Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Family & Financial Growth

Man of Steel Review. By Guest Writer: Chris Medina

2013-06-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

**Warning: This review contains some spoilers, so I recommend seeing the movie first before reading**

Have you ever seen a Burger King commercial when they have a new kind of burger they’re trying to sell? Do you ever notice how incredibly juicy and mouth watering the burger looks in the commercial? When the actor takes a bite into it, his face looks almost orgasmic. The commercial ends with some sort of declaration that this is the greatest burger of all time. Doesn’t that make you want to run down to your local BK and order that burger? Then once you get down there and finally order it, you take a bite into it and it’s……..good. Not great, not terrible, but very-very good. In a way, it’s kind of a disappointment. You were hoping for greatness and got..good. That’s how I feel about ‘Man of Steel’.

There was an incredible amount of hype leading up to the release of this movie. This was supposed to be the Superman movie all the fans have been waiting for. We got a superman movie in 2006 in ‘Superman Returns’ but other than one spectacular plane rescue scene that movie was a bore fest. I remember reading an interview with Zack Snyder who directed Man of Steel, where the interviewer basically asked him how he would compare his Superman movie to the other Super Hero films. I’m paraphrasing but Snyder basically answered by saying, ‘After people see this movie, people are going to ask how those heroes can compare to Superman”. Wow.

Then there were those trailers. If they gave out Oscars for movie trailers, these would have won in all categories. They were emotional, action packed, with an amazing score. They did exactly what those BK commercials do. I was ready to run down at and eat that great burger called, ‘Man of Steel’.

Post #001. Adjusting to Summer Sleep Schedule

2013-06-11T20:01:00.002-07:00

Today was the second day in a row that I was late to the office. Although I'm not the most punctual person you will ever meet, I don't like being late. Being late makes me feel nervous, anxious and generally unfocused.

In attempting to understand what contributed to my tardiness, one overwhelming thought came to mind: The kids are now on summer vacation.

During summer vacation the kids are up about an hour to an hour-and-a-half past their usual bedtime, which in-turn seems to push my own bedtime a few minutes later than usual. Did I just refer to the time I go to sleep as my "Bedtime". This post is not doing my Street-Cred any favors. Did I mention I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Anyway, to be clear, I'm not blaming my kids or my wife for me going to sleep later than usual. On second thought, I actually will go ahead and apply a healthy dose of blame to my 2 year old son. At his young age, he can be nearly impossible to deal with sometimes!

What ends up happening in my household is the entire family goes to bed a bit later than usual, and I'm sure they awake a bit later than usual also. I don't know for sure because I'm still waking up at the crack of dawn as always!

Saying hello and blogging thoughts

2013-06-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

How is everybody doing? Hopefully all is well in your life.

The purpose of this post is for a quick check-in, and an update on things relevant to this blog. Some of you long-term readers may remember, I attempted to transfer my blog away from Blogger in search for bigger and better things. I always knew Blogger had limitations, and upon leaving I also realized it had lots of advantages as well.

Initially, I used www.hostgator.com . I did this because I found it was the most inexpensive hosting that seemed to have reasonably good ratings. Instead of selecting one of their pre-built theme templates, I chose to use www.wordpress.org. I have no complaints about either of these two companies, the only complaint I have is with myself as I found out I'm really far from being tech-savy. I did finally get everything going, then I decided to start a new project with a buddy of mine, I transferred over the site to the new business, however the new business never really got going. This simple paragraph covers a lot of what kept me busy from late last year to early this year.

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The Giant Giraffe

2013-02-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

A week ago I went to a store with my family. We were searching for a chair for our desk. The name of the store was Homegoods, it's sorta like TJ Max, but with much more furniture and no clothes.

We (Let's be honest, my wife) found the perfect chair. It was really nice, white and red with some sort of large flower print. It was actually really nice.

As we continued walking around the store, my 8 year old daughter approached the toys section. Among the various knick knacks was a miniature recliner chair for toddlers and really cool and realistic German made construction truck, really neat stuff.

All went fine until my daughter laid her eyes on a giant stiffed giraffe. When I say giant, I mean this thing was just almost 6 feet! My daughter immediately said she wanted it! Of course she did I thought. Kids want everything!

I immediately and instinctively shot down her request by telling her it was HUGE! I also mentioned how beat up it was, it had multiple areas where the stitches were coming apart.

We continued walking.

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Resolution/GoalsTracking Tips

2012-12-10T16:09:00.001-08:00

On Saturday I checked the mailbox and noticed that we began receiving local gym membership promotions. I guess that should be expected, we are deep in the middle of the holidays, and most people have probably put on a couple of unwanted pounds.

Everybody will soon gear up for the new year, hoping this year will be different. The cruel reality is most of us start up very motivated but revert back to our old habits within a matter of weeks. It's really tough to keep good habits, only by really changing your lifestyle does this seem attainable for the long term.

What makes the gym promotion I received especially interesting is that I was actually looking for a gym for our family anyway. My Jiu Jitsu academy is about 45 min away, so I cannot get in to train as frequently as I would like.

As I start thinking about the new year, I want to share with you my thoughts on tracking goals and give you some ideas that are working for me.

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Daughter not being "girlie" enough?

2012-12-05T17:32:00.001-08:00

My wife and I had a recent conversation with our 8 yr. old daughter that I'd like to share with you.

It started when were in our kitchen and our daughter stated that she wasn't girlie enough. When we asked her to explain further, she said she felt that way because she didn't really like Barbies. She has also never liked dolls. Who can blame her right? Dolls can be very creepy. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George discovers a doll that looks just like his mother!

I could tell my daughter felt a bit out place, like she didn't fit in. I guess it could be my fault? I've always introduced her to things that interest me, like Shelby Mustangs, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, stuff like that. Regardless, I needed her to understand she is perfect just the way she is.

I quickly got on my phone looked up a friend of mine from Facebook and began looking though her pictures. Before you judge me as distracted dad and overall creepy stalker, hear me out will ya?

I found the picture I was looking for. It was a pic of my friends pretty teenage daughter, in her cheer leading outfit. I showed the picture to my daughter and asked if the girl in the pic is a "girlie girl". She admitted she was.

I then went back on my phone and pulled up a picture of the same girl...this time in the middle of a wrestling match...against a girl much larger than her (due primarily to rules where girls couldn't wrestle boys, so she got paired with a girl way out of her weight class). The picture was very impactful. It was the kind of picture that is blown up for motivational posters.

My daughter smiled when she realized it was the same girl! I asked, what about her? Is she a girlie girl? She was speechless, but her smile said it all.

We want to emphasize to my daughter that she needs be herself, pursue her interests and not worry about labels or falling into cookie cutter molds of what we think people want us to be.

As a parent we will continue to emphasize this message, and allow our daughter to grow up as the best and most confident version of herself possible.

Fathers Love - Taking kids to school

2012-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

I took the day off from work today. As soon as my daughter found out I'd be off, she asked that I take her to and pick her up from school. I immediately promised to pick her up from school. I hesitated a bit to promise to drop her off in the morning because our academy offers a 6:15 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class, which I secretly hoped I could attend. Well, last night it was a bit of a late night, trying to catch a movie with the wife after the kids fell asleep and training in the morning was simply not meant to be.

I awoke, popped an aspirin for my splitting headache, had a little oatmeal and some hot coffee and headed out to take my daughter to school. Did I shower, shave, comb my hair or wear socks? Negative, I looked pretty bad, but who cares? I'm married with children right? That's a whole other post! My daughter on the other hand looked beautiful, she was wearing so many bright colors, warm clothes and even a hat. It's amazing how quickly your kids grow up. As a father, I rarely get to take my daughter to school, it's one of those things that we constantly miss out on. The more my daughter grows up, the more I realize how much I miss out on.

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Releasing Creativity

2012-11-27T18:16:00.001-08:00

Over the last few months I've felt very dissatisfied with certain aspects of my life. Some are typical and identifiable, like finances, boredom with the repetition of certain aspects of life, etc. Some stresses are not exactly the kind that are easily identifiable. I'm fully aware of some of the stressful situations that surround me. I'm the type of person that has learned to confront my fears, I may not always win, but I will confront them nonetheless.

For the purpose of this blog post I'll focus on one of those stresses: Lack of Releasing Creativity.

For me, creativity seems to be currently missing from my life the majority of the time. You may be thinking to yourself that it's really not a big deal, but it is. Recently I've realized that participating in creative projects is as important as breathing, eating nutritious meals and spending quality time with friends and family. Not everyone will agree with me, but those of you who love to draw, paint, write, train or work in anything that gets that creative bug out know what I'm talking about.

I enjoy writing very much, I also love training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is another way to be creative, but I don't get to train as often as I would like. When I was younger I loved to draw even winning a few contests (one of which got me a TV as a prize) and I've ways wanted to take up painting.

While we are on the topic of creativity, there must be a special satisfaction to be financially compensated for something that you created. There must also be a great satisfaction that something you created is treasured by someone else. Which is the reason I've always wanted to write a book.

Not to go off topic, but releasing creativity reminds me of the story Shoyoroll. These custom Gi's are released in small batches, although I don't know the exact process, they are basically designed, produced, a buzz/desire is created, then they are all sold to Jiu Jitsu fanatics. The batch is then gone and can no longer be purchased. I personally think this is a great business plan, it doesn't just make business sense, it makes creative sense.

I'd like to think as I write this, I'm expressing my own creativity. If you are out there reading this and feel stressed out, and not sure why, think about your own creative interests. Consider picking up your long lost hobby to help clear you of those demons, just be aware to manage your time to not disregard the other aspects of your life in the excitement of your newly discovered hobby/habit or you will likely burn out from it or cause stresses in other areas of you life that require your attention.

The picture is of the gingerbread house that I worked on with my 8 year old daughter, an example of how we got to work together, creatively on something which we will treasure always...or at least until we eat it.

Have a great day everyone.

Responsibilities of a Jiu Jitsu Guy

2012-03-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

Car washer, package sorter, pension representative, Sunday school teacher, DJ, banker. These are a few of the titles I've held over the years. Each of these titles had certain set of responsibilities that came with them. The more experienced I became, the more the responsibilities increased.

As a car washer my only real responsibility was to wash the car well, and not wreck it when I moved it from one side of the shop to another. I must admit I fell in love with 5.0 Mustangs there...let's just say it took forever to sweep away the burnt rubber I left when I "moved" the car. I was 16, you woulda done the same given the opportunity!

Beyond the work world, responsibilities are always emerging. As a parent, a husband...the list of responsibilities is seemingly endless, and that's considering I'm out working all day, my wife probably has 5x the parenting responsibility I have!

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Jiu Jitsu Guy: What is my purpose?

2012-03-16T10:45:00.003-07:00

Hi Guys and Gals
Before I dig into the topic of this blog post, I'd like to briefly share with you my day yesterday.

My plan yesterday was to wake up extra early and park my car close to my Jiu Jitsu academy (CrispimBJJ Barra Brothers), and ride the train to work. Well, my day started off pretty bad when I overslept, and was late to work about 45 minutes. Luckily, I work for an employer that is forgiving and understands that 1) I make up the time and 2) the quality of my work is really good.

What brought an additional challenge to my day was a migraine headache that kicked in at around 2pm. This headache got worse as the day progressed and by 3:45 I was done! I was nauseous, light bothered me, it was pretty awful. This kept me away from training, and made for a difficult drive back home.

When I got home, my wife gave me medicine you see in the picture. Over the next hour or two, I got much better. The conversation with my wife was really uplifting as well.

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Making time for your personal projects

2012-03-15T06:22:00.001-07:00

Social Media - Turn off the "NOISE"

2012-03-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone is fighting for your attention, that includes me. The fact that you are reading this post means that I have captivated your attention, even if very briefly.

At this exact moment, something brought you to this page, you could click away at any moment. Thank you for staying with me so far!

In exchange for your attention, I believe I have the responsibility to add value to your day with a quality blog post.

For this blog post, I hope to add value by:

Making you laugh or smile a little

Giving you a unique point of view

Encouraging or motivating you to have more focused days.

It's Never too Late to Dream Big

2012-03-13T08:46:00.002-07:00

The other day I was talking with my best friend, a man I consider a brother. We began talking about goals, both short-term and long-term. I think it's very important to have someone to share this stuff with. For me, I'm lucky enough to have a great wife who is very supportive of my goals and dreams.

Anyway, my buddy and I were talking about goals and specifically the projects that we are working on individually and together. Those topics included the podcast and my website. We also talked about his short film projects.

I love these conversations because for those few minutes, we dare to dream and dream big. It seems as if the more we become "adults" the less we talk about goals and dreams. I don't like that. During the conversation, my buddy said something that really resonated with me. He said something like: "If I were 10 years younger, I would have done things different."

Hmmm, would I have done things differently? Better? I can totally see his point, and I'm sure we have all asked ourselves that question at some point. It really made me wonder what things I would do differently in my life.

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Judo & Wrestling: Pre-BJJ training?

2012-03-08T09:37:00.001-08:00

As expected, most Jiu Jitsu practitioners start to become very comfortable with the concept of fighting from the ground, this shouldn't be a surprise. We drill on the ground, we start training on our knees (for the most part). Even when standing, some of us jump guard to bring the fight down.

I think most of us realize how bad our stand-up game is when we enter a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament. Every once in a while you compete against a wrestler or Judo guy/gal who knows what they are doing, or at least that's a lot of people's fear. I think for most BJJ practitioners, the fight seems to become a tactical decision about how to get the fight to the ground, in the position you are most comfortable in.

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Survivor One World: March 7, Colton! (SPOILER ALERT)

2012-03-08T08:14:00.006-08:00

I told myself that I wouldn't write a blog post today. I figured I'd take it easy, and have a relaxing train into beautiful San Francisco. Apparently, I'd prefer to ruin my vision further by typing into my iPhone...not to mention my escalating blood pressure when I get into the subject of this post.

The purpose of this post is to share with you my complete disgust from watching last nights Survivor episode. I've been watching survivor for many seasons, and I thought I've seen it all, but apparently not!

Let me get straight to the point here, my disgust is directed in two different directions. First, this Colton character is by far one of the most evil, obnoxious and irritating characters the show has ever cast! Any second he gets of camera time simply irritates me.

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JiuJitsuGuy.com - One Year Anniversary

2012-03-07T09:50:00.006-08:00

It's hard to believe, but yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my website/blog. It's incredible how quickly this year flew by and how much has changed!

A year ago today, I had a two week old son at home, and I was having a hard time at work due to some serious sleep deprivation issues. We lived in a different city and also worked at a different office space (same company, new location). Life was pretty chaotic. I wouldn't say life is chaotic any more, but it's definitely busy. We are settled at our new home, I'm still employed by the same great company,

My blog has also gone through a bit of a roller coaster during this past year as well. I loaded it with tons of original content right off the bat. A couple of my earlier posts were very much Jiu Jitsu related and have been read over a thousand of times!

I did get discouraged and too busy a couple of times during this past year and decided not to write for weeks at a time. I think that hurt me because it's difficult to get a following when you don't stay consistent.

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Roy "Big Country" Nelson - 100,000 Facebook fans

2012-03-06T07:58:00.004-08:00

I heard about Big Country's Facebook challenge yesterday, and to be perfectly honest it fascinates me! Before I begin, let's me provide a very brief introduction to who this cat is.

Big Country at first glance is just a big fat guy. He sorta looks like a heavier version of Larry the Cable Guy.

What differentiates him from overweight men everywhere are his talents! The guys is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Renzo Gracie! He's an accomplished grappler who has tussled and won against savages like former UFC Champ Frank Mir in grappling only competition. Below find a link of their battle a few years and many pounds ago.

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Podcast Studio,Technical Challenge #1

2012-03-05T08:23:00.006-08:00

Those of you following my Facebook updates realize that I recently purchased an iPod bundle package. I got a great deal on it via a top rated seller on eBay.

The package was shipped to me via FedEx ground and finally arrived on Thursday. Man, I got so excited! The thing looked really heavy duty, it included some sort of mixer, a smaller component to allow that mixer to run through the computer, a nice microphone with a stand and some cool headphones...and software! Oh yeah, it also included lots of cables, a whole lot of scary cables.

Fun fact: I used to DJ when I was in my late teens, so although I'm not all that computer savvy, I have some experience dealing with audio equipment...and drunks, but that's another story.

Moving on, I unwrapped everything and immediately installed it on the desk. By the way, the thing was packaged perfectly, I was actually really impressed. I then immediately began uploading the audio programs into my wife's laptop (yeah, I don't have my own laptop,at least not one that works...lame).

After I got everything wired up (of course without reviewing instructions, because after all, I'm a guy), all I needed to do was install the FireWire plug into the laptop.

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My morning commute, & dealing with haters

2012-03-03T13:36:00.002-08:00

I write this blog on my train ride into work, because I just had an experience I'd like to share with you guys and gals. Before I begin, one the main reasons I love blogging is because it gives me a voice to reach like-minded individuals. I like to consider myself a positive, hard working and family oriented person, so nothing makes me happier than interacting with people with similar values.

Well, this morning was like any typical morning, I awoke to my second alarm (slept through the first one), I took a quick shower. Being that it's "Casual Friday," the work attire was much more relaxed, which is awesome! I kissed my family goodbye and got into my Red Ferrari (ok, so it's actually a gray Nissan Sentra).

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Podcast Equipment: Almost here!

2012-02-29T06:50:00.002-08:00

I'm really excited that my podcast equipment is almost home! I got a great deal on eBay, which included free shipping, however the free shipping was via FedEx ground, so it took forever!!!! At least I saved me like $20 in shipping costs. I mean the equipment weighs over 10 pounds!

You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to recording my first Jiu Jitsu Guy podcast! Don't get me wrong, I'm a little nervous about it, especially learning how to use the technology.

There is so much work still ahead. I'll probably need to host my own website to move the audio files to, moving away from Blogger. I used to think iTunes stored all that data, but I've recently learned that they don't!

This may mean a complete overhaul of the website, which to be honest is probably needed at this time! As I've mentioned before, I'm a Jiu Jitsu Guy, not a tech guy and I'm really far from a programmer!

I've already got a couple of sponsors lined up, so that's cool. This will be important component of it, because it will hopefully bring a little cash to keep up with equipment and cover part of the reoccurring costs. At this time, I know I still need to get another mic for guests, plus pop filters and mic stands!

As I've mentioned before, the Jiu Jitsu Guy podcast will follow a similar style as my blog, easy going, fun weekly show. I really enjoy the idea of connecting with those like me: Positive, family oriented, Jiu Jitsu loving peeps from all over the globe!

Anyways, I have really hope some of you guys are looking forward to it also. I hate to commit to a launch date because there is so much work still ahead, BUT I'm personally shooting to load the first episode to iTunes by 3/31/2012.

That's all do now, have a great day locos!

To follow day to day craziness please "like" Jiu Jitsu Guy on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jiu-Jitsu-Guy/142823045819774

Roku 2 XD HD Media Streamer

2012-02-24T14:45:00.002-08:00

Before I begin to talk to you about the Roku device, I'd like to give a disclaimer about it. I do get some monetary compensation for you guys clicking the link to check it out further.

You see, I joined an affiliate program where certain ads generate revenue for me (every nickle counts in this economy). I literally had hundreds of ads to choose from, but my favorite one was the Roku player!

The Roku player that I currently own is the Roku 2 XD HD Media Streamer, I had the older model before this newer one. I've owned a Roku device for about two years. Why do I love this device so much? Well, 1) I'm a bit frugal and it provides a lot value for the cost and 2) We love local programming at our home.

You see my wife and I are huge fans of reality TV and programs like "Modern Family" and "Up all Night" , which can be found on your local TV channels. With the birth of our second child last year, we had to budget even more. We got our dish network bill down to the bare bones, local channels for around $10/mo. I have to have the DVR, so that's an extra $5/month. With taxes and stuff my cable bill is around $20/month.

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At what age should you begin training BJJ?

2012-02-23T11:24:00.002-08:00

I was recently asked this question by one of the blog readers. Although I'm far from an authority in the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I feel I have some relevant experience to provide input.

First of all, up until recently every Saturday I would assist in teaching the kids Jiu Jitsu program at our academy. I took a break from this due to life issues that kept me away every weekend.

I had the pleasure to work with kids from age four and up. I had a front row seat in observing them train, drill and play. This gave me great insight as to how early a child should begin this training.

In addition, my seven year old daughter has been training Jiu Jitsu over the last two years.

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New! Jiu Jitsu Guy page on Facebook

2012-02-22T07:14:00.005-08:00

Good morning guys and gals! I'm expecting that many of you reading this may be new to the site. The reason I feel that way is because I actually began a marketing plan to grow followers to the site by creating a fan page on Facebook.

By the way, "fan page" sounds so lame to me, reality is I shouldn't have any "fans" I would much prefer to replace the word "fans" with "positive like-minded peeps who want to follow me in a magical and entertaining journey, powered by Brazilian Jui Jitsu inspired content". Yeah, that's better.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jiu-Jitsu-Guy/142823045819774

With regards to me establishing a "marketing plan" Some of you may be thinking: "WTF do you know about marketing bro" (Jiu Jitsu people use the word bro a lot, but you knew that).

Well I actually studied marketing in college, eventually earning a Business degree, with a marketing emphasis! So a long time ago I knew marketing by the book, today I know marketing based on experience, or so I'd like to think.

At one point during my college years I dreamed of becoming an advertising execute, creating commercials and ads. Like a lot of college grads, my ultimate career was determine by the relevant experience I obtained. Of course, what interested me the most, was what gave me the best compensation package.

Fast forward 14 years and here I am, with a great professional career, deep in finance and investments. But I love to write and train Jiu Jitsu, and spread the positive lifestyle, so here I am.

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Jiu Jitsu Guy - Ah-ha moment!

2012-02-16T06:51:00.003-08:00

Good morning weary commuter(s), ok that's kind of an inside joke, you see I recently received a blog comment that someone enjoyed my blog while car-pooling. That was a blog I wrote will riding on a train!

If you're reading this "Indianapolis Jiu Jitsu", have a great commute and remember that farts still stink even if you can't hear them because you have your earbuds on. Ask me how I know?

Moving on, that blog comment actually started a bit of a chain reaction in my mind, especially when i combined it with a bunch of tech stuff that I have in the works. It actually hit me like a ton of bricks!

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The Dangerous World of Blogging!

2012-02-15T17:34:00.002-08:00

Inspired by writing a blog this morning on my way into work, I decided to try my luck and write another one on my way home.

Now, I'm sure some of y'all have seen reality shows like Ice Road Truckers or Dangerous Jobs (I apologize if I butchered the title). I'm a big reality TV junkie, but my favorites are Survivor and Big Brother, among many, many others.

At this point you may be asking yourself, what the hell is this guy rambling about??? Getting back to the point, Blogging can be dangerous my friends! No, I'm not talkin about developing a bad case of Carpal Tunnel or getting cock-eyed from staring at this tiny ass iPhone screen!

I'm talking about real danger, the kind where a cop slams you against a wall, Clint Eastwood style bitches!

So here's what happened: I saw a really neat picture opportunity as I was waiting for my train. I saw the train tracks intersect and decided I'd snap a few pics with my phone, and maybe write a blog about Jiu Jitsu Crossroads.

I walked over to the end of the platform and simply snapped a few pics. Like a fine tuned Jiu Jitsu ninja, I quickly walked away from the scene and began working on my phone. Well, two minutes later a BART cop walks over.

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