Forget the gym, do pushups

From Well, the health blog on The New York Times web site:

The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.

“It takes strength to do them, and it takes endurance to do a lot of them,” said Jack LaLanne, 93, the fitness pioneer who astounded television viewers in the 1950s with his fingertip push-ups. “It’s a good indication of what kind of physical condition you’re in.”

“You are just using your own body and your body’s weight,” said Steven G. Estes, a physical education professor and dean of the college of professional studies at Missouri Western State University. “If you’re going to demonstrate any kind of physical strength and power, that’s the easiest, simplest, fastest way to do it.”

Read the entire blog post.

Family dinner

On Sunday we all went to Benihana on the 3rd Street Promenade to celebrate three birthdays: Carol, Michael and Pop.

Wasn’t sure what to expect as it’s been years since eating there, but the food was great, and the restaurant had high ceilings and lots of space which made for a nice, social atmosphere. According to their web site, Santa Monica is the newest location in Southern California.

So, give Benihana a try if you haven’t been there in a while.

Note: their Torrance location has been re-designed and renovated.

Benihana
1447 Fourth St.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310) 260-1423

They criticized Vista – and they should know

That was the headline of a New York Times piece that captured comments of Microsoft senior executives talking about their own Windows Vista OS. Some excerpts:

Here’s one story of a Vista upgrade early last year that did not go well. Jon, let’s call him, (bear with me — I’ll reveal his full identity later) upgrades two XP machines to Vista. Then he discovers that his printer, regular scanner and film scanner lack Vista drivers. He has to stick with XP on one machine just so he can continue to use the peripherals.