Tuesday, October 18, 2016

IPARI HANAs FROM XERO SHOES AVAILABLE NOW!

XERO SHOES' newest offering, the Ipari Hana casual shoe is now available to the public.  You can get them from the link on the right side of this page.  Great new product, in my humble opinion.

Here is my previous review:
IPARI HANA REVIEW

Saturday, October 15, 2016

PALEO IN YOUR FACE............(FROM A 5TH GRADER)

Had a great paleo experience today.  Outside of a local grocery store there was a girl and her mom with a little table set up.  It had a sign that said "Help me with my science experiment".  My 11 yr. old son was with me, and we went to see what it was about.  On the table was a card with nutritional information, next to something covered with a dishtowel.  The girl asked, "Would you eat something with this nutritional value?"  It was no carb, high protein, no sugar, no salt, no added ingredients.  My son said, "I would".  She then uncovered a little cup full of dried Bamboo worms>>>>.......!  My son took the cup and downed about 4 or 5, made a bit of a face and then turned to me and said "Your turn, Dad!"  Hey, this is about as paleo as it gets, so I said Sure!  They were actually pretty good, I thought.  Nice and crunchy.  Anyway, it was Paleo guy "Fish or cut bait" time!  Interesting experience!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

IPARI HANA FROM XEROSHOES IS HERE!!

I had the good fortune to test the Ipari Hana, XeroShoes' venture in the casual shoe.  I received my pair a few days ago, and wore them as much as possible.  These are a great alternative to any other casual shoes that I have worn.  They are "xero" drop, built on a Z-Trek sole, with a nice soft suede-like interior (micro fiber) and the extreme flexibility that you would expect in an offering by Xero Shoes.------------>>

I wore them with khakis on "casual day" at the office in which I work (my day job).  It is a government building, and, unbeknownst to anybody else, I was barefoot all day long.  I was basically barefoot inside of the Hana's.   These are available in several colors, and are a great addition to anybody's collection of footwear.  I did an actual video review of these, and it is available here:

IPARI HANA REVIEW

Here is another short video from XeroShoes about the Hana :  https://youtu.be/Uv4DAybyTJU

You owe it to yourself to get a pair (or two) of these.  The quality is excellent, they look great, and, most importantly, they feel terrific on your feet.  The toe box is nice and wide, they snug up well on your feet, or will sit more loosely if you prefer that (I do).   XeroShoes is also a good company to deal with.  I've been dealing with them since at least early 2010, not too long after they were established.  They are very customer service oriented, offer great products, and will help you out with issues regarding fit, adjustment, etc.   They will be available in a few days, and in limited quantity, so if you want to get in on this, be ready to order.  It looks like they will retail for $79.99, but less during the initial introductory period.  I have reviewed lots of running sandals and some running shoes over the years, but this is my first casual shoe review.    You need these!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

NEW REVIEWS COMING SOON.............

I am currently testing a couple of new products.  Will have some reviews coming out soon!  I can't currently say much about them, but both of these are pretty different.  Stay tuned...........

SO EASY TO GO OFF THE RAILS.............

     Well, here we are again, right in the middle of pumpkin spice latte season!  It's beginning to pop up everywhere.  This is the season, from now until the beginning of the year when everyone seems to put common sense on hold in order to enjoy "the holidays".  The office in which I work is suddenly FILLED with candy bars, hard candies, bon bons, candy, and more candy.  Pure sugar, sitting everywhere.  Pretty inviting.  It is so easy to just grab a chocolate bar or piece of candy as you walk by.  Co-workers walk in every morning with their trophy from you know which coffee shop.  Not exactly coffee mind you, but a 500 calorie sugar and whipped cream fueled pancreas buster.
     There are some secured hallways where I work that are open only to employees, and at least once or twice per week, someone is celebrating something with a table full of carbs.  It is so prevalent that they have established a permanent table in the hallway, with a big "Happy Birthday" sign over the top, ready for the next upcoming celebration.
      Can't imagine why we're getting fat.  This isn't breakfast, or lunch, but a 10:00 am feeding frenzy of doughnuts, bagels, muffins and cupcakes.  Oh, SOMETIMES, there is the obligatory "fruit plate", brought in by some well-meaning individual.  It is always relegated to the back of the table, and usually left mostly undisturbed as twenty frantic sets of hands paw over the flour and sugar "treats".
      I've ranted over this many times, but it seems to get worse and worse.  We have more diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it.  I will see the same people "walking" for a 1/2 hour during lunch.  They go to the trouble of bringing sweats and "walking shoes".  That, of course, is a little bit of a bright spot, but walking for 1/2 hour won't burn off your morning pumpkin spice latte, the cupcake and doughnut you had at 10:00, AND your breakfast.
       Can't fix this on my own, of course.  It will get worse during the next 2-1/2 months as the "holiday parties" start to roll up.  Then everyone will make a New Year's Resolution that will last a couple of days and the cycle will start again.  Only you can make this better.  Chances are, if you are reading this, you are already way ahead of many of your peers, because you are at least interested in making it better. 
      Paleo works for me.  I'm a pragmatist, though.  Eating paleo is a lifestyle choice, not a religion.  Will I ever have a piece of pizza at one of my kids' events/parties?  Sure.  The problem is not the occasional break over to avoid being a social outcast in front of your kids.  The problem is deciding HOW you want to fuel your body.  Food is just that.  Fuel, and building materials that your body needs in order to function and to repair itself.  If you constantly load up with crap, that is what your body will use.  If you try to build a house with broken pallets that you find behind your local home improvement store, you will end up with a crappy house.  If you put cheap, watered-down fuel in your car, it will run poorly, if at all.  Just try to minimize the crap intake, and at least MOSTLY fuel and replenish your body with nourishing food and clean water.  It will function better............