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I’m sold! (although it is free during beta.) I’m signing up right now…
Breathing is the most basic part of life but the majority of people do not realize the power that breath has on mood, energy and focus. That’s why you’ll find that in Yoga and Martial Arts, breathing is an essential component in training. In the past it would take years of practice and training under a Master in order to perfect breathing techniques, but now there exists affordable biofeedback devices that can quickly train you how to breath properly in order to reduce stress.
Recently I’ve noticed ads in different magazines for a device called StressEraser.
Basically it’s a small portable biofeedback machine which gives you a visual guide on how to breath while measuring your heart rate. It’s been receiving a lot of good reviews from very reputable sources such as Good Morning America and The Washington Post so I decided to look it up on the internet. The device costs $300 which is kinda expensive, but you’re paying for an easy portable way to train yourself to relax and relieve stress. A few years ago I actually bought a biofeedback device which you connect to your computer and is bundled with gaming software, called The Wild Divine Project.
What attracted me to this system was not only the good reviews, but the idea that you could use a video game to train yourself different breathing patterns. This idea alone sparked my imagination and I had to try it. The Journey to Wild Divine only costs $199 and comes with a biofeedback monitor and software. The software is a game called The Journey to Wild Divine and has a similar feel to the popular game Myst. In the game you explore this magical land and encounter different puzzles which you can only solve by changing your heart rate and breathing patterns in different ways. I really enjoyed the system. The difference I see between the StressEraser product and the Wild Divine product are portability and flexibility. The StressEraser is aimed at reducing stress and is ultra portable. The Wild Divine can be used to not only reduce stress but teach you different breathing patterns to create energy and change your mood.
I originally purchased The Wild Divine to help me with focus and to help me combat my anxiety attacks which had sent me to the emergency room twice. Well, it worked. I haven’t had an anxiety attack for more than a year now. My next goal is to conquer my hyperhidrosis/stage fright which I know stems from lack of self confidence - which I feel like I already have a good control over. It’s all the result of knowing how to breathe.
In the current LA Magazine I stumbled across an article that talked about acting being more of a lifestyle choice than a career. That article was like a cold dose of reality which I think all aspiring actors should read. It contains the cold hard facts: 95% of all actors require an alternate “day job” in order to survive and pay the bills. When they are not working, actors are spending their hard earned money on acting classes, headshots, agency/casting mailings, online casting services, union dues, demo reels, trade magazines, play books, and whatever other service they think will help promote themselves. And it’s not just money. It’s also the time spent on self promotion, finding an agent, or finding the next gig. Acting as a lifestyle is all about living on the hope that you could be lucky enough to become part of the 5% that make a living as a working actor. But the trap of the acting lifestyle is to put your life on hold waiting for that “big break” that may never come.
I chose the acting lifestyle in 1996 when I moved to LA. I was ready to sacrifice everything and put my life on hold for the chance to become a “famous” actor. Lucky for me I unintentionally fell into the dot-com industry where I’ve thrived ever since - and not even from trying. And I’ve still not given up my Hollywood dreams. It’s still a constant struggle to balance my life with my job and with the acting lifestyle. But somehow I manage.
What I find ironic is how similar the dot-com industry is to Hollywood. I feel like every time I land a new job/gig it’s like booking a film or TV show. Every dot-com company is filled with very interesting and unique characters, and there is plenty of twists, turns and drama in the storyline of every company. Over the years many companies never make it, which is like being part of a TV series that gets canceled. And the salary rollercoaster in dot-coms is similar to TV shows. It’s possible to make a lot of money in the dot-com industry, but you never know how long a gig will last. So it’s better not to buy that brand new BMW or Benz until your show is picked up for syndication or your companies goes public with an IPO.
Well I’m not scarred, but that MTV show was the first thought second thought I had after I suddenly found myself on my ass staring up at the night sky with my ankle feeling like it was on fire. And I don’t even have a cool story to tell such as “I was trying to do a 360 fakie off my roof and in mid-air I knew I was in trouble.” No. My story is “I was taking out the trash and on my way back from the trashcan I stepped off the cement into a shallow dip in my yard and suddenly found myself on my ass staring into the night sky with my right ankle on fire”. Fast forward to today where I had to hop on one foot from upstairs to downstairs to the car to the medical plaza building to the elevator down the hall to the doctors office through the hallway of examination rooms to an exam room where the doctor said I needed an x-ray, so I hopped down another hallway all the way down to the x-ray room and then back to my exam room to the check out counter, back down the hallway to the elevator through the lobby and back to the car. Turns out my ankle was not broken but the doctor suggested that I see the podiatrist that afternoon. So a couple hours later I had to do all that hopping back to the doctors office to be examined a second time - this time with a podiatrist. It didn’t take long for the podiatrist to conclude that I had torn some ligaments in my ankle and needed an MRI to determine how many ligaments I had torn. If I had torn all 3 then I would need surgery. In the meantime I was going to be given a special boot and a electro therapy device to help heal and manage pain. WELL it turns out that they RAN OUT of the boots AND crutches because there were 3 other people with sprained ankles today. So TOMORROW I have to hop my ass back to the doctors office to get my boot and schedule my MRI.
How crazy is that? In the middle of doing something so freakin mundane I happen to hurt myself pretty bad.
I went on a mission to Whole Foods to find some natural remedy to my recent fatigue and slight depression. A nutrition specialist recommended that I try Maca which would help stimulate my adrenal glands giving me more energy. This is completely different than the typical caffeine/ephedra supplements which just stimulate your central nervous system. So I decided to give it a try. I picked up a tincture of Maca Magic Adrenal Lift then did a little research on Google about the Maca root.
It turns out that Maca is similar to a radish and was a staple superfood of the Incas which gave them stamina and vitality. A lot of studies have been done on Maca and have demonstrated very positive effects on health and well being. I haven’t been able to find Maca in it’s raw form, just powder, pills, and tinctures. But I’m excited about the health benefits that could be gained by consuming Maca. After consuming it for two days I feel like I’m already getting more energy - but this could just be a placebo effect.
New Balance recently launched the limited edition 574 Hungry Dragon - a three way collaboration between New Balance, Eric Kot, and Yoropiko. These sneakers are hot! I might have to see if my family in HK can get me a pair.
I just checked out the XFlowsion website and found this:
That’s me at 174lbs 17% bodyfat down from 185lbs 22% bodyfat. I hate that photo. I just look fat. Here’s a better photo of me at 160lbs 14% bodyfat 3 months and 14lbs lighter after this commercial was shot.
This is my 4th bluetooth headset. Three of my old headsets were used as chew toys by my dog. The last one I had I lost somewhere in the office. I decided to get the Aliph Jawbone because of the military-grade DSP processing which helps to filter out background noise.
The idea is that you could be in a moderately noisy environment and the DSP would filter most of the noise so that your voice is loud and clear to the listener and background noise is kept to a minimum. In reality it seems to work pretty well, but it’s weakness is wind. The headset itself is designed pretty slick but it’s big. I guess they needed space to put in that military grade DSP circuitry. But even though it is big, it’s comfortable to wear using the earloop and it doesn’t feel heavy at all. The trick is to realize that the earloop wire bends. I didn’t figure this out right away and always felt like the headset was going to fall off my ear if I moved around too much. But now that I’ve adjusted the earloop wire, it fits perfectly.
The other caveat with the design is that it’s not easy to carry. It’s not the kind of bluetooth headset that you can just stick in your pant pocket without having a weird bulge. I have resorted to storing it in my sunglasses case.
So is it worth the money? Yes, if you can live with it’s size.
My new Tivo addiction is Ninja Warrior on G4 TV. Ninja Warrior is a popular Japanese reality game show where contestants compete to complete a 4 stage obstacle course. Athletes from around the world have traveled to Japan to try to complete the massive obstacle course that requires speed, balance, agility, endurance and strength to conquer.
I would love to travel to Japan to compete in Ninja Warrior, but man would it be a huge disappointment if I couldn’t make it past the first stage. In the meantime I’ll have to find local obstacle course challenges to participate in - such as the annual Boot Camp Challenge run by the Marines at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
If didn’t already know… convergence is the wave of the future - the merging of Hollywood and the Internet creating a new digital media landscape. Joost is the company/buzzword of the moment which was started by the lucky bastards who created and sold Skype to Ebay for a couple billion. Joost is TV on the internet delivered to your computer full-screen with added features such as instant messaging and search baked right in. Right now, Joost is still in beta and is invite only. But you can get your own invite right here. But they only have 20,000 invites so you better click the link right now.
