Lenovo and Vista

My first Vista experience was not good. My roomate bought a new computer and hated Vista so much that he went back to his 30lb Alienware with XP. Things have to be really bad to carry a 30lb laptop around the world right?

Needless to say I was a little worried when my new Lenovo came with with Vista. Timidly trying it out things seemed to work OK. However the true test was to install a bunch of programs, some games, and take the whole rig on a international trip.

I took the new laptop to Argentina and things worked out great. The OS has worked out pretty good. Despite all the bad things I have heard about vista I am really liking it. It took a little while to figure out how to run some programs but now I can run anything no problem. One of the features that is great is when you shut down vista saves the state of things. This way when you boot back up it does it super fast and all the programs you had running are ready to go.

The Lenovo laptop is great. I waited two months to write a second review to give me time to try out all of its features. I really like the built in mike and camera. The work really well with skype. The sound system is awesome. While it is fun to brag that my laptop has a subwoofer. It is even cooler that is sounds so great. Really top notch sound and plenty loud enough. I also really appreciate the dedicated sound button. The battery is good. It has 50 percent more life than my previous laptop. The screen is very clear and crisp. I also appreciate that instead of a fragile locking mechanism it just uses a mechanical advatange to stop from opening. The memory card slot accomadates my olympus memory(which is different than any other memory) which makes downloading pictures very easy.

Overall I have been really happy with the whole setup. Lenovo makes a really nice laptop. My only critisism is that I cant figure out how the inductive buttons work (i think they may only work with windows media player).

Argentina

I have always liked Argentina. It is a mix of european charm, great wine, and fantastic beef. I speak the language (although I cant always understand the heavier Argentine accent. I have had mixed results at tournaments their but I have always had a good time.

This time around I didnt do so well. I think a combination of burnout and lack of sleep did me in. I won my first bout easily enough to make the 16. In the sixteen I just got out hustled. I have a real problem with people who are heavy on the blade. Heinzer fenced well and I just couldnt get my excitment level. While my day went poorly Cody had a great day. He defeated the two people he lost to in the last two tournaments and ended up taking third. I have always know that Cody is a great fencer. It was great to see it really come out.

I had some good dinners this time in Argentina. Argentina has great wine, beef, and italian food. Almost half of the population is of Italian descent. The first night we ate near the hotel and the food was good. The thing I remember was the polenta. I like a dry polenta and this was just perfect. Paired with grilled vinegar mushrooms is was great.

The second night Cody, Dwight, his friends and I went to some restaurant. I cant remember the name. The picture above is the steak I had. The steak was mediocre but the appetizers mozzerela, empenadas, and ravioli were fantastic.

The third night after great debate we all headed to a restaurant called Dada. I was skeptical but pleasantly suprised. We had guacamole to start that was fantastic. Then the beef. This lomo(filet) was perfect. Just the right temp and so delicate. Really one of the best pieces of meat I have had in a long time.

The hotel were we stated the Dazzler Suites Juncal was awesome. At a mere 95 dollars a night we got to stay in a palace. The room was 40 feet long 15 feet wide and plush. Granite counter tops, hardwood floors, and a spacious balconey all in a great part of town. Breakfast was delivered to ones room for no extra charge. If you are ever in Argentina this is a great hotel.

Only two other things of note. The first is the long distance buses in Argentina make bus travel awesome. These double decker buses really made one feel comfortable. From our seats on the second level all the way in the front we could see everything. The seats were old school comfort. Plush, springy and super soft. The seats reclined far enough back that sleep was three sheep jumping over a fence away.

One our way to the airport I saw something I will probably never see again. Three miles of cattle side by side. The cattle trucks were all parked on the side of the road. As we sped by in our rickety taxi I just couldnt believe the sheer number of cows. From what I understand from the driver they were all waiting for the slaughter house. Piece together a couple of things the workers and the government are having problems and this has shut down the flow of food. Seeing truck after truck of grass fed beef just waiting was so strange. I only hope things get worked out before this great beef is wasted.

Resting and Wathcing

This week has been a week full of sports. While practice has been light I have been watching a lot of other sports.

On TV the NBA finals has been on. Watching the greatest playoff comeback of all time was awesome. Seeing a group of players firing on all cylinders to make playoff history was great. The Boston Celtics are a great team. Watching Pierce shut down Kobe Bryant is very impressive.

I was inspired by the US Open this year. I have read a couple of books about golf (John Dailys book and one called Q School). Golf is a sport that I havent watched much of but the stories that I have read are always interesting. This year watching Tiger battle his body and Rocco was incredible. I do feel sorry for Rocco. He had the game of his life. He put histories greatest golfer to the limit and loses by one shot in the playoff. I only hope that history remembers the aging imperfect golfer that went the distance.

For live sports I got to see USA vs Brasil here in Colorado Springs. USA took the game 3-2. Each sport really has its own culture. Even men and women in the same sport are so different. Watching womens volleyball was very interesting. The one thing I did notice was how much the team trys to boost each others confidence. After every point there is reassurance. The game was very exciting and the crowd incredibly loud.

The final sport I saw was the Outlaws play at invesco field in denver. The Outlaws are a professional lacrosse team. We did some tailgating and watched from the 30 yard line. I haven't seen much lacrosse but the game was fun to watch. I think it would be even more fun to play. We learned afterwards that all the lacrosse players have another job. This team is really just their passion and they get paid very little for it. Most of the players live in other parts of the country and just fly in for the games. The whole experience was great. The Outlaws did a very nice job of giving the OTC athletes a great saturday.

It has been a restful week. Tomorrow I am off to Argentina for my final World Cup of the season. I always enjoy going to Argentina. It is the cheapest place we go and the steak is very tasty. La Cabrera here I come.

Puerto Rico World Cup

I finished 17th losing to Limardo. I felt very out of it. I managed to keep it tied through regulation. After fencing him at a camp in Hungary I had a much better plan on how to fence him. Limardo won priority. I pushed and found the right moment but fell short. If I had continued instead of recovering back I would have got at least a double. A disapointing day but fencing can go in streaks. I am looking forward to getting back and training.

Mountains of Colorado

Sometimes it is good to get away from training. So a week a ago. Paige Cody and I went out into the back roads of Colorado to Turkey Rocks. Turns out a Camry can be an offroad car but is not ideal. We were never stuck but close.

These pictures are taken from the top of turkey rocks. This is a big climbing area but you can walk/scramble up to the top. Afterwards we had a old school barbecue wood, simple grill, and meat (with cheese, hotpeppers, bread, cherries, and blood orange soda). Overall a very nice day. I always feel like this is the real Colorado.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
Hope you have lots of fun today.

Statue of Liberty

After a trial run we made it the Statue of Liberty. Cody and I have been to New York a bunch of times over the last 10 years. I feel like this was the last really big thing we needed to see. There are still a 1000 restaurants to eat at and museums to see. But this was the big monument.

While a tedious process of going through two security lines (one before the boat and another at the base of Liberty) we finally made it inside. The museum was pretty good. It wasnt very long but had some cool things. They had the begging models and a full scale replica of the foot. Turns out while the French did give the statue the funding was not that simple. There was a great deal of fundraising. It took 10 years from the beginning of the fundraising to the day Liberty stood finished.

We did make it over to Ellis Island. While interesting we were starving and had only a brief tour. The one thing that stands out is the variance in opinion of who, how many, what they do once they come, and when people can immigrate. We did see the hall that people were checked out in. Very spartan with lots of tile. The pictures at ellis seemed particulary good. The US really does have people from all over.

Many people came from the West Indies to the US. Whether I realized this when I ordered Roti for lunch (like a Caribbean burrito) I am not sure. The cart offered all sorts of Caribbean specialties. Cody and I both had the Goat Roti. Very good and lots of bones.

After buying some accessories at J and R for Codys camera we headed back for a nap. If one does go to the Statue of Liberty plan at least 4 hours. Practice followed by dinner at the Brooklyn Diner. If in New York the Brooklyn Diner is great. It is upscale diner food. Everything I have had there is great. The cheesecake is fantastic and the burgers are very good. The waitstaff is very friendly and they will pour you coffee for a long time.


Link to our photos of New york
http://picasaweb.google.com/CodyMattern/NewYorkCityAndStatueOfLibertyJune34

Montreal Grand Prix 2nd place

The individual in Montreal went great. I woke up and felt just terrible in the morning. I was tired and we didnt find breakfast. My first bout was Adam Watson and I was a little worried. My last bout with him went down to one touch.

I just waited for Adam. I knew that if I attacked from the beginning things would not go well. So I let him come and things worked out.

In the 32 I fenced Kvorhost. Kvorhost lead early but I managed to tie it and go into overtime. I was able to pin him to the back of the strip and get the final touch

In the 16 I fenced Robeiri. I really made myself keep great distance and things seemed to work out. At the end I had a 3 touch lead and he had to come. After Cody and my drills I was ready and kept the lead.

In the 8 I had jerome Jeannett. I used the same strategy. I had a bigger lead this time and in the end he just gave up.

After a 3 break and a lot of sushi I had Jung from korea. Jung lead by 3 or 4. Then Cody told me something during the break and was able to go up. With a couple of touches lead he had to come and I was ready.

The final bout against tagliorol was close through the first 2 periods. Then I had to go. He is a good fencer and I just wasnt able to get the timing down. Overall a great day. I really feel that Cody and I made a good team.

For pictures and video please visit http://www.fencingchannel.tv/cms/08can-montreal-epee.html

New training techniques

Cody and I have been thinking about new ways to train. After Paris Cody had a bunch of ideas. While we have many thoughts about what a new improved training regime would look like, here are two of our ideas.

The first is that practice needs to be more then fencing 5 and 15 touch bouts. While we have all done different situational bouting techniques at camps and things we havent really seen it during normal practices. For the last two weeks we have been planning out each practice using different techniques.

For example one practice might include 3 five touch bouts, two singles equal one touch and the first to three touches wins, one person attacks like there is little time left and the first to ten, and a couple of fifteens. There is a huge variety that one could do. However you should tailor the drills to the situations you end up in bouts.

The other thing we have been doing is medicine ball workouts. They are fairly short and are fun. We did these 3-4 times a week. A workout is one arm passes, chest passes, torso throws, and squat throw the ball up. Of course to warm up we run around and throw a football. The football seems so light after throwing a 3-5 kilo medicine ball.

Overall the attack/defend drill has been the most helpful. It is very tiring but fencers end up in this situation a lot. I found it extremely helpful at the world cup. Feeling confident about when someone is coming at you and knowing what works for you and doesnt is very helpful. I have so many thoughts and this and cody has infinite more. If you have any questions shoot me an email kelseycs16@hotmail.com

PS Nike is selling all this new SPARQ training equipment ladders, medicine balls, hurdels, cones, and the such. Nike.com