FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  Ally and I took the day to visit the San Francisco State University campus yesterday.  She didn't want to attend the Senior "Picnic" which was held at the waterslides park (?) so we headed for foggy SF and toured around then met one of her friends who is a freshman there.  The campus is medium sized, tucked into the southwest area of the city, away from the touristy spots, it is a lovely, well laid out and landscaped campus with easy access to all the goodies of the most fabulous cities in the world.

I loved living in SF when I was in my 20's and I think it could be a good fit for Ally.  She wants to spread her wings and get the experience of a place bigger than home - yet it is still close to home.  She can learn to use the Muni system to get around the city and take the BART system to come home on the occasional weekend visit.

Applications for the California State schools are due October 1 and we have been worried about which school should be her first choice.  I think we found it.

2.)  So about that Senior Picnic...what happened to having a picnic?  In a park.   Running around an expensive waterpark isn't exactly the bonding experience I remember our Senior Picnic being.  Why do they make everything such an extravaganza now?

3.)  I am enjoying getting "dressed up" for work.  It is nice to get out of my shorts and polo shirts and put on some business (casual) clothes and put on a bit of make-up. 

4.)  However doing the above quietly and in the dark so I don't wake anyone before I leave at 6:30am is going to take some practice!

5.)  And wouldn't you know, just as soon as I get a job, there is an event of such importance that I would love to attend being held in Washington DC on October 30.  The Restore Sanity rally, hosted by Jon Stewart.  And the Keep Fear Alive march hosted by Stephen Colbert.  How I wish I could attend.

6.)  Those folks so intent on cutting out PE to save money should take a look at these studies which show that fit children had "significantly larger basal ganglia, a key part of the brain that aids in maintaining attention and “executive control,” or the ability to coordinate actions and thoughts crisply."  The groups of children tested had similar socioeconomic backgrounds, body mass index and other variables, the researchers concluded that being fit had enlarged that part of their brains.

A still-unpublished study compared the cognitive impact in young people of 20 minutes of running on a treadmill with 20 minutes of playing sports-style video games at a similar intensity. Running improved test scores immediately afterward. Playing video games did not.