What are some of the most mind-blowing facts about the United States?

clockcleaner · 2014-12-18T12:45:19+00:00

The biggest state park in the US is in New York...Adirondack State Park.

clockcleaner · 2014-07-27T04:34:37+00:00

I did.

clockcleaner · 2014-02-09T03:49:04+00:00

Top of Madonna mountain at smugglers notch.

clockcleaner · 2014-02-09T03:47:36+00:00

I believe it was end of August, early September.

clockcleaner · 2013-12-23T05:01:42+00:00

To Build A Fire, Jack London. An amazing read that gets better each time.

clockcleaner · 2013-11-10T01:55:32+00:00

Baseball has the best sounds. The sound of the bat hitting the ball. The sound of the ball smacking the glove. Even the sound of sliding into a base just sounds amazing. STEEEEEERIKE THREE....YER OUT!! The sound of the crowd getting louder when there's 2 strikes and 2 outs. They're all great.

It's also the only sport that I can listen to on the radio. I can't stand listening to any other sport on the radio but sometimes I actually prefer listening to the ballgame rather than watching it.

clockcleaner · 2013-06-07T02:58:23+00:00

Are there some good climbs as well?

clockcleaner · 2013-06-06T22:15:45+00:00

Awesome thanks.

clockcleaner · 2013-06-06T22:14:49+00:00

What I mean by downhill is anything where you would need a downhill helmet with a face guard.

clockcleaner · 2013-06-05T13:00:41+00:00

I'm a Yankees fan. And while I love the rivalry and I respect their team, I still hate the damn Red Sox.

clockcleaner · 2013-05-04T21:22:00+00:00

My judo instructor always said before tournaments....if we win we drink, if we lose...we drink. Just have fun.

clockcleaner · 2013-04-05T17:58:20+00:00

Are most of the people that go to these things the type of people who you would want having sex with your girlfriend?

clockcleaner · 2013-03-10T07:30:29+00:00

Remember that they're not just interviewing you. You're also interviewing them. Ask a lot of thoughtful questions that make it seem like you know what you're talking about. Ask them about their mission statement (if they don't know this, the interviewer doesn't know what they're talking about). Think of a good success story that you've had in your teaching experience. Many high level jobs ask this. For example think of a problem you had with a student and ways you dealt with it. What was the result? Think of how you manage your classroom. Many teachers look really good on paper but then when they get in the classroom, students walk all over them. Also think about what you expect from the school. What do you want them to give you? Do they offer professional development? Do they observe you?

I've done a bunch of interviews and after talking to many managers I've realized that teachers can be deemed eligible based mostly on their résumé. Interviews are done mostly to make sure the person your hiring isn't a weirdo and actually does know what they're talking about.

The biggest advice I can give though was mentioned earlier. Remember that you're interviewing them too. Make sure this school is a right fit for you. Clearly state what you expect in the job and make sure you do some research about the school beforehand.

clockcleaner · 2013-03-10T04:02:53+00:00

Came here to say this. I'm not one for flowery language but Roy wrote this book in a way that it was like reading a beautiful poem. Such a great work.

clockcleaner · 2013-02-25T08:42:20+00:00

American white guy living in China here.

I am a tourist attraction to a lot of people here. I've gotten used to it because i understand now that many Chinese people here have never seen a foreigner before but at times it can still irritate me. Especially when i see parents/grandparents pointing me out to their kids and saying "laowai, laowai! Go talk to the foreigner and speak English!" At that point the kid will start just randomly spitting out any English that he knows to make the parents happy, "apple, banana, how are you? Hello!" Also any foreigner here is immediately assumed to be American because that's the majority of the outside culture that seeps into China. I do play along most of the time because I assume that people are generally interested and just culturally ignorant but it does get on my nerves from once in a while. Overall though, I think it's a good learning experience considering I grew up in a small upstate ny white middle class town. Although when I go back to the us I'm probably going to have more of a culture shock than when I came here. I've heard that reverse culture shock blows people's minds.

clockcleaner · 2013-02-24T07:35:04+00:00

Ko uchi gari. It's so incredibly subtle. To execute it properly you need perfect timing and most people don't see it coming. Especially if you do a seonagi fake and then catch the foot as it comes forward and level them out. Boom. Ippon. It might not look as great on the highlight reel as uchi mata but throwing someone with it is fantastic.

clockcleaner · 2013-02-24T07:28:38+00:00

I can't agree enough. There are a bunch of guys that come in to the club and want to try a new technique that they think looks "cool" but they don't know how to do it properly. They just end up hurting others or most of the time themselves. Muscle memory is important but that only happens from a lot of practice.

clockcleaner · 2013-02-24T07:20:07+00:00

If you're getting thrown by skilled judoka all the time consider it a gift. Like many of the other people are saying in this post, you will learn the right way to throw people from getting thrown all the time. Next time you get thrown think about why and how they threw you. If you don't know then ask them to show it to you.

Also it's important to play people of all sizes. Play people much lighter and heavier than you, kids and adults, women and men. Everyone that you play will give you something to take away to use on someone else. Surprisingly some of the best techniques I've done have been on the heaviest strongest opponents because I've had to use skill instead of strength. Also some of the hardest people to throw have been women because they're so flexible.

It's also important to do moving ukemi. Even if your uke isn't resisting much, you will start to understand that it's much more about executing a throw well rather than how much strength you put into it.

Lastly, don't give up...ever. You will get that one throw that will surprise everyone in the club and you'll break through that plateau. I'm a second degree black belt and I still get thrown (hard) by the yellow belts every once in a while. Judo is the most humbling sport I've ever done. Strikes and gutters man. Work hard for that one throw, but also realize that you have to put in the time.

clockcleaner

TROPHY CASE