget to eat. You will probably need to start eating 3000-4000 calories a day, increasing steadily to 6000-8000 calories a day at peak mileage.