The downfall of Google...had to happen sometime.

Selling out, so easy to do, so impossible to recover from.

Dr. G

Seminar good. Meeting all you fools I've been chatting with over the last two years, also good. My skills with a video camera... not so good. Hope we can get together again soon, perhaps in a setting that encourages wearing pants.

Regarding Google: Lame. I'd like to think they're about to pull a "Great Rock and Roll Swindle" on the Chinese government but that's probably not the case. Weak sauce.

Off to South Lake Tahoe for some liver WODs.

-D.

Explain to me how "obeying the laws of the host country" is considered selling out?

If Google obeyed a United States court order to censor its search engine to prevent searches for classified information, would that mean Google "sold out"?

I really, REALLY wish Crossfit woudn't incite political discussions. Thats what Fark.com is for.

Stephen, I frequently agree, because the material is often a bit swayed. But this- this is a good question. An actual toughie. How far do the responsibilities of a corporation go? How does one negotiate the spectrum of inaction, compliance, and collusion? Is there a difference between a corporation that provides something innocous like consumer goods, and something more significant to cultural function, such as information? The government has always said that most-favored trade status was only extended to nations with good human rights records- except for China, whose markets are apparently too big to seal off for something as basic as human rights. Does that do good for the Chinese populace, or does it cave to the Chinese government, so the US can get more stuff? Is 10% downtime, the consequence of running through the "Great Firewall," more or less discouraging than filtered results? Is something actually better than nothing? I'm gonna have to chew on this one for a while.

Oh, and as for searches for classified data- if it's in the open where folks can get at it, it's fair game. And given the fact that the US maintains more classified documents of greater age, and according to a few studies, the majority of it to insulate political foibles rather than to preserve national security, I'd say encouragement of Google would be in order.

Anyway, tangent. Back to the real thread!

Kind of off the subject but...Should hand-stand push ups be done back to the wall or back away from the wall?

If you don't like it don't read it, you know there is going to be a rest day every third day.

Kalen:

I'd like to see those studies on document classification. Can you help a guy out and share the citations?

Re: Comment #9-

Google had a choice to make.

A- Take a stand against a globally recognized human-rights violator and not capitulate to its many rules against the free exchange of information (matters of national security excepted, mind you).

B- Cash in on one billion humans, many of whom are or will be using the internet to conduct business. Ca-ching!

Selling out happens when one compromises one's ideals to make money. In this case, a crap-load of money. Last I heard, the good people at Google weren't going to be approaching starvation any time soon. Weak.

-D.

Fiona!
We can't see you in the photo!!!
We all want "Crossfit Dangerous" T-shirts,and will even pay money for them;)
Hope your having a Good(Painfull)Time!

Re: China
After living in PRC for more then 6 months and just completeing a major in Chinese,I feel I must make at least this comment: That while the Wars rage in other countries a Super Power with a definate agenda,and many issues to prove is emerging Economically and Militarily.Watch this space carefully.

question about the pic.
I noticed that the pullup bars are rigged up with webbing. wouldn't this effect kipping if multiple people are on the bar?
I do see the horizontal line and assume its there to reduce swing.

Steven-

Yes. It was cool. Normalcy gets old.

Jonesey rules.

-D.

Yes, kipping was lots of fun with multiple people on the bar. The horizontal line did not help much. It was a very different kind of pull-up workout.

Clark, do the HSPU with your back against the wall. That way, when you tire, you can fold at the waist to come to the standing position. If you do them stomach to the wall, your body won't be as straight and it's less elegant to get to the standing position - unless you have a pretty bridge!

another off topic here...anyone know what would cause a real sharp pain along the outer edge of my right foot? started noticing it the day after thrusters and running, and it really acted up yesterday after the run.

Google had a choice, go to China respecting China's rules, or stay out of China.

If, while in China you break a Chinese law...one that is legal in the USA, you go to jail in China. Our rules do not apply.

In the end, Google will do more to free china than 50 years of US diplomacy. Sit back and watch.

Rob F is absolutely correct. The genie is out of the bottle--the Chinese gov't cannot control the internet anymore than anyone else can. For better or worse.

Boulder thrusters while wearing a backpack full of car batteries on top of a mountain--aarggh.

This may be of some interest to the firefighters who frequent this site.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/citizensweekly/story.html?id=9ce17df4-09fe-411f-9358-43acc4f39425

Steveo

I'm baffled by people wringing their hands over Google's compromise in order to stay in business in China. This is what businesses do. Not just in China, but in the U.S., too.

If Google were to "stand by principle", they would be kicked out of China, as would every other western company that did the same. The end result would be having no influence with the country whatsoever (like the U.S. embargo on Cuba). This is different than "selling out".

How much can the government actually monitor? Even just having access to legitimate news sites from other countries will go a long way to spread information outside the party line to the Chinese. With large bureaucracy comes great incompetence. They won't be able to stop everything. I think by playing the game, Google will still open a lot of doors to the people.

I go to China often and will be back in March. Dealing with the restrictions on information flow are similar to dealing with the environmental problems there. You can choose to stay away and have no impact, or you can play by the current rules and be part of changing them and improving the situation. Google made the right choice and it will benefit all as time goes by.

The relevant question is "compared to what?" Throughout the entire course of human history the free flow of information has been destructive of tyranny. In the middle ages it was movable type. In the Soviet block it was copiers and fax machines. Even a crippled Google is orders of magnintude more and faster info than what they've had in the past. The genie is out of the bottle, and the Emperor, er, the Central Committee will not be able to put it back in.

50-40-30-20-10 rep rounds of:
30lb DB walking lunge
Sit ups
Double Unders

19:00

This was a good'un'.

I don't understand how anyone can criticize google for complying with the laws of a country in which it operates. It is not the responsibility of a corporation to put itself at risk to create some kind of protest.

I am not a conspiracy theorist. However, I find it more than coincidental that a flap about such a non-issue has been created so soon after google defied a subpoena from the government to request information (which it was within its legal rights to do.)

Which is better to the people of China, a better resource to the internet although may be limited in searches, or no resource at all?? In the end, once you get on the internet, and get the hang of it...you can find anything if you really want to.

Cal Poly Rugby
monday morning 6am swimy cindy

300m warm up
100 kick,100pull,100free

100m free

25m sprint
5 muscle ups on side of pool
10 push ups
15 squat
x14

100m back stroke
50m underwater

Commercially, Google is doing the right thing, IMO, and socially, it is doing more good than harm by going following Chinese law. Has anyone considered how will the new growth of computer hacking in China effect its social policies, culture, centralization?

WU: CF x2 w/ bench press in the middle:
45x6, 95x6, 135x6, 155x1 (bodyweight=152! yea!)
Work: C&J 65# x30
t= 10:56 took too many breaks, not enough stretching, R shoulder sore

Only Google could go to China.

For those of you who think Google sold out, take a look around you. How many of your household items were made in or have parts made in China?

Right now on my desk I have a paper clip holder, an external floppy drive, a talking Napolean Dynamite figure, and countless other items that were made in China. Does that mean that I have sold out because I have purchased products that are availble for sale in my own coutry?

1000 meter swim

The 'selling out' will prove to be mutual regarding Google and China. Google wants to exploit that big market and the Chinese will want to play along. This will entail ever increasing compromises on the part of the Chinese. Their hardcore 'people's revolution', 'serving the state' rhetoric will crumble before the 'people's' desire for trendy clothes and electronic, yuppie bling.

Hi all,
Yesrday's WOD
Ride (Airdyne) 8 miles.
Duration 23:00.
Today's WOD
{Dip (from bar suspended from webbing; +25#'s)x6, Pull-up (+50#'s)x5, Sit-up (+25#'s)x20, and DB curl and press (25#er's)x20}x5.
Bdw. 185#'s
Duration 21:52.
Until tomorrow...

Newborn son, Spanish wife, no weekend workout, need I say more. Ran 1 mile in the sand to the gym, 5000m row, subbed ring-dips for 40/40 push/pull-ups because today was a rest day. Tomorrow, planning on 5k run and Sunday's WOD. Is that cool to do or am I defeating the purpose of the program?

Wayyyy off thread, but it's a rest day. I am an aging rock fan who missed the development of rap. The XF site has some great rap tunes in some of the video content, and I'd like to add some to my workout tunes. But I don't know the genre from C&W. Can any of you youngsters name some good rap tunes for working out? I'm a stickler about copyrights, so just name 'em and I'll find them on iTunes or elsewhere.

Today is my birthday - CrossFit is the greatest gift!

Thanks!

Murph

about the pull up bars:

120 feet of pull up bar length for under $400. Some things were harder, but this challenge can help force progress.

I was able to get my first bar muscle up on a fixed bar after multiple attempts on the 'swinging' bars shown.

. . . And the bars are pattented by Dave Werner and I - you can send the checks to me.

For Google in China: I think that google.cn should just have the censored results be default. Then there should be a button that says: "click here for unfiltered content". It maybe illegal for people in that country to hit the button, but it is not up to google to regulate that (They could even have a warning below the button). Let the country handle the "execution" of the law.

Besides, nobody ever does things that they are warned against. . . especially online.

Tom R (#33):

Use the search function on the message board for "music" and/or "tunes". There have been several (sometimes long) threads about various folks' favorite WOD soundtracks.

I'm too old to recognize any of 'em . . . from the names they mostly sound like metal death . . . must be a few rap ones, too.

Google is taking the only feasible step in my opinion. Since "shareholder value" is the the name of the game in US business practice, who can expect anything else? Social responsibility is second order in this context. Another thing, that Google obviously has realized, is that China is already taking incremental steps towards democracy, and that the process has to take some time. These small steps prevent a situation similar to the shattering of the USSR and all the same showing the rest of the world that the long term intention is good. Having studied mandarin chinese and East-Asian culture for almost two years, I've understood that Chinese leaders are very conscious of their actions while at the same time dealing with the 4000 year legacy of centralized rule. China is probably not a threat to the rest of the world unless threatened. The most dangerous thing that could happen is a sudden breakdown of the current government. Give China some time to prove themselves.

And now to a different question. Does anyone know if there are any Crossfit outposts in Europe yet?

By the way . . .
24:15 (15 lbs backpack)

Google is in the right. As others have said...if you want to do business in a country, you abide by those laws, even if they differ from those of your host country. US companies grease palms in many less honest foreign countries as means of doing trade because that is the nature of the business there. Having half of a tool will open more doors into that country than having no tool at all. I don't like that Google has to filter their results. I don't like the tyrannical rule of China. But Google is not in a position to change that and withholding from the country won't change China. Getting in and working with the Chinese will help the Chinese people to change China.

While I do recognize the moral/human impacts of Google's policies in China, there unfortunately is no moral debate here. Google is a corporation and as such is responsible for one thing only: making a profit for Google shareholders. The choice was not moral, it was purely economic. The problem is with the system, for in the system there is no choice (moral or other)... just a single bottom line.

I'd like to plug an awesome movie/documentary called "the corporation". Check it out! It has some excellent food for thought.

http://www.thecorporation.com/

Ran 2.31 miles in 20 minutes on the treadmill. In my defense, I was going slow on purpose, since it's a rest day. I decided that I'm tired of being fat and slow, so I'm going to run more.

#41 I (not an expert) would suggest you run faster rather than more in order to accomplish your goals.

As for Google, I have no idea and considering all the other troubles in the world I hadn't really thought about it. One the one hand we can talk about motives. When Chamberlain made the deal with Hitler for "peace in our time", I suspect he really thought he had done it. History shall forever mock him. As has been said before on this page, Google is not a force for good (or evil), it is a force for profit. Let us posit China as Evil and hence a force for Evil. Google has made a deal with Evil. Assuming Google and Evil are rational actors and the deal works out for them, it would lead to more profit for Google (their prime motive) and more Evil for China (keeping with our original China=Evil; Evil's goal is to maximize Evil assumptions). Which leads us to the other hand. Outcomes. Whatever Google and China's rational motives, there may be collateral and/or unexpected outcomes. A censored Google may spread a freedom virus better than whatever would fill that space absent Google (something China is probably not expecting) or it may constrain such spread (something Google is most certainly hoping isn't the case).

Run: YMCA-Linoln Park 45min

15X 95lbs Thruster
20 Pull-ups
15X 95lbs Thruster
20 Pull-ups
15X 95lbs Thruster
20 Pull-ups
15X 95lbs Thruster
20 Pull-ups
15X 95lbs Thruster
20 Pull-ups

95lbs Thruster YYL = 75
Pull-ups TTL= 100

what CF facility is that?

that place is shaweeeeeet lookin'!

--zach--

I like Chinese food.

nuthin wrong with provoking thought for us meat-heads; political or otherwise...especially on rest day...anyone have a good recipe for Kung Pao Chicken?

Bob Long, #45:

The waiters never are rude.

Ummmmm. Kung Pao Chicken.......

Also,
Walk: 10 miles...
Duration: ?

I was just wondering if when we are doing the 5k run do we do the warmup first?

Joe

always do the warmup....
I want to say thanks again to all the put on the crossfit seminar in Santa Cruz,...especially you Coach. truly refreshing.

crossfit central austin texas

Kris

I'm thinking of substituting a run on the middle CrossFit day, creating an 8-day plan that would go something like:

CF
4x400
CF
tempo run of 3-5 miles
CF
long run of 8 miles or so
CF
rest day

Has anyone tried something like this? What I'm finding after three weeks on CF is that I'd rather run a little more.

Just a thought about law and countries. I always find it interesting how people want to take their countries laws and force them upon another country, especially when the laws are different.

Similar behaviour to some religious inlaws I know.

I'm with #10 Andy in Sydney... where do we get Crossfit "Dangerous" t-shirts. Am sick of people on the subway asking if my "Mess You Up" t-shirt is talking to them. I am going to beat.

Should probably say "get beat" above..... sheesh.

This whole Google thing really has me thinking. Unfortunately, after spending the better part of the weekend in a casino and imbibing free (?) drinks, my mind is a little muddled. Or is it addled? See. I am.

Google certainly must do what is best for its shareholders and sagging stock price. This is just the trick. "Selling out" is very common in the corporate arena. It's how money is made.
Now, going against the better part of your soul is another matter altogether. Dan is right when he says that Google had the choice to make:
Go to China, play by their rules, make tons of money, expose brand to billions of Chinese.
Or, don't, watch stock price continue to sag, piss off thousands of shareholders, face lawsuits because you failed to make them money, and have someone else, like Yahoo, go into China and make tons of money.
In the end, it's their call to keep the "dream" alive. To bad the allure of billions of new Chinese users was too powerful to resist.

I have problems doing business with a country like China and its record of human rights violations, Communism, and bad taste in clothing.
Its not my "most favored nation."

Oh, and is that the back of Dan's head in the picture today? No identifying tats seen, so I wasn't sure.

rfs (#52):

To me, that's a bit too much work without enough rest . . . I would take the rest day every 5th day or so. But, if the "long run" is a slow enough pace that it is effectively a recovery day, it might work. Your call.

You might consider posting your question over on the discussion board; it may get more attention over there. In particular, you can hope for a reply from Eugene Allen, who manages to mix CF and serious aerobic training with good results.

Lots of people mix CF into some other training to meet specific desires / goals. Most common is the "ME Black Box" pattern worked out by Coach Michael Rutherford (CF Kansas City). In that, you just substitute the middle day of each CF 3-day cycle with a Max Effort ("ME") day on specific lists (usually some sort of 5x5 pattern).

Not too many people here like to run as much as you do . . .

Hey, I'm for self governing too, but sometimes right and wrong trumps national borders.

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."
--Charles James Napier

My chin bar hangs in webbing too. In fact it is 'free spinning', effectively just sitting in 2 open webbing loops. The bar is 1200mm long and the loops are set around 5 inches in from either end. The bar hangs roughly 8 inches under a beam in my carport.

Let me tell you, kipping just won't work on this rig. All chins/pulls are from dead hang, and only really work if youre not swinging at all. You also need to compensate for the bar wanting to spin in your hands by visualising pushing your hands back over the top of the bar in the opposite direction.

You want to get creative with your chins?...then have a go at this one.

2 miles of interval work on the t-mill; a couple of 400s and 5 200m sprints with 200 m walking in between.

AM- Ran 5K before work
time: 29:35

PM- Started my Deadlift traing for competition in July

warm up- 3 x 5 situps and hyperextensions
5 x 5 - 364/384/404/414/424

3 x 12 - Straight Leg Deadlifts

Did this on Mon 060213 (Snow shoveling on Sun)

BW = 225
CFWU x 3

5K = 25:34 on t-mill @ 1%

Last time 051114 = 26:33 on t-mill @ 1%

59 sec improvement....Thanks CrossFit!!

Ooopps....Posted to the wrong day....Sorry

Ron,

That's Dan. He was all over like a stalkarazzi, catching the many compromising situations; and doing some mean handstands at the party.

10 x 100 yd dashes on the minute. First 4-5 were great, felt progressively sicker after that. Didn't blow, but came close

Brand X Monday night class

6 OHS 35#
9 pullups
12 box jumps 20"
15 (knee) pushups

5 rounds + 6 OHS in 20 minutes

Absolutely great seminar! So good to put a face on so many names. So much to learn, so little time.

Dan Silver, I really look forward to seeing your videos of hot chicks shooting videos of you shooting videos.

I have to agree with Jim DeLong that Google going into China under any circumstances is good, that EU and USA are democracies in decline, that the USA vision of democracy and human rights is not necessarily the best for all other peoples in all other places and times. Consider that some of our currently cherished rights did not even exist 40 years ago, until 5 judges decided that they could find them "emanating" from the "penumbras" of other rights.

Google in China is a wedge, a foot in the door, and it will get wider and wider with time. Already, as reported in yesterday's WSJ, hackers are developing ways and means for Chinese citizens to bypass government censorship. It's all good.

Worked on squat cleans today

95 - 15
115 - 10
135 - 5
135 - 4
95 - 10
45 - 25

Resting 60 to 90 seconds between sets.

Did Friday's workout (thruster/run combo.) :11:05.

Steve,
Just don't ask how I recognize Dan from the back of his head.

Ron-

There's no mystery there, Bro. Howdy from Tahoe.

-D.

You take your laptop everywhere, don't you?

21, 15, 9 reps of the triplet

135# Bench Press
pull-ups
dips

Time - 14 minutes