h4x354x0r

School is out, City Hall is in!

h4x354x0r — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:57:44 GMT

I am the Thursday Evening entertainment for city hall meeting attendees.

One of the women coming out of the meeting stopped to tell me they all appreciated me being out there to entertain them during sometimes incredibly boring meetings. Then I felt bad for distracting them, but she assured me it was a good thing and they always looked forward to me on Thursdays.

It's been a long time since my last Blog post. Busy, but I've still been posting videos. Not much new to say, or rather, no good news anyway. This rally is probably a bright spot. Let's catch up on the last few weeks:

Thursday 3rd was my last big regular school session on Speakers Circle, and I got a volunteer guest DJ to come spin a few tunes for me. Thursday 10th I wasn't even planning on kicking, but I wound up with just a few extra minutes, so I got down to Speaker's Circle for one last short (50 min) Finals Week Session. Thursday 17th was my City Hall 2012 Debut, where I had to bail at 1:30 because... my old bladder sucks.

Which brings me back to this week and my 2-add game. I've obviously lost something. My technical ability has been on a slow downhill slide for years, but in the last few months I've experienced a huge sudden drop in ability. As far as I can tell, I'm going to have to re-focus on my 2+ add game. I can't seem to maintain 3-add level for more than a few moves anymore.

My knees hurt. A lot. I can't crouch down so much anymore. It's like I've suddenly dropped below the threshold of being able to take enough knee pressure to adequately control spin and balance. And, I'm having hella time pulling the bag straight up and in on sets.

I think I can improve my knees with hamstring stretching exercises. But I think the problem is deeper than that; maybe some neuropathy from my back problems. I don't really know.

This is exactly the kind of thing I was intending to catch and document with my blog. I wanted to capture the effects of the aging process on a lifelong hardcore athlete like me.

I still love kicking and have no intention of stopping. I think my physical abilities would drop off a *LOT* faster if I didn't keep up the activity. I feel very fortunate to have such a demanding physical activity I love so much at this age to keep me so active.

2:30 / 50 / 1:30 / 1:50 - 49:10 - Thanks for tuning in!

Gorillas and Stairs and Preachers, Oh My!

h4x354x0r — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:51:31 GMT

Getting there early and getting a jump on the preachers doesn't work.

The moment I move out of the center of the circle to take a drink, or towel off, or anything else, they just barge right in. I've never dealt directly with this guy before. I dub him "The Judger" because the central refrain of his spiel kept coming back to, "I am here to judge you."

When he first barged in, I tried to make a deal with him, that he could have one side, and I got the other. But the moment I moved around a bit, away from the center, he just moved right in. As a result, I spent a lot of time kicking directly in front of him.

I contrasted him. I outlasted him. Both my radio and the Accordion Playing Gorilla outblasted him. He packed up and left after an hour.

Having the Accordion Playing Gorilla show up was definitely the highlight of my day. I had an absolute blast kicking to his music!

I seem to have developed a new filming style, too. It's called "accidentally leaving the camera on." I've done this, I think, the last 3 times in a row now, including Thursday's session. I didn't even realize I was filming that rally. This especially sucks because I'm still using MiniDV tape; it's expensive and the ingest time is a bore. I've got to get a handle on that, even if this accidentally taped rally was a winner this time.

I thought I needed to get a handle on my footbag rotation, but this may not be true. I was rotating through 5 different bags already, and just wound up with 3 more. Rather than hold some back, I've ended up putting all 8 in rotation. Rather than having the same specific order every time, I'm just going to mix them up and plop them down in random order, with one exception: my PhatTyre Sport bag named Rasta always goes first. And, The Man, my blue/white Abshire bag, is gets last or next to last. And, there's got to be at least one other bag in between the the two Black/Gold, Gold/Black Abshires named MIZ and ZOU.

More props to another fellow footbag player goes out to Allan Haggett who does the most awesome incredible multilevel footbag moves. He has inspired me to have a little fun of my own on the stairs on Speakers Circle.

Guiltless rallies still elude me though. It's like my skill just dropped off a cliff. Since midwinter, before I got my new shoes, I've barely even hit a string of 10 - no matter how hard I've tried. 6 months ago, my benchmark was 20+. That's a precipitous drop. I just can't do it. It's hard to explain.

After the preacher came, barged into the circle on me, spent an hour on his spiel, and finally left, I stepped into the circle to make the following announcement:

"I think the one big difference between that guy and me, is that I am not here to judge anyone. I'm just here because I love to play Hacky Sack. I think you're all beautiful, wonderful, and incredible - just the way you are. I appreciate everyone letting me be out here. Thank you!"

2:25/42:30 - Thanks for tuning in!

That's Reverend Hack Man, to You

h4x354x0r — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:50:07 GMT

At this point, I'm convinced Jackass Brother Jed and his minions are stalking me. They haven't been at Speakers Circle all week, but on the one day I can go out there to play? Of course...

So, I've started playing the whole thing up. The atheists help too. They now come and plague the hate preachers at every chance as well, making sure that there's plenty of action at Speakers Circle any time the preachers are there. They provide a great foil, getting right in the preacher's faces with their signs, and often drawing them out of the center of the circle for a 'discussion'. That's when I move in.

One of them carries around a sign: "I will give $500 dollars to anyone who can convince me your religion is real" I've seen the envelope with the money, he really does carry it on him when he does this.

A couple times now, I've been able to use this as an opportunity to loudly proclaim: "Hacky Sack is MY religion! Can I convince you Hacky Sack is real? After all, I could really use the $500 bucks. I'd buy EVERYONE here a Hacky Sack with that money!"

The students seem to love that.

The best part is, I got at least 3 new "converts" to Hacky Sack today. The one guy in the video, whom I ended up giving a footbag to; a soccer player who swears he had never played footbag before today, but freaking tore it up (and I think he's genuinely hooked); a girl that does hula hoop (like, seriously); and I think there may have been one other guy who was trying it for the first time as well.

I had been solo kicking for nearly 2 hours when the soccer player and a couple other guys came over and asked to use one of my footbags. Within 10 minutes, there were 8 people in the hack circle, and we pretty much took over the area. I ended up hacking with the circle of students for another hour and a half, showing them how to do tricks like pendulums and clippers, or whatever else they asked.

At a few points, I would count the people in the circle and loudly proclaim: "The Hack Man has made SIX new converts today!" The crowd always cheered for that, too.

Before I go, I should link in last week's video too, since I didn't write a blog for it last week. You can hear all the banter between the hate preachers and their hecklers, who drew them out of the circle for me.

I think I might have started something. Until I challenged Sister Cindy a couple months ago, the preachers had pretty much total run of the place. Since then, the students have been setting up tables in the middle of the circle almost every day, denying them their 'place', and the atheists and other hecklers have been both very creative and absolutely relentless. Last week it was some guy with a "God Hates the Seattle Super Sonics!" sign, totally dogging the preachers and ruthlessly mocking them.

I've lost what few shreds of reservation I've had about the issue; when I show up now, I just crank up my radio and literally hack right around them. We are going to reclaim the circle from the hate preachers.

2:15 / 2:30 (was actually 3:30 but almost 1:45 circle kicking) - 40:05 for the year so far. Thanks for tuning in!

Catching Up on Falling Behind

h4x354x0r — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:46:55 GMT

It's been almost a month since my last blog post. Shame on me. But even more concerning, from a footbag perspective, is that my difficulty level seems to have fallen off a cliff. Witness last week's video:

To be clear, this is not the fault of the new Abshire bags I just unboxed. I had some decent rallies that day, I just didn't get them on tape. But the definition of "Decent" has degraded to a more just a measure of length, not difficulty level. I haven't plotted it yet, but this has been going on since last fall. I just can't hold guiltless rallies like I used to.

Part of it, lately, is the new shoes. They felt so perfect and so wonderful when I tried them on at the shoe store. Two weeks later, I hated them. The left shoe was way too tight. Do my feet really swell up that much? I finally crammed a block of wood and cloth in it for a day and a half. That has stretched it out, but the new shoes still feel really clunky when I kick in them. It's been so long since I broke in my last pair of shoes, I don't remember what it was like. I don't think it was this bad.

The core issue, though, is joint pain and strength. My knees hurt all the time now, and I just can't put that much bent-knee pressure on them. But I really blame my back for this. My sciatica has been the worst it's ever been in springtime. It usually bugs me in the winter, and gets better in the spring. Not this year. It gives my hip joints, knees, quadraceps, and ankles 'phantom' pain. And no matter how much I tell myself it's just phantom, my body refuses to ignore it.

The end result is, I just don't have the strength and accuracy to play at the 3+ add level much anymore. This week's best guiltless string was probably in the low teens. Even when I was going crazy for my student project filming a few weeks ago, I'm not sure I broke 20 contacts. A year ago, I could almost always break that; suddenly now, I rarely attain it.

I certainly hope I can get back to the typical 20+ guiltless contact level, but there are no guarantees. I'm getting older, and life isn't getting any easier. I didn't even get to kick at all Spring Break week, despite the beautiful weather. I had to work, work, fucking work. There's no sign that will let up, either.

Now, since it's been so long, I'm trying to reconstruct my kicking time. Last post was just before a Thursday session. Using my Twitter stream and past YouTube posts to reconstruct my footbag timeline:

Thursday 3/15 - 2:15, First session with my new shoes, and I gave away my Red/Black PhatTyre Sport to some students doing a scavenger hunt. Of course with the legendary Hack Man's footbag, they definitely won their scavenger hunt challenge!

Thursday 3/22 - 2:15 again. Between last week and this week, I got new PhatTyre footbags, and filmed my First Rallies with them. Thanks Toes and Flying Clipper Footbags!

Thursday 3/29 - The tweet says it all: @h4x354x0r Today is my hallowed FOOTBAG THURSDAY! And… I'm pretty certain I'm going to get screwed out of kicking today. Work is hell. And, I most certainly did get screwed out of kicking that week.

Friday 4/6 - Finally caught up with footbag log! I would have done more, but was squeezed between work appointments and family obligations. Barely 2 hrs.

So, 6:30 total footbag time since last post, for 25:20 hours total for the year. Still doing great on annual time goal, now if I could only do bit better on the guiltless strings. Thanks for tuning in!

Footbag Thursday Eve

h4x354x0r — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:23:57 GMT

Technically, already early Thursday. I'm scheduled to be kicking in less than 12 hours. I've got to be to work in 6. Technically, not even work. I'm chaperoning a tour of students through the Engineering department on campus until 1:30. I'll be walking and on my feet most of the day. Then, I'm planning to go play footbag.

Last week, I just plain jack-ass forgot how to kick. Worst session in years. It was the first session in new shoes, but indoors at the Secret Hideout. That was a bit of a let-down after all the great outdoor sessions I've had. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was was still hurting from the previous Thursday session blowout. I played hard, well, and for a long time; then, walked some unknown number of miles. I had a very slow and unpleasant muscle recovery.

So there I was the next week, last Thursday; indoors, new shoes, knees hurting, my best guiltless string? Three. Ouch. I just couldn't control the bag, at all, couldn't keep my weight forward or the bag in close. A rather humbling experience.

But, another hour towards my goal. This wouldn't be the first time I've had an exceptionally horrible session immediately after an unusually good one, either. I've experienced this before.

So here I sit, the evening before my hallowed Footbag Thursday, stayed up a bit late, then couldn't get to sleep, now on the couch with a cat purring and shedding obnoxiously in my lap. Writing my blog because I'm tired of all the other shit on the internet. A half night's sleep is already lost.

I don't really know what's going to happen tomorrow / later today. My knees feel a lot better, and I know the outdoors and Speakers Circle always helps me out. But, I've stopped liking my new shoes. They seemed fine at first, but now they seem to be breaking in funny. And there's all the walking beforehand, lack of sleep tonight, possible venue competition with other freak shows, and...

It could be a disaster. It might be OK. I don't know, but I'm going to take my old shoes at least. We'll see where it goes from there. 2 hours is my goal. Now, I'm going to re-try going to sleep for nearly twice that long. Next blog post could be soon. Footbag Thursday, here I come.

1:00 / 18:50 - Thanks for tuning in!

Speakers Circle Reserved for Hack Man

h4x354x0r — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:50:24 GMT

My boom box and iPod were at work, but I had everything else in my trailer and I decided to take a gamble and ride straight to the circle on the hopes that some kind of audio (maybe drummers?) would be there.

No such luck. But, the Ron Paul supporters had their tent in the middle of the circle, and the Bible Science Theater guy with his portable belt-worn PA system was off to the side. I buzzed back to my shop to grab the radio, and send out this little tweet:

@h4x354x0r No Drummers yet. Getting radio. One preacher, but… The Ron Paul guys are saving Speakers Circle for me.

Hack Man 1pm.

So I got there, started getting set up, and Naif Bartlett, the J-School student doing his project on me, showed up. I told him he should go get his camera. Now. Then, I checked in with the Ron Paul tent, and talked them into moving thier tent for me. As I was helping them move their stuff, I told them I bet the preacher guy would walk right into the circle, and they might have to back me up on the fact that they were "Saving the circle specifically for me."

Sure enough, Mr. BST Preacher guy shufflied into the center of the circle before I could even get back there myself. I just told him point blank that I had talked to the Ron Paul supporters before, and had actually arranged for them to hold the circle specifically for me, that a journalism student was going to be filming me today... all of which was absolutely true.

"But this is better for hearing," he says, which is true for the speaker in the center of the circle, but it's the acoustic equivalent of an optical illusion, "...and surely people can still see you off back there?" he asks.

"No." I insisted. "Seriously. I talked to them. I arranged this. They moved their stuff specifically for ME." (long pause)... "Not you." I gestured to the students standing at the tent. One of them glanced back.

And.... he folded. "OK." was all he said, and moved back off to the side where he was before. Yes! Hack Man Scores 2nd Consecutive Win Against Preachers!

Now, let me tell you how out of control I got. Kicking the preacher out of the circle was just the start. Once I got warmed up, Naif showed up with the camera. It was SHOWTIME! I haven't seen his video yet (and there's no guarantee I'll ever get it) but I'm pretty sure he caught a couple really sweet rallies.

We ended up getting really obnoxious, setting up for various shots, getting in people's way, egregiously using unwitting Speakers Circle crowds... and to top it off, I do an audio interview about an hour into one of the hardest sessions I've shed up in months. Remind me to never do that again.

Really. New rule for all journalism projects and media contacts: I do NOT do audio interviews for 24 hours after I've started playing footbag. Every time I've ever done it, I've interviewed *very* poorly. Like, a brainless blithering idiot. Because that's what happens when I play footbag; the "thinking" part of my brain goes into hibernation. I can barely even speak, let alone put together a coherent sentence. So... either interview first before I get started, or not until the next day. Mid-session interviews are a disaster.

Still, it was an absolutely beautiful day, I know Naif got some really choice video of me playing footbag, I totally f'ing spanked one of the preachers, and got to give a shout-out to the Ron Paul peeps for saving the circle for me and making it such a great footbag day.

Thanks Mizzou Youth for Ron Paul - You Rock! Good luck with your petition!

2:20 / 17:50 - sudden cramps hit at 2:20, I stopped there. Blistering 115 hr/yr pace so far, and all I wanna do is keep 'er floored. Thanks for tuning in!

The Case of the Stolen Lunch

h4x354x0r — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:09:57 GMT

But first, the short video from my latest "WTF happened to the weather?" session:

Now, back to The Case of the Stolen Lunch:

When I arrived at work, loaded down bike trailer in tow, it looked like a recycling bin had exploded. There were thousands of pieces of paper strewn everywhere. Oh well, it wasn't exactly my problem. I unloaded most of my stuff from the trailer, but left a gallon of water, box of sidewalk chalk, a few other misc. items, and a bagel with cheese slices and an apple. This was my lunch. Well, it was supposed to be my lunch.

I figured it couldn't hurt to leave the stuff out in my trailer; it was cool, so the food would stay cool. The rest of it wasn't exactly valuable. I had the food wrapped in a translucent plastic produce bag and tucked into a side pocket of the trailer, with the sides folded in to a triangle. I thought it would be safe.

A couple times as I came and went from my office, I noticed students out picking up the trash. From the way they were carrying out the task, I'm sure they were ordered to do it... or else. I didn't think about my lunch.

When I was finally ready to eat, I went out to the trailer, and... MY LUNCH WAS GONE. First, I was convinced I had done something else with it, and just couldn't remember. I searched all the stuff I brought in. Nothing. I went and looked in the trailer again. Nothing. But everything else in the trailer, more plainly visible than the food, had been left alone. At least all the loose paper had been picked up by now.

Now, rich people stealing billions of dollars from taxpayers, is no big deal. That happens every day in America, and the thieves are practically worshipped. But... stealing a guy's lunch?!? THAT'S low. It was just a bagel and an apple! I was crushed. I was filled with about 1/3rd wonder that someone would have felt the need to steal a bagel and an apple, and 2/3rds anger that some lowlife prick had actually done that.

I finally went somewhere and bought a couple "replacement" bagels (but apples are harder to come by downtown). About that time, I had another thought: Squirrels. And the more I thought, the more I thought, "Fucking. Squirrels."

The food was not easy to see. But, a squirrel could smell that stuff from a mile away. There were other, more valuable-to-humans things in the trailer, that were not taken. But... if squirrels took it, there should have been some remnants of it, perhaps in the bushes nearby. I searched, but found nothing. Then again, maybe those remnants got picked up when the students were picking up the rest of the trash strewn about the area. I just couldn't know.

I was convinced I would never discover the truth about where my lunch went. I got bagels anyway, I got to play footbag anyway, and I realized I had to let go of my disappointment over the missing lunch and forget about it. Life goes on. It was just a bagel, some cheese, and an apple.

The next day, having just locked my bike to the rack and gotten settled at my desk, my co-worker came in and said, "Hey, did you know there's a squirrel out there investigating your bicycle?"

Aha! Don't criminals always return to the scene of the crime? It took this one less than 5 minutes to come back looking for more NOMs to steal! Campus squirrels are ballsy. But this time, no food. It would leave empty-pawed. Next time, I might even wait nearby, with my trusty "squirrel stick" (just kidding).

So, the case of the missing lunch is solved: I WAS PUNKED BY SQUIRRELS. There was no evidence, because of the paper disaster. The students picked up and threw away the evidence when they were cleaning up.

As for the actual footbag session, when I finally got going, well... it kinda sucked. The temperature just didn't get that warm, and it was cloudy and windy. I had to wear a shirt! You know it's bad if I wear a shirt when I kick. I never did get warmed up; I felt shaky and chilled the whole time. I played rather poorly. Just don't call me a quitter: I was still out there for 2-1/2 hours.

A couple students that have started following me on Twitter came by around 3PM and kicked for a bit. A woman from the school-affiliated radio station KBIA came and did an interview with me. A couple of giggly young ladies stopped to take a video, and then try themselves. Despite the cold, it was still a good day, with lots of positive interaction and no confrontation.

I only got to kick in the circle for the last little bit, when I got this video. Earlier, there was a Ron Paul supporter group with a tent and a table set up right in the middle. They were totally cool though; not pushy, or rude, and they ended up asking me when I would be out there again, so they could plan to move their tent off to the side so I could take the circle.

Next Thursday, if the weather is good! Thanks so much for offering!

Speaking of next Thursday, I was totally bummed when the weather predicted for this Wednesday when I went to kick, decided to manifest on Thursday. I rode through Speakers Circle as I was shooting a service call across campus the next day: Warm, sunny, and a group of musicians with drums and guitars out there playing and girls with hula hoops. Damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN! If only I could have known, I would have waited until Thursday. I stopped and talked to a couple of the drummers, begging them to come back on the next nice Thursday. Getting to play footbag to live music, sharing the space with girls doing hula hoops? Now THAT's my idea of a great time, and a totally awesome use for Speaker's Circle!

Now, I'm determined to make that happen.

2:15 / 15:30 - Thanks for tuning in!

Back to Reality, Beyond Time Goals

h4x354x0r — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:55:20 GMT

Lots of good news tonight! I had to move my footbag session up a day to accomodate a big family event tomorrow, but today was obviously "Good Enough."

I'm such a n00b at going viral. After continuing to see my view count go up on my viral video - over 42,000 views now - I finally thought to search Google for "Hack Man vs Preacher." I had no idea.... There are 2 main versions of the video now that have found their way onto well over 20 different websites. Holy cow! About the only place it hasn't shown up is directly on YouTube's featured videos.

But, the glory of being viral means nothing in the Secret Hideout. Just me, my brain, my body, and my bags. Back to reality, and a couple problems: Somehow, my iPod lost all it's playlists. But all the music was still there, so I dove for artists and albums. First choice? Fatboy Slim. It did not disappoint. The part that does disappoint is the fact that the headphone jack on my iPod is fucked, and keeps cutting out. I had to wedge the audio cable and the ipod between my radio and a Tweaker Tool to get a reasonably consistent connection.

Of course almost every one of those Fatboy Slim songs is 5-7 minutes long, so each rotation of my bags takes almost 30 minutes. I did my Guiltless String counting on the 2nd bag rotation instead of waiting until the end of my session. Much better than last week, but... still a little weak:

Phatty Pro: 15

Mr. Softy: 15

Phatty Original: 18

Repeat: 16

The Man: 12

Not sure what happened to The Man there; he's usually, well, The Man when it comes to this. No H8 though; even The Man deserves a break sometimes. At least I was fairly consistent tonight, and broke 10 with every bag. Shoulda been able to break 20 with at least one of 'em, though.

I've also started working with a student on another "Hack Man" class project. This one is more involved than most. It will take several weeks, and includes photos, audio, video, etc. Last week's part was a photo shoot. Since we didn't have a good indoor place to use, and I'm a bit of a stickler for realism, we ended up doing the photo shoot on Speakers Circle. It was well below freezing: 26F/-3.3C. I spent a good 15 minutes playing footbag out there in shorts and a T-shirt. Thank goodness is was at least sunny and calm! You bet I'm claiming that 15 minutes against my annual goal. In fact, I feel like I should get to charge double for that. I was chilled to the bones the rest of the day.

Tonight, I was planning to just do an hour, maybe 1:15, and tack on the photo shoot time. But... I just can't stop! I blew out another solid 2 hour session. That puts me at 13:15 for the year, in just 7 weeks. This is nearly a 100-hour per year pace. I've never been anywhere near this far ahead this early in the year before. It seems like my 5-footbag rotation helps drive my session length a bit; I can't stop in the middle of a rotation; I have to play through all 5 bags before I stop. This keeps making me blow through stopping points.

It seems like a couple years ago, a solid 2-hour session was my absolute limit. Today, it seems like nothing. I must give credit to a friend and fellow footbag player, Ben Benulis. He competes in Tough Mudder, too. I observe, slack-jawed in awe, of what this guy can do. He's been kind enough to coach me on diet, and hell yes it makes a huge difference. "Fruits and veggies" he reminds me. "Lay off the pizza. Fruits and veggies." Well, my muscle stamina has improved by a good 30% so far. I'm not getting cramps, at all. And damn you Ben, now I'm totally addicted to bananas!

I've decided I'm going to set a small "side" goal: I want to be able to do a solid 3-hour session, at least once this summer, without suffering muscle cramps. My diet still has a LOT more room for improvement; if I can keep eating smarter, I'm confident I can do it.

0:15 / 2:00 / 13:15 - Thanks for tuning in!

Going Viral!

h4x354x0r — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:17:45 GMT

While I was skulking around in the secret hideout, My Hack Man vs Circle Preacher video was busting out in public big time!

It all started with a Facebook friend, The Digital Ninja, that I picked up last year during our 1st "Snowpocalypse." I saw a picture of him, pulling a sled (one of those big-ass red plastic toboggans) down a snow-covered road, packed and piled high with beer and other spirits. I didn't know him, but I knew I had to friend him.

A year later, he shared a link to a new Facebook page called Mizzou Meme. That was some funny shit with good local humor, so I had to go like that page. In the process, I posted an innocent "So... when are you going to lampoon that old, shirtless Speaker Circle Hacky Sack guy?" on the page. I was hoping to get some responses from people that didn't realize who I was.

Damned if The Digital Ninja didn't out me within about 5 minutes. It took the Mizzou Meme peeps all of another 15 minutes to get me all memed up: The Most Interesting Man in the World one of actor Jonathan Goldsmith, with the caption, "I don't always play Hacky Sack" at the top, and "But when I do, I learn from the Speaker Circle Hacky Sack guy" at the bottom. Plenty of Mizzou peeps saw that!

A short while later, another student posted a link to my YouTube account on the Mizzou Meme post. The ball was rolling, although I didn't know it yet. I was just getting started with my weekly footbag session at the Secret Hideout. The next morning, another student who had started following me on Twitter, Big E (Eric), posted the video to Reddit. It ended up spending several hours on the front page there.

All day Friday, with the video featured on Reddit, I saw my video view numbers climb. 2,000 by noon. 5,000 by 5pm. Almost 8,000 before I went to bed last night. When I woke up this morning to check, the view count had jumped to almost 25,000! The interest has finally died down now, with a view count holding steady just under 27,000. I call that "Slightly Viral." (Truly viral videos get 10+ times that)

UPDATE: The website RightThisMinute has now posted a segment about the video: Hack Man vs Campus Preacher - who will win? that takes a reasonably funny, and kind to me, assessment of the video.

So, I've finally gone slightly viral! I'm pretty sure the ~27K view count was driven up by people putting the video on Auto-Play to run up the view count, and the number will probably eventually be reduced to reflect unique hits. Still, I find it rather pleasing to get so much attention.

One other thing needs a little attention now: my actual footbag session this week at the Secret Hideout. I got out there about 6:30, only to discover the building schedule has changed again, and I can't get in there until after 8pm. It was during the hour-long wait that all the Mizzou Meme activity took place.

When I finally got to kick, I had my computer with me, so I started tweeting about it: "Sweet! Secret Hideout is MINE MINE MINE! And I've got my computer and I can tweet about it. Footbag / Hacky Sack session starts NOW"

A short while later, while I was still really just warming up: "Uh oh… first shot of sciatica pain already. damn…" Yeah, my back has been pretty fucked up since my blowout 2 x 2 hour sessions last week.

But that obviously didn't stop me. Sticking to my 5-footbag rotation, it takes me almost 20 minutes to get to my 5th bag - my favorite - my blue and white Abshire bag I've named The Man. Out comes another tweet: "I swear it always takes 1 footbag rotation to get all warmed up. When I get to the last of my 5 bags, "The Man," It all just clicks."

Somewhere in the middle of the next bag rotation, I'm obviously hurting a bit... "Gaaa! Not stretching my hamstrings enough. Classic case of "tennis elbow" but in my knees instead. #footbag problems"

Still didn't stop me. My tweets fell silent for a while as I got down to business. Finally, "Pushing past an hour on my footbag session! Back and knees have loosened up, feeling OK, not stopping now!" I've learned to trust this will happen, that my body will warm up, loosen up, and the pain will melt away as the shredding solidifies.

There was only one more thing on my bucket list: "OK, now starts the add counting round… #footbag session is still on!" Not adds, technically, but guiltless strings. I was listening to internet radio - Last.fm - and it turned out that 3 of the 5 songs for this round were really short. I was obviously still hurting a bit too, and maybe a bit worn out by now. I was disappointed to report:

Whoa… DISMAL numbers for guiltless strings tonight:

@PhatTyre Sport: 6

Mr. Softie: 9

Phatty orig: 4

Repeat: 10

The Man: 13

Hurtin' a bit...

I can usually at least break 10 with all my bags, and almost always break 20 with one of my Abshire bags. As usual, The Man won best bag, but only 13?!? Sheesh...

Still, I got to kick! I love playing footbag, an even when I'm not playing well technically, I can still have a blast on the funky chicken dance side of things.

1:45 / 11:00 - Thanks for tuning in!

First Exalted, Then Spurned!

h4x354x0r — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:11:57 GMT

Midwinter footbag just doesn't get any better than this. I've managed to squeeze in TWO 2-hour footbag sessions on Speaker's Circle this week! First, a special Monday session, where I mix it up with one of the Circle Preachers:

Then, my usual Footbag Thursday provides another perfect day for kicking. Except this time, I'm totally spurned and mocked by the students...

If you can hear the song playing in the background, get this: the student group there raising money for Camp Kesem - a camp for kids who's parents have cancer - had the tunes all set up and cranking when I got there. Sweet! My radio is low on batteries anyway.

I was about 30 seconds into the 2nd song, with my 2nd bag, when I realized it was the SAME song, again. This went on. They literally played the same one song, over and over, for two solid hours. It's a darned good thing it was actually a good dance tune to play footbag to! They were out there for a great cause, and have raised quite a bit of money (I even donated a few bucks), and I'm still appreciative that they did supply the tunes, but... please... a bigger playlist next time?!?

At one point, the cops even came, and made them turn the music down a bit. I was like, "NO, NO, NO! Don't make them turn it down, just make them play different songs!" They wouldn't listen though. Those cops have their priorities so screwed up...

I'm pleasantly surprised at how I feel after a 2nd 2-hour session in one week. My legs didn't cramp. My ankle didn't hurt. My sciatica didn't act up. I played strong, and threw down some moves. I approve of this result.

2:00 / 2:00 / 9:15 - I'm so far ahead of my annual goal, it's almost scary. Feels good though! Thanks for tuning in...

Just. Gotta. Push. Myself.

h4x354x0r — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:25:38 GMT

A little bit, at least. Not rashly, not harshly, but steadily. Push myself.

Catching up on events: I totally blew off footbag the week after my 2012 start. What can I say? It was Beer, Tools, and Electricity. When there's an opportunity to mix those three...

Since then, I've been back at the Secret Hideout, faithfully putting in some kicking time. The good thing is, I've got access to the building at 6, instead of 8, for this semester. That gives me a much bigger window of opportunity. Last week, the cleaning crew caught me, and ended my session, but I still managed 1:45.

The "workout" pattern I've settled into is to count 3+ add rallies with each bag for a bit, as I rotate through them with each song. My numbers were pretty dismal, for the most part. The Man took best of show at 28; Mr. Softy 2nd with 19, and low to mid teens for the rest.

But I'm trying to push myself. At least a little bit. I love playing footbag, and I'd probably still do it even if I could only do basic kicks. But even if I suck compared to today's top freestylers, I still love being able to cut a few moves. Friends have thrown down gauntlets; Maybe I haven't picked them up, but they're still on the table, and I keep looking at the damned things...

I'm very eager for spring. Of course we've hardly had a winter, but I'm looking for that first nice day that will draw the students out to the circle. Until then, I'm trying to apply gentle pressure in the Secret Hideout so I am fit and ready for spring. Speaking of that, I believe I've gained about 6-7 lbs since Christmas. I've stopped the increase, but taking it back off is gonna take real work.

Push. Myself.

1:45 / 1:30 / 5:15 - Thanks for tuning in!

New Years, Old Years...

h4x354x0r — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:44:40 GMT

Happy New Years, everyone! My first footbag session of 2012 sure started off right, with a 2nd freak, mid-winter, super-warm Thursday in a row:

The first freak-warm Thursday capped a fantastic 75-hour plus year for 2011:

I didn't do the typical New Years post a week ago, but I feel the need for some New Year's accounting now. According to last year's blah blah blah post about it, My 2011 goals were:

1. 60 hours of footbag. I did 75! I had a great year, lots of great sessions, stayed healthy, had a special "48th Birthday, 30 Years of Footbag" celebration session. It seems like I've lost some add ratio / technical density over the last year. But, as always, I love kicking and have a great time; even as a slowly fading, old-school styler.

2. 3,000 Km on bike. Well... I'm certain I didn't make that goal, but I don't know how far I actually did go. My cyclocomputer display got so bad it became completely unreadable. I'd estimate I barely did over 2,000 Km; a far cry from my stated goal. What can I say? It was another bad bike year.

My 2012 Goals are:

1. 60 hours of footbag! (you knew that was coming, didn't you?)

2. 2,400 Km on the bike (I got a new dual-bike computer for that

3. Do *something* kinda crazy (to be determined rashly)

2:00 / 2:00 - I'm a bit bummed to reset the counter, but... a great start to a new year! Thanks for tuning in!

Next to the last is a blast!

h4x354x0r — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:10:39 GMT

This is almost it! The next to the last Thursday of the year, my next-to-last session of the year.

Let's see... Building is clear @ 5, early access! Feeling good 'cause I helped put the smack-down on our first big intersession work project already. Feeling very stoked to have such a great footbag year already, over 72 hours before tonight's session started. I'M so thankful for the Secret Hideout, when it all comes down to it. This is my 3rd season here, meriting a spot in the top 3-4 most stable winter venues ever. I'm still wistful for the magical 5-year run I got out of the ARC, but... The Secret Hideout is genuinely worthy - especially for the price - as a winter shred venue.

So, I got my iPad, set up my boombox and all my stuff, my footbags, towel, and water, and did my footbag thing. And even though I didn't seem to be playing so well, time just flew by, and before I knew it I was already past 1:15. In fact I ended up pushing myself solidly past 2 hours. The last nearly 25 minutes was counting guiltless strings, each bag to each song in turn (PhatTyre Pro, Mr. Softy, Original Fattie, Repeat, and The Man). Then, 3 more rallies with each bag in turn. The only one I'll share is a 25 contact string with The Man near the very end. So of course he won one more bonus song round. You getting a feeling for why this session kept going on so long?

So, I've got one more possible session left this year. Again, I've already had what I consider an absolutely awesome year, I feel very pleased with the situation. I don't need to make anything in particular happen that last session. But, I do still want (and plan) to play that last footbag session!

2:00 / 74:15 - Thanks for tuning in!

Local Hacky Sack Guru is Hall of Famer

h4x354x0r — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:20:25 GMT

OK, so my footbag session at the Secret Hideout basically sucked this week. So, I offer you, instead, a great article recently done on me by an MU student:

Local Hacky Sack Guru is Hall of Famer

As for the session itself, the floor was a mess from all the rain recently. And, I forgot to wash my footbags. The PhatTyre bags stay soft, but the facile Abshire bags get a little crusty. At least the music was good. Got the iPad rocking again, and have my Twitter account set up on it now, so I can sorta live-tweet my session.

Sad fact is, I've got things on my mind again this week, and spent too much time pacing the floor in agitation. I wasn't counting contacts very much, but I'd be surprised if I hit more than a dozen guiltless in a single string.

I wasn't planning on doing any more than an hour, and I was satisfied to throw in the towel when the timer went, Ding! (plus a little bit extra to make up for the pacing) I can tell it's gonna be a hard slog through winter this year. I want my warm summer days on Speaker Circle.

1:00 / 72:15 - Thanks for tuning in!

The Session That Satisfies

h4x354x0r — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:56:02 GMT

Whee! This week's session was WAY better than last week's! I wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic; my sciatica was doing it's usual Thursday acting up, and I was experiencing another case of mild intestinal distress. I think I'm gonna have to stop getting a veggie slice at Shakes' Pizza for lunch. That's just about the only common food Item I can think of related to this problem.

I was also in a much clearer state of mind today than last week. I've gotten to fix several things over the last couple of days. It always makes me feel better when I can figure out a problem and take something that was broken and make it whole again.

Still, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, I occupied my Secret Hideout, and started kicking. One small pleasure was that I've been issued a new iPad at work, so I've got all my music on it. My old iPod's headphone jack is so worn out it's hard to get both channels to play. Ironically, this brand new iPad has a similar problem, but not nearly as bad. So it was nice to have a fairly reliable music source tonight. I could have taken my laptop, but it's one more clunky thing to carry around.

Now, for the good news: the session may have started slow and uninspired, but I picked up the pace pretty quickly, and never let off. I'm still off my mark technically, and choreography-wise as well, but once I got warmed up I had some really nice rallies. I hit all my typical go-for moves, including a diving butterfly on one side, but... not on the other side.

Probably the best news is, I ended up putting in a full 2-hour session tonight. And that was actually kicking, not just pacing the floor. I got going right away when the space became available. The cleaning crew usually shows up between 9-10 and interrupts me, but they were late tonight, and I just kept going. Why stop, when you're having so much fun? Just as I realized I had gone past the 2 hour mark, and decided to pack it in, they showed up. Perfect timing... Iz Happy!

2:00 / 71:30 - Thanks for tuning in!

The trying session

h4x354x0r — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:11:59 GMT

My Thanksgiving holiday vacation is over. It was fun while it lasted! I went to Universal Studios Island of Adventures and rode the roller coasters over and over again with my kids. I also got to see the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory; the first rocket launch I've ever gotten to see in person.

But, back to footbag. Tonight wasn't the best. I was sporting a headache, abdominal pains, and some of the worst sciatica I've had in years. Half the muscles in my left leg felt like they were cramping. My vastus medialis keeps feeling like it's got electricity running through it, tingling or burning.

Problem is, I already took a week off. I don't get 2nd chances to kick, especially in the winter. It's Thursday, 8-10p in the secret hideout, or nothing. So, I kick. And it was tough. My headache was fleeting enough, it didn't bother me. But the abdominal pains wouldn't go away. I was rippin' em, that's for sure, but not footbag moves. It's a damn good think a bathroom is nearby at the Secret Hideout. My sciatica usually calms down once I get moving too, but, not tonight. Now if feels like I've got knives jabbing in some of my muscles.

With much on my mind, I'm pushing it to claim I did 1:15 tonight. I probably spent almost half the session pacing the floor in agitated thought. It's a moral hazard of kicking alone. When I kick in public, I'm totally focused on keeping the show going.

The results were... as expected. I did manage to hit at least one each of my 'bigger' moves. But mostly, I struggled.

Still, I did it. I pushed through, pushed on, pushed it out. I think next week will be better. It's been so long since I took a week off, I'd forgotten what it's like to get back in the groove. After tonight, I've got 4 more possible sessions for the year. The good news is, Xmas and New Years aren't close to Thursday, so I won't lose any more sessions to holidays.

1:15 / 69:30 - Thanks for tuning in!

Ur missin' it! WAIT... NO. I'M. NOT!

h4x354x0r — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:40:57 GMT

While stuck in a 1pm meeting, I was mentally forming my next tweet:

Last Friday, weather forecast said, "Thurs looks good for kicking!" This Tues., forecast says, "Too bad, U missed the good weather. Sucker."

By the time I got back to my office, I was getting depres... wait, no, fuck that shit. I'm skipping work to kick!

In less than an hour, I was on Speakers Circle. And where were the circle-hogging preachers? Who cares! I'v always been the hardest core Speaker Circle Freak Show. I'm the first one there in the spring, the last one there in the fall. The preachers have all slunk away. The circle is MINE MINE MINE.

I took advantage of that. Just getting one more outdoor session was enough to peg the stoke-meter. I wasn't actually hitting near as many harder moves; I think torques were the only 4-add move I was landing. But, I was keeping the bag off the ground and having some great rallies with the rest of my moves. This week, unlike last filming session, I got a total of 6 rallies with over 30 2+ add contacts, on tape. I feel vindicated after the film-choke of my last session.

The best part? I finally caught a pair of dives, live, on tape. I've been working on them, and really started getting the feel for the set a few weeks ago. Now, it's all falling into place. Many thanks to Ben who gave me the encouragement, and a few pointers, to get here. Next up, get one more dex in there for a diving butterfly.

I started kicking at 3. It gets dark about 5. I not only drove that session right into the dark, a couple guys showed up just as I was about to quit. We ended up hacking for another half hour, straining our eyes to see the bag by streetlights. These guys were solid kickers, too, with a couple of tricks each they finally busted out for me. Let's hope they're still interested, and show up again, next spring.

Next week, no footbag. Family obs, instead. That's OK, I haven't taken a week off for awhile, and I've already buried my goal of 60 hours for the year. I'm already almost at my goal-after-the-goal: 70 hours. After that, no more goals, just seeing where final tally lands.

2:00 / 68:15 - Thanks for tuning in!

Going Underground for Winter

h4x354x0r — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:10:15 GMT

Yes, the Secret Hideout has been put back in action! But first, the "Does Not Represent" video from last week's epic scorched-earth outdoor session (which would not be caught on tape):

Rarely have I burned up the circle like I did last week, without some proof. I was throwing down all my best moves; torques, whirls, drifters, paradox whirls, new ducks and dives, even a paradox drifter and a barfly. But I choked so hard every time I turned the camera on! D'oh!

That was probably my last outdoor session of the best fall kicking season I can remember in a while. It was a great run, but I've finally run out of weather luck. Hello, Secret Hideout. I will face you with dignity.

I've not been there since midsummer, until I scouted it last week. Key still worked, place seemed the same. It was supposed to be empty by 8pm. I was so anxious to get going on last night's session, I had a super-close call with the last student workers leaving. I was at the door, fumbling for my key, when I realized there were still people inside, heading straight for me! Thank God for modern technology; they were busy texting, and totally oblivious. They never noticed me. Whew!

Once I got inside, I set my sights on an hour long session. Better yet, an hour and a half. As I got started, I realized again: This place isn't so bad. It's warm, well lit, and big enough with a high enough ceiling for some serious kicking. In fact, this place is pretty good. I've got access to Internet Radio!

My session started with Last.fm streaming out a killer set of funky beat shredding tracks, and I cranked it up! I also discovered that so many footbags (I've never had 5 in my rotation before) don't fit on the shelf where I usually put them with my radio and computer (instead of iPod) for music. But... 4 footbags will, and I'm always using one of 'em. So, it's still good

The great news is, I've made a real breakthrough in my ducking / diving set. I've finally got the feel for getting the set at the right height; I'm almost always doing the duck / dive part successfully, but still not always landing the next stall. I swear I'll catch one on tape soon!

I also have a confession to make: When I'm kicking in private and enjoying the music, sometimes I'll keep dancing for a few moments after I drop the bag. Sometimes, the body movement feels so good, the body just has to keep moving. Especially if it was a really good, saucy rally!

One other small bonus of having my computer at the Secret Hideout... it was super easy to type a few quick thoughts I had during the session, to help me with my blog post later. Writing this blog post a day later, those notes have been a tremendous help in remembering the details of the session.

I faded pretty hard near the hour mark, and then, my phone rang. It was a friend with a dire emergency: he had a new ceiling fan he needed help installing, and bottles of good beer crying, no... they were absolutely bawling, "Drink Me! Driiiiiiink Meeeeeee!"

Now, I don't know about you, but the sound of wailing, needs-to-be-drank malt beverages, mixed with a project involving tools and electricity, is an utterly irresistible siren song to me. Big, bold, red letters start flashing in my head like a highway detour sign:

BEER. TOOLS. ELECTRICITY. EXIT NOW.

I had to steel my concentration just long enough to do one last thing: A 25 contact guiltless run with Mr. Softie.

2:00 / 1:15 / 66:15 - Thanks for tuning in!

Circling the Circle on a Friday Afternoon

h4x354x0r — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:56:35 GMT

Another awesome session! I bailed on my usual Footbag Thursday because the weather was marginal, and I was stuck working an important project anyway. But, I got my schedule cleared on Friday just long enough to enjoy the peak weather with a footbag session on Speakers Circle!

This session was loaded with variety, so I went a bit crazy with the videos this week and posted 4 of them. When I got there, there was a "Jumproping for Muslim" thing going on, with the circle full of people jumping rope. Someone dressed in a gorilla suit was also there playing an accordion, and I taped a rally with me kicking to the Accordion Playing Gorilla (sorry you can't really see the mask in the video).

The jumproping group left shortly afterwards. Then, KCOU 88.1 FM showed up and started playing some tunes. I taped an impromptu promo rally for them that also features my Phat Tyre Sport. A Caped Shadow also came by, and Shadow Hacked with me. Plus, the Circle the Circle session feature rally (at top).

Two other people also came by and kicked with me for a bit; one of them looks quite ready to take it to next level with some freestyle moves. I hope I can keep in touch with these guys over the winter. Still don't have anything but the Secret Hideout, and I haven't brought myself to that, just yet.

I'm not giving up on outdoor sessions. There are still some occasional really nice days, and if I can skate out of work to play footbag, I plan to do just that. Weather forecasts say next Tuesday might be nice. Iz Hatching Planz!

2:00 / 63:00 - Thanks for tuning in!

Kicking for OccupyCOMO

h4x354x0r — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:50:18 GMT

Hey, I was there first, but... I don't mind showing up to kick for the cause now that the OccupyCOMO group has occupied one of my favorite kicking venues. They're a lot more respectful than the preachers in Speakers Circle, that's for sure!

I've been overwhelmed by "blog slog" lately. I used to see how fast I could "turn around" one of my footbag sessions, with blog and video posted and announcements out to Twitter, FB, and the like. Sometimes, I could do it in 2 hours. Now, it seems to take me days to get around to ingesting, producing, and posting.

Last week, I posted the vid, but didn't tweet or post it anywhere but YouTube. I meant to write a blog post, but... after a couple days, the thoughts and meaning of the moment have leaked away. What would I write? After getting over my shock of dead batteries last week, I pretty much tore into my session. This week, the cold, wind, and a possibly busted camera couldn't hold me back. I broke past my 60 hour per year goal today, with almost 10 weeks to spare.

Now, with the summer season over and little prospect of a decent indoor winter place, I'll be stuck to writing blog posts. Let's hope I can keep them going. My goal is to capture at least 5 years of my "end of career" zenith. I'm only in 3 so far, I can't give up now.

2:00 / 1:45 / 61:00 - Thanks for tuning in!