Random thoughts. On Friday night I kept thinking about how much work I have to complete by October 15th, and thinking I won't be able to do it, and feeling stress about it because I'll be held responsible for it all. But then I thought to myself that the boss may just have to pay the late fines for work that isn't done on time, and that's something he is prepared to do, because it was mentioned in a related matter a few months ago. And those late fines will come nowhere near the salaries he would have had to pay if he replaced the two latest people who quit. I'd say their combined salaries were about $170,000. He chose not to replace them and instead to burden us with their caseloads. He won't be paying anything near $170,000 in late fines on the clients I'm not able to accommodate by Oct 15. Maybe a few thousand. Drop in the bucket. So fuck it. I don't need to meet all my deadlines. Fuck it. I needn't stress over it. Just work at my own pace and fuck it. Miss however many deadlines I miss. And, oh yeah, fuck it.

That's the spirit!

I just saw a replay of the Forrest Griffin vs. Shogun Rua fight on that Joe Rogan show UFC Wired. It just seemed that Forrest Griffin wasn't fighting Shogun Rua. He was fighting a bum who gassed out in the second round. I don't know who that was in the ring with Griffin. No idea. Some tired ole bum. I wonder what would happen if he fought Shogun Rua. But Shogun's knee is shot so that may never happen. I guess either Shogun took him lightly and didn't train, or Shogun's knee forced him to rest and not train, or he's just a stupid ass, or something, but that was a bum in there with Griffin.

The whole Forrest Griffin story is inspiring. We just think of him as some kid who is in over his head, has no "class" in the sense that racehorses have class for being in prestigious races. We think of him as a kid trying to break in. We don't think of him as the guy who beat the real Rampage Jackson and some bum in Shogun Rua's body. Just goes to show you not to be intimidated by anyone, because lots of hard work can propel you above the stars you are idolizing. I'm sure he has the very best training, best coaches, best workout partners, best cardio workouts, so why the hell shouldn't he be at the pinnacle? Why shouldn't he be up there with Chuck Liddell and the rest of the elite of the division? For some reason he reminds me of Davy Crockett.

UFC Wired also had that recent Rampage vs. Liddell match, the early one-punch KO by Rampage. I think a lot of it was luck. I think both of those guys have knockout power, and whoever lands first on the button wins. Rampage is 2-0 but if they fought 10 times I think it would even out, percentagewise, to maybe 6-4. They'd split the next 8 fights between them. I don't think Rampage has his number or anything. Just luck. Next time, Chuck wins.

Basito El Guapo Rutten was saying on Inside MMA that he thinks MMA will be an Olympic sport four years from now. His one fear was that they'd make the guys wear headgear as they do in boxing. I disagree with him. I think MMA will not be an Olympic sport, ever. He points out that judo, tae kwon do, Greco Roman wrestling and boxing are all Olympic sports, and that MMA is more or less a combination of the four. True, to a large degree. But if they ever put a hybrid sport like MMA in the Olympics, they'd make it nothing like what we're used to. No elbows. Definitely headgear. Much stricter rules. They wouldn't want anything to look barbaric out there. And MMA does look barbaric.

MMA is not a hybrid like the heptathlon or pentathlon or whateverathlon, because those sports are combinations of distinct sports. You don't swim or run while you're shooting a bow and arrow. You're doing one thing at a time. In MMA you're doing all the sports at the same time. So you can't compare the two types of hybrids.

I think there would be a much better chance for the Olympics to include the kind of submission wrestling that is done in Abu Dhabi. Pure Gracie jiu jitsu, basically, without the strikes. Just the grappling holds. I can easily see the Olympics incorporating that sport. It's not the least bit barbaric. It's a chess match on the floor, much like Greco Roman wrestling is. Nobody bleeds. Nothing gets broken. There's no need for headgear. It has a classy image because it is run by ultra wealthy oil sheikhs in traditional Arab garb. The Olympics would go for that. I like it too. It's actually my favorite sport to do. Submission wrestling, Gracie jiu jitsu minus the striking. Roll around, try to apply a choke or arm lock or heel or ankle or knee lock. Somebody feels pain, they tap out, done, no harm no foul. I don't want to break anyone's nose. Just choke them out, make them tap, help them up, give a nice smile and say well done, buddy.