Why Won’t St. Louis High School Hockey Change With the Times?

June 19, 2010 2 Comments

My son Joey, his teammates Will, Andy and Brandon played varsity ice hockey for Parkway Central High School last year in Chesterfield, Missouri. The team finished 17-4, but was upset by Pattonville in the first round of the season-ending tournament. As we begin planning for next year’s season, they are the only remaining players from last year’s roster of 16 players. Eight seniors graduated, one junior is focusing on his AAA team, one junior is focusing on academics, one player’s knee problems have ended his hockey career, and a final player is from out-of-district and hasn’t committed. There is but one incoming freshman outskater interested in playing.

If they want to continue playing high school hockey, Joey and his teammates will almost certainly be forced to separate and play for different schools in the St. Louis area — unless the Mid-States Club Hockey Association, the governing body for high school hockey in St. Louis, finally recognizes the problem and makes some changes. These changes are easily implemented and will not upset the competitive balance within the league.

Sadly, this situation is but one example of declining participation in high school hockey in the St. Louis metropolitan area. This is, even more sadly, not just a St. Louis phenomenon, but something happening in many parts of the country. When I read articles like this one from Minnesota Public Radio about declining participation Minneapolis High School Hockey, an area known for hockey fervor, it’s clear the problem is widespread. The decline in youth hockey is due to factors including more club hockey teams for the top players, cost, travel and practice/game times, but also due to the rise in popularity of soccer and off-season baseball (fallball), not to mention the myriad of other activities available to high school students.

In the St. Louis metro area, schools that once had enough players to fill three rosters just a few years ago, now struggle to field a varsity team, with the notion of a junior varsity long since forgotten. Without rules changes, I estimate that 5 to 7 of the 36 schools that fielded teams for the 2009-2010 season may not return, and more will fold the following year. This will likely mean that some kids, perhaps my son, will decide not to continue playing a sport that they love and have been playing since mini-mites.

The solution lies with the Mid-States Club Hockey Association rules, but the individuals with the power to change the rules won’t budge. I don’t really understand why they won’t budget.

The changes necessary lie in roster size changes or in allowing team mergers.

Today, Mid-States requires a minimum of 12 rostered players to create a team, not including goalies. Once that roster is filed with Mid-States, the school may increase the roster to 16 players, either through a draft of players cut from their high school team or through free-agents, players whose schools do not have a team. It’s not clear how many players were added through either mechanism last year, but I know that demand far outstripped supply.

The rules create some situations where seemingly easy solutions to allow kids to play together can’t be implemented. For example, two schools might have 8 players each. Neither can form a team, because they can’t get to 12, although combined, they’d be 16. Or, one school might have 12 and a school like Parkway Central has 5. Our five can’t be added to the 12, because it exceeds 16. (I could go on indefinitely about the logic of combining teams that have 15 each to allow for a varsity and junior varsity, but I won’t.)

The Mid-States leaders have steadfastly refused to address this situation through lowering minimum roster sizes, increasing maximum roster sizes, or allowing schools to merge teams. Somehow merged teams work in Minneapolis (see the article noted above), but they can’t work in St. Louis.

We asked Mid-States within their rules change process to decrease minimum roster size to 9 and increase maximum roster size to 20. This was rejected, although we got no feedback and, therefore don’t know why. Candidly, if they were to implement these changes, we believe most kids that want to play with their schoolmates will be able to.

Mid-States’ fear, we believe, is upsetting the competitive balance of the league. I’d be happy to set up practice games between some of the top teams and teams created from schools with less than the minimum number of players to allay their fears. It won’t be a problem.

We are reaching out to other teams in St. Louis to get their support. We are writing the Board Members directly. However, I am now posting here and have broadcast on Facebook and through Twitter, as a way to push Mid-States to act.

I am asking for readers’ help. If the Mid-States Board will not respond to us, perhaps they will respond to other parents who understand this situation.

If you are sympathetic to our cause, drop a note to Jeff Hayes, the President of Mid-States (jeffhayes@midstateshockey.org), or John Nichols, the Vice President of Mid-States (discipline@midstateshockey.org) to let them know how you feel. If you are very ambitious, let me know, and I’ll send you the email addresses of the whole Mid-States roster.

St. Louis High School Hockey needs to change with the times.

I want Mid-States to live up to its by-laws which list as one of its purposes: “To develop, encourage and regulate the game of ice hockey as a High School sport, in the State of Missouri for the benefit of, and exclusely for, students and their respective schools, and so the sport is made available to more students at the lowest possible cost.”

Filed under General Posts

Ground Rules for Blogging About Work

June 18, 2010 1 Comment

At my company, a large public company here in St. Louis, we sign annual confidentiality agreements before we get our bonuses and stock options.  It makes perfect sense to me, and I’m happy to sign.  This year, for the first time, the confidentiality agreement includes “external blogging” as one of the outlets in which we are prohibited from sharing confidential material.  I guess that’s a sign of the times.

When I thought about including posts here about “work,” my thoughts went to this annual agreement and the repercussions for breaking it:  termination.  That would be bad, especially in this economy and in a place as small as St. Louis.  Not disclosing confidential information is obvious, but this did get me thinking about some ground rules for blogging about work, and I offer them for you below.

I am only the latest person to think through ground rules.  Information Week posted an article titled “Blogging About Work Is Risky Business” all the way back in February 2005.  In this article they quote a lawyer who says:  “Ultimately, any blogger who chooses to discuss his or her job in an online forum may risk being terminated.”  Ouch.  However, if that’s the case, can I still blog about work every Friday.

I will try not to blog about work, but I do plan to blog about things related to work.  In my opinion, you can blog about the importance of project management, but you can’t blog about the current project you are working on and how good or poor the project manager is.  You can blog about lunch, eating in, eating out and post-lunch comas, but you can’t blog about the quality of the food in your cafeteria or the guy two cubes down who always brings in stinky food every day and eats it in his cube.

To help myself and perhaps some of the readers, I’ve come up with five ground rules for blogging about work that are designed to keep the writer out of the spotlight, in the job and still blogging.

  1. Publish posts that you will be comfortable emailing to your boss or your boss’s boss. 
  2. Assume your coworkers, past and present, are reading your blog as soon as you post and you want to make them happy.
  3. Broaden the definition of “Proprietary and Confidential” to include other materials. Err on the side of including things as “proprietary and confidential” and, therefore, don’t mention them in your blog.
  4. Avoid specifics and quantitative metrics whenever possible. This will help you with #1, #2, and #3 above. If a colleague reads a post and asks “were you talking about anyone here when you wrote . . . “, then you may not have been general enough.
  5. Don’t write an opinion post disagreeing with policies or processes or approaches at your current place of work. Be upbeat. A blog is not a soapbox to debate company policies or work direction already in place. Bad form. It is probably also a violation of rule #3.

A blog about work is an creative outlet for the author and a chance pass on knowledge from many years in the workplace. Following these ground rules, especially #1, will allow the writer to create insightful, thoughtful pieces, without incurring the wrath of management or coworkers, past and present.

Next Friday, when the Life With Spidey blog schedule brings me back to “work,” I’ll have a short piece about a concept called “Emotional Intelligence.”

Filed under Jobs and Business

Simply Put: How the USA Can Advance to the Knockout Round

June 18, 2010 Leave a comment

Now that the second of three games are complete in Group C, we know the scenarios that can result from the games played on Wednesday the 23rd.

Current Standings

Team

GP

Wins

Ties

Losses

Points

Goals For

Goals Against

Slovenia

2

1

1

0

4

3

2

USA

2

0

2

0

2

3

3

England

2

0

2

0

2

1

1

Algeria

3

0

1

1

1

0

1

 

On Wednesday, England plays Slovenia and the USA plays Algeria. Here’s how things net out with the possible results of each game.

 

Slovenia Wins

Slovenia – England Tie

England Wins

USA Wins

USA (5) and Slovenia (7) advance

USA (5) and Slovenia (5) advance

(placement on tiebreakers)

USA (5) and England (5) advance

(placement on tiebreakers)

USA-Algeria Tie

USA (3) and Slovenia (7) advance

Slovenia (5) advances

England (3) & USA (3) go to tiebreakers

England (5) and Slovenia (4) advance

Algeria Wins

Algeria (4) and Slovenia (7) advance

Slovenia (5) and Algeria (4) advance

England (5) advances

Slovenia (4) and Algeria (4) go to tiebreakers

 

When teams are tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following priority:

  1. Goal difference in all group matches;
  1. Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.

     

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:

3. Greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
4. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
5. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
6. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organizing Committee.

 

We are most concerned with the scenario of a tie in both matches, when England and USA will tie with three points for that is the tiebreaker that will determine who advances:

  • The teams will be tied on goal differential by definition, as they both will have tied all games and have a 0 goal differential. Thus the first tiebreaker is a wash.
  • Going into the third match, the USA has a +2 advantage on goals scored for the second tiebreaker. Scenarios are:
    • USA advances if:
      • They score more goals in their tie than does England.
      • They score the same goals in their tie as does England.
      • They score one less goal in their tie than does England.
    • England advances if they score three or more goals more than the USA in their tie.
    • If England scores two more goals exactly than the USA in their tie, the teams are then tied in the tiebreaker.

As I look at the tiebreakers — in the event that both matches end in a tie and England outscores the USA by two goals exactly, it will come down to drawing lots, because the USA and England have already played to a tie. Wow.

Best scenarios for USA fans:

  1. USA wins big and Slovenia and England tie 0-0.
    USA advances in first place in group C.
  2. USA wins big and England squeaks a win out.
    USA advances in first place in group C.
  3. Slovenia wins and USA wins or ties.
    USA advances in second place in group C.

Filed under The Sporting World

In Praise of SBNation (With Much Love for Japers’ Rink)

June 17, 2010 Leave a comment

There is no better place to start my weekly discussion of things in the blogosphere than the place where I spend much of my time online.

I’m not doing SBNation (www.sbnation.com) justice when I describe it, as it does itself, as “Sports News and Fan Opinion Powered by 249 Blogs.”  The 249 sports blogs include one for every NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB team; one for almost all the Big 12, Big 10, ACC, Pac 10, Big East and SEC schools, one for some of the MLS and Premier League teams, and blogs covering fantasy, statistics, martial arts, boxing, golf and others.  Recently, they’ve added regional sites for 12 cities (with another eight going on-line by July 1) that pull together all the teams there and also sponsor local meet-ups where posters can see each other in the flesh.

I discovered SBNation through Japers’ Rink, the SBNation blog that focuses on the Washington Capitals, which is the team I live and die with.  Since early March this year, I have visited Japers Rink (as STLSpidey) every day that I’ve had internet access.

Japers’ Rink and the other 248 blogs use the same site template, which allows users to easily transition from team blog to team blog.  A core local group runs each blog and posts articles about the team nearly 365 days a year, inviting comment from the readers.  In addition to these articles, each blog allows “Fan Posts,” which are articles of depth and substance posted by readers like me, and “Fan Shots,” which are shorter topics for discussion that we fans suggest.  For example, my first Fan Post on Japers’ Rink was a discussion of the punishment imposed to Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals and Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks  for their similar checks from behind in different games.  A Fan Shot could be something as simple as posting a trade rumor and inviting discussion.

When a team has a game, blog participants watch the game while participating in a discussion on the site.   At first, it’s like “watching” in a large bar, but after a few games, it’s a bit like family.

Each blog has its own rules and etiquette that a reader agrees to upon joining.  What I really like is the respectful way fans are treated, especially when a fan crosses over to a rival team’s blog.  If a Red Sox fan from Over the Monster joins a discussion on Pinstripe Alley, the Yankees’ site, they are listened to and debated, unless they start their post with “Yankees Suck.”  Then they are booted out.   Name calling is generally not tolerated, although each blog sets its own rules about obscenities in the context of discussion.  At Japers’ Rink, I can tell you that we hold nothing back!

I haven’t visited every one of the 249 blogs on SBNation, but I doubt any other is like Japers’ Rink.  I just have to give some love to the Rink and my friends there.

We are bound by our passionate support for the Caps, and the participants’ depth of knowledge about the Caps is incredible.  But for me, Japers’ Rink is less about the Caps, than it is about community.  Entering the discussion boards at the Rink is, for many of the 30 or so regulars, like multiple “Norms” entering Cheers.  And this is not just a DC group either.  It is truly a Caps Diaspora.  From DC to Nashville and St. Louis in the Midwest to Seattle and Los Angeles on the West Coast and all the way to Tblisi Georgia, we enter from across the globe.  When I started participating in March, I was made to feel extremely welcome.  I remember well the first time that someone asked me a question about something I had written about two days earlier.  That was cool.

What really sets Japers’ Rink apart from other SBNation blogs, however, are the daily “Off-Topic” threads.  These are daily boards opened up for discussion of anything at all, as long as it doesn’t involve the Capitals.  Participants visit the OT threads to interact with their fellow Caps fans and do so every day of the year.  Today, for example, on a normal off-season day, the OT thread had nearly 600 comments, covering items such as good concerts to see, the World Cup, last night’s Top Chef DC, and a search for a Karaoke KJ (whatever that is).  For me, this makes the Rink what it is.  I just don’t know whether the hockey discussions make the OT discussions better or of the OT discussions make the hockey discussions better.

So — bottom line — visit SBNation and find the blog that supports the team you live and die with.  You’ll find the depth of the information outstanding and you’ll “meet” others who share the same passion you do and want to “talk” about it as much as you do.

Filed under Other Sites I Like

Disney Tips from An Old Pro

June 16, 2010 Leave a comment

As our friends and relatives know, the Spidey family spends a lot of time at Disney parks.  In fact, we were just at Disney World in Orlando two weeks ago.  My guess is that we have visited at least one Disney location (multiple parks) each year for the past 15 years.  This includes the parks in Florida, California, France and Japan.  Hong Kong is the only global Disney park which we have not visited, a fact which just kills our 12-year old daughter because she wants to complete the cycle.

Yes, we enjoy Disney, and our kids do as well.  However, our decision 13 years ago to buy 250 points from the Disney Vacation Club is what really allows us to increase our frequency of visits.   If you like Disney and haven’t looked into DVC, you should.  In short, it’s a time share based on points.  Each unit, from efficiencies to three bedroom units, is assigned a point value based on the size of the unit and time of the year.  Big units at Christmas cost more points than smaller units mid-February.  The best thing is that every unit except efficiencies comes with full-kitchen and washer/dryer.  If you are a parent, you know how important that can be.  (As a reference point, those 250 points would cost about $28,000 before any closing costs and a monthly maintenance fee of about $110.)

Spidey in the Magic Kingdom

Over the years with our many visits, we have become, dare I say, experts in visiting Disney World, and our ideas and tips apply to other geographies.  Responding to a tweet request the other day about tips for Disney gave me the idea for this post.  Here are 10 things you should know as you plan your Disney trip.

1. Stay on Property.  I feel strongly about this, even though it can be more expensive.  Staying on property has several advantages, whether you stay at the Grand Floridian or the Pop Resort:

  • You get access to the Disney Transportation System.  This allows you to travel anywhere by bus from close to your room.
  • You can charge food and gifts in the parks to your room, thus keeping things on one bill.
  • You can buy goods in the park and have them delivered to your room.
  • You can use your room key as your park ticket (see #2 below).
  • You get free parking if you rent a car (see #4 below).
  • It is much easier to make Advanced Dining Reservations (see #5).
  • You can take advantage of early arrival days and late stay days (see #6).

2. Get Your Tickets from AAA. If you buy tickets at AAA you get the best price, but you also get a pass to Diamond parking, which is just behind disabled parking at each park.  This can be very helpful if you can’t get to the parks first thing in the morning (see #6).  This does mean, however, that you won’t use your room key as your park card and will have to hold on to two separate cards while in the parks.

3. Rent a Car. Trust me on this one.  Disney will tell you that you don’t need one.  I’m telling you that you will.  Some days, it’s just easier to drive than take the Disney Transportation System.  If you stay on property (#1) and buy tickets at AAA (#2), then parking doesn’t cost and you can park closer to the entrance than normal.  As good as the Disney Transportation System is, many routes are not direct and waiting for a bus, especially at park opening and closing, can be painful with tired children.  We normally stay at The Boardwalk, and the only Disney transportation from Boardwalk to MGM is via boat.  So – we normally drive.  It’s just faster and more convenient.

5. Reserve Meals Early.  Sit-down meals and character dinners fill up quickly.  Yes, you can wait stand-by, but it can take a while.  As best as I know, there is also no penalty for canceling a reservation at the last minute.  Guests staying on Disney property can make reservations both on the phone and online and can make up to 10 reservations per day.  Guests staying off property can only make one reservation per day.  I recommend getting familiar with the possible dining options and setting an alarm to remind yourself to make reservations.

6. Go Early and Stay Late. I highly recommend getting to the park early.  Perhaps this is obvious, but lines are shortest just after the parks open.  Our family gets to the parks early, gets on the rides and attractions we most want, and then bugs out to relax by the pool.  Then, we return in the evenings, after other youngsters and parents have pooped out and left, and ride all the rides again.  We avoid all parks in the middle of the day.

7. Plan Ahead and Stick to the Plan. We really believe in this.  Familiarize yourself with each park and decide the order in which you will visit the rides.  For example, know before Magic Kingdom opens that the family is heading right to Dumbo or Space Mountain or Haunted House.  I recommend getting The Unofficial Guide to Disney World for Florida.  This is the book that convinced us to make a plan.  It also provides readers with sample plans based on who you are:  singles, couples, families with young kids, families with older kids, etc.  Part of this plan must be utilizing Fast Passes to your advantage (see #8).

Spidey in Animal Kingdom

8. Use Fast Passes.  Fast Passes allow riders to use a separate waiting line to get on a ride from those waiting “stand-by.”  Machines are near specific rides to dispense the Fast Passes.  They are real pieces of paper.  The Fast Passes give you a specific hour window when you can return and get on the ride without waiting or with a very short wait.  Individuals can only hold one Fast Pass at a time or for a maximum of two hours.  It is a must to build getting Fast Passes into your plan (see #7).  Here are a few things we’ve learned about Fast Passes:

  • Give all your group’s tickets to one person so that he/she can run off to get Fast Passes for everyone.  This really works if one of your group doesn’t want to go on one ride or is willing to sacrifice for the group.
  • Get as many Fast Passes as you can, taking advantage of the rules that allow more than one Fast Pass when the time is more than two hours in the future.  At one point last trip, we each held two Fast Passes for Space Mountain, a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain, and a Fast Pass for Buzz Lightyear.
  • You don’t have to return exactly when the Fast Pass indicates.  You can return any time after the window opens.  For example, if your Fast Pass says you can ride Splash Mountain from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, you can also ride at 6:00pm.  You just can’t ride at 3:00pm or the next day.

3. Use the Singles Line.  The singles line can be a beautiful thing.  Last trip, we used the singles line for Splash Mountain, for Space Mountain, for Everest Adventure, and for Test Track, and, except for Test Track, still got to sit together.  Remember, Space Mountain is individual seats anyway!  They use the singles line to fill up cars.  At Test Track the wait was 60 minutes, but we got on in 15 through the singles line.

9. Read Up in Advance.   There are so many good web sites with inside information and with discussion boards where people can answer every question imaginable:

10. Muster Up as Much Patience as Possible. Lines will be long.  Kids and spouses will be cranky.  You will go over budget.  A ride will break that you or your kids wanted to experience (while you are in line or while you are on it).  People will be rude.

Remember above all — Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth.

Filed under Vacations and Travel

The Vuvuzela Controversy – Take Two

June 16, 2010 Leave a comment

It looks like the vuvuzela is here to stay at World Cup 2010.  According to multiple news reports last night (here’s one from the Associated Press), broadcasters are going to use filters to attempt to reduce the background noise during World Cup matches and allow viewers to hear the commentary.  I think that’s the right call.

Presumably, so do Mike & Mike on ESPN — in a reversal of their thoughts just 18 months ago that I shared with you Sunday night.

If you read that post, you saw a snippet I found where Mike & Mike complained about the vuvuzela during Confederations Cup 2008 in South Africa.  Although they stopped short of banning it, Mike & Mike were clearly bothered by the sounds.  Here’s it is again:

Then on their show yesterday morning, Mike & Mike decided that banning the vuvuzela in South Africa was like banning tailgating here in the United States.  And god forbid we ban tailgating!  (Yes, I’m being snarky.  No, I don’t think we should ban tailgating – ever.)  Good for Mike & Mike to change their opinion, although I wish they had admitted it:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

One last thought on the vuvuzela (at least in this post).  I found there are many iPhone applications that make the sound of the vuvuzela.  Some are free and some are not.  Few are rated highly, but that’s the fickle public.  I downloaded one called vuvuzela 2010 and it works great.  Saves room in the backpack also.

Filed under The Sporting World

You Heard Me. No TV Limits for My Kids.

June 15, 2010 Leave a comment

When I came home from work last night, both kids were home, but I didn’t see them or hear from them for about 90 minutes.   Neither moved during those 90 minutes from the televisions they were watching.  I have no idea what they were watching, but I’m sure it was incredibly inane, like The Suite Life on Disney, to which my daughter has a season pass on our DVR.

Like most parents, my wife and I have struggled and still struggle with the amount of time that 12-year-old daughter and our 15-year-old son spend watching television.  I think we struggle with it not because it’s a problem, but because we’re supposed to struggle.  It is drummed into our heads that watching television should be limited — unless it’s PBS or Discovery Network or something like that and unless it’s only in small amount per day.  As Dana Carvey’s George Bush would say “It’s bad.  It’s bad.”

Was I upset by my kids not moving?  Not really.  In our house, we don’t limit television watching.

Queue the pundits to say we’re bad parents.

I beg to differ, so I decided to look into this problem.  The more I looked at the information, the more comfortable I am with no limit.  Those preaching television limits are, in my opinion, using television data as a way to say we’re bad parents because they can’t find anything else to complain about.  Limiting television isn’t a solution.  Increasing time studying, playing sports or volunteering is.

I did some quick research on television viewing at lunch time today.  I found out that, on average, there are more televisions per household (2.93) than there are people per household (2.54). In the Spidey household, we have an embarrassing seven televisions and three computers on which programs can be watched.  All of our televisions also have DVRs, allowing us to watch what we want, when we want.  The phrase “there’s nothing on” hasn’t been said in our house since the first Tivo came out in 1999.

So – if television watching by children is crime, my wife and I have certainly created the opportunity for our kids.  A motive is needed to complete the supposed crime.

My motive in not limiting television is very simple.  I think kids need downtime.  Instead of limiting television, my wife and I make sure that other activities are done first.  They must keep up grades in school.  They need to get their physical activity.  They have to take a musical instrument.  We make sure they are socializing with friends.  I hope to find a charity for us to support as a family at the end of the summer.  Rather than focus on limiting the negative of television, I prefer to focus on increasing the positive of other things.

To the pundits, I say –

  • Don’t tell me how much television the average child watches per week (1,680 according to Nielsen).  Tell me instead how much time they spend on homework, and let’s work to increase that.
  • While you are looking at those 1,680 hours, tell me more what they’re watching and whether any of it is as a family.  There is a lot of good happening on television.
  • Don’t publish study after study on the TV’s effects on children (4,000 so far).  Study instead the best way to motivate children to be good students or get enough physical exercise.
  • Don’t tell me that unhappy people watch more television as a way to say we shouldn’t watch television.  Study instead why these people are unhappy and how we might help them.

What was really going on last night in the Spidey home?  My son was watching TV after 4 hours of summer school (he has an A in both classes) and then an afternoon outside in the heat with his friends.  My daughter was exhausted after a sleepover the night before followed by cheerleading practice in the afternoon and couldn’t really move of the couch.  I have no problem with them sitting there like lumps periodically.  When our kids have accomplished what they need to each day, it’s their right to veg in front of the television.  If that’s more than 1,680 hours per week, I’m good.

Limit television?  Back to Mr. Carvey’s President Bush — “Not gonna do it.”

Filed under Family Matters

Losing It in Public

June 14, 2010 Leave a comment

I am blessed with an amazing ability. I can eat the smallest amount of unhealthy food and have it instantly appear as fat somewhere on my body that is very noticeable. (How’s that for imagery to start a blog!) I have a co-worker who is, unfortunately, the exact opposite. She can eat an entire plate of french fries with mayonnaise and drink a bottle of wine and not feel the slightest pinch on her clothes. That just kills me.

For the record, I’m 5’6″ and, as of this morning, 194.6 pounds on the bathroom scale. Not great. My BMI is 31.4, which is “obese,” according to the people who say it is. If I get down to 185 lbs. then I’ll have a BMI under 30 and simply be “overweight.” To get to a “normal” weight, I would have to drop to 154 pounds — which just isn’t going to happen. I haven’t weighed that much since ninth grade. So – according to the powers that be — I’m likely to be at least “overweight” until I die.

Everyone finds their own motivation to lose weight. In early 2009, I lost 20 pounds by pledging to lose one pound each week and agreeing to donate $75 to a charity for each week I was behind pace. I ended up losing those 20 pounds and only contributing $75 in total. (For those of you interested, I used a site called Stickk that can help you do this in automated fashion. It’s really a great idea.)

The Look from Bob and Jillian: Not for Me

But during that diet, I realized that the $$ didn’t make the difference. I realized that the best way for me to lose weight is via the Biggest Loser method. No – not with Jillian or Bob kicking my ass. By the Biggest Loser method, I mean losing weight in public. I think a lot of people want to diet in secret. They want to do their thing and then hope that people notice. Doing that, however, is also protection against failing. If no one knows, then they can’t fail.

The $ motivation last year helped, but what really helped was telling people. On January 1, I sent an email to my closest coworkers and relatives telling them I was going on this diet and about the pledge to charity I had made. About three weeks later, I stood on a stage in front of 200 co-workers and spoke about it as well. By then, I had to succeed. Too many people knew. No way I was going to embarrass myself.

I’m not the first one to figure this out, nor am I the last. For example, I found this list of 50 “Inspiring Weight Loss Blogs.” All of the big diets have their own communities, from Weight Watchers to NutriSystem, and some other web sites have popped up like Project Weight Loss. These communities preach support, information and tools, but for me it’s as simple as embarrassment. If I don’t succeed, everyone will know.

It’s now time to go on another diet to see, somehow, if I can reach the coveted “overweight” designation. I want to go from 194.6 this morning to 175. I’m going to lose the weight the same way I always do, but eating fewer calories and exercising more. My diets are nothing fancy, but the kicker of everything is losing weight publicly.

So, going forward, I’ll report here on progress. I’ll see what I can add to this area with a once-a-week post. I hope you’ll watch and comment, so I can maintain the motivation.

Filed under Health, Diet and Exercise

The Life With Spidey Posting Schedule

June 13, 2010 Leave a comment

As I wrote on June 8, I’ve taken the plunge with a commitment to post to Life With Spidey on a daily basis. So far, so good, six days later.

To make it easier on my readers (whoever you are) and, frankly, easier on myself, each day of the week will be dedicated going forward to a specific topic, with Saturdays reserved for something random.

The Life With Spidey Posting Schedule

Sunday:                Sports — starting with tonight’s post about the vuvuzela

Monday:              Diet and Exercise — see tomorrow’s post for more information

Tuesday:              Family — 2 kids, a dog and 18 years of marriage = blog topics

Wednesday:       Travel – an interest of mine, as I’ve done quite a bit for work and fun

Thursday:           The Blogsphere – comments on things I’ve found of interest elsewhere

Friday:                 Work – when you work for a Fortune 100 company, you have a lot to write

Saturday:            Potpourri (as Alex Trebek might say)

I’ll use categories going forward to track things.  Should be fun.  Suggestions are welcome.

Filed under General Posts

The Vuvuzela Controversy

June 13, 2010 2 Comments

Three days ago, not many people in the world could have identified a vuvuzela. I can tell you that I’m not one of them. Say the word, and it suggests the thing that hangs in the back of your throat (a uvula). Some would think it’s a country in South America that is a member of OPEC (Venezuela). I’m sure to many comedians, it suggests something a bit more NC-17, perhaps used in the phrase “she invited me over to see her vuvuzela, and when I got there I was brutally disappointed.”

South African Fan Blowing His Vuvuzela

By now, many sports fans know that the vuvuzela is a plastic horn available at all World Cup 2010 matches in South Africa. Its use accounts for that low-pitched hum we hear on television broadcasts of the World Cup matches. I know that several times the vuvuzela sound has drowned out the commentators, making it difficult to hear them (and, as a side note to ESPN, simply impossible to understand Derek Rae’s Scottish accent).

According to Wikipedia, a vuvuzela is about 1 meter long and plays a B note. It also pushes out sound at 131 decibels right near the opening, a level that, according to a few experts, can cause hearing loss.

The vuvuzela falls into the same bucket as several other well-known implements at sporting events that drive fans nuts: air horns, cowbells, drums, and thundersticks. I really loathe cowbells and the constant ringing at local high school hockey games here in suburban St. Louis. Thundersticks are usually evident at NBA games, as opposing fans try to distract free throw shooters in an exceptionally professional way. Not!

None of these, however, have attracted the same wave of publicity and discussion as the vuvuzela. From what I’ve read, the controversy started in the 2008 Confederations Cup.  Never mind that vuvuzela had been used in Latin America and South Africa for years. To get Mike & Mike to talk about the vuvuzela on their ESPN morning show means that it must have made an impact.

Interestingly, the reaction of FIFA (the governing body for international football) was to ban them, not because of the noise, but because European hooligans might use them as weapons. Despite that, FIFA let them stay in the interests of presenting soccer in South Africa as it should be.

Flash forward to the 2010 World Cup. Just three days in, the focus is almost as much on the vuvuzela as it is on the soccer itself. While South Africa’s goalkeeper says the vuvuzelas are not loud enough, we read that European-led FIFA is talking about banning them. Articles are appearing about the vuvuzela in such esteemed information sources as the Christian Science Monitor (against), the Wall Street Journal (for), the Toronto Sun (for), and the Huffington Post (for).

Instead of blaming the controversial soccer ball, as England’s coach did after his goalie gifted the USA a tie, France’s captain Patrice Evra blamed the defenseless vuvuzela. “We can’t sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas,“ he said after France played to an unexpected scoreless tie versus Uruguay.

Bottom line — deal with it. Yes, I hate cowbells. But, if one of the hockey player’s moms thinks it makes a difference, then bring it on. Vuvuzelas are part of football in South Africa. Fans are having fun with them.

I say to ESPN and their announcers – turn up the gain so we can hear you.

I say to Patrice Evra and other players – put your head under your pillow or use one of the sleep machines that pushes out sounds of oceans, birds or thunderstorms.

And lastly, I say to all you entrepreneurs – run, do not walk, to South Africa with cases, pallets or container loads of earplugs.

Filed under The Sporting World Tagged with ,

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