I love doing things that are totally different, cutting edge, & that make better sense than what the status quo does.  These odd shoes are pretty much gloves for your feet… These protect your feet from rocks and such… think of them as a super callous with better grip.  They don’t really provide much as far as protection from cold though, so I’m not throwing out my winter boots, but they sure beat flip-flops in the winter (yes some guys wear flip-fops in the winter.

Barefoot Running & Walking

I run barefoot on my treadmill.  When you run barefoot you have to re-learn how to run… you land on the front of your feet (ball and toes) and your heal generally never touches the ground (which is how we were designed to run) and your toes splay outward to provide balance.  Barefoot running and walking develops stronger lower leg mucles and allows your calves to absorb shock rather than joints or bones  This prevents shinsplints pain, reduces injury, strengthens your feet and ankle muscles, increases balance (toes can spread out and do their job).  I have heard it is common for marathon runners using regular shoes to lose their toenails while running… that has to be uncomfortable.  Also, ankle injuries have increased with the use of running shoes rather than decreased.  Also, many top track teams are switching to training barefoot.

Comparing Them to Others

Toes need room… I hate scrunching up my toes in uncomfortable shoes.  My most comfortable shoes are my Vibrams, Nike Free (Nike’s stretch toward the barefoot trend), & Crocs (all of which modern runners are known to use).

How do the Vibram Fivefingers compare?  Well they have no cushion, while the Nike Free’s and Crocs are like walking on marshmallows.  The Nike Free’s annoy me because when I stand up straight my toes do not rest on the ground.  They were designed to be similar to barefoot running, but they have a huge heel pad, which prevents you from being forced to avoid landing on your heal.  They do however make a great walking shoe because we do naturally use our heal when walking.  My biggest gripe with crocs is that the rubber sole does not allow the foot to breathe well, even in socks, so they get sweaty.

What about flip-flops?  Well with flip-flops you always have to hold them on with your toes.  Try moving backwards quickly, or jumping in flip flops.  You can’t let your toes splay out naturally since you have to use two of them to keep the sandal on.  Driving in flip-flops can be a pain sometimes too.  Vibram Fivefingers are effortless.

The challenge with picking a Vibram shoe

Sizing and fit are a big challenge… too tight or too lose and they won’t feel very nice.  They need to be snug enough for good movement but loose enough that no toe’s movement is constricted.  You need to be able to bend your toes up and down comfortably.  Most people will find as I did their feet are not exactly the same size.  Someday, perhaps Vibram will offer the ability to buy a different size for the right & left foot, but that day is not here yet so go with the larger foot’s size.  I tried on maybe 4-6 pairs before I found the ones I wanted.  Each shoe has minor differences which can be unfomfortable.  One shoe that I tried on did fit well, but had a weird stitch or excess fabric on the seam in the pinky toe.  Another shoe I tried on that fit had a weird top over the big toe and my toenail would catch on it.  Also they feel differently once you stand up in them.  So you really need to try them on.

Do you need socks?

There are some cool socks designed to work with the Vibrams called Injinji Toe Socks.  These socks would also be great in other shoes that had larger toe-space.  Realize the Vibram Fivefingers KSO shoes breathe well, especially while walking or running, they are washable in cold (air dry), and they have microbial protection, but I would recommend socks if you want to wear the shoes more frequently between washings, you want more warmth, or you have super-sweaty feet.

Which Vibram Fivefingers model is right?

For your first shoe do what I did and get the KSO (stands for Keep Stuff Out).  If you plan to use them mostly just to do outdoor trek or hiking then get the Treksport or KSO Trek, their hiking shoe models.  The KSO Trek is a leather shoe in brown or black, while the Treksport is like their others with mesh and such.  They both have serious rugged tread.  If you are a serious, hardcore runner, then get the Bikila, which is their take on a running shoe.

So why the KSO?

The KSO can be used for most anything, it moves easier than the others mentioned and is more comfortable.  I can actually curl my toes under in these shoes.  It is less rugged of a tread than the two trek models, but unless you are walking around climbing on jagged rocks or hitting the trails the trek models are overkill.  The Bikila looks cool and I have not tried it on, but I am guessing it would be a fine starter shoe too and closer to what people are used to as a shoe, but not as versatile as the KSO, which can be used for walking, running, water sports, yoga/pilates, traveling, and after sport.

You Will Love Them

If you like being barefoot, wearing flip-flops, or just socks you will love these, because now you can do that outdoors, in the gym, and everywhere without the danger of stepping on a rock or rough ground.  You also have to have a flair for being different – if you are overly concerned about what others think you may want to stick to your really uncomfortable shoes.  Many wear them because they are hippie tree-huggers, but I wear them because they are cool new technology. There is just something I find cool about using our amazing bodies the way they were designed – it just seems right.  I have found my feet get tired and ache more when I use shoes that do not allow my foot and toes to move freely.  I also find my legs eventually start to ache when I wear things that are too tight on my feet.

From my experience the key to bodily comfort seems to be movement & use, rather than more padding… and these shoes do just that.

Is it really worth it?

It is nearing Thanksgiving, a time when many of us start traveling to eat bird with family.  Let’s face it, many of us feel the need to let the universe know what we are doing via status updates on various networks such as Facebook and Twitter whenever we actually do anything remotely interesting or different than sitting at our computer.  This is also a great way to let would-be criminals know that you will be out of town for a few days so they can break into your house without any complications. “No, no not my online ‘friends,’ they are perfect and I know them all deeply, and I would never use Twitter!”  Read on… (more…)

Tactics... The "Child face" evokes in men the desire to protect and makes your eyes appear larger by minimizing the face. Red lips and blush mimic arousal.

Sexiness, attractiveness, flirtatiousness, etc.  Some girls have got it and some girls don’t, but perhaps the real issue is that some have learned these tricks and some have not.  Be forewarned this is powerful stuff:  This is a black magic art that creates sexual energy and should only be used by mature adults.

I am a fan of body language and I love to figure out people and I just happen to be married to an extremely sexy woman.  A great book on the subject is The Definitive Book of Body Language.  Buy it, you will love it!

The Principle

The general principle to being sexy and arousing and attracting men is to appear aroused and attracted.  Women being “sexy” to men is appearing sexual.  Seems pretty simple right?

The Tricks

Here are the female tricks of the trade, many of which are picked up unconsciously from watching females or are possibly embedded in genetic code: (more…)

My silicone Dvorak keyboard cover protects my computer and my wrists!

Allow me to reveal my true nerdy-awesome nature… part of being great, at least for me, is being nerdy.

What is Qwerty?  So look down at your keyboard… find Q and the keys following it.  QWERTY is the name of that layout of keys.  Originally keys were alphabetical, but they were rearranged into a layout that was designed to be difficult and slow down the typists and now you use it everyday and if you type a lot it is hurting your wrists.

I was annoyed by the issues with typing and the “carpal tunnel” or rather, the stupid pain from lame typing.   So I did some research and found that Dvorak is an alternative layout that you can type in that has been found to reduce movement 50%! (more…)

You can do better than that mass marketed garbage!

Most toothpaste is rather ridiculous… You eat and then a few hours later your teeth have sweaters (bacteria poop) and you are a plaque monster… well you might want to reconsider the junk you use to clean your teeth.  If you haven’t read about my favorite deodorant, check that out right now so you truly appreciate this article.

The problem

Most toothpastes are designed to taste good, not to work well.  They are a gross, sticky, sugary, artificially flavored chemical filled garbage.  Someday we will be amazed that we used to stick this stuff in our mouths.  Millions of Americans use this stuff every day and still get cavities.  What a joke.  Cavities and tooth decay are caused by bacteria and bacteria thrive in an acidic environment.  Sugar is acidic and is fuel for bacteria.  Most toothpaste is also acidic rather than alkaline.

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You know those people that you just click with – the ones that make you feel great and are really cool that you want to be around?   Have you noticed I am one of them?  If not, we need to hang out more!  If you have noticed, this might be why…. I love to make new friends and I will tell you a secret: I haven’t always been good at it.  I had to learn what some people seem to do instinctively.  You are sitting there, reading this, hoping to get better at making friends, because you care.  So if you don’t know me well, we need to get together because you are the kind of person that wants to improve and have friends and that means you are similar to me.  If you are in Burley, Idaho stop into my office.  So, I know that sometimes you do or say stuff and embarrass yourself or come across as a complete dork.  It’s alright, I still like you… so nerd, here’s the word – a gift from me to you:

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StinkySpicy Pit Lube - The Best Money can Buy! Women will finally be attracted to you due to your chemical smell! Get some today!

So I am in a musical right now and the men’s dressing room smells like a bucket of body-odor and onion soup.  It’s pretty nasty.  I however am not a contributor to the stench and figured I would share my secret.  In their defense performing is high stress and it gets hot on stage under those bright lights.  Now this is a rare find and it will be difficult to believe since you have been so heavily influenced by advertising and conspiring marketers to avoid something so simple and use some fatty, chemical, perfume-ish grease.  How great would it be to have super cheap deodorant, that outperformed anything out there, and it is natural, safe, and free of chemicals?

I dare you to drop the crappy-working stuff you currently use to keep your pits smelling fresh. You know your deodorant sucks right?  You actually start sweating and minutes later you smell like fresh cut onions sprinkled with garlic salt.  Why? Because your arm pits have turned into a bacteria fest amplified by sweat.  You are probably dying to know by now, but I don’t want to tell you yet because it is so simple that you might not try it.

I have tried the “natural” deodorants, the name brand junk, and nothing works better than this!

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My wife Ashley as Jennifer Rumson and myself as the Mexican Julio in "Paint Your Wagon"

I posted several times on Facebook  “Jason is pretending to be a Mexican named Julio Federico Juan Valenzuelo Valveras.”  Most people just thought I was just being goofy, but I actually have been pretending to be a Mexican named Julio Federico Valenzuelo Valveras in a local production of “Paint Your Wagon,” a musical that is set during the gold rush.  I thought I would share with you the challenge of a pasty white-boy in becoming Mexican.

Practically a Latino

Luckily I am highly qualified to play this part thanks to the two years of Spanish class I took in high school in which learned near fluency (ie. I know enough to get laughed at by a Spanish speaker and that is all).  This has allowed me to fake a Mexican Accent so well that a fellow cast member, and mother of real children, told me I sound just like Handy Manny, whom we can all assume is performed by a truly amazing, high quality native of Mexico.  I would say I sound a bit more like Antonio Banderas, but I failed to find anyone that would back me up on that statement.   Anyhow they picked me rather than a real Latino, which says a lot (unless you find out that no real Mexicans tried out for the role).

Familiar with Mexico’s Customs

Another qualification is that I have have helped several local Mexicans ship FedEx packages to Mexico.  Alright, so that one is a little weak you might be saying, well I bet I am more familiar with Mexico’s customs than you.  Not cultural customs, but the equally important imort and export customs.  For instance, did you know Mexico will not allow anything shipped that was made in China!  I’ll bet you didn’t… not even the Mexicans I serve know that. (more…)