Category: San Luis Obispo

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Jenny Craig — the family is now down over 150 lbs.

wow! am I really obese?

I have been on Jenny Craig since December 6th and I have lost over 49 lbs… and although I now fit comfortably in a size 38 pair of pants… my BMI (body mass index) says I am ‘very over weight’. Interestingly enough, when I reach my goal weight of ‘229’ — which I haven’t been at since my wrestling days in high school– I will simply be ‘overweight’ and wearing a size 34 pair of pants.

The BMI is a good guideline… but athletes , anyone who works out regularly or genetically has heavy bone density ( you can be tested for this) won’t fit the standard chart. If I were to reach high normal of 205 lbs… well… I’d start recieving food packages from friends.

However, progress is measured in many ways… the scale, how clothes fit, new smaller sizes and compliments. I have tried a lot of diets over the years… including my own very Spartan one… but Jenny Craig’s has been the easiest. In addition, Karen (-53 lbs) and Laura (-48 lbs) have been great diet partners!

Roger Freberg

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‘Mason Weaver Day’ at Cal Poly!

Mason Weaver and his booksYears ago, Mason Weaver came to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to speak…. and there begins a tale.

Mason’s talk was exactly the same as the title of his book…” It’s ok to leave the plantation.” His appearance at Cal Poly resulted in the threatened expulsion of a young college student Steven Hinkle, national media discussion on the value of ‘free speech’ and finally the vilification of Cal Poly and much taxpayer money given to Steven Hinkle.

Mason describes his book “It’s ok to leave the plantation”:

“Wisdom does not come from surviving but from thriving. This book discusses some of the family and environmental contributions that led to my change from liberal to conservative. It also discusses how Black Americans came from slavery to freedom.” “It’s OK To Leave The Plantation examines the ‘Plantation mentality’ that still plagues us today. The Plantation Mentality is a system that discourages independence and character and encourages reliance on masters or appointed tribal chiefs in our community.”

Mason may not change your views… but he may give you a new way to look on what really is ‘help’ and what really ‘works’ in our society.

Mason returned to Cal Poly last night after a number of years in what could be called his ‘triumphal return.’ It was ‘Mason Weaver Day at Cal Poly’… an annual event.

Roger Freberg

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Cal Poly… athletes as property

 Kaylene Wagner was refused a release from Cal Poly San Luis obispo... and sat out a year at Kansas State

I wasn’t too surprised when I gave my first ‘Weenie Award’ for 2007 to Cal Poly State University at San Luis Obispo. They have been the recipient of many such awards in the past… including the infamous U.S. News Report ‘Sheldon Award’ given each year to the worst president.

Sometimes athletes find themselves at universities that are a poor match  socially, athletically or academically and they end up wanting to transfer somewhere else. “Regular’ students transfer… so it seems reasonable that athletes may wish to do the same.

The process of transfering for an athlete is a bit more involved than it is for a regular student. The athlete must first obtain a ‘release’ from their present school before they can begin to talk to anyone else. Actually, I think this is a good idea… coaches and teams deserve to be notified if one of their athletes is unhappy enough to desire a transfer. However, obtaining a ‘release’ should be automatic… but as we will see… it isn’t.

Kaylene Wagner jumped for Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo for two seasons. We noticed she transfered to Kansas State and sat out last year… I discovered asking around that Kaylene did not recieve a release from Cal Poly! Why would any school be so…. nasty & vengeful, and self serving ?

Well, here are some of the reasons I have heard that athletes are not granted waivers: 1) we trained and developed their talent 2) the big programs don’t give waivers to their top talent 3) we don’t want to be treated like a junior college where they ‘move on.’ Hmmmm…

When you have powerful athletic programs like Southern California & Florida & Arkansas providing releases… It’s hard to understand small schools with token athletic programs like Cal Poly not having an athlete’s best interest at heart…

The underlying problem here is some athletic programs view athletes like ‘property’. If this issue emerges in the NCAA… it will be because of schools like Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Now, IF I were an athlete deciding on a school… I would look at how athletes are treated when they want to leave… if they are treated poorly… I would drop them from my list.

 

Roger Freberg

Presented to Cal Poly the first

CAL POLY San Luis Obispo
“Big Weenie Awardee”

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When journalists Go Bad… or am I repeating myself?

when a journalist goes bad ... or am I repeating myself?I am sure that everyone has had a chance to see a ‘Journalist’ who has gone ‘bad.’

You know what I mean. Someone who has an ‘ax’ to grind and deliberately twists, invents or lies. Certainly, the headlines have been full of stories… often disclosed on the Internet first. Do you remember when we first heard about Monika Lewinsky? It was on the Internet.
 
So, I asked myself… is there anything that passes for a “code of ethics” in Journalism? I did find a statement of ‘ethics’ in something called the Society of Professional Journalists… but I question some of their assumptions.
 
Some folks think that journalists should be like …’judges ’..  closer to G*d and above any compromising earthly associations. They state it this way:
 
“Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.”
 
Sounds nice… but in reality, it really means that they are one step away from our culture… and — consequently – they live in a world of their own.  This lack of exposure limits their understanding of the community and the world that they are apart.
 
I think it was Ted Turner who asked Journalists if they were an “American” or a “Journalist” first? I guess this means – Ted — you can’t be both. However, it is our perspective and experiences that gives us an educated point of view .. Not our lack of associations.
 
Another part of Journalistic ‘ethics’ that caught my attention is a twist on the Hippocratic oath of doing ‘no harm’:
 
“Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.”
 
I have met one Journalist who embraced the oath… but, unfortunately, he is no longer a journalist. Good people leave all too quickly. I sometimes wonder if it is true – as told in the James bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” – that there is no news like bad news? It does seem like the media avoids any ‘good news’ or ‘success stories’ for fear that someone somewhere may feel bad.
 
However, part of growing up is looking at the world honestly… seeing the good… not just the bad.
 
Jordan Hasay and mmo and Dad....I know this is too negative a post for this time of the season… but it disturbs me when a newspaper whacks a young aspiring athlete for failing to win a national championship. It isn’t easy to win… we should be supportive, encouraging, and appreciative of our youth when the succeed and merciful when they stumble…
 
Too often media folks act like judges and less like what we really need …  teachers and cheerleaders …
 

Roger Freberg

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Do you speak Playstation 3 or Wii?

crazies waiting for PlayStation 3

I can understand waiting days for a ticket to a big football game… but they were really out there for the Playstation 3 video game platform… okay… it may sound like sour grapes… I tried to get one… even on-line… but I FAILED!

No problemo… I have a Wii (Nintendo’s biggie) on it’s way!!!!

Good Luck to all you gamers out there!

 

Roger Freberg