Braving Fire and Mud, to Serve You Better

Last month we posted a few thoughts on the importance of fitness and nutrition for private investigators. Let's face it: this job can be physically demanding at times, especially as the heat of summer sets in and we face hours upon hours of sweltering surveillance in hundred-plus-degree vehicles.

Meanwhile, we at [FIND] Investigations decided we'd best put our money where our blogposts are. Earlier this spring, we (somewhat sheepishly) ordered the Insanity® DVD workout program and began Shaun T's intensive training program in late March.

In a word: PAIN. The sixty-day program begins with an ego-shattering fitness test, then dives right into the most intense daily forty-minute workouts we've ever been smacked with--a series of increasingly challenging intervals of cardio and strength moves, from fast-paced squats and high jumps to suicide pushup drills, all punctuated by brief rests and cool-down stretches to prevent injury.

After a month, the workouts ramp up to an hour each, increasing in intensity and decreasing rest time. Meanwhile, the Insanity® nutrition guide steered us through a major diet modification, suggesting five smallish meals of 3-500 calories (depending on age, weight, gender, etc.), each a healthful mix of proteins, carbs, fiber, and fats designed for weight control (or loss) and also for fueling the workouts' incredible energy demands. The results, after only sixty days, have been pretty staggering, from weight loss to increased energy. And most importantly, we achieved our goal: to survive and complete the Warrior Dash.

Last weekend, lead investigator Thomas Humphreys and investigatrix Kim Green journeyed to Mountain City, GA to face (in the words of the event planners) "extreme obstacles" and "the nation's most demanding and unique terrain." Yes, folks, we slogged through mud, leapt flames, and scaled great heights under a hot Georgia sun, in the company of thousands of hard-body adventurers dressed in all manner of warrior gear. We sprinted, dove, and slid with Spartans, Highlanders, Maori warriors, superheroes, Crusaders, and, most perplexingly of all, a guy in a rabbit suit.

And with that, we give you the new and improved [FIND] team, consisting not only of mere investigators , but warriors to the core, in your humble service.

"Divorce Fair" Offers Italians Advice on Splitting Up

American culture proliferates in strange and unpredictable ways.

Sometimes that can be a good thing. Take Iran's so-dubbed Twitter Revolution, in which a highly tech-literate population used American-bred hacker and social-media technologies to raise their voices against Ahmadinejad's corrupt regime and stolen elections (and for American-style freedom of speech), always staying one step ahead of the government's attempts to e-silence them.

Sometimes, however, the spread of American mores can be...well, at best, perplexing. For example, is it a good or a bad thing that divorce in Italy is on the rise? Does it signal a loosening of the Vatican's medieval grip on Italian society, or a catastrophe for Italian family life and values?

The exhibitors at Italy's first ever divorce trade fair would most likely answer "neither." For them, it's an economic opportunity. Family lawyers, dating services, and real estate agents came together earlier this month to offer their services to Italian divorcées and future singles.

Although Italy's divorce and custody laws are loosening, the average divorce still takes up to five years, as compared with about a year for much of Europe. Just imagine the surveillance opportunities... Read the full article here.

Article "Big Sister Is Watching"

Hot off the presses: a feature on fellow PI and colleague Renee Waters, penned by our own [FIND] investigator and blogger. (Published in "HER Nashville," a local monthly written by and for women.)

excerpt: "Full disclosure: I’m a Private Dick, a shamus, a gumshoe, a flatfoot. If you’re unfamiliar with the parlance...that’s “private investigator” to you..." Click here to read the full article.