Todd

I am new to martial arts in general, and have been taking HEMA, which includes historical English boxing, aka pugilism or bareknuckle boxing. I'm taught that keeping the knuckles vertical (or parallel to my humerus) in a straight punch lines up all the bones in the arm and prevents boxer's fracture or other related injuries. This makes sense to me as my hand, wrist, and arm feels rock solid like this, where the wrist feels weaker and the muscles in my arm feels tense in spots when I rotate it horizontally.

I've been told it's to rotate with your hips better, getting more power, but I can rotate my hips just fine without rotating my arm.

I'd be a fool to believe that modern boxers are throwing punches wrong. So why do they rotate their wrists horizontally?

Me as a Saints fan:

Proudest - There were several proud home games, such as demolishing the Cowboys, and stomping the Bears on the road felt good, but I'll give the proudest win to the first game, taking the division from the Falcons. It wasn't clear yet how disappointing the Falcons were going to be.

Ugliest loss - Getting stomped by Seattle was not surprising, getting stomped by the Rams was embarrassing, but losing to the Panthers to give up the division hurt the most because they needed that win more than any other, and they didn't step up.

I caught a strange fish while fishing at the spillway in Carlyle, IL, for the bighead carp that gulp big gizzard shad caught in the turbulance on a 1/2oz rattlin rapala. It was about 10 inches long, silvery like a shad, and it had a long rectangular body almost like a ladyfish or tiny tarpon's, and not the rounded keel typical of shad. It had a blunt nose and forked tail like the gizzard shad's. It also had what appeared to be either a serrated tongue or a second row of teeth on it's lower jaw. I'm guessing it's some other kind of shad, but not sure. It attacked my crankbait when it's mouth was no where near large enough to swallow it.

Any idea what it was?

Taken last night at about 7:30pm in Carlyle, Illinois. I could see a faint rainbow pattern pasted on the clouds.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27070905@N07/90856131...

I had a great time catching gar, crappie, white bass, and carp. The largest was caught last night; a 35 lb carp on a crankbait using light 8lb tackle.

Me as a Saints fan:

For proudest win I think I'll pick handing the Falcons their first loss. Blowing out tampa bay while shutting them out has to rank up there as one of the best games the Saints have ever played, though.

To many choices to pick from for ugliest loss. In retrospect, being half of the chiefs wins is pretty embarrassing, especially with the epic collapse the Saints Offense had to allow it. Losing to the niners at home hurt a lot, especially since the game would have been won if it wasn't for Brees throwing two pick sixes and it felt the Saints had fixed their issues. However, I think I am going to pick the 5 picks no touchdown performance against the Falcons.

Mike and Mike were comparing the Commissioner to the President this morning so they can ask this question, but they were asking it wrong by asking for people to give an arbitrary percentage to a simple yes or no question. So, I ask you. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Roger Goodell has handled his job as Commissioner of the NFL?

I first learned to fly fish over 10 years ago, and have been fishing for over 20 years, but I've never seriously hooked myself (past the barb) until saturday. I tried to cast my fly rod into some strong wind, and a large gust came through right when I started my back cast, I felt a thud on my arm, looked down and saw I was hooked. I had just caught a 18" rainbow a couple casts earlier, which is why I didn't quit when the wind picked up. Luckily, there was some guys there who were experienced fly fisherman and used to guide, so they knew how to get the hook out. Unfortunately, though, the fly I had just caught the rainbow on was destroyed.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8402278/washingt...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000064063/art...

Over the past three years the Saints have had many little accusations about intent to injure. After the road game against the Rams, RG3 tweeted that they, particularly ex-Saint LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, kept hitting him in ways to try to injure him, like driving his head into the ground. Sound familiar?

The Rams' Linebackers coach is Gregg Williams' son.

Could this be bountygate part two?

I bought a 2007 Mini Cooper, used, at a Ford dealership in August of 2010. For nearly two years I loved this car and didn't have to pay much in the way of maintenance. I bought the car at 55k miles, and now it has 92k. Over the past year, I have noticed a rattling noise at cold startup, and it was especially loud in the winter, and I also noticed that the car consumes oil. As the oil got lower, the rattling got worse, and whenever I topped off the oil the rattling stopped. I brought this up at the MINI dealership (where I get all my repairs on the car) during a routine oil change and they didn't take it seriously.

Well, Tuesday morning on my way to work, there was a sudden loss of power and the engine started missing bad. I was almost to where I work when the car just couldn't hold and idle and stalled. It wouldn't turn over after that and it sounded really "sick". I had the car towed to the dealer, where they told me the timing chain tensioner failed and it allowed the timing belt to jump "a great distance". Apparently, these are "interference" engines (a term I learned because of this incident) so the screwed up timing destroyed the engine. The dealer said it will cost 8,000 to completely replace the engine.

I told them to hold on to it while I figure things out, as I cannot slap that money down. Since then, research has shown this has happened to others. I got in contact with one of them who is still in the process of a lawsuit with MINI USA since late 2010.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-...

I have heard many different explanations for the rattling, something that has been well documented, but it's hard to believe that the rattling, the oil consumption, and my car self-destructing is unrelated. Mini apparently issued a "service bulletin" to correct the rattling but it didn't solve anything, and I do not know if it has been applied to my car by the previous owner.

http://www.motoringfile.com/2008/02/20/r56-mcs-eng...

Further research on these forums states that the rattling is absolutely to due with the timing chain tensioner not getting enough oil on cold starts.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-...

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-...

So far I am still trying to figure out my options of resolving the issue. I still owe quite a bit on the car, more than it was worth before the engine self-destructed, and don't have the money to pay for these repairs. I have contacted my USAA insurance on the hopes they can help pay for it, other than that my only option seems to be to take out a loan, or raise a stink about it with the dealer, which I'm pessimistic on considering what I've heard from others with the same issue.

Do you have any advice or ideas on how I can resolve the issue?

Mine as a Saints fan:

Proudest : Blowing out the rival Falcons at home to complete the sweep and set the passing yard record.

Ugliest : Obviously it's giving St Louis it's first win.

A guy who dances but looks like a fool dancing or a guy who doesn't dance at all?

I found in the directions on a box of kleenex "It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with it's labeling. Use only as a facial tissue."

Obviously the Federal government won't arrest me for using a Kleenex facial tissue as a napkin or dust cloth, or to clean electronic devices and glasses. Such a law would be unenforceable. This doesn't sound like something to protect themselves from litigation against problems caused by improper use. What is this for and what does it mean? What Federal law is it referring to?

And do you think it will make your team significantly stronger in coming season (assuming there is one).

My suggestion would either be Russia or Brazil.

.. And not as any already described character.

Me as a Saints fan:

Proudest - Getting a clear victory over the Steelers on Halloween night after so much was in question about the season.

Ugliest - Losing to the Cards even though their offense couldn't find the end zone.

... Or other if I am forgetting a team.