So I like to write my dates in the format of day-month-year, is that so bad? It must be the Euro half of my heritage showing its face. Or just that I want to be difficult/different - who knows.

Anyway, with the help of a co-worker (Naasir) I figured out how to do this in ASP. Here is the code:

And here is the Microsoft KB article that showed me how:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306044

Now I can do stuff like always have a current copyright date in the footer which appears at the bottom of all my web pages.

I just got an email from a good friend of mine who is trying to lose a little weight and get a little fitter and he was asking me this question:

"I understand that it is important (was going to say imperative) that protein be ingested within 20-25 minutes of working out. Have you heard such a thing?"

This kind of question proves just how effective all the marketing hype that we drown in on a daily basis really is. Before I continue I probably need to preface this by admitting that I'm not studying to be a nutritionist on the side or anything but here is what I know.

When you exercise your body uses glycogen. Glycogen is the fuel inside of your muscles and is made when your body assimilates and process anything you eat. Your muscles can't use straight up carbohydrates or protein or fat, your body has to break this stuff down and turn it into glycogen first.

There is a 'window of opportunity' after you exercise that your body will absorb new muscle glycogen much for quickly than if you wait. That window is about 30-45 minutes depending on who you talk to. Bottom line is you are supposed to consume something that is easily absorbed pretty quickly after you work out if you want to work out again in the near future and not feel toasted.

ASIDE – if you are not going to work out hard again within the next day or two, it probably does not matter much what you do. Your body will replace all the lost muscle glycogen in time but it might take a couple of days for you to be fully stocked up again.

So, what will your body absorb the fastest? People used to think it was pure carbohydrate but now it's common knowledge that a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein is absorbed the quickest. That's why drinks like Endurox R4 and such all use this ratio. If you only consume carbohydrate it will help a lot but not as much as if you eat/drink something with this ratio. Pure protein and pure fat are both broken down and absorbed MUCH more slowly than pure carbohydrate.

All this protein, protein, protein hype is one of my pet peeves... You see this in magazines, in ads for products, at stores like GNC and in the gyms. And it's mostly all wrong.

ANOTHER ASIDE - stores like GNC (General Nutrition Centers, Inc.) should probably really be called something like BOGUS (Buy Our Generally-overpriced Unproven Shit).

YET ANOTHER ASIDE – if you go chugging a lot of recovery drinks after working out that's great for your muscles but be careful to not add them to your total caloric intake. If your drink is 500 calories, you will need to trim 500 calories from your dinner or somewhere else. Otherwise you will not lose weight. That's probably pretty obvious but I see so many people drinking their meal replacement shakes and then eating lunch! Hello?!

So take Dr. Martin's advice and remember, carbohydrate is much more important for muscle recovery than protein. We all need protein but most people that get caught up in this craze and start taking loads of supplements end up getting too much and then it's just extra calories you don’t need. And ANY extra calories you don't need – no matter if they come from protein or carbohydrate or fat – will get turned into fat.

Class dismissed.

Really, really damn fast. Check this:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2008/jan08/qatar08/qatar082

On a flat, windy day of the second stage of the 7th Tour of Qatar the peloton (not just the leaders!) averaged 55 kph. For those of you that were not around for the half-assed attempt the US made to go Metric many years ago, that's over 34 mph. THIRTY FOUR.

Oh sure you say, "Anyone can do that when you are getting sucked along in the pack." Wrong.

• You have never had the likes of the Quick Step team riding you into the gutter because you can't get into their echelon.
• This stage was 137.5 km (85 miles) long. When was the last time you even averaged 25 mph for more than a few miles.
• This was the average. That means at times the speed was much higher.

Unbelievable.

I wonder how many bags of potato chips I could buy if I sold all my bikes. 'Cuz that's what I feel like I'd be pretty good at right now - getting fat.