The local dealership, quoted me $570 to replace the front brake pads. Knowing that parts only cost about $200 retail, I quickly said “Eff that,” to the stealership and decided to give it a go on my own. Admittedly, I’m not a grease monkey, but I do have a father who is pretty good around cars. So, in the spirit of Father-Son bonding, I took this opportunity to spend an hour with the old guy to learn this pretty basic car skill…

I started by ordering factory parts from Suncoast Parts and Accessories Store. They have a great reputation among car enthusiasts for selling genuine factory parts at the lowest cost, even when accounting for shipping. What’s also great is that since they are based in a different state, I paid no sales tax. Score!

The basic replacement parts one needs to get to do this job are the brake pads, a set of brake sensors, and a caliper spring set (optional). The manufacturer requires the dealership to replace the caliper spring sets every time the brake pads are replaced. Though I do have a spare caliper spring set, I chose to reuse my existing set as they were still in good shape…

To begin, I jacked up the car and removed both front tires. Then, I got to work with removing the existing spring caliper set.

close up of the retaining pin..

Step 2, in action.

Then, I unhooked the brake pad sensors from all of the various clips and holds. When getting to step 5, I had to be extra careful with the caliper vent valve cap; it seemed like it could easily tear.

To make removing the old pads easier (and to provide clearance for inserting the new pads), I manually deflated the pistons.

A worn out brake pad (left) next to a fresh one (right).

After inserting the new set, it was a matter of doing the above steps in reverse order. Still, there were a few things worth mentioning:

I found it a lot easier to assemble the two pads and the sensor together prior to inserting them into the brake “house”

For the reverse of step 5) By initially hooking the red cable into the caliper spring, it was easier to put the entire caliper spring set back together.

For the reverse of step 2) When reinserting the cotter pin, I had to make sure that the small hole (for the retainer pin) was visible on the “outside.” Otherwise, there would have been no way to insert that retainer pin. Also, the cotter pin went through easier when I depressed the caliper spring.

The other side was similar.

Cheers!

Links:
Suncoast Porsche Parts
Planet 9: Brake Fluid and Pad Change Tips

Anyways, during this time, to clip in to the pedals at the gym, I attached to the soles, a pair of Shimano SPD SH-51 cleats that I received for free from purchasing my previous biking shoes. Though the SH-51s (lateral release), in my opinion, are inferior to the SH-56s (multi-directional release), I didn’t think it would affect my spinning experience, or really matter. They were made by the same company, as well as looked pretty much the same. And, these shoes were going to primarily perform indoors.

For the most part, my experience with the Shimano SH-51s were okay. They allowed me to clip in to the bike pedals and kept me secure. However, the daily clipping and lateral-unclipping of the shoes took a toll on the reinforcement plates, and eventually, stripped out a thread….

I prolonged the need to replace the reinforcement plates by switching holes (in both shoes for consistency) to thread the cleats in. But recently, the last set of holes gave way, and now, here I am, sharing my experience in replacing the Sidi Reinforcement Plates…. which was not all that fun, considering that access is granted only through the inner sole.

To get started… I removed the blue outer-inner liner (green arrow below) to expose the inner-inner sole (mustard yellow arrow). You’ll notice that there are two screws embedded at the heel – there’s no need to remove them (Trust me, I did myself and that did nothing but waste time).

Next step was to unbuckle the straps. This exposed the inner sole better and allowed for better access to the reinforcement plate.

Flipping the shoe over, all I did was take a screwdriver and jammed that thing through the inner sole….

.. anticipating the need to eventually replace this plate, Sidi pre-cut the inner sole. I used my screwdriver to help widen the flap opening to pop out the broken reinforcement plate…

did a quick switcheroo…

…After replacing the inner-inner sole flap and the outer-inner sole, the shoe was almost ready to rock-n-roll.

For good measure, I got rid of the SH-51s, and replaced them with the SH-56s, so hopefully, I will not have to ever replace the reinforcement plates again.

Cheers!

You can pick up replacement reinforcement plates from pretty much any bicycling shop.

I picked mine up from Huck n Roll via Amazon.

Excerpt form Adam Bryant’s interview with Barbara Krumseik of the Calvert Group Ltd:

…I think the key is that people who work for me honestly believe that there is going to be a win-win here. I’ll bring it back to my obstacle-course analogy. I believe that the whole career ladder concept is a very disruptive concept because what does it suggest? You can’t get past the person ahead of you unless you push them off the ladder. It promotes aggressive behavior.

When you think of an obstacle course, there are a lot of people on the obstacle course at the same time, and my success doesn’t impede your success. And I may be able to take a minute and help you over that next obstacle and still get where I want to get to.

I also think you have to be a little humble. You have to be maybe a little bit overly confident to break into new things, but a little bit overly humble about what you don’t know, and admiring of the talents different people bring to the table.

Link:
Corner Office: It’s Not a Career Ladder, It’s an Obstacle Course, New York Times, 5/21/10.

Entertaining 16 minutes 40 seconds…

Link:
Mary Roach: 10 Things You didn’t know about orgasm

1. Ask: “What would make me happier?” It might be having more of something good. It might be less of something bad. It might be fixing something that doesn’t feel right.

2. Ask: “What is a concrete action that would bring about change?” Look for a specific, measurable action.

3. Ask: “Am I a ‘yes’ resolver or a ‘no’ resolver?” A lot of my resolutions are aimed at getting me to stop doing something or to do something I don’t really want to do. Don’t expect praise or appreciation. There’s no right way to make a resolution, but it’s important to know what works for you. As always, the secret is to know your own nature.

4. Ask: “Am I starting small enough?” We tend to over-estimate what we can do over a short time and under-estimate what we can do over a long time, if we make consistent, small steps. Little accomplishments provide energy for bigger challenges.

5. Ask: “How am I going to hold myself accountable?” Accountability is the secret to sticking to resolutions. You could track your resolutions online using the tools at the Happiness Project Toolbox. Or you could form a goals group – or even a happiness-project group! Accountability is why #2 is so important. If your resolution is too vague, it’s hard to measure whether you’ve been keeping it.

Links:
Happiness Project: Five Tips for Planning Effective New Year’s Resolutions, Gretchen Ruben, 1/1/2010.
Happiness Project Toolbox

• First, multiply 1 x 4 and bring it straight down (4)
• Then, cross multiply (3×4 and 1×2) and add each of them up (12 + 2), save whatever is in the 10′s place (1), and bring what is in the 1′s place down (4)
• Lastly, Multiply straight up and down (3×2) and add what was leftover (1)

That’s it.

Long story short of why, what, how - a couple of rides ago, while out on the trail, my chain kept on disengaging from the chain ring and locking up my pedals. Upon close inspection, I found that my middle chain ring teeth were all bent and worn. I’m sure it was due to all of the times I crashed and ate sh##. Anyhow, I chose to replace and upgrade my crankset with a non-black colored, heavy-duty, yet fairly-priced crankset from a well-respected name in the industry. And taking advantage of a 50% off after Thanksgiving sale from one of my favorite online retailers, I found the Race Face Atlas to fit all of my criteria. Awesomeness.

Anyways, being my first time performing this kind of operation, it took me all afternoon, a few instructional internet clips, and a couple of round trips to the local bicycle shop to complete. Nevertheless, I managed to do it and gained additional knowledge that I’ll employ the next time I need to upgrade. =)

For those interested, here are the tools that I used..

For removing the old, crappy crank set:

• 8mm Hex
• 10mm Hex
• Park Tool Crank Puller for Square Taper Cranks (model CCP-2)
• Spin Doctor Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool w/ a socket wrench I found in the garage

For installing the new, shiny crank set:

• 8mm Hex 
• 10mm Hex
• Park Tool Bottom Bracket Tool (model BBT-9)
• Park Tool Polylube 1000 (waterproof grease)

This particular Youtube clip introduced me to the Crank Arm puller and prompted my first visit to the bicycle shop.

This video had me going to the bicycle shop a second time to pick up a cartridge bottom bracket tool. LOL. =P

Fortunately, the hard part in this exercise was removing the old stuff. The instructions for the new crankset were pretty straightforward. However, it did introduce me to a couple of new words that created moments of pause:

• Bottom Bracket (BB) Shell Width. Mine was 68mm.
• Nominal Chainline, which is basically the distance from the middle of the seat tube to the middle chainring. I guestimated mine to be 48mm. In other words, I didn’t use any of the spacers that came in the box. Oh well.

And that’s that! Now, hopefully, I’ll get another ride in before the year ends. Cheers!

Link:
Race Face

Check this out. Pretty Amusing…

oh toh toh toh.
maa maa maa maa.

Sometimes it’s the journey, sometimes it’s the destination—and sometimes, it’s both. National Geographic Traveler has scoured the globe for the world’s most beautiful, interesting, and off-beat road trips.

It’s worth a look.

Two of the featured drives – Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Barbara Loop – take place right here in California.

Here is a Copy + Paste:

Pacific Coast Highway.

An exhilarating driving experience, this twisting, cliff-hugging, 123-mile (198-kilometer) route along the central California coast takes about five hours to complete at a leisurely pace. Designated an All-American Road—among the nation’s most scenic—the drive encompasses both the Big Sur Coast Highway and the San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway.

Overview
The route starts in historic Monterey, visits the art colony of Carmel, and threads through Big Sur, where mountains plunge into the Pacific. Farther south, the landscape mellows to oak-studded hills as the road passes Hearst Castle on its way to Morro Bay. In places, the road has narrow shoulders and sharp drop-offs, so stay alert. This route can be tricky for RVs or other oversize vehicles.

Start in Monterey
Join California Route 1 in Monterey (Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau. +1 831 649 1770. www.montereyinfo.org.). The town served as California’s capital under Spanish, Mexican, and American flags, and by the early 1900s boasted an important sardine industry. Surviving sites include the Royal Presidio Chapel, Monterey State Historic Park, Custom House, Casa Soberanes, Larkin House, and other adobe buildings, as well as touristy Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row, home of the celebrated Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.montereybayaquarium.org).

Carmel-by-the-Sea
After enjoying Monterey, drive 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south on Highway 1 to Carmel-by-the-Sea (Visitors Center: San Carlos St.; tel. +1 831 624 2522 or +1 800 550 4333; www.carmelcalifornia.org), an upscale village of quaint colorful cottages, restaurants, inns, shops, and art galleries fronted by a broad beach fringed with Monterey pines. Among the highlights are Mission San Carlos Borroméo del Río Carmelo, second of the California missions, founded by Padre Junípero Serra in 1770; Tor House, the 1919 home of poet Robinson Jeffers; and mile-long Carmel River State Beach (831-649-2836), with its pelicans and kingfishers.

Point Lobos State Reserve
From Carmel drive 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) south to Point Lobos State Reserve (tel. +1 831 624 4909; www.pointlobos.org; $10 fee for car), a 550-acre (220-hectare) park encompassing coves, headlands, meadows, tide pools, and the nation’s first undersea ecological reserve, covering an additional 750 acres (300 hectares), with kelp forests 70 feet (20 meters) high. Trails lead past Monterey cypresses, which grow naturally only here and in Pebble Beach. The park’s 250 species of birds and mammals include black-tailed deer, gray foxes, sea otters, and sea lions. Migrating gray whales pass by from December through April.

Big Sur
After driving through Carmel Highlands, where impressive houses perch on granite cliffs above the sea, you reach the start of Big Sur, which extends 90 miles (145 kilometers) south to San Simeon. On this fabled coastline, redwood groves reach skyward, the Santa Lucia Range plunges into the sea, and waves are beaten to froth on ragged rocks. It’s a place of elemental power that can make human affairs seem inconsequential.

Garrapata State Park
Route 1, opened in 1937, climbs higher than 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the sea. One of the few easy-to-reach beaches is at Garrapata State Park (tel. +1 831 667 2315; www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=579), about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south of Carmel Highlands. From Soberanes Point watch for sea otters, which are protected under California state law.

Old Coast Road
En route to Bixby Bridge, six miles (ten kilometers) farther, you can choose to leave Calif. 1 and drive the 11-mile (18-kilometer) Old Coast Road, which climbs through remote forests and canyons and offers silent ocean views before ending at Andrew Molera State Park (tel. +1 831 667 2315, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=582). The unpaved road is tortuous and impassable when it rains.

Bixby Bridge
Much photographed Bixby Bridge is a single-span concrete arch more than 260 feet (80 meters) high and 700 feet (200 meters) long. Park at turnouts near either end to gawk or take pictures. Ahead, the highway passes Hurricane Point, a place of big winds and big views, and then descends to the mouth of the Little Sur River. Looking inland, you’ll see 3,709-foot-high (1,131-meter-high) Pico Blanco, distinguishable by its lime deposits. Toward the sea, sand dunes soon appear, rolling toward the 1889 Point Sur Lighthouse (tel. +1 831 625 4419; tours Saturdays and Sundays, call for additional days April through October; $8; http://www.pointsur.org), a state historic park. In a few miles you reach Andrew Molera State Park (tel. +1 831 667 2315; www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=582; fee), whose broad beach, oak and redwood forests, and stretch of the Big Sur River are accessible only by foot.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Pass through the settlement of Big Sur, which offers food and lodging, and head for Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (tel. +1 831 667 2315; www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570; fee), where the Big Sur River runs through 964 acres (390 hectares) of redwoods, sycamores, and ferns. Then go 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) south and turn right on the 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) road down Sycamore Canyon Road to the white sands of Pfeiffer Beach, where the surf roars through arched rocks.

Nepenthe
Less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) farther on the highway you come to Nepenthe (tel. +1 831 667 2345; www.nepenthebigsur.com), an indoor-outdoor restaurant perched 800 feet (245 meters) above the sea and famous for its views. About half a mile (0.8 kilometers) south, on the left, look for the Henry Miller Memorial Library (tel. +1 831 667 2574; www.henrymiller.org; closed Tuesdays), perched among towering redwoods. It displays books and memorabilia of the novelist who spent 18 years in Big Sur. Also stop 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) farther at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (tel. +1 831 667 2315; www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=578 Fee), whose terrain ranges from 3,000-foot-high (914-meter-high) ridges to an underwater preserve. Do walk the short trail along the seaside bluff to see McWay Falls pour 100 feet (30 meters) into a picturesque cove.

Lucia, Plaskett, Gorda, and Ragged Point
Ahead of you lies the southern stretch of Big Sur. The road clings to a precipitous coastline, and the only settlements in the next 40 miles (64 kilometers) are Lucia, Plaskett, Gorda, and Ragged Point. From here onward are hills and pastureland. You’ll spy the Piedras Blancas Light Station on a point supposedly named in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for its white rocks (stained with bird droppings).

San Simeon
After a spell away from the Pacific, the road reaches the town of San Simeon, a staging area for the five-mile (eight-kilometer) bus ride to Hearst Castle (tel. +1 805 927 2020 or 800 444 4445; www.hearstcastle.org; tours only, call for reservations; fee), begun in 1919 by newspaperman William Randolph Hearst. Perched in the Santa Lucia Range, the 127-acre (51-hectare) estate features the 115-room main house and guesthouses, which mix classical and Mediterranean Revival styles, using European architectural elements, antiques, and artwork collected by Hearst.

Cambria
Continue six miles (ten kilometers) to Cambria (Chamber of Commerce: tel. +1 805 927 3624; www.cambriachamber.org), nestled against hills where Monterey pines thrive in porous soil of decomposed sandstone. On the ocean side of the highway, at Moonstone Beach, look for moonstones and California jade. Drive on four miles (six kilometers) to the colony of Harmony, where you might glimpse artists at work. Ahead on Estero Bay, the small town of Cayucos dates from the coastal schooner era of the 1860s; the pier has good fishing for perch and sometimes rockfish, plus views of pelicans and cormorants.

End in Morro Bay
The end of your route is Morro Bay (Chamber of Commerce: tel. +1 805 772 4467; www.morrobay.org), easily identified by its landmark Morro Rock. A turban-shaped, extinct volcanic cone about 23 million years old, it is 576 feet (176 meters) high and sits on the bay. Peregrine falcons live here. To learn about local wildlife, visit the Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History (tel. +1 805 772 2694; www.morrobaymuseum.org; $2). Around Morro Bay you’ll see great blue herons and, from October to March, monarch butterflies in eucalyptus trees.

Road Kit
Enjoy this drive any time of year, but beware of winter mudslides; see www.wunderground.com/US/CA/Big_Sur.html for local weather conditions; for current road conditions, see www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo. For more information on the Pacific Coast Highway, visit www.byways.org/explore/byways/2301 and www.byways.org/explore/byways/2475. The itinerary below describes a north-to-south route; if you drive from south to north, you’ll have a few extra feet of roadway between your car and the hair-raising drop-offs to the Pacific Ocean.

Santa Barbara Loop.

This sunny, 166-mile romp is centered in Santa Barbara, a coastal resort where bougainvillea flowers climb white walls and an old California mission drowses in the sun. Among the city’s ravishing charms are a Mediterranean climate, gardens, broad beaches, a pretty yacht harbor, and mountains tinged with Impressionist pinks and blues.

Overview
The drive makes two loops. First it jogs westward from Santa Barbara, visiting the flower fields of sleepy Lompoc and the wine and horse country of the newly glamorous Santa Ynez Valley. Then, circling back to Santa Barbara, it takes off eastward, to the mission city of Ventura and the orange groves of the Ojai Valley.

Start in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara was settled by the Spanish in the late 1700s and lived graciously during California’s later rancho period. In the late 19th century, it became a health resort for wealthy Easterners after a guidebook writer touted it as a “Mecca for the moribund.” When a 1925 earthquake leveled the haphazardly built downtown, civic leaders rebuilt in the Spanish colonial style that now unifies the city.

Queen of the Missions
On a slope overlooking town stands the venerable Mission Santa Barbara (2201 Laguna St.; +1 805 682 4713; http://santabarbaramission.org). At the old mission, founded in 1786, it’s easy to picture gray-robed padres saying Mass for the Indians.

Franciscan friars still reside at this Queen of the Missions, and Sunday services continue in the colorfully painted church. The sandstone Roman facade and adobe walls demonstrate how missionaries integrated European architecture with the rude but handsome materials—mud, stone, and timber—available on the California frontier.

Museums, Gardens, Theaters, Historic Sites, and More
From here, head up Mission Canyon. Kids love the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (2559 Puesta del Sol Rd.; +1 805 682 4711), with its 72-foot blue whale skeleton, animal dioramas, insects, “lizard lounge,” and planetarium. The tree-shaded grounds by Mission Creek make a lovely picnic spot. At the nearby Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (1212 Mission Canyon Rd. +1 805 682 4726; www.sbbg.org), five and a half miles of paths wind among a thousand species of California native plants, from paper-dry poppies to fog-loving redwood trees. A dam across the creek was built by padres and Chumash Indians in 1806.

Downtown, take in a movie or concert at the Arlington Theatre (1317 State St.; +1 805 963 4408; www.thearlingtontheatre.com) just to see the interior, designed to evoke the plaza of a Spanish village. At the nearby Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1130 State St.; +1 805 963 4364; www.sbmuseart.org), look for Monet’s 1884 painting of the Italian Riviera in sunny pastels; it could have been painted yesterday in Santa Barbara. This impressive regional museum also has works by Matisse and Chagall, Picasso and Dalí, plus classical antiquities and Asian art.

Wander a few blocks to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse (1100 Anacapa St.; +1 805 962 6464; www.santabarbaracourthouse.org), which looks like a fantasy out of El Cid. Built in 1929, it has thick white walls and red-tile roofs, set off by sunken gardens. Inside are hand-painted ceilings, wrought-iron chandeliers, hallways sheathed in Tunisian tiles, and marvelous historical murals. For a 360-degree view of the city, ride the elevator up the clock tower.

Nearby, El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park (123 E. Canon Perdido St.; +1 805 965 0093; www.sbthp.org/presidio.htm) preserves a bit of Spain’s original military outpost, including the city’s oldest remaining building (1788), which once provided housing for married soldiers and their families. Reconstruction of the fort includes an adobe chapel, a two-story lookout tower, and soldiers’ and commander’s quarters.

The Santa Barbara Historical Society Museum (136 E. De la Guerra St.; +1 805 966 1601; www.santabarbaramuseum.com), a short stroll away, displays iron treasure chests from Spanish explorers, silver saddles from the rancho period, and a golden altar from old Chinatown. Material from Santa Barbara’s Flying A Studio, which pioneered moviemaking around 1913 and became the then-largest studio in the world, includes an early Bell-and-Howell motion picture camera.

A charming holdover from earlier days is the nearby 1920s shopping arcade called El Paseo (State and De la Guerra Sts.), which calls to mind a street in Spain. Passages wind among shops built around the adobe 1828 Casa de la Guerra (closed to the public), the home of the Spanish military commander and the center of Santa Barbara’s surprisingly refined society of the 1820s.

Now turn toward the city’s waterfront, where Stearns Wharf (foot of State St.) ranks as the oldest wharf operating on the West Coast (1872). Like any self-respecting pier, it has a bait shop and a gypsy palm reader; also, restaurants and shops. The Ty Warner Sea Center (211 Stearns Wharf; +1 805 962 2526; www.sbnature.org/seacenter) displays a model whale and tanks of live marine animals, giving you a glimpse (and sometimes a feel) of what’s underwater in the Santa Barbara Channel.

Santa Barbara Harbor is both a yacht basin and home to a commercial fishing fleet. Inhale the waterfront smells of boiling crabs, diesel fuel, and salt spray; walk to the end of the breakwater for a memorable view of the ocean, mountains, and town. Whale-watching trips (Sea Landing; +1 805 963 3564; www.sealanding.net) seek blue whales and humpbacks June through September, and gray whales December through May.

Just east of the wharf you’ll find East Beach—the most popular of Santa Barbara’s five miles of beaches. Here, volleyball players dive for impossible shots, in-line skaters zip along the bike path, and teens hang out at the snack bar.

Link: National Geographic Traveler: Drives of a Lifetime

Here are the ones that stoodout to me: 

•  Take a Laugh Break: Watching 15 minutes of funny video can improve bloodflow to your heart by 50 percent, report researchers at the University of Maryland. “This may reduce blood-clot formation, cholesterol deposition, and inflammation,” says study author Michael Miller, M.D.
• Indulge Your Chocolate Craving: In a 15-year study, Dutch scientists determined that men who ate just 4 grams of cocoa a day had half the risk of dying from heart disease than those who ate less. That’s the equivalent of two 25-calorie Hershey’s Kisses—an amount that can fit into any diet.
• Set a 3-Drink Limit: Harvard researchers determined that downing more than three drinks in a 24-hour period increases your risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition that may boost your odds of a stroke fivefold during that time. An important note: When the average man pours himself a glass of wine, it’s typically twice the size of a standard drink (4 ounces), report researchers at Duke University.
• Plop an Alka-Seltzer…: It contains 325 milligrams of aspirin, the same as a regular aspirin, and begins fighting blood clots almost 3 minutes faster than a pill, according to a study in Thrombosis Research.



• …and Call a Ride: Walk-in patients wait almost twice as long in the E.R. as those who arrive by ambulance, according to a University of New Mexico study.
• Treat a Killer Bee Sting: You may not know if you’re allergic to the venom of a bee, wasp, or hornet until you’ve already been stung. But if you start to experience the symptoms of a life-threatening reaction—hives, wheezing, abdominal cramping—you can save yourself in 3 steps:

Step 1: Call 911.
Step 2:Take a Benadryl.
Step 3:Lie on your back and elevate your legs while you wait for help, says Steven Kernerman, D.O., an allergist at the Spokane Allergy and Asthma Clinic. An allergic reaction can constrict your blood vessels, and our three-step strategy counteracts that by improving bloodflow to your heart.

• Think Positive: Purdue scientists discovered that constant worrying shortens your life span by 16 years.
• Keep Your Cool: Men who frequently express anger outwardly are more than twice as likely to have a stroke than guys who control their tempers, according to the journal Stroke. If you have anger-management issues, try fish oil. National Institutes of Health scientists found that hostile, aggressive men often have low blood levels of DHA—one of the main omega-3 fats found in the oil. We like Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega (nordicnaturals.com). Take 1,000 to 2,000 mg every day.
• If You’re Attacked, Hit the Shark in Its Eyes or Gills: These are its most sensitive areas. The snout might work as a target, but this tactic often results in a bitten arm, according to a University of Maryland study.



• For God’s Sake, Don’t Pee in the Ocean: Bodily fluids attract sharks.
• Drownproof Yourself: If you’re dumped in the water without a life preserver, the key to survival is staying warm and conserving energy. Use the method taught to U.S. Navy pilots: Float facedown in the water with your knees tucked against your chest in the fetal position. (This slows the drop in body temperature.) Exhale bubbles slowly, turning your head to one side only to inhale deeply. Repeat until help arrives. 
• Light a Jasmine-Scented Candle: Men who did this for just 1 minute before bed fell asleep faster, tossed and turned less, and felt more refreshed in the morning than those who didn’t inhale the aroma, report scientists at Wheeling Jesuit University. That’s important, because insufficient sleep boosts your risk of diabetes, and restless sleep increases your odds of a stroke.

• Don’t Get Blown to Bits: Keep bleach, paint stripper, fabric softener, glue, and sidewalk salt away from gas appliances. The chlorine or fluorine in these products breaks down into ionized gas, which can eat holes in the pipes that deliver the fuel for your furnace, range, or dryer. Think you smell fumes? Don’t call for help from inside your house; using your phone could create an electric spark and set off an explosion.
• Find time to Exercise: Scandinavian researchers have observed that deep depression (and its spinoff, suicide) is often caused by job stress. Here’s how to lower stress, boost your mood, and simultaneously improve your overall health.
  People who exercise at any intensity for 2 hours a week—an average of about 17 minutes a day—are 61 percent less likely to feel highly stressed than their sedentary counterparts, according to researchers in Denmark.
• Douse Your Salad with Oil and Vinegar: European scientists determined that unheated olive oil reduces cancer risk. As for vinegar, eating it prior to a high-carbohydrate meal (like pasta) slows the absorption of carbs into your bloodstream. This prevents the spikes in blood sugar and insulin that signal your body to store fat.
• Stash a Cinnamon Air Freshener in Your Car: The strong, spicy smell can help you stay alert as you drive. Researchers at Wheeling Jesuit University found that a whiff increases alertness by 25 percent. Sucking on an Altoid may work, too.
• Take a Noontime Nap: Breaking up your day with a 30-minute snooze can reduce coronary mortality by 37 percent, report Greek researchers. Why? It reduces stress that can damage your heart. Even a short nap once or twice a week was found to decrease the risk of early death.
• Enjoy Your Joe: Brooklyn College researchers recently discovered that drinking 4 cups of coffee a day lowers your risk of dying of heart disease by 53 percent. If you like Starbucks, choose a Caffé Americano: A grande counts as 4 cups and contains just 15 calories.

Ok, I republished almost half the list. I hope you found it as interesting as me. Cheers!

For the complete list, go here:
50 Ways to Add Years to Your Life by D. Watkins, A. Granell, and H. Loeb, Men’s Health. Last accessed 8/17/2009.

Link: Normann-Copenhagen

By Melissa Magsaysay

February 22, 2009

Serene Cicora craved a new black bag last fall, but couldn’t come to terms with the $1,000-plus price tags on the styles she liked. So Cicora, an L.A. publicist, took her brown Mulberry Bayswater bag from several seasons ago and spent $120 to have it dyed black. The makeover gave her a key “new” piece — and moved her $1,800 bag back to the front of the closet.

Such accessory updates are simple, and they’re a smart way to extend the life of basic pieces, customize sale finds or reinvent something for a new season. A brown hobo bag, for example, loses the bohemian vibe when dyed black or deep gray. It can get even more sophisticated if you replace the rustic brass hardware with pewter or brushed silver.

We’ve found four local cobblers who don’t just fix shoes and bags, but also rework, reconstruct and update them. They can restyle a pump, turn a gladiator sandal into a T-bar and give a trendy clutch new life as a classic evening bag.

Pasquale Shoe Repair

5616 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 936-6883. 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.

Pasquale Fabrizio took over his uncle’s shoe-repair business 15 years ago and now owns and operates the 50-year-old shop, nestled on a residential corner along San Vicente Boulevard. A lot of high-end items come through his work area, especially with the Christian Louboutin and Marc Jacobs boutiques funneling their repairs to him. And lately, he’s had a lot of requests for makeovers of older pieces. “Not everyone can buy the latest thing,” he says, “but you can buy last season for the look, and with a little tweaking, it can be right.”

Fabrizio specializes in dying leathers, and I recently took in a pair of burnt sienna Frye boots to see if I could give them a motorcycle boot vibe. Fabrizio dyed them black, then distressed them so the finish wasn’t too shiny or, well, too dyed-looking. The dye was $95, the distressing cost $45, and I got “new” boots for $140 when a comparable pair would have been no less than $250.

Fabrizio took a couple pairs of Manolo Blahnik pumps from simple to shocking for a customer who needed something new. “They were tan and brown before and I made them bright green and bright red. The green suede really jumps out — it’s taking what’s there and making something new out of it,” he says.

He warns that the more complicated the job or delicate the leather, the more skilled the cobbler must be. “It’s like fixing a Ferrari,” he says. “You can’t just drop it off at some garage.” The “Ferraris” he services come in the form of Cartier bags, Prada totes and Louboutin pumps. He notes that, lately, some people are asking that designer logos be removed. “They don’t want the flashiness but do want the quality,” he says. “They don’t want the name but want the look and style. Perhaps there’s a certain guilt associated with the labels.”

Arturo’s Shoe Fix

9643 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 278-9585. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday.

Owner Arturo Azinian has been in the shoe repair business for 50 years and, at 82, still works in the Beverly Hills shop that has long been a favorite with the area’s high-end clientele. Azinian’s grandson Ari Libaridian works alongside him as the shop manager.

“Most of the orders we have right now are older things that people have worn just once or twice or maybe not at all,” says Libaridian, who adds that the shop is up for any challenge and can “turn a pointed toe into a peep toe,” restructuring a shoe and breathing new life into the design.

The purses they treat are usually items that cleaning can’t restore. “Once those light-colored Balenciaga bags get dirty, you’ll compromise the finish and leather if you keep cleaning it,” Libaridian says. “Dying it darker will look more natural than trying to get it back to the original color.”

The most common repair at Arturo’s is a heel tap, which runs $10, but they also put on a lot of “dancing soles” — a thin piece of rubber placed on the sole under the ball area of the foot. They offer a red dancing sole too, so women won’t have to worry about unsightly black rubber eclipsing the signature red sole of their Louboutin shoes. The red soles last three to four months and go for $30 for a full sole and $28 for half.

Shoe Wiz 22

Beverly Connection, 100 N. La Cienega Blvd., Suite 106, Los Angeles. (310) 657-5010. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Cash Feschyan knows how much wear and tear shoes can go through. In addition to repairing the broken buckles and stubborn zippers on merchandise sent over from the Aldo, Nine West and Charles David stores in the Beverly Center, he tends the soles that take a beating on “Dancing With the Stars” and the tours of Madonna and Janet Jackson.

A cobbler for 15 years, Feschyan learned the skill from his grandfather and now owns three repair shops, including one in the Beverly Connection, where he’s most often found.

Currently, his most requested alteration is for re-creating the look and fit of fall boots. “A lot of women buy boots, and the shaft” — the portion that goes over the calf — “might be too tight or maybe too loose,” says Feschyan. “I can shorten, lower, tighten or make the boot’s shaft bigger.” Translation: Those sexy knee-high boots from a few seasons ago can get cropped down to kicky little ankle boots for a more current look.

Eddie’s Shoe Repair

13716 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 789-1972. 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.

As the third-generation owner and cobbler at Eddie’s Shoe Repair in Sherman Oaks, Greg Papazian understands his customers’ biggest shoe concerns.

“We maintain shoe collections,” he says. “Our customers want preventative care. We replace the plastic sole with rubber, protect, polish and waterproof the whole shoe.”

Eddie’s has been maintaining shoes from what’s now Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s in Sherman Oaks for the last 40 years, but has recently seen fewer new designer pieces come through its doors for tweaking. “I think people are feeling better renewing what they already have rather than going out and buying something new,” he says.

His customers have been bringing in shoes in shocking shades such as fuchsia for maintenance, but as soon as the color can no longer be kept up through protection and cleaning, they make a choice to go darker. “An alternative is to go to a black or dark brown with the item,” he says. “You end up getting more life out of it.”

melissa.magsaysay@latimes.com

Link: http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-laconfidential22-2009feb22,0,6971131.story