utorok 4. augusta 2015

The Spiderman Syndrome

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 Remember the story of Spiderman: young journalist Peter was bitten by a contagious spider and his body reacted in an amazing way – he developed super skills. It was a set of skills that many people dream of. However, with great power comes also big responsibility. The skills could easily turn against Peter if he did not control them. He understood that they should not be abused and must be used wisely.

Now, how Spiderman relates to my story. During the years of hard training – no pain/no gain – and overcoming in almost all situations, I developed a degree of resilience and pain tolerance. That’s why boxers and fighters train abdoominals so heavily – the neural receptors get used to fatigue and pain and do not give in during the fight. Usually, I am able to train and work under conditions when most of the folks would call it a day and go home. It is a good skill that enables me to accomplish many things. I am the last man standing at a party, helping the others getting taxis. Next morning I am the first to wake up, alcohol is broken down with efficient metabolism,  and I even have energy to do a little bit of exercise and some work on my computer.

However, with a great skill also comes great responsibility.

Lying here in hospital in Šahy, my home town for 18 years and I can't do anything because I have a needle in my forearm in order to get strong antibiotics straight into my blood stream. I contracted some infection while travelling home from Sarajevo and Belgrade - maybe a blister got infected due to absence of hygiene.

I travelled from Zagreb to Sarajevo all night without shower. On Tuesday, it seemed just like a bigger blister - so I decided to live with it. On Wednesday, it was much worse, the blister was swollen and it had all 50 shades of purple. I should have sought help in Belgrade but I decided to wait one day till I get home. I went to the emergency ward around 20:30 and the doctor got mad. He was talking about lethal danger and infections from underdeveloped countries - he told me off like a small child. I deserved it but I also presented my rational arguments why I did not seek care earlier.

With you health, you should never hesitate to make a coward decision. Never. I take a lot of risk in my life and this was too much. An innocent blister might have developed into an infection. Who would have thought that, especially a person with such a strong pain threshold? Pain tolerance developed through training and overcoming yourself is a great thing - a skill that helps you survive. But with a great skill comes also a great responsibility - responsibility to recognize the symptoms of your body and listen to them. It is like Spiderman: the bite from a contagious spider gave him superpowers but he must use them wisely - not to harm other people or abuse them for their own profit.

 One thing to remember- it is good to have some pain threshold but at the same time it is even more important to be able to listen to your body and avoid situations, when the pain threshold is tested.

nedeľa 3. mája 2015

I am not addicted to Facebook...

...because I am rather addicted to social contact with the people there.

             
Guitar and garment of Jimi Hendrix.
       I turn on the computer on Thursday morning and instead of feeling pleased by the Google’s O shaped as a birthday cake I feel worried. Worried about what everything Google and Facebook know about us and we don’t even know. On Thursday, I reached the age when Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse left for the eternity. Today, our identities are eternal from the moment we put them on the social networks. Plato said 2,500 years ago that our world is just an imperfect reflection of abstract ideas. Today, we get back to that ideal world with each log-in. The more, the higher the chance that we completely lose contact with reality.

           Older generations put the young people immersed in their displays into the unwanted category of addicts and outcasts. Few years ago, they gazed the same ways at the rock musicians and no one was surprised if they had to leave this world at young age. Now, they are legends. Not everything that is good had an ideal start into the world and in order to work, it needs to fish out some mistakes.

           In 2004, I watched the opening match of EURO football championship between the home Portugal and Greece. A young Portuguese run onto the pitch in the second half and almost immediately caused a penalty and his team lost. Today, he is the best player of the world, Cristiano Ronaldo. The same year, Facebook was born. Initially, it did not convince me, either. However, coach Scolari gave Ronaldo second chance in the second match and gradually he replaced the legendary Luis Figo. Some say that Facebook also replaced what had been here before.

         
             Ronaldo maybe isn't the ideal example of a sportsman,  many would agree, but I have to pay respect to the fact that he is good in the business of football. Neither social networks might be the ideal environment, but it is possible to find ways how to use them at our advantage. Remember that the photos entrusted to the virtual space remain there till eternity; therefore be moderate with pictures and political commentaries. Also set time limits because there is a thin line between meaningful activity and addiction. There is a difference between responding to a friend's message and refreshing the screen every minute, expecting answer desperately, like Marc Zuckerberg in the end of The Social Network.

          Not all the time spent on social networks is addiction and it definitely does not have to be time waste. Computers and mobiles can do everything now; we can arrange the meeting point and time. It is more practical than running around the houses of my friends and getting players for a game of football. We wasted lot of time with that and it is one of the reasons we did not achieve the success of Ronaldo.

           In 99% of cases I prefer face2face contact. Even today I could use my time on the internet effectively. But instead, I go to the gym because they are live people. And later I go to Brno for a series of workshops and we arrange on the departure time on Facebook. 

pondelok 6. apríla 2015

Messner’s eight-thousanders – it isn’t only about sport

R. Messner, My Eight-thousanders. 1989. 
In 1970, Rheinold Messner climbed the summit of Nanga Parbat, one of the eight-thousanders in Himalayas. No his way back, however, he lost his brother to an avalanche and seven toes doe to frostbites. Imagine that you parents entrust your younger brother to you and you lose him. Losing seven fingers means that the stability of your gait suffers and you can say goodbye to climbing on the walls. It took Messner half a year to get over the trauma. An ordinary man would quit. But Messner came back and climbed the remaining 13 eight-thousanders! Some of them even twice; without oxygen mask and in alpine style. Amazing performance. But good condition is a matter of course. It isn’t only about sport.

For many of us, sport is an inherent part of life, for some it is the entire life. However, sport is primarily a key to life. It does not develop only physical fitness but also other psychical characteristics that are important for coping with different situations. Guys in London often mentioned in their CVs competitive rugby or football, which developed fair play, cooperation and also furthered their will. Once I saw a bunch of guys practicing rugby in Cambridge. Mid February, it required lot of will and toughness to play there in the cold and rain. Sport develops these traits. When you get out of the comfort and go running even it is snowing, the very moment you are a winner. And it is not only about sport.

Cambridge, Feb 2013. Rugby develops toughness and team play.
Next, sport develops persistence and discipline, mainly the endurance events. I have friends – triathletes and I admire how they spend long hours in the water or cycling. It is not only about enjoyment, you must have above the average level of patience and self-discipline. And it can be improved by sport. Friend leaves the party before midnight without having a single drink in order not to slack the training session the next morning. Try go without drinks next Friday night and also leave out the fast food. At the very moment you are the winner, even if it isn’t only about sport.

Third, sport improves the team spirit and fair play. As I already mentioned, the guys who had played team sports made better team members at work. Collective sports teach you that your performance affects also the other people. Red card in fifth minute leaves the rest of the team in trouble. Not to speak about the extreme sports, where teams face extreme situations. A mountain climber never walks out on his companion. Next time when you finish your work earlier, look around your colleagues and if someone is covered in work, give him a hand with the excel tables or at least bring him a coffee. You are a winner, but again it isn’t about sport.

Free hang is useful in mountain climbing.
London, Jan 2013.
I go for sport for long on in order to keep fit and healthy, and it taught me a lot. But only after reading Messner’s book have I realised that regardless of what you achieved, you can still push the limits. I wake up 15 minutes earlier to do a little exercise and practice my Spanish by reading newspapers. But there are people whose alarm rings one hour prior to mine and they prepare the breakfast and snack for their kids. And they are in better shape and with better Spanish than me.


Hardly ever will I beat Himalayas, it would require load of practice and moreover, my body is sensitive to cold. In winter months my joints and extremities turn violet, which does not add to my chances. Anyway, I still go running outside at Christmas and I exercise outdoors with hands frozen to the bars. But I go. I think that it pulls me closer to Messner, even if I still would not make it to the basic camp under an eight-thousander. I am trying to push my limits and change the discomfort for a challenge. It is the more difficult that instead of focusing on my performance I must also care about the other people. It isn’t only about sport.

piatok 3. apríla 2015

How to train effectively in 20 minutes


How to train when we are short of time? Do not expect wonders from small investment although some progress can be made even during 20 minutes. And even a small step forward counts.


'As you sow so shall you reap' 

...also works in exercising. Let‘s take a personal trainer. Usually, he charges about 10 EUR per session. In ten hours he cashes in one hundred, which isn’t bad (here in Slovakia). But there is also an older trainer at the gym who is more experienced, he works with fitness models and has good results. He can afford to charge 15 EUR. For him it is enough to work 6.6 hours to earn the 100. And he can go on to chat up girls. His works carries more added value but it is also more demanding. He must adjust the rest of his time to do it well, it includes proper nutrition, relax and from time to time he must read a book or visit a workshop.

The more time I put in - the more profit I can expect. However, if I learn to do the thing more effectively, I can get the same result in shorter amount of time.

Now I try to apply it into training. There are folks who complain that they have only 20 minutes three times a week to exercise. It gives them one hour total time.  When I compare this hour to the rest of the week; I end up facing ration 1:168! Is one hour strong enough to affect the remaining 168? It can be if I improve the quality of the time spent in the gym - like the personal trainer who makes 100 in almost half the time.

Intensification methods are the key
During a 20-minute training, I must pile up the volume and intensity to the degree that it will make my body recovering from the load even during the time I am out of the gym. It can be achieved by intensification methods. Try cutting the breaks between exercises, combining the exercises into super-sets, even three-sets, include intervals of cardio – rope skipping or burpees – in between the sets and so on. Circuit training and CrossFit use similar principles, to perform a series of exercises/moves in limited amount of time.

Twenty minutes in such intensity is enough to force the organism to start making changes. In a way, one hour can affect the remaining 167 in the week. However, we must spend some time on preparation in order to make the gym hour count. It includes nutrition planning, relax, studying magazines...

Naturally, the above mentioned principles aren’t suitable for newbies in the gym. Young trainer who just finished his degree can’t walk into the gym and charge fortune for a session. This applies to all walks of life. But if I don’t see the desired results even after a few years, there is time to make a change.

The following routine can be the change...

Back conditioning workout
     
Pull ups on the bar improve the grip strength and work your back all the way down. Who wants to get the max effort, try this.

Set 3 minutes on the timer.
Start doing pull ups for maximum reps.
When you cannot do any more, immediately move to the rowing machine and row 250 metres as fast as possible.
Rest till the end of the 3 minute interval and repeat 6 to 8 times.
This gives you a great workout and you also work your aerobic capacity. Not to speak about the accumulated energy deficiency that helps you to burn some fat while doing other things. If you do cannot do pull-ups (learn pull-ups!) do pushups. If you do not have rowing machine, run or do burpees.


I follow similar pattern. When I am not preparing for some competition, I exercise only about 4 hours a week and I am stronger and in better form than at the college when I used to do sport for about 12 – 13 hours a week.

štvrtok 2. apríla 2015

Why is creativity like a tank full of chocolate?

Information for target-oriented job usually lies in one place but information for a creative job lies all around. However; it isn’t easy to unearth it the as fracking destroys the resource and environment.  Moreover, abundance turns scarce resource into obsolete. If you find one interesting thing to write about – it is good and you can use all your creativity and knowledge to deplete it. On the way, you are aided with the discovery of further resources; just you do not approach them as such. But if you start digging in a book just in order to find information, you get into information overdose and destroy lot of useful information in the process.


It’s like when you get one cup of chocolate, you enjoy it. But if you were given a full tank, you would choke on. Today, I came across an interesting story of a Syrian refugee who hid himself in a lorry full of chocolate in order to cross the border between France and England. He almost died in the tank full of melted chocolate. The same can happen to us when we take on more information than we can process.
When you get a piece of chocolate, you feel pleased; moreover quality chocolate improves mental functions. However, if you get a full lorry you tend to overeat and hate chocolate for the rest of the day.

Besides refugees, another global issue has been the oil reserves. Shale oil became a strategic asset during WWII when the US started to see it as a more secure source of oil. Drilling begun in the 60's, but it was the introduction of directional drilling that made it more cost effective. Now, many experts see shale oil as an alternative to the crude oil that is said to be limited for the next 20 – 30 years. Moreover, the largest deposits of shale oil are in the US and China and if used effectively, they could give them a geopolitical advantage over Russian and the Middle East.

Using your resource effectively also gives you an advantage over your competition. However, you must use it effectively, unearthing its potential in small bits. If you put too much effort in, you and your audience get lost in the overload of information. Moreover, there is only so much information you can process. Research in David Rock’s book Your Brain at Work tells that the more things we have on our mind, the more energy we lose. Similar like when you run too many programs on your computer at the same time.

Maybe in 20 – 30 years, people will be after the alternative to crude oil. However, if there is too much shale oil on the market, the demand will fall and the price will fall consequently – as we witness with the crude. It might happen that the yields won’t even cover the fracking costs and the countries will cannibalize on their own effort. Similar thing can happen to a writer who wants learn a lot about an issue instead of putting creativity into a single idea. Often, a person who does not know a thing about the issue proposes the most creative solution...

štvrtok 13. novembra 2014

Was können wir vom dem Westdeutschland lernen.

Vor Zeit hatte ich eine Art Vorspannung an Großbritannien. Ich würde immer reden über meine Erfahrungen von London - wahre Geschichten - und es begann die Leute zu langweilen. Ich wurde Englischunterricht in der Schule und oft enthalten Geschichten aus dem Vereinigten Königreich. Es war aktuell, aber ich wollte die Person mit Erfahrungen aus vielen Ländern sein. Dies war vielleicht der Grund – oder war es der langer Winterurlaub – dass ich beschloss meinen Freund Angang Jauar in Brussel zu besuchen. . Und hier ist meine Geschichte von Westdeutschland gestartet. .
Ich nahm einen Bus aus Bratislava direkt nach Brüssel. Früh am Morgen, um 7 Uhr, haben wir an einer Tankstelle in Aachen, Westdeutschland angehalten.. Alle Zeitungem im Geschäft ziegten das Gesicht von Michael Schumacher. Die Deutschen sind stolz auf die Formel-1-Legende trotz seiner gescheiterten Comeback (Comebacks oft gescheitert) und wich seine schnelle Genesung. Ich habe ein paar Bilder von Aachen in den Katalogen der Nähe gesehen. Eine gotische Stadt mit mehr als 1.200-jährigen Geschichte. Ich muss eines Tages wiederkommen, von den Bildern, die ich mag die Stadt. Auch, entdeckte ich einen Teebecher mit dem Namen - Erik der workaholik. Ich sollte aufhören in jeder Postkarte nach Geschichten zu suchen.
Wenige Monate später war ich in Prag. Anders als die Slowakei, die mehr in Richtung des östlichen Europa ausgerichtet ist, in der Tschechischen Republik können Sie eher wie im Westen fühlen. Der Reiseleiter sagte uns, dass sogar die tschechische Küche wird von deutschen Küche. In Prag inspiriert, fühlen Sie sich mehr im Westen als in Bratislava, die beobachtbaren auf die Infrastruktur, Einrichtungen und Geist ist. Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Es könnte tot er, dass die meisten von Prag war unter Karl IV, römische König in Aachen gekrönt bauen bezogen werden. Einige Tage später sah ich eine offene Veranstaltung sucht junge Journalisten fort er Karlspreis-Verleihung in Aachen. Ich bewarb mich, denn es war eine Chance, wieder nach Aachen zu bekommen, sogar noch früher, als ich erwartete. Durch Zufall, wenige Tage später traf ich ein paar Jungs aus Aachen in Bratislava. Eigentlich organisierten sie die Veranstaltung in Aachen und sie waren großartig. Aachen ist eine Universitätsstadt, ist die technische RWHT Universität einer der besten in Europa.
Auch ist Aachen die Stadt Karls des Großen - Karl der Große. König der Franken und der Gründer der West Europanische Kultur. Es war hier schon lange vor der Entdeckung von Amerika - die Quelle der modernen, kommerziellen westlichen Kultur. Man konnte nicht viel von Coca Cola sehen in historischen Gassen Aachens. Nur Lebkuchen Geschäfte mit Karl dem Großen. Aachen war das Zentrum der europäischen Kultur, wenn Brüssel war in der Mitte des Nichts. Das berühmten Karlspreises zurück zum Deutschland der Nachkriegszeit datiert ist ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem heutigen Tag und dem Vermächtnis von Charles. Jedes Jahr seit den 50er Jahren, es ist mit einem Persönlichkeit, die zur Entwicklung von Europa beigetragen gegeben. 2014 Die Preisträger war Herman Van Rompuy, der Präsident des Europäischen Rates.
In der Ende Mai war ich schon unterwegs nach Aachen. Wir wurden an den deutschen Grenzen gehalten, weil eine Chinesische madchen hatte nicht Visum. Sie musste in der Tschechischen bleiben. Arme Mädchen. Die Deutschen sind für ihre fleißige Natur und Einhaltung der Regeln bekannt. Was könnte an anderer Stelle übersehen haben wurde durch die kompromisslose Kontrolle der Grenzbeamtenofficers erinnerte daran, dass der Gestapo erinnert. Aber Ich mag diese Haltung, wenn Sie einen Job zu tun - macht es richtig. Strenge Gesetze gelten auch für die Online-Probleme mit dem Urheberrecht. Ich konnte nicht spielen einige Youtube-Videos. Es war nicht wohl in diesem Moment, aber ich kann ihre Bedeutung für langfristige Ziele zu verstehen.
Kleine Schritte in Richtung langfristige Ziele als richtig erwiesen später, im Juni, während der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft in Brasilien. Deutschen zeigten einfache, pragmatische Spiel, die sich auf das nächste Spiel und dies führte zu ihrem Sieg. Und dieser Ansatz kann in fast alles, was zu beachten. So beeindruckend die schnell wachsenden Volkswirtschaften der Südeuropa auch sein mag, am Ende sind sie immer von Deutschland gespeichert. Deutschen geschickt Fußball mit Wirtschaft, Fastfood in Form eines Fußballs angebotenen Sandwiches verbunden und ich fand das Maskottchen in Lidl.
In Aachen, traf ich die anderen Mitglieder der journalistischen Team sowie die Organisatoren. Kluge Leute. Wir hatten ein Mittagessen in einem türkischen Restaurant, in dem sie Pizza mit Kebab anstiften. Es war ein richtiges Restaurant mit vernünftigen Preisen, nicht ein kleiner Stall, wo Sie Ihre Kebab aus einer Papiertüte essen. Ich war in diesem Aachen für 2 Stunden und ich bereits beschlossen, dass ich mochte es. Wir haben an die Arbeit, weil am nächsten Tag mussten wir aus der Jugendkarlspreis 2014 Bericht zu erstatten, für die Projekte der Jugendlichen. Ich schrieb hier http://guests.blogactiv.eu/2014/07/18/danube-bridges-a-small-step-towards-tolerance-in-europe/ Europa ist nicht nur die Politiker. Die Hauptantriebskraft f ür Europe ist die Jugend. Auszeichnungen wie diese sollten eine Motivation zu ü mehr Aktivität. Mehr zu lesen hier.
Am nachste tag, Über 800 Ukrainer versammelt auf dem Hauptplatz in Aachen für die Rede von ihrem Premierminister Arsenij Jazenjuk. Allerdings wurden sie in zwei Blöcke geteilt durch Barrieren und patrouillierten durch die Polizei getrennt: auf der linken standen die Pro-EU-Aktivisten; auf der rechten Seite die immer heftiger pro-russischen Kämpfer. Wegen ihrer Surren konnten wir nicht einmal die Rede des Ministerpräsidenten zu hören. Sie kommen aus dem gleichen Land, sondern stehen auf entgegengesetzten Seiten der Barrikade, so die Worte über geteilte Loyalität beweisen. Ich nehme es als eine greifbare Beweise des Kalten Krieges, die leider wird wärmer und wärmer. Terroristen und Drohnen können überall und jederzeit zuschlagen und die Superhelden-Filme - wenn ein Familienessen wird durch den Krieg außerhalb sind Realität unterbrochen.
Westdeutschalnd ist mit den Erasmus-Studenten aus der ganzen Welt beliebt. Vielleicht aufgrund der Tatsache, dass sie die ganze Welt erinnert. Später besuchte ich Köln, eine andere Stadt in der Westdeutschland. Ich hatte schon viele Dinge erlebt dort vor, zum Beispiel die typische Colorite der Großstädte, Hauptstraße Geschäfte und billige chinesische Essen. Eigentlich erinnerte es mich an London. Natürlich gab es typisch deutsche Dinge wie Bratwürste (obwohl man sie in indischen Curry bekommen), 0,2 Liter Bier und kostenlose öffentliche Trinken. Und Lindt Schokolade wird hier vorgenommen. Aber insgesamt, so scheint es, dass trotz reden London, hatte ich über die westliche Kultur im Allgemeinen zu sprechen, auch ohne in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Eigentlich habe ich ein T-Shirt mit Hard Rock Cafe Hamburg, ohne auch nur dort zu sein. Hamburger, die Verkörperung des amerikanischen Fast-Food, wurde in Hamburg erfunden. Selbst die Beatles begann in Hamburg. Im Oktober wurde ich dabei ein Bodybuilding-Wettkampf in Prag und der Gewinner war ein amerikanischer Bodybuilder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland geboren. September ich war in Krakow aber ich mage die deutsche name Krakau mehr. Wie wir sehen können, hat die ganze westliche Kultur gemeinsamen Wurzeln und die besonderen Unterschiede zwischen den Ländern sind schwer zu beobachten. Ich sollte Asien besuchen, um ganz andere kulturelle Erfahrung zu bekommen. P.S. Ich würde fast vergessen, über Nutella und Fruchtzwerge. P.S. II Genau beobachten Berliner Mauer fallen Feier, viele Menschen aus der ehemaligen Tschechoslowakei emigrierte in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, die in der Nähe war.

piatok 8. augusta 2014

Open Your Mind - Aegee Bratislava Summer Universty in 27 Tweets...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 The story goes on in Ukraine, but not in my own tweets