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I think I'm in the same neighborhood as you - mid hundreds. This was probably helped by COVID and having a kid. If not, living in Los Angeles and having some venues walkable, I'd have gone to a bunch more shows by now. We have tickets for My Chemical Romance in October as my wife is a fan. That might be the most expensive, at least in present day dollars vs. inflation adjusted. Those are a bit under $500. We just saw the New York Rangers (vs. the Kings) earlier this year, and I bought the tickets a few hours before the game - they were under $99 (including taxes and feessuite tickets, where we had a suite and seats at the front of the suite. I think we'll try to do that more often to see the Rangers and Lakers and maybe the Yankees when they are in Anaheim. We went to a Yankees/Dodgers game, and it wasn't as fun as it could have been. But we went to a 3 game set in San Diego two years ago, and that was really fun. Going to see them in San Francisco this month for the opening series (not Opening Day, though). I'm also going to try to go to some of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but am curious to see how much that ends up being.

I was just going to come back to say something like this. As you said, KarateKen, there is *always* a problem. So that means a problem isn't necessarily a reason not to do the deal. It just comes down to sorting minor and major problems, things that are cheap to fix vs. expensive, what you can live with, and what you can negotiate with. Getting the most out of this type of process is just a game of you not wearing down. Folks who process home after home after home are used to people wearing down. It sounds like you don't have the problem of falling in love, so that's good. Back when we were buying, it was closer to worst of COVID, and we'd hear about people forgoing inspection as a way to be competitive which, unless you are incredibly wealthy and the home price is a minor inconvenience for you, just boggles my mind. The agent we had at the time pitched it in a "this is just what others are doing" way. But on the house we actually agreed to buy, she was trying to talk me into doing away with the mortgage contingency to make our offer stronger, since we'd already qualified. But why? I'll never beat a cash offer, so if that's what the seller was getting, that's cool. Otherwise, if we're pushing forward the biggest bag of money, they'll take it. And they did. Any pressure that anyone tries to put on you, you just have to kind of laugh it off. It sounds like you're already doing this. The only deadlines that exist are the ones in contracts. The rest are made up. The pressure might be real, but it could also be made up. And if it's real and you lose out, oh well, you still have your money! When the house fell through, we stayed in the apartment, and our financial situation has improved dramatically just based on how financial markets have performed (example: the Dow is up 40% since we would have closed, while the NASDAQ is up more). Meanwhile, the buyers of the home we were going to buy tried to sell it recently for around a 10% profit (3.5 years later), and couldn't. It appears they may have rented it for far below what the mortgage payment would have been. We have been talking about buying a home again, because I'd love to have more outdoor space for my toddler and for us. But we also love living in our neighborhood and my wife being able to walk to work. It's very much a city and an apartment area, which we enjoy, so I'm torn. Pros and cons for everything.

Looks like Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is on the move as he was released by Arizona. No word yet on where he will end up but the rumored frontrunner is the Vikings. Murry is coming of an injury plagued season where he played five games, threw 6 TDs 3 INTs and 962 yards. The Cardinals were 2-3 in the games he started last year when he injured his foot in week 5 and missed the rest of the year. In 87 games with the Cardinals Murray has thrown 121 TDs, 60 INTs, and 20,460 yards, a QB rating of 91.6, with a record of 38-48-1. Besides the Vikings other possible teams are the Steelers, Dolphins, and Jets. Also, there is talk that the Oakland/Sacramento A's are interested. Murray was drafted by the A's so maybe he goes into baseball. Murray is a free agent.

So far I've bought 2 homes -- one was new construction, and one was previously lived in. I'll tell you, the process is VERY stressful. In fact, my previous agent once told me that buying or selling a home is one of the 4 or 5 most stressful things in your lifetime. (Right up there with getting married, getting divorced, dealing with the death of a close friend/relative, etc). I know I'm a bit late to the party, but here are a few things to keep in mind: - Make sure you aren't buying more than you can afford. A bank will come up with a number you can QUALIFY for, and then the agent will probably try to sell you in that region. Do your own math and be realistic in what you can actually afford, and stick to that. - Make sure you budget in for improvements/repairs. Things can and will go wrong. Less so on a new home, moreso on a 20+ year old one. Our first home we bought together we lived in for 3 years. During that timeframe we needed a new roof (hailstorms in Texas), a new upstairs A/C unit, and we needed to completely renovate a bathroom. Make sure you have a contingency fund for these things. - When your inspection report comes back, another way to use it is as a negotiation tool. If you can get some additional seller concessions (reduced price, rate buydown, etc) as a result of that inspection, it might change the equation. If you can get them to essentially pay for part of the repairs that are needed, it MIGHT make sense to move forward with the purchase. Or it might be a reason to walk away from the deal. Don't be afraid to walk away. If you walk away from the contract, you lose your earnest money, but that's a small price to pay for the potential headaches that those kinds of repairs can cost.

You might have heard that Metallica is doing a residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas this fall. The ticket prices are high, with some being over 4,000 dollars a ticket before taxes. The cheapest are about 1k a ticket, but this can change, for better or worse, with the resale market. With the cost of sports, music, and other live entertainment being so much now, what is the most you would pay for your dream live entertainment experience? What is the highest you ever paid for a ticket to an event? I once paid 500 dollars per ticket for the VIP experience and floor seats (not front row) to see Guns N Roses when they partly got back together in 2016. The show was in San Diego, at the old Chargers stadium which has since been torn down. It was a lot at the time but seems like a bargain now compared to what some of the tickets are going for.

Test Prep Cycle Week 4: The last 3 weeks have been run by Heather Sensei (our CI's wife). She has a VERY intense personality and is a stickler for getting things right -- when she points something out, I definitely take notice. For example, last week she decided that our testing in Sanchin stance should be with pushes/pulls instead of strikes. Personally I prefer when they just hit you. Sure, it might hurt a little bit, but when they push, they will see how far they can push you before you break stance. Well, last week she decided to be pretty mean about things -- normally they push at the hips, but she was pushing on the shoulders. It's your typical physics problem, "give me a long enough lever and I can move the world". Well, when she pushes on your shoulders, she uses all that leverage to make you move. Fortunately I had seen this before, and when I knew I couldn't keep stable in that position, I just took a small step to the side and back into a stable stance. And that was the exact correct thing to do (in fact, she later pointed me out as the example of what to do in that situation). One nice thing about working this class with Parker is, since we're both instructors we point out where each of us can improve. For example, Heather called me out in our Dan kumite drill for dropping my hand in one place where I did a roundhouse kick. I haven't been critiqued on this drill in awhile, so I probably have gotten sloppy, so the tune-up was necessary. There were a few other tune-ups she offered to each of us, and in later weeks, we have been pointing out these things in each other's technique. I'm also starting to feel really good about the Seisan bunkai. Again, it's been awhile since I've practiced this drill regularly and even less frequent that I get critique on it. As Parker and I continue to fine-tune things during this prep cycle, we are continuously giving feedback to each other. One thing I'm trying to focus on is something that Gushi sensei mentioned in his seminar last spring -- slow down and let the audience see exactly what you're doing. So as we're practicing for our prep cycle, I'm trying to focus on targetting and follow-through. For example, we have one sequence where the attacker steps in with a right punch, followed by a left punch. The defense for the right punch is a circle block countering with a hammer-fist strike to the temple. In my demo, I make a point to stop before Parker's head, then slowly follow through, pushing his head to the side. Then the second attack is countered with a right circle block followed with a left boshiken-tsuki to the chin. And again, I stop right before the chin, then follow-through, pushing the chin and entire head slowly back. As usual, the area I'm working most on is my Kanchin kata. One thing our sensei mentioned to us last week is that there are several times you feel like a white belt again. When you start learning Kanshiwa (required for yellow belt), Seichin (required for brown belt), and Kanchin (required for 3rd degree). When we learn Kanshiwa, that's the first kata after Sanchin we learn. It introduces a lot of new moves, the concept of moving off the line, and all of the fundamentals in our kata. (And... you do learn that AS a white belt). When a student starts to learn Seichin, they are introduced to a lot of new sequences - moving at 45 degree angles, the concept of intercepting strikes WITH a strike (instead of block then strike), and it's the first kata where we start to see the "soft" side of Uechi-Ryu. And finally Kanchin introduces much longer sequences. It introduces the concept of starting from a low stance and pivoting 180 degrees while still in a low stance. It introduces shifting from a front stance to a low stance without raising your center of gravity. It has extended sequences that you want to get the timing and inflection *just right* on. You want to do the sequences quick and with power, but you want to make sure you display kime at just the right moments. And that's why it takes 2.5-3 years to go from nidan to sandan Honestly, the last kata, Sanseiryu only introduces one new sequence, but the sequences are longer, and go in 8 directions, instead of 4. However in terms of new movements/sequences there really is only one, and it's the final move in the kata. So once I get completely comfortable with Kanchin, learning Sanseiryu won't be nearly the mind-scrambler that Kanchin has been.

Tons of people that must have more money then they can shake a stick at because I see sold-out stadiums everywhere. Nothing will ever change in my lifetime so I will continue to watch the NFL on my tv. Oh well!!

Yeah, not good. Knights have lost 3 games straight. Not good at all. My thing is that I don’t get my dandruff up until the all-star break, except for the NFL because the NFL doesn’t have an all-star break.

To the opening post, I think the ideas look fine. It sounds like you have identified what you want to see people achieve, and it reads as though you have consider how to so in a reasonable manner. I consider it wise to keep in mind the old proverb regarding throwing the baby out with the bath water. Which is to not do so. In simple English terms, it means to avoid throwing out something valuable while getting rid of something no longer needed. When considering my own curriculum I started with the question: “What in my training got me to where I am?” Now my answer will always be biased towards what I am able to identify as useful. What I can identify as useful is going to be what provided most immediate benefits to effort put in. Thus, some of what I worked on that was longitudinal in benefit, as in it took a lot of time to see a benefit, is going to potentially appear superfluous but could have in fact been the foundation of a lot of what I do well now. This is why I find it useful to be a part of an organisation, and to have a sensei, because it helps balance my perspective. It forces me to consider what I might otherwise abandon. Alternatively, it also forces me to take the initiative in innovating, because I have answers to questions, and questions to answer, which I would otherwise not encounter. In taking this approach, I feel it has helped me build a syllabus that can be useful to most people engaging in training. It is a safety net against my own egoism and just doing what I enjoy. The other thing I have asked is what do I want belts to represent. Personally, for me, they need to represent meaningful improvements in the fighting skills being worked on. Thus, I use fewer belts than found in most systems, because I think it takes a while to objectively improve from one level to the other, and just knowing more without getting better is easily done. Knowing more kata or more drills without getting better at them to me is not what I am looking for. Hence, building competency expectations into the grading system. I want to see someone has got better at the goal of the partner exercise, rather than just show me another drill they have learnt and do it poorly. Anyway, here is my colour belt syllabus (Though it is always subject to change) as posted in the flow drills topic: In terms of what has been “dictated” to me is the kata and the rolling bunkai. I follow the Kata syllabus of the Kodokan, as it was run by the late Aragaki Isamu Sensei, up until Nidan level. Which is the level I reached while he was alive, and the level to which I can technically grade people. After that, I take the direction of my current teacher, Derek Ridgway Sensei. The Rolling Bunkai are his creation and are used for Brown Belt and Senior Grades so my students need to know them to grade in the organisation. I find them very effective anyway, so I do not begrudge it, and they have been a solid base around which to build the rest of the partner exercises around. In my limited experience in Okinawa I would say that the syllabus approach is much less structured, and far more individualised. In training with other people that trained far more extensively, or even much less, with Aragaki Sensei we were all taught subtly different ways to do things and the principles were consistent. It seemed to be very much targeted to the individual. That said, I think that was the very old way to do things. As a person, Sensei did not need money, and taught for the love and passion of Karate. I cannot speak to schools which may be more commercial where the teacher lives from teaching.

I think the only point I have to add, when it comes to the power angle, is that the hand is just the end of the arm. Which is to say, when we focus on the hand, it is easy to neglect what we are doing with the rest of the arm, and its connection to the body. For me, from the perspective of power and structure, hikite is not so much about the hands but the shoulders. To add to Wastelander's point: drawing the arm back dramatically on one side, and often pulling the hand to somewhere ineffective martially (Such as to the hip), often over-rotates the body and moves force away from the intended target. For me, hikite is the most basic way of learning to get the hands to work together, and part of that is to learn to have the shoulders work to deliver force forward. Which is to say, have them rounded and both activated, allowing for the compressing of the body to allow through movement of the waist, and ensuring the arm is connected to the body as it makes impact. Otherwise, yes, I view hikite as effectively practicing to pull or to draw the hand for other purposes such as deflection or loading up a strike.

The idea that hikite generates more punching power, while popular, doesn't hold up under scrutiny. That idea seems to have been popularized by Nakayama Masatoshi and Kanazawa Hirokazu, with MANY people referencing the famous illustration comparing the mechanics of punching to an engine, with an axle running up the center of the body, and the arms being pistons attached to it. The explanation being that pulling one hand back will make the body rotate around that axle, naturally forcing the opposite side of the body forward, generating more power, and that this is an example of Newton's Third Law of Motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). On the surface, that does sound logical, but there are several flaws in this premise: The body does not actually have a rigid axle in the center, and doesn't rotate evenly around it, nor is power generated from that axle outward The body is capable of rotating regardless of what you do with the arms Pulling one arm back as you punch with the other side moves some of your mass AWAY from the target, reducing the power delivered to the target This interpretation of Newton's Third Law is completely incorrect, because the push/pull mechanic does not actually represent what he meant by "equal and opposite reaction" Additionally, we must recognize that the idea of pulling a hand to your side or hip while punching, without using that hand for a combative function, is tactically unsound. Doing this is a good way to get punched in the face, and is an example of shi-te (dead hand), which is a cardinal sin in classical karate. Of course, most karateka recognize this, but brush it off by simply saying "you do it for training, but not for real fighting." My question, then, is this; how does your martial art train for "real fighting," then? If your standard training methodology in a martial art teaches you to do something that is a dangerous bad habit for fighting, then you have to do additional, different training in order to un-learn that habit in order to be able to use your martial art, which means you are either wasting your time with training the standard methodology, or with the fighting training, depending on what you are training for.

Unfortunately, they did not, Sabers won it 3-2. Fortunately, the Ducks lost 5-1 so the Knights remain in first place.

Agreed. It's pure greed. Stick the taxpayers with the bill then make the tickets so expensive that many of the same people who helped pay for the stadium can't afford to attend. What is also terrible is that the taxpayers often don't get a vote on it. When it goes to a public vote, it tends to be shut down. The taxpayers don't want to fund stadiums for billionaire owners and millionaire athletes, but in many cases, they are not given a say. The state government simply decides to do it, and the taxpayers pay out hundreds of millions whether they support it or not. It happened in Minnesota, Las Vegas, Buffalo, and now in Chicago, as well as many other places. While a few NFL stadiums are funded with private money (such as SoFi in Los Angeles) that is the exception, not the rule. Most are funded at least in part with tax money. Both building the stadium and renovations that happen years later. There are arguments for taxpayer funding for stadiums, and typically they are that the stadium creates jobs and stimulates the local economy. There are debates as to whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze on that one. Also, state governments, especially governors, don't want it on their watch that a team left. It is bad for reelection. So, while fans and locals will be upset about the tax hike for the new stadium, they are also going to be angry if their favorite team moves because the governor didn't get a deal done. It's a catch 22 for the governor, but I think the feeling among legislature is that more damage is done if they team moves than if they stay at the taxpayers' expense. This gives owners more leverage in negations, threatening to move the team if they don't get what they want. That is what happened in Minnesota. The Vikings were playing in the Metrodome in 2010 when it was falling apart. The roof even caved in hours before a game, which lead to the game being moved to Detroit. Back in 2010 the NFL did not have a team in Los Angeles, and the owners knew how much the NFL wanted one. So what the Vikings owner did was use the threat of moving to LA to get a new stadium with taxpayer money. Give me a new stadium, make the taxpayers pay for part of it, or I will move the team to LA. It worked. The Vikings now play in US Bank stadium and the taxpayers paid much of the bill.

Despite the seller doing nearly 40 grand in renovations the inspector still found many issues. Heating and air, plumbing, electrical issues, problems with the doors and windows to name some. The water heater was ten years old and not installed properly, plus the pipes connecting it were old and corroded. That entire thing would need to be replaced. Plus, it did not have the proper protections if it were to break, and water would leak and cause water damage and likely mold. The inspector said that could happen any day. Also, the AC was 25 years old. An AC does not last forever and is very expensive to replace. It was looking at 15k-20k in repairs On the positive side it has brand new floors, a renovated kitchen with a new stove, sink, and counter, as well as the bathroom counters and one of the showers. No mold, gas leaks, pest problems, or issues with the foundation. The inspector told me these are all typical issues. I was thankful for how thorough and professional they were. I would use them again, so I understand your feeling on that one. One of the stresses of home ownership is that there is usually a problem. Something needs to be fix, replaced, or improved. This place was built in 2001, but I've known people who lived in homes that were over 100 years old, and there is always something wrong. Home ownership has its blessings, but it comes with a price. I also agree that some agents are more interested in rushing to a sale and a payday than helping you find the right home. I went through several agents before landing on my current one who is being patient with me.

Thanks, Brian; I hope exactly like you and others!!

2/28/2026 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 10:00 - 11:00 am. Open Mat. Lots of 4 minute rounds, and there were just three of us, so round robin it was. Prior to class, coach showed me a video by Bernardo Faria of the technical breakdown of the over/under pass, then he showed me a dynamic application in a video of from a high-level competition. It helps to see both, because when things get dynamic, it rarely looks textbook. I had one early round where I spent most of the time on top. By hook or by crook, I managed. Then, I rolled some more, and that didn't happen again... Towards the end of class, coach let me work just offense so I got to move through advancing positions to submission. Stretched between rounds.

That's crazy to hear, Bob. Hopefully it isn't something bad and the doctor can deal with it easily!

2/26/2026 Aikido Video Review: Good habit to get into while eating breakfast. I reviewed video for katatetori sankyo omote and ura. I like to call them ikkyo/sankyo, as we get to the ikkyo position first and then transition to sankyo. Strength Training Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x3, 115x3, 115x3, 115x3, 115x3. Clean & Jerk: 65x2, 85x2, 95x2, 115x2, 115x2, 115x2. Aikido: 3:30 - 4:30 pm. Club Class held at the campus. Very laid back class, as no other instructors were available. The club president ran the class, and after some loosening drills and aikitaisos, we did weapons work with the jo. Paired warmups with hi-4 and low-4 combined, then lots of review of jo kata 1. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 6:45 - 8:00 pm. Four warmup rounds to start. I think they were 4 minute rounds. The instructional portion of the class was spent working on isolating an arm in side control, elevating the shoulder off the mat and getting the bottom person on their side. We worked to a Kimura mounted with them on their side. We did quite a bit of work on this transition. We finished with a few rounds of free rolling, working on going from standing and posting on the hips of the seated bottom player to control the knee and then pressure in to pass to camping position, then to side control. This helped secure the leg so I didn't have to fight the knee shield so much. I did get a stretch in.

Doctor said that it could be due to a lack of calcium over a person’s lifetime. She didn’t want to say much more until all test results are in. I’ve drank an oceans worth of milk my entire life!!

I believe I already answered that.

Wow, what an update. Thanks for sharing. I hope it is, as you say, a technical glitch. Did your doctor say what would cause a hole like that?

Hey DarthPenguin, thanks for asking. I'll play. I usually do head-to-head, but I'm up for trying roto. I've either never done that or it's been a longtime. I do like a live draft if possible, just because people can show up if they want, and you can pre-rank either way, but you can count me in regardless, if you get enough to make it worthwhile. I appreciate it.

My experience is mostly watching my parents buy a few homes over the years. We actually bought a house a few years ago, but the inspection came back so bad that we went ahead and backed out. It sounds like you've probably already found the one thing that I recommend to folks: An inspector who will give you reasons not to move forward. I feel like the whole system is generally adversarial to buyers. Even people operating on your behalf are often trying to simply complete a sale. For me, having a good inspector alleviates a lot of the stress I would feel because at the point of buying, I have come to terms with the financial investment and the fun side of it - the life it creates - but the inspector helps deal with the unfun side. We paid for a normal inspection, plus a termite and sewer inspection, and I'd do it again. I'll never forget the moment the inspector crawled out from under the building and said, "it looks like mold," and the real estate agent basically cut him off to say, "it could be [whatever he said]," like she wasn't let him talking. Sure enough, it was mold. Several types, including two black mold, and all sorts of other issues. If we buy again, I'll go back to that inspector if he's still around.

The Knights are back on the ice tonight to take on the Buffalo Sabres. This could be a pivotal part of the season. If the Knights lose and Ducks win, the Knights will no longer be in first place. Both the Knights and the Ducks face tough opponents tonight. Buffalo is one of the hottest teams on the ice in the league. The Ducks take on the Avalanche, who have the best record in the entire league. The Knights did just played the Kings last night. Knights may be tired. Knights will have to play without their captain, Mark Stone. Knights HC, Cassidy, said that Stone is currently day to day due to an upper body injury he sustained in Sunday’s game Shute Penguins. Puck drop is set for 4:00pm in Buffalo. If they lose, they’ll have to watch and see the Ducks win, and that games goes off 7:00pm. But you know, my Knights coming off of that 5 nothing shut out where they were on the losing end in Pittsburgh. So, my Knights need to get things back in their winning ways. GO KNIGHTS!!

We both keep fighting the good fight; that’s all we have to do…you at 73 and me at 68!! I just wish the best for us and everyone else that’s fighting something. I’d like to live in my 90’s but that’s up to God!!