Yoga & sex

If you wonder why Gaseous looks so slim, trim, and smiling these days, maybe the answer can be found in this article in yesterday's New York Times on the connection between yoga and sex. Yoga of course began as a sex cult, and now science is beginning to prove that the Tantrics had a few things right. An excerpt:

. . . over the decades, many have discovered from personal experience that the practice can fan the sexual flames. Pelvic regions can feel more sensitive and orgasms more intense.

Science has begun to clarify the inner mechanisms. In Russia and India, scientists have measured sharp rises in testosterone — a main hormone of sexual arousal in both men and women. Czech scientists working with electroencephalographs have shown how poses can result in bursts of brainwaves indistinguishable from those of lovers. More recently, scientists at the University of British Columbia have documented how fast breathing — done in many yoga classes — can increase blood flow through the genitals. The effect was found to be strong enough to promote sexual arousal not only in healthy individuals but among those with diminished libidos.

In India, recent clinical studies have shown that men and women who take up yoga report wide improvements in their sex lives, including enhanced feelings of pleasure and satisfaction as well as emotional closeness with partners.

At Rutgers University, scientists are investigating how yoga and related practices can foster autoerotic bliss. It turns out that some individuals can think themselves into states of sexual ecstasy — a phenomenon known clinically as spontaneous orgasm and popularly as “thinking off.”

An outstation too far

The long-awaited map arrives! As usual the scale is abysmal, the detail totally lacking; and what about all those kinks in the road?

But, yeah, yeah; it contains all you need to know; and no doubt if you can read English or Thai you will have no problem getting there.

But 3/10 for style guys! I mean have we progressed cartographically from the Mappa Mundi? Apparently not! All I can say is that the same people who drew this map are setting the run on Saturday then ...

Support for a Sunday run in Songkhla is patchy to put it mildly. So far we have Beavershot and Gan Yao expressing interest. Maybe this is the time that YOU should get your finger out of your... nose and onto the keyboard and register some enthusiasm! It could be an SH3 run or an HH3 run - whatever, if there are more than 5 people it will be set. So learn to post/comment on this site and preserve Sunday as a day of irreligious, athletic and mildly alcoholic activity.

But if it all falls through and the usual apathy wins the day then there is always the full moon to look forward to, which ought to fall on Wednesday of next week. All we need is a hare and half a mind....

The run that ate Gaseous Clay

Sunday's HH3 run in glorious black: well, the extra 2k that the long runners did  is in black, the yellow bit is the 5.5k short run including the long run out and in trails. Robocop and Nicheow were first home in about 1h 10m, Gaseous Clay and Bid Bliow took a leisurely 2h 30m and were escorted home by a torch-lit rescue party. Dramatic stuff, even though GC had his GPS with him and insisted they had been on paper all the way round; yeah, right!

Next weekend looks like being runless in Songkhla as a swift finger count of people who are not going on the HH3 outstation run in Phatthalung failed to get to the first thumb. More news later in the week, including hopefully some directions for those who are going to Phatthalung. 

Beavered and rebeavered

Runs 1602 (blue) and 1603 (yellow). The loop at the top of 1603 was the short run.

A small but dedicated band turned out for Part II of the Beaver Doubleheader. Stats almost exactly the same as last week: around 8km total, 260m total ascent, highest point about 160m. First runners back in 1:05 and all the rest, yes including a non-shortcutting Gan Yao, by 1:12.

The first run of a brand new era

Ugh! Let's get that piece of bad taste off of the top!

That's much nicer!

Anyway, to business. This weekend's brand new revitalized if financially adrift SH3 present an almost brand new, only used once  (or twice) before runsite and a more or less virgin (as far as anyone is these days) hare. Ok, so it's actually Beavershot again, but he is now the official Beavershot wearing his brand new OnSex hat, which is more than can be said for those two... words fail me... down below. So as last week, the details are:

Songkhla Hash House Harriers run  #1603, Saturday  25th February 2012: 4:30 p.m 

Hare: Beavershot

Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k and turn left for 10k then turn right and follow the road/track for 1.1k to the run site in the middle of the rubber.

Sunday as correctly predicted last week will feature the almost brand new SH3 trailmaster setting almost his first run for HH3 for almost the first time from near the Sai Kao Resort. (From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k and turn left for 6k then left for 4.5k to the run site on the left.) The run starts at 4:30, or earlier if the mood takes us.

Now who's going to be Hash Cash, I wonder? Perhaps the nice man with the upside down nose might be interested.

All hail our new benevolent overlords!

New co-GMs Softcock (left, with friend) and Yardo (right, demonstrating his paper-incinerating death ray).

Erections are a rare and wonderful thing at Songkhla Hash, so it was with great excitement that the rabble assembled after last Saturday's run for the last act of lame-duck GM R2D2's two-year tenure: the selection of his replacement. Without any further ado, here are the results of the vote:

GMs: Yardstick and Softcock
On Sec: Beavershot
Hash Cash: (pending)
Trailmaster: Egghead
Religious Advisor: Gan Yao
Keg Master: Temporary Relief
Hash Haberdasher: Meals on Wheels
Hash Nerd: R2D2

A truly glittering lineup of the very best talent this hash can produce. There's a reason they call it mismanagement and this is the team that's going to make it happen! On-on!

How to avoid running injuries

A good piece from the Guardian online: How to avoid running injuries. It's aimed more at people training for marathons than pissheads like us, but there's still lots of useful advice, including:

- Buy good shoes, get them fitted by an expert (good luck on that in Thailand), and replace them every 300-400 miles

- Land midfoot rather than on your heel and don't overpronate (that means landing on the inside of your foot)

- Stretch a bit after every run (notice how Solong does this?)

- Build core strength, especially glutes

- Listen to your body and be aware of small problems before they become more serious

- Wear a sports bra*

*If you're a girl or have big manboobs.

Double Beaver, Part I

Here it is, yesterday's first installment of the Beaver Doubleheader. Total length about 8km, total ascent not quite 300m, and highest point just 156m. First runners (Stick Insect and Palm Job) back in 1:01 and almost all the rest by 1:05.

Back-to-back Beaver

You can see it's him; the                      I-wouldn't-hurt-a fly bonhommie, the is-it-time-for-bed-yet innocence.

So we've taken him at his word and left it to him, and the misdirections below are good for two runs:

SH3 runs #1602 and #1603, Saturday 18th and 25th February 2012: 4:00 p.m and 4:30 p.m (as we normally revert to our later, more civilized start time after our annual erection which - see below - is due to take place this week)

Hare: Beavershot

Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k and turn left for 10k then turn right and follow the road/track for 1.1k to the run site in the middle of the rubber.

Sunday's HH3 run will be at the dam near Pru Toh: The end of the official directions read: .....old Hatyai road for 10k and turn left then go about 1.5k to the run site on the right. Hares are likely to be Sex prefixed but the GM is not revealing the details. The following week will be a Kai Jeow run and will probably be from in front of Sai Kao Resort and the week after that HH3 are holding an outstation run in Phattalung and if you want to register the ante is 200 Baht for regular runners, 700 Baht for lesser mortals. 

Anything else you need to know?

Two runs and an erection

Saturday....

Sunday...

Two runs that had only one thing in common: both of them seem to have been enjoyed by everyone who was on them, but in their manner of laying, were about as different as two runs can be. 

Saturday's run was set by two male hares who had spent the week arguing about where the runsite was going to be, where the run was going to go and how and it was going to get there. They had recce'd it intensively with the aid of a GPS and on the day had two of the things to try to make sure that Kii Leum, who is reported to have had a massive hangover, didn't wander off and get lost (very necessary as he did manage to wander off and get lost later in the day and had to be guided home by Only a Yolk). But despite Yardo's earlier dudgeon about the location of the runsite forced on him by fiat of the pack, this was by all accounts a highly enjoyable run, enlivened by a live firing exercise courtesy of the Thai Army which saw Softy and Temp. bundling the doggies into the Beemer as the pack departed, never to return.

Sunday's run in contrast was set by one female hare accompanied by 4 dogs. Although she had expected to be guided in her endeavors by a GPS, Yardo had forgotten to give it back to her the previous day and although he made valiant efforts to get it to her, the traffic jams outside TKU and Only a Yolk's irrepressible urge (yes, she does have them sometimes) to get out on the trail, saw her laying the whole run cold: no GPS, no recce, no idea where she was going to go and no one to argue with about it. The result was pretty amazing bearing all that in mind, as the run, despite being well under 6k, saw the pack tackling bits of both Kao Lam and Kao Wong, before mostly wading back home in tight formation through the rice paddies in just over an hour. 

This weekend it will be on on to the erection as R2D2's tenure as SH3 GM expires. Beaver is the hare and details will be posted later. But we are probably at some kind of crossroads as with attendance now down to around 30 most weeks, the future doesn't look too healthy unless we can find some way of generating renewed interest in the hash. We need an inspirational figure to rise up and take control and guide us onwards and upwards into....(bloated language expires) ... you know!  But if you are reading this and you are interested in keeping SH3 alive, do come along on Saturday and also try to encourage any other erstwhile hashers to come along and participate  in the erection. Despite the low turnouts, we still manage almost every week to serve up great runs, great food, cheap beer and good fellowship, and it would be a shame if that were to be lost.

What we all need to know on a Monday morning (Derrrrr....)

Thanks to Au Kait at Malacca H3 for this uplifting information:

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Beer

By Lisa Collier Cool

Jan 09, 2012

Beer drinkers rejoice: Your favorite brew may be healthier than you think.

For years, wine drinkers have indulged without guilt, reveling in the news that red wine can help protect against heart disease. Recent research shows that beer can also be good for what ails you, from reducing risk for broken bones to helping warding off diabetes and mental decline. It can even increase longevity, a large study suggests.

However, the key to tapping into beer’s benefits is moderation, meaning just one 12-ounce beer per day for women and two for men. Heavy drinking ups the threat of liver damage, some cancers, and heart problems. Bingeing on brewskis can also make you fat, since a 12-ounce regular beer has about 150 calories, while light beer has about 100. 

Here are 10 surprising—and healthy—reasons to cheer about your next beer.

1. Stronger Bones

Beer contains high levels of silicon, which is linked to bone health. In a 2009 study at Tufts University and other centers, older men and women who swigged one or two drinks daily had higher bone density, with the greatest benefits found in those who favored beer or wine. However, downing more than two drinks was linked to increased risk for fractures.

For the best bone-building benefits, reach for pale ale, since a 2010 study of 100 types of beer from around the word identified these brews as richest in silicon, while light lagers and non-alcoholic beers contained the least.

2. A Stronger Heart 

A 2011 analysis of 16 earlier studies involving more than 200,000 people, conducted by researchers at Italy’s Fondazion di Ricerca e Cura, found a 31 percent reduced risk of heart disease in those who quaffed about a pint of beer daily, while risk surged in those who guzzled higher amounts of alcohol, whether beer, wine, or spirits.

More than 100 studies also show that moderate drinking trims risk of heart attacks and dying from cardiovascular disease by 25 to 40 percent, Harvard reports. A beer or two a day can help raise levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol that helps keep arteries from getting clogged.

3. Healthier Kidneys

A study in Finland singled out beer among other alcoholic drinks, finding that each bottle of beer men drank daily lowered their risk of developing kidney stones by 40 percent. One theory is that beer’s high water content helped keep kidneys working, since dehydration increases kidney stone risk.

It’s also possible that the hops in beer help curb leeching of calcium from bones; that “lost” calcium also could end up in the kidneys as stones.

4. Boosting Brain Health 

A beer a day may help keep Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia at bay, researchers say.

A 2005 study tracking the health of 11,000 older women showed that moderate drinkers (those who consumed about one drink a day) lowered their risk of mental decline by as much as 20 percent, compared to non-drinkers. In addition, older women who downed a drink a day scored as about 18 months “younger,” on average, on tests of mental skills than the non-drinkers.

5. Reduced Cancer Risk 

A Portuguese study found that marinating steak in beer eliminates almost 70 percent of the carcinogens, called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) produced when the meat is pan-fried. Researchers theorize that beer’s sugars help block HCAs from forming.

Scientists also have found that beer and wine contain about the same levels of antioxidants, but the antioxidants are different because the flavonoids found in hops and grapes are different.

6. Boosting Vitamin Levels 

A Dutch study, performed at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute, found that beer-drinking participants had 30 percent higher levels of vitamin B6 levels in their blood than their non-drinking counterparts, and twice as much as wine drinkers. Beer also contains vitamin B12 and folic acid.

7. Guarding Against Stroke 

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that moderate amounts of alcohol, including beer, help prevent blood clots that block blood flow to the heart, neck and brain—the clots that cause ischemic stroke, the most common type.

8. Reduced Risk for Diabetes 

Drink up: A 2011 Harvard study of about 38,000 middle-aged men found that when those who only drank occasionally raised their alcohol intake to one to two beers or other drinks daily, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes dropped by 25 percent. The researchers found no benefit to quaffing more than two drinks. The researchers found that alcohol increases insulin sensitivity, thus helping protect against diabetes.

9. Lower Blood Pressure 

Wine is fine for your heart, but beer may be even better: A Harvard study of 70,000 women ages 25 to 40 found that moderate beer drinkers were less likely to develop high blood pressure—a major risk factor for heart attack—than women who sipped wine or spirits. 

10. Longer Life 

In a 2005 review of 50 studies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that moderate drinkers live longer. The USDA also estimatesthat moderate drinking prevents about 26,000 deaths a year, due to lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

These benefits appear to apply in other countries as well, with an earlier study reporting that, “if European beer drinkers stopped imbibing, there would be a decrease in life expectancy of two years—and much unhappiness.”

News flash: Today's HH3 run

This just in: From the Kaw Yaw intersection go 4km along the OHR, turn left and make your way to the temple entrance to the Egghouse (shown above) except don't go in. Keep on straight a couple more km till you see the hash sign at the entrance of the road to the water tower on the left. It's around there somewhere. Hare will be Muu Saap.

The hobbled run

Well this is probably the first step in Egghead's secret plan to make me Trailmaster/Hare Raiser (though he knows exactly the conditions under which I would agree to do that), but the Ovoid One is supposedly out of town and out of touch so it falls to me to announce the particulars for this coming Saturday's run. This highly promising event will feature the efforts of not one but two temporarily crippled hares, which goes to show just how desperate we're getting. Come back soon, Autopilot!

SH3 Run #1601
4 pm., Saturday, 11 February 2012
Hares: Yardstick and Kii Leum

Misdirections: From Kao Seng intersection take old Yala Road for 4.3km and turn right immediately after the army base. At 750m take left fork in the road and proceed 400m to the runsite. Take care to park on the sand as the grassy areas are pretty soggy.

This can't be a rehash

A few of the many hares taking a post-lay break at Chez Egg.

This can't be a rehash coz we don't do those anymore. Also the hash flash only managed to take one shot on the run itself (wait for it).

Hippo, the bad boy of the Egg menagerie.

Anyhow last night's Full Moon Run drew a surprisingly strong turnout. Well, 18 hashers, which may not sound like much but it's the most we've had on a FMH3 in a long while. Half a dozen did the long run, which had been set by an equal number of pussies. Most of the rest did the short run, and the two groups bumped into each other at a couple points during the run, which is always reassuring when you're in the dark in the middle of nowhere.

Cherie the Goat, wondering "When will they ever take me along too?"

The long run featured plenty of real running, some excellent false trails, and, at right around an hour, exactly the right length for this kind of event. Food and beer were plentiful and the crowd seemed fairly spirited for a change. We were joined at the end by a real stick insect, displayed here by his hash namesake.

Where's the bl**dy run site?

Tomorrow Tonight's (Tuesday 7¾th February) night's full moon run will be from the new Yala road - and if that sounds vague, let me comfort you that it is 95% certain to be on the right hand side and the odds in favour of it being at 4.6k from the Ko Yo Intersection are better than 70:30. Hares are on the balance of probabilities going to include Only a Yolk, After Ours and Meals on Wheels, with a better than evens shot at Crackwurst joining them. The run probably won't start dead on 7:00 p.m. but it will certainly be close enough as makes no difference. There will be beer on sale at 3 cans for approximately 100 Baht and as long as past performance is anything to go by there will be food, though to be sure of that it would probably be a good idea if you took a contribution along. And don't forget your handlight since assuming that the Lord does not intervene to stop the sun in its orbit around the Earth as he did to allow Joshua to slay the Naobites or some other crowd of pre-Biblical sword-fodder, it will in all likelihood be dark.

And all this information comes straight from the horses mouth, hot off the press, from an unassailable source, completely above board, no questions asked, Mum's the word - i.e she's saying nothing!

More information if it is significantly different at the p<0.05 level will be communicated as and when it comes to hand. Also to be communicated at tomorrow nights' run will be the latest news on the likely whereabouts of Saturday's SH3 run (Hares Kii Leum and Yardstick, but not necessarily in that order) and Sunday's HH3 run (Hares ... Only a Yolk: say no more!)

See what happens when I go away for a few days?

The wayback machine

Miss those wonderfully entertaining rehashes that used to appear every week? Well, good news: they're back! At least provided you set your mind back exactly ten years and click here. Starting from January 2002 you'll be able to relive Songkhla H3 life week by week just as it happened a decade ago. This week back then, for example, the long-lost Balls in the Air describes a memorable Groundhog Day run, followed next week by a run report by the legendary Fukawi. Other near-mythical figures taking scribe duty over the coming months include Kiwi Fruit and Angry Pussy, not to mention classic rehashes by still-familiar names like Egghead, Gan Yao, Stick Insect, and, er, me too. Give it a look -- you'll instantly feel years younger!

A moveable feast

It's SH3's 1600th run this Saturday which will be followed by an on-after featuring free beer and food courtesy of our pussies. The run site will be at Prem's place, but as soon as all the runners are back at the run site, the event will shift to Benjaporn, where the circle and on-after will take place.
Official details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers run #1600, Saturday February 4th: 4:00 p.m.
Hares: Softcock and Gan Yao
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection, take the new Yala road for 800 meters then turn left and follow the road for 800 meters to the car park in front of the National Library. (For anyone coming along just for the on-after it should start around 6:00 p.m. and the location is: From the Ko Yo intersection, head North towards the island for 500m and turn right at the first set of traffic lights (Soi Nawamin). Continue for about 1.5k and turn right into Benjaporn Housing Village and then continue and turn right into Soi 11 The on-after site is in the park near the end of the soi).


Sunday's HH3 run is a Sex affair (-Star, -y Girl, -Au Au) and will be from somewhere close to the Gamling Reservoir way down Poonakan, (7 or 8k?) on the right. Run starts when you get there but 4:00 p.m. is a good time to aim for.


Finally don't forget the full moon run next week on Tuesday. The Pussies are slated to set it (After Ours and Only a Yolk) but... well... you know! 7:00 p.m. kick off. Run site about 3.5k up the New Yala road - details to be confirmed. But it will happen.