Feel the burn

Published 10:54 pm Monday, January 4, 2010

A personal trainer known to his clients as Mr. Pain says you’ll shed weight like crazy if you follow his regimen.

And since that regimen includes push-ups, wind sprints and running the mile in six minutes at the Snohomish High School stadium, we’re inclined to agree. Sounds like our sophomore P.E. class, minus (we presume) the locker-room towel-snapping and resultant fistfights.

And make sure they wear a helmet: Child-safety activists want kids to remain in rear-facing car seats until they weigh 55 pounds, arguing the seats do a better job of preventing serious injuries in frontal crashes.

Given our society’s penchant to crave a zero-risk world, can rear-facing driver’s seats be far behind?

A glass of chill-out: A new soft drink called Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda contains kava, a South Pacific root said to have sedative qualities.

Mary Jane’s (get it? Mary Jane’s) is one of a new breed of so-called “slow-down” drinks marketed as the antidote to caffeine-laced Red Bull and its ilk.

It’s the same as Red Bull in one key respect: College students will mix it with vodka.

—Mark Carlson, Herald staff