Mondays were made for hydration

If you’re like me, you take advantage of your weekends to have a good time, all the time…which means your liver is pretty cranky by Monday.

In general, I try to take the early part of the week off from booze (try being the operative word). Chances are that social engagements from Wednesday on are going to make it a gantlet of alcoholic temptations so best to try and get in a couple of “clean out” days early on (good theory, anyway).

So the key to recovery starting Monday is hydration, my brothers. As soon as you stumble out of bed, grab a shower and start pounding cool, fresh water, preferably filtered via a Brita or Pur system or the like.  If you’re feeling extra depleted from your weekend fling, you can supplement your H2O with some electrolytes from a concentrated add-in like elete (less is more with this stuff–it is extremely concentrated and contains sodium so follow label directions).  And probably the best (and best tasting) natural hydrator out there is good old fashioned coconut water, today commonly sold under the Zico and Vita Coco brands.  Slightly sweet and packed with potassium and other electrolytes, coconut water will quickly put back in what your drinking man’s weekend took out.  And it’s actually very light in calories unlike, say, Gatorade and other so-called “sports” drinks which are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and not really any better for you than a sugary soda.

Proper hydration is a key part of all around health and well being.  Among other things, it helps control histamines, blood pressure and, ironically, the better hydrated you are the less water your body retains.  It’s also good for your brain and digestion, not to mention better workouts. So sure you gotta pay to play.  But Monday seems like the right day to start refunding your body what the weekend’s beer, wine and cocktails took out.  Bottoms up, my boozy friends!

Vintage Watch Blogging: An Introduction by tomvox1

Hi all,

A big thanks to Jim & the boys for having me aboard and hopefully I can contribute to the fun around here.  Seems like a cool place to prop up one’s feet, crack open a beer and shoot the shit with some bros.

As some of you may know, I am a serious watchaholic with a special soft spot for vintage pieces.  I have a pretty large collection and have bought and sold many, many more.  Mostly they are watches produced prior to the 1990s and usually between the 1950s and the late 1970s.  The watches from this era have great panache both visually and in what I like to call their “superpowers” (chronographs, divers, GMT watches, etc.).   Before the 70s quartz revolution forced ever smaller margins in the Swiss watch industry and pretty much exterminated the American one the quality of these mass produced mechanical marvels was really top notch.  Which is why even today, some decades after their manufacture, you can enjoy them and wear them just about the same as you would a brand new watch.  But with the added huge plus of vintage style that can’t be beat and adds to your individual overall look.  Trust me, when you strap a nice vintage wristwatch on, you’re going to feel badass, manly and ready for the challenges of the day.

I’ll be talking about vintage watches in all price ranges because I firmly believe that there’s something cool to be had for any guy’s budget.  It doesn’t take a ton of dough to sport something cool and this ain’t no dick measuring contest.  So I’m cool with a watch like this…

ZodiacSeaWolf-1_edited-1

…a nice late 60s Zodiac Sea Wolf diver that was often favored by the soldiers and navy men over in Nam and will run you around $700 give or take…   Just as I’m cool with this baby…

6240-angl-cls

…a very hard to find mid-60s Rolex 6240 Cosmograph with water resistant screw down pushers and large crown, which will run around $30k…if you can find one.  Continue reading →

Program Alert–Moto GP from Laguna Seca

Bikes are not really my forte, although I have unlimited admiration for the “large attachments” on these MotoGP guys (as David Hobbs says).  And there aren’t many tracks cooler than Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA.  Respect the Corkscrew!

So have at it, bike freaks–the Moto GP World Championship US American Grand Prix is now airing on Speed.

Enjoy & have a safe race, guys!

*Update: One kid beats another! Full results here: US Grand Prix results

What we’re listening to today: Somethin’ Else by Cannonball Adderly

The best Miles Davis album not officially authored by Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly’s seminal  “Somethin’ Else” from 1958  belongs in every well rounded man’s jazz collection (you do have a jazz collection, dontcha pal?). It oozes class, can be listened to regularly throughout all the years of your life and is also a great makeout album guaranteed to impress hip chicks.  And aside from all that, it is absolutely some of the best music ever laid down on magnetic tape by the human race.

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon (free samples here):

Song Title Time Price
Play   1. Autumn Leaves 10:59 $1.99  Buy MP3 
Play   2. Love For Sale 7:04 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   3. Somethin’ Else 8:13 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   4. One For Daddy-O 8:24 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   5. Dancing In The Dark 4:07 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   6. Bangoon (aka Alison’s Uncle) 5:09 $1.29  Buy MP3 

Once those first slinky, film noir notes from “Autumn Leaves” begin, you’ll know your music collection just took a big step up in class, my friend.

(Pro tip: Spring for the Rudy Van Gelder edition.  The warm remix by Blue Note’s master engineer will wrap you in a cocoon of cool.)

So my hair’s starting to thin. What now?

Some of you may never have to worry about thinning hair.  You’ve won the genetic follicle lottery.  My hat’s off to you and your perpetual man mane (ya lucky bastards).  And some of you have been bald since your 20s and pull it off like a latter day Yul Brynner…

Bad Ass Bald Icon Brynner

Here’s to your magnificent chrome dome!

But for other guys (like yours truly) you’ve noticed a gradual thinning out of your once fearsome ‘do in the classic male pattern balding manner…

…which is kind of a bummer even if it is a normal part of getting older.

So…what to do?

There are a number of products that promise some sort of hair regrowth or at least a stabilization of hair loss (i.e. the more quickly you use it the sooner you’ll stop losing it!).

What do we think of ’em?

First off, there’s the old standby minoxidil (most famously sold as Rogaine but also available generically),  Continue reading →

Formula 1 Update – July 20, 2013 by Graham Prix

This is kind of a dead week in mortorsport with no Indycar, F1 or major sports car events. So…a good time to take a brief look at F1 as it stands pretty much half way through the season before we head into next week’s Hungarian GP.

Driver standings look like this in the top 6:

Points Leader Sebastian Vettel, Team Red Bull Infiniti

 

1 Sebastian Vettel German Red Bull Racing-Renault 157
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 123
3 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish Lotus-Renault 116
4 Lewis Hamilton British Mercedes 99
5 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull Racing-Renault 93
6 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes 84

(Full driver standings here>>> http://www.formula1.com/results/driver/2013/ )

So we can see that Vettel is in a strong position for his fourth consecutive championship after only just turning 26 earlier this month.  Now sure, he’s got the best car in the business designed by the best aerodynamicist in the land-jet game in Adrian Newey.  But the Baby Faced Killer is still driving the car to victory lane and pole positions consistently and if he is out in front early in a race, look for him to stay there unless the car breaks.  He will also still dick over anyone to get a win, even a teammate (see Webber, Mark in Malaysia) showing that he’s got the cold hearted nature of a true F1 champion despite looking like Opie in a fire suit.  So short of a real revolution in the other cars, like the Mercedes being easier on its rear tires, there doesn’t seem to be anybody capable of fielding a car to defeat Vettel driving the Red Bull Infiniti.

Alonso can pull magic out of the hat like no one else and overperform in a mediocre mount, so he is looking strong to finish runner up (again).  This is particularly true given the the pig that McClaren has produced this year and the fact that the Mercedes boys seem destined to take points off of each other as they have in the first half of the year.  Drivers like Vettel and Alonso, who are the undisputed Number 1s on their teams, have an advantage over the “1 and 1A”-type situation that exists between Hamilton and Rosberg and, to a lesser extent, Button and Perez.

The wild card is probably the Iceman, Kimi Raikonnen, in the up and down Lotas.  It seems like the Lotas is actually the best on this year’s very fragile Perelli tire selection (Have they really found the cure for stopping them blowing out at awkward moments? Hope so!), especially in Kimi’s hands.  But it’s hard to see anyone beating the reliability and versatility of the Red Bull chassis, so no doubt Kimi will have a few more storming drives but with the Lotas-Renault team underfunded and facing an uncertain future, probably just best to fantasize about the Iceman taking Webber’s seat next year.  With the big Aussie off to drive Porsche’s new hot shit prototype in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year, imagining Kimi duking it out with the ultra-competative Vettel in the new 1.6 liter/V6 turbo 2014 formula is probably the most anticipated rivalry since Senna-Prost at McClaren Honda on the late 90s.  Even if it’s still only a hypothetical, a guy can dream..

More thoughts to come as we get closer to Hungary next week.

For more on F1 current events, drivers’ and constructors’ standings and history, check out the official F1 site: http://www.formula1.com/default.html

And for more independent commentary on the F1 scene and other series, check out Autosport.com: http://www.autosport.com/ A lot is behind a pay wall but what’s free is still very good.

And in the States, F1 you can find practice, qualifying and the race broadcast on NBC and NBCSN: http://www.nbcsports.com/motor-sports