I’m also concerned because there are some major muscle groups that are getting no attention at all – specifically the abdomen and upper legs.

I’m resolved to correct these deficiencies and also to further tighten the diet starting next week – which will be our first week with an ‘empty nest’ in almost 25 years.

Let’s hope that I can “kick it up a notch”!

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Because the great majority of Americans do not have frequent occasion to handle or use a gun the Second Amendment may seem abstract or less important than other freedoms granted by The Constitution. However, in reality the Second Amendment is always there, hovering in the background and providing all Americans with a sense of security that we take for granted at our own peril.

Just last week one of America’s national leaders in Washington DC suggested that critics to the “Ground Zero Mosque” be subject to “investigation”. Such a mindset is no different than the mindset of leaders in other times and places who have been responsible for the death and misery of millions of our fellow human beings – such a mindset is the wellspring from which violent revolution erupts.

However, in Ameica the large number of guns in the hands of individual citizens serves as a major deterrent to any sort of armed insurrection.

On a more personal level I was recently talking with an associate in Argentina (where there is no counterpart to the Second Amendment) whose home had that day been burglarized. This burglary took place on a Friday afternoon, and he and his wife had been anxiously taking turns watching the house in the event the robbers decided to return. There was no sleep in his household that particular weekend.

In America, by contrast, a burglar must pause to consider if the home he or she contemplates robbing might be defended by a gun-wielding home owner. It is easy to imagine that more often than not, when there is any doubt, the burglar decides to move on to easier pickin’s. The home owner, who may themselves not even own a gun, has been shielded by the ever-present Second Amendment.

So, while the Second Amendment may not represent a freedom that the majority of Americans regularly exercise, it stands as a constant and ever-vigilant guard against threats to both our national freedom and our personal security.

Long live the Second Amendment!

Reducing research time, however, is but one of a vast number of ways that the Internet has increased human efficiency. Today, for example, it is commonplace for widely-scattered groups to share a computer desktop while teleconferencing over the Internet. Such virtual meetings have come to replace a great number of physical meetings that required extensive planning and incurred travel and lodging costs, and consumed large amounts of personnel time.

And, of course, one of the first uses of the Internet was for electronic mail. Imagine all the postage that has been saved as a result.

These are but some examples of ways in which the widespread availability of the Internet has dramatically improved the efficiency with with human beings carry on with their daily lives.

In the past technological advances have accompanied increases in the general quality of life of everyone. When the bulldozer was invented the ditch digger threw down his shovel and found newer, more lucrative opportunities.

So, where have all the financial advantages of the Internet gone? Have they been absorbed by insatible governments and corporations?

Where’s my Internet dividend???

At the beginning if this summer, however, that little devil that sits on my shoulder started whispering in my ear that I was up to doing a 100-lap day.   It’s a funny thing how one little idea whispered by that little devil can echo in one’s subconscious for weeks and months on end until one acts.

And so last Saturday morning as I was washing my face and looking in the mirror it came to me that “today will be my day for 100 laps”.  I did decide, in the interest of trying not to do myself in, that I would break the day’s swimming into two sessions – morning and evening – in the hope that I wouldn’t push myself too far beyond my limits.  I immediately suited up and hit the pool with the intention of doing 60 laps that morning and 80 in the evening.

After hitting 60 I realized I could go a bit further, and proceeded to finish 80 laps.  Saturday evening I got in the remaining 20 laps with little difficulty.

Now the voice of that little devil on my shoulder has been silenced, and I have accomplished a major milestone.  Hopefully I can keep that little devil silent for a while as I bask in the glory!

After all, even the most fit Olympic athlete must sleep occasionally.  And during that time he/she is quite vulnerable. Additionally, a single individual often cannot guard multiple locations simultaneously;  and often this, too, is critical for survival in a worst-case disaster.   So, I have come to believe community is as important and fundamental to surviving disaster scenarios as physical fitness.

What this means to the prepper is that there is a need to identify and secure an environment in which many like-minded individuals could work together to survive.  Such a community may be as small as a family, or as large as an entire town. However, as they say, there is “strength in numbers”, and so the larger the community the better.  Any such community will need rules that must be strictly enforced – these rules will effectively become the governing laws during the disaster. And, of course, there must be provisions for enforcing those rules.

So, it is incumbent on the prepper to:

• Maintain a physical fitness program
• Identify a community they can join or form in the event of a disaster
• Develop a list of basic rules that will govern the community

Well, of course that logic is flawed, because I’m going to be coerced into paying for the substandard national health care program that has been enacted.

Still, I’m not too concerned.  If the American People really want to tolerate this travesty, and the several other major disasters being contemplated by their leaders in DC, then more power to ‘em!  While the US – which is rapidly becoming the largest bedroom community in the history of the world – has grown weary of striving for excellence, there is an entire world out there that most certainly must be growing equally weary of the mediocrity of socialism.

Consequently I’ve added a new international business venue to my own business repertoire this week, and will probably be adding more going forward.

Thus far I’ve done very little with the scuba fins (although I really need to change that in order to get proper exercise for the upper legs and hips).   Also, while last year a “lap” in the pool consisted of swimming  a backstroke (“oar stroke”, to be specific) for one pool length, and a conventional Australian crawl the next length, this year I’m swimming the more physical Australian crawl for both lengths.  Now that I’ve adapted I’m finding this much more enjoyable.

Also this year I’m interleaving weight training with the pool trips.  I got into the weight training habit during the Winter off season, and I’m just not going to let that go.  I must say, however, that if I had to give up one or the other (the pool or the weight room) I would be keeping the pool – those pool sessions just seem to yield almost magical benefits.

This past couple of weeks my oldest son has been accompanying me on my swimming workouts, which has added an entirely new and deeply rewarding dimension to the entire experience.  We probably communicate more and better chatting back and forth between laps than during the remainder of the day.  And of course having a swimming buddy can be just the nudge needed to hit the water on those occasional fence-sitting days.

Yesterday we visited a pool that is about 25% longer than our normal pool – just to experience some longer laps.  I had a little trepidation about taking on these longer laps (doubting my stamina), but I must say it was an altogether bully experience!  Those longer laps became almost meditative, and I found myself having more time to work on, and be aware of, my technique.

I’ll definitely be visiting this longer pool again in the future!

One concern that had been troubling me greatly was the prospect of cramps in my calves.  Towards the end of last year I had experienced a ‘worst case’ cramp one day while swimming in the deep end of the pool, and the entire ‘near death’ experience had left me with some trepidation.

However, in recent weeks I have added toe-raises to my exercise regime at the gym, and this has done wonders for my confidence in not getting cramps.  When I started doing the toe-raises they had a tendency to induce cramps, however this tendency faded as I persisted with the exercise over a couple of weeks.  This tells me that the exercise should really help deal with the cramps, and yesterday I was able to swim with my confidence fully restored.

Going forward I will continue my weight-lifting regime while adding back in the swims.  So, my profile for this year will be radically altered from last year.  I’m confident that the results will be very positive.