Well I just got some news that shot a hole in my new goals. I had the personal trainer test my body fat using calipers which are more accurate than my scale and she said that I'm at 10%.
I guess that means that I either just have genes that won't allow my abs to show up no matter what or that they are just still so underdeveloped that they can't be seen. The trainer also suggested that since I had lost so much weight so fast that maybe I had a lot of loose skin around my stomach that hasn't had time to tighten up yet. Hopefully that is the case.
I guess one thing is for sure though, I don't really have that much fat to lost to be at 8%, and at that point I guess I just have to work hard to build more muscle. Based on this new information, I only need to get down to 180 or 181 to be at 8%. 172 did seem pretty low, but hey I'm a numbers guy so I believed it.
Back to the drawing board. I keep learning more and more about this stuff as time goes on.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Merrappy Hanuquansmus!!
I'm getting a little annoyed with all the people who are trying to make Christmas politically correct. "Happy Holidays" doesn't really bother me all that much, but just the idea of trying to trivialize Christmas. I guess ultimately I'm just afraid that at some point they will decide that Thanksgiving and Christmas somehow violate the arbitrary "seperation of church and state" rule and they will be done away with. I don't see that happening even in the next ten years but I do see it as a possibility and that worries me.
As a Christian, I'm not going to punch someone in the face if they accidentally wish me a Happy Hannukah, so why should I have to worry about offending someone by saying Merry Christmas to them? I like the idea of not oppressing people, but we are going about it the wrong way. Instead of attacking the thing that is most prevelant (ie Christmas) and making it taboo, we should all just realize that we are different and be ok with it. (Can't we all just get along?)
I'm sure you laughed out loud at that last observation. Obviously it's easier said than done, but I don't understand the current line of thinking. We can either tick off some people a little, by maybe saying the wrong thing to the wrong person from time to time, or we can totally tick off the largest segment of the population by making it taboo to say Merry Christmas. Doesn't make a lot of logical sense to me.
It's the same thing with the race issue. No one thinks twice about making a racial slur about white males on tv or anywhere else, for the same reasons. Society seems to think that the best way to make everyone equal is to oppress the largest group of people and try to bring them back down to earth, so to speak. Once again, they are ticking off the largest segment which seems nuts to me.
I don't plan to stop saying "Merry Christmas" this year, but at the same time, I'm not going to launch a crusade against the "Happy Holidays" folks either. They may not be the largest group right now, but ticking them off still seems wrong.
As a Christian, I'm not going to punch someone in the face if they accidentally wish me a Happy Hannukah, so why should I have to worry about offending someone by saying Merry Christmas to them? I like the idea of not oppressing people, but we are going about it the wrong way. Instead of attacking the thing that is most prevelant (ie Christmas) and making it taboo, we should all just realize that we are different and be ok with it. (Can't we all just get along?)
I'm sure you laughed out loud at that last observation. Obviously it's easier said than done, but I don't understand the current line of thinking. We can either tick off some people a little, by maybe saying the wrong thing to the wrong person from time to time, or we can totally tick off the largest segment of the population by making it taboo to say Merry Christmas. Doesn't make a lot of logical sense to me.
It's the same thing with the race issue. No one thinks twice about making a racial slur about white males on tv or anywhere else, for the same reasons. Society seems to think that the best way to make everyone equal is to oppress the largest group of people and try to bring them back down to earth, so to speak. Once again, they are ticking off the largest segment which seems nuts to me.
I don't plan to stop saying "Merry Christmas" this year, but at the same time, I'm not going to launch a crusade against the "Happy Holidays" folks either. They may not be the largest group right now, but ticking them off still seems wrong.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
6 Pack Quest
Sorry for the double dose of fitness info this week but I found something interesting today (to me at least). I read somewhere that even if you have great ab muscles, they aren't going to show up if you have too much fat over them. I knew that part already but I figured that at this point, surely I had lost enough weight that I should be getting close to seeing them.
According to what I read, for a male to be able to see his ab muscles, he has to have a body fat percentage under 8%. I have no idea how accurate that number is or how credible the article was but based on that number I did some calculations.
Currently, my new scale says that I have a body fat percentage of 14.5%. Obviously that is not totally accurate either but for the purposes of this excercise I will pretend that it is because I have no other data to go on. Based on that number, right now my body is 117 pounds of water, 27 pounds of fat, and 42 pounds of muscle/bone/skin etc.
27 pounds of fat!!!!! How could I possibly still have that much fat in my body after having lost 17 pounds and not being all that overweight when I started? Even if you give or take 5 pounds for my number fudging, it's a lot more than I would have expected.
Now for the fun part. I figured based on my current breakdown, what amount of fat I could have in my body and be under 8% body fat. This assumes (wrongly, I know) that my water, and other weights will stay the same. Based on that I would need to lose 14 more pounds of strictly fat to be under 8% body fat. That would mean that I would be 117 pounds of water, 13 pounds of fat, and 42 other. Supposedly at that point I would be able to see my ab muscles through my skin.
So in light of that, and that I was nearly to my original goal anyway, I'm setting a new goal for myself. 172 pounds or under 8%, whichever comes first. I will continue to base my body fat percentage on what my scale tells me knowing that it isn't perfect but it's the best I can do.
Actually I think that this is a good thing because I was getting to the point where I needed some new motivation anyway. Plus it's nice to break it up like this. If you had told me when I was 203 pounds 7 weeks ago that I needed to lose over 30 pounds, I probably would have just given up. As it is, I have already lost 17 so I am more than half way there already, and I know I can do it, because my plan has been working very successfully so far.
So in future diet updates, you can expect to hear my body fat percentage as well as my weight, and hopefully before too long I will reach that elusive goal of six pack abs.
According to what I read, for a male to be able to see his ab muscles, he has to have a body fat percentage under 8%. I have no idea how accurate that number is or how credible the article was but based on that number I did some calculations.
Currently, my new scale says that I have a body fat percentage of 14.5%. Obviously that is not totally accurate either but for the purposes of this excercise I will pretend that it is because I have no other data to go on. Based on that number, right now my body is 117 pounds of water, 27 pounds of fat, and 42 pounds of muscle/bone/skin etc.
27 pounds of fat!!!!! How could I possibly still have that much fat in my body after having lost 17 pounds and not being all that overweight when I started? Even if you give or take 5 pounds for my number fudging, it's a lot more than I would have expected.
Now for the fun part. I figured based on my current breakdown, what amount of fat I could have in my body and be under 8% body fat. This assumes (wrongly, I know) that my water, and other weights will stay the same. Based on that I would need to lose 14 more pounds of strictly fat to be under 8% body fat. That would mean that I would be 117 pounds of water, 13 pounds of fat, and 42 other. Supposedly at that point I would be able to see my ab muscles through my skin.
So in light of that, and that I was nearly to my original goal anyway, I'm setting a new goal for myself. 172 pounds or under 8%, whichever comes first. I will continue to base my body fat percentage on what my scale tells me knowing that it isn't perfect but it's the best I can do.
Actually I think that this is a good thing because I was getting to the point where I needed some new motivation anyway. Plus it's nice to break it up like this. If you had told me when I was 203 pounds 7 weeks ago that I needed to lose over 30 pounds, I probably would have just given up. As it is, I have already lost 17 so I am more than half way there already, and I know I can do it, because my plan has been working very successfully so far.
So in future diet updates, you can expect to hear my body fat percentage as well as my weight, and hopefully before too long I will reach that elusive goal of six pack abs.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Diet Update
Another week another weigh in. This time I weighed in at 186.5 which puts me very close to my original goal of 185, although as I stated last week, I will probably need to shoot for 180 to be completely fat free.
I'm starting to get excited and frustrated at the same time. I really enjoy the calistenics class that I am in that has helped me get into so much better shape, but it really isn't doing all that much to build muscle. I have more endurance and overall strength than I have had in a long time but my goals are a little more vain than that.
I really want to get that chiseled look that a lot of guys have and I feel like I can only get that in the weight room. Now that I have a lot less fat I figure that any muscle I build would actually show up. The problem is that now with two kids I can barely make time for my current class let alone something else, so the lifting may have to wait, which is the frustrating part.
Hopefully I can work from home in the evenings to make some extra time for lifting but if not I will have to wait until this summer when things will be a lot less hectic. I really hope that I can eventually get to the look that I have pictured in my head. Half the work is almost done at this point, and most people would say that losing the fat is probably the harder part of the two tasks.
I'm starting to get excited and frustrated at the same time. I really enjoy the calistenics class that I am in that has helped me get into so much better shape, but it really isn't doing all that much to build muscle. I have more endurance and overall strength than I have had in a long time but my goals are a little more vain than that.
I really want to get that chiseled look that a lot of guys have and I feel like I can only get that in the weight room. Now that I have a lot less fat I figure that any muscle I build would actually show up. The problem is that now with two kids I can barely make time for my current class let alone something else, so the lifting may have to wait, which is the frustrating part.
Hopefully I can work from home in the evenings to make some extra time for lifting but if not I will have to wait until this summer when things will be a lot less hectic. I really hope that I can eventually get to the look that I have pictured in my head. Half the work is almost done at this point, and most people would say that losing the fat is probably the harder part of the two tasks.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Enlightened Animals
We took Kylie to the zoo on saturday again. They have Christmas lights up all over the place so it was really cool to walk around and look at them all. My mom and Dad went with us and everyone seemed to have a great time.
It was really cold so we spent a lot of time at the indoor exhibits trying to stay warm. Kylie took turns riding on mine and my Dad's shoulders and yanking on our ears. I'm so glad that God thought to put those handles there for her to hold on to.
Kids are so funny. We took her on a carousel which was great. I was so glad that we got to do that for her because she loved it, but she really didn't understand the concept of standing in line. She wanted on right away, and it was all I could do to keep her from trying to jump over the railing.
It also cracks me up at how as she is learning to talk, some letters don't come out the way they are supposed to. She still thinks that her name is pronounced "Tywie". The other day, I asked her if she was the best Bug ever (Bug is her nickname), and she told me:
That she was "the best butt ever"...
It was really cold so we spent a lot of time at the indoor exhibits trying to stay warm. Kylie took turns riding on mine and my Dad's shoulders and yanking on our ears. I'm so glad that God thought to put those handles there for her to hold on to.
Kids are so funny. We took her on a carousel which was great. I was so glad that we got to do that for her because she loved it, but she really didn't understand the concept of standing in line. She wanted on right away, and it was all I could do to keep her from trying to jump over the railing.
It also cracks me up at how as she is learning to talk, some letters don't come out the way they are supposed to. She still thinks that her name is pronounced "Tywie". The other day, I asked her if she was the best Bug ever (Bug is her nickname), and she told me:
That she was "the best butt ever"...
Friday, December 16, 2005
3 for 3
Last night was a lot of fun. Some friends of ours that have a lot of land invited us over to do some snowmobiling. I was really excited to go, because it was the last of the ATV type vehicles that I had never ridden. I have managed in the last few years to ride a four-wheeler and a jet-ski but never a snowmobile.
It was extremely fun but very different from anything else I have ever done before. We had 80 acres on which to run around and we saw most of it. I was pretty proud of my wife, because I was able to talk her into driving one and she did really well.
Just for the record, I know I haven't tried all that hard in the last week to look for funny stories to tell, but I promise I will get back to that soon.
It was extremely fun but very different from anything else I have ever done before. We had 80 acres on which to run around and we saw most of it. I was pretty proud of my wife, because I was able to talk her into driving one and she did really well.
Just for the record, I know I haven't tried all that hard in the last week to look for funny stories to tell, but I promise I will get back to that soon.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Weather or not
Whether it's global warming or not, you have to admit that this has been a strange year for weather. We were still having 80 degree days in October and now we are having our second major snowstorm of the year and it is only December 15th.
It really makes me wonder about down the road. Are we going to be telling our grandchildren about how when we were little, the temperature used to be under 100 almost every day in the summer? Or that we used to measure snow in inches instead of feet?
Personally, it's hard for me to believe that mankind can continue to grow and to destroy at the careless rate that it does without there being some sort of major breakdown of nature at some point. Whether we mess things up so bad that most of the earth is uninhabitable due to the climate or we cause some disease to be mutated in such a way that it can't be stopped, I think that at some point mankind will have to pay the piper for the way we have treated our home.
The way I see it, it's a race between technology and fate. Can we figure out a way to leave this planet and start over on a fresh one before our mistakes catch up with us? At this point it's not looking good for the technology side of things. We are still a long way off from visiting some of the closest planets to us in our own solar system let alone other star systems.
Sorry be all doom and gloom today, but I just don't see how we can continue to treat our planet the way we do and not expect it to bite us back someday. It frustrates me a lot, so I normally just try not to think about it, but if something isn't done soon, it will eventually be pretty bad around here.
It really makes me wonder about down the road. Are we going to be telling our grandchildren about how when we were little, the temperature used to be under 100 almost every day in the summer? Or that we used to measure snow in inches instead of feet?
Personally, it's hard for me to believe that mankind can continue to grow and to destroy at the careless rate that it does without there being some sort of major breakdown of nature at some point. Whether we mess things up so bad that most of the earth is uninhabitable due to the climate or we cause some disease to be mutated in such a way that it can't be stopped, I think that at some point mankind will have to pay the piper for the way we have treated our home.
The way I see it, it's a race between technology and fate. Can we figure out a way to leave this planet and start over on a fresh one before our mistakes catch up with us? At this point it's not looking good for the technology side of things. We are still a long way off from visiting some of the closest planets to us in our own solar system let alone other star systems.
Sorry be all doom and gloom today, but I just don't see how we can continue to treat our planet the way we do and not expect it to bite us back someday. It frustrates me a lot, so I normally just try not to think about it, but if something isn't done soon, it will eventually be pretty bad around here.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Diet Update
We splurged this week and bought a new scale, so I'm hoping that my measurements are a little more accurate or at least a little more consistant. Actually my wife bought me a new scale that I had pointed out to her Mom. It was a very nice suprise. It has the ability to measure your body fat percentage by sending a small current and timing how long it takes to go from one foot to the other.
Sunday morning I weighed in at 189. Woo Hoo!!, I've finally broken in to the 180's. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I now have only 4 more pounds to lose to attain my original goal.
I haven't weighed this low since before I got married. The scale also told me that I have 15.5% body fat and 62.5% water. Clearly these aren't incredibly accurate but they at least give me some idea of where I'm at.
Looking at myself now, I don't really think that 185 is going to be the end all as far as goals for myself. I still have a bit of fat to lose although I look much better than I did. I will probably have to make it into the low 180's before I will be totally satisfied.
Here's hoping for another good week! I'm still on pace to be at 185 by Christmas, so hopefully I can continue to do well.
Sunday morning I weighed in at 189. Woo Hoo!!, I've finally broken in to the 180's. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I now have only 4 more pounds to lose to attain my original goal.
I haven't weighed this low since before I got married. The scale also told me that I have 15.5% body fat and 62.5% water. Clearly these aren't incredibly accurate but they at least give me some idea of where I'm at.
Looking at myself now, I don't really think that 185 is going to be the end all as far as goals for myself. I still have a bit of fat to lose although I look much better than I did. I will probably have to make it into the low 180's before I will be totally satisfied.
Here's hoping for another good week! I'm still on pace to be at 185 by Christmas, so hopefully I can continue to do well.
Friday, December 09, 2005
CSI
I used to really like CSI, but now I can't watch it at all. I really liked the show when the focus was on the science and the crtitical thinking involved in solving a tough case. This season I have stopped watching it entirely. Every week has become a contest to see if they can think up something that is more disturbing than the week before. They've gone away from focusing on the science and instead focusing on the gruesomeness and weirdness of the crimes, and in doing so, they have lost me as a viewer.
I have, instead, started watching NCIS. This show doesn't focus as much on the science as I would like, but the characters are so interesting that it doesn't matter. They also avoid the pitfall of turning every episode into a B level horror film quite well.
I guess I just don't understand why, if a show is working well, that the suits feel like they need to tweak the format. I guess they are just trying to keep CSI new and fresh but they blew it. They ended up turning it into a weekly freak show, that I am not at all interested in seeing.
I have, instead, started watching NCIS. This show doesn't focus as much on the science as I would like, but the characters are so interesting that it doesn't matter. They also avoid the pitfall of turning every episode into a B level horror film quite well.
I guess I just don't understand why, if a show is working well, that the suits feel like they need to tweak the format. I guess they are just trying to keep CSI new and fresh but they blew it. They ended up turning it into a weekly freak show, that I am not at all interested in seeing.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Rock The Lights
Check out the following link. This guy wired his Christmas light to be in time with the music of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizard in Winter"
Rockin' Lights
Rockin' Lights
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The Top Ten
Excuses of Last Minute Christmas Shoppers
10. The malls are too crowded. (Well, hmm, I suppose if you wait long enough, that problem will go away.)
9. My family is too hard to buy for. (Yes, I'm sure your wife will blame herself when she opens her screw driver set from Odd Lots.)
8. The season has become too commercialized. (So has your TV, but you haven't missed any episodes of "Regis and Kelly".)
7. I hate going out in this weather. (So you work from home in the winter? How do I apply for your job?)
6. I'm just too busy. (Me too, so I'll just grab a stapler for you from the supply cabinet and we'll call it even.)
5. Christmas just snuck up on me. (It does that to me too. It hides under all the other pages in my calendar until the last second and then *POP* there it is.)
4. I'm waiting to find it on sale. (The next sale is after Christmas, so what are you trying to say?)
3. I'm planning to go tomorrow. (Isn't "tomorrow" the same day that you planned to start working out?)
2. There just aren't enough hours in the day. (So I guess we'll blame this one on God. Clearly he messed up by only giving us 24 hours. How can we possibly get things done on time?)
And the number one excuse for last minute Christmas shoppers:
1. I'm Jewish (Well I guess I'll have to write a list for Hannuka shoppers too. You da man Dave!)
10. The malls are too crowded. (Well, hmm, I suppose if you wait long enough, that problem will go away.)
9. My family is too hard to buy for. (Yes, I'm sure your wife will blame herself when she opens her screw driver set from Odd Lots.)
8. The season has become too commercialized. (So has your TV, but you haven't missed any episodes of "Regis and Kelly".)
7. I hate going out in this weather. (So you work from home in the winter? How do I apply for your job?)
6. I'm just too busy. (Me too, so I'll just grab a stapler for you from the supply cabinet and we'll call it even.)
5. Christmas just snuck up on me. (It does that to me too. It hides under all the other pages in my calendar until the last second and then *POP* there it is.)
4. I'm waiting to find it on sale. (The next sale is after Christmas, so what are you trying to say?)
3. I'm planning to go tomorrow. (Isn't "tomorrow" the same day that you planned to start working out?)
2. There just aren't enough hours in the day. (So I guess we'll blame this one on God. Clearly he messed up by only giving us 24 hours. How can we possibly get things done on time?)
And the number one excuse for last minute Christmas shoppers:
1. I'm Jewish (Well I guess I'll have to write a list for Hannuka shoppers too. You da man Dave!)
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Design Issues
If you have been reading my blog a while you will remember that I was planning to select a portable DVD player as my 5 year service award here at work. As it turns out, the lady that told me that that was an option was wrong. Apparently it was a 15 year service award gift, so I had to select something else. I ended up going with a digital thermometer that has a remote sensor so that you can know the outside as well as the inside temperature. I have seen these before and thought that they were pretty cool, so I ordered it.
It arrived last night, so I went about setting it up. In typical guy fashion I started putting it together and didn't bother reading the instructions until after the fact. Turns out you have to do things in a very specific order for the reciever and transmitter to calibrate correctly and by pure chance I managed to do it more or less right. That is to say, I didn't mess it up badly enought that I had to start over.
Now for the fun part. I had to find a place to mount the outside reciever. The first problem was that I wanted to put it on our bedroom but the transmitter had to be less that 80 feet away and any walls that it had to pass through would decrease that distance. The other and more difficult problem was that the outside transmitter, could not in any circumstance, get wet. I'm no genius or anything but how do you design an OUTDOOR transmitter in such a way that it will not work if it gets wet? Seems like that should have been on the top of the design requirements list to me, but what do I know?
I finally decided on a spot above the basement window that was about 4 feet off the ground and under a 3 foot overhang and set about installing it. I realized rather quickly that I was going to need a flashlight to do this since it gets dark at 5:30 these days. Of course I couldn't find one so I did what any Dad would do in my shoes. I found the nearest toy that emitted light of any kind. It was a flashlight shaped like a cow that moo's everytime you turn it on. I can only imagine what the neighbors must have thought if they had happened to be outside.
In the end I got it set up and working, and I know that without a doubt that the outside of our basement window was 16.9 degreees this morning.
It arrived last night, so I went about setting it up. In typical guy fashion I started putting it together and didn't bother reading the instructions until after the fact. Turns out you have to do things in a very specific order for the reciever and transmitter to calibrate correctly and by pure chance I managed to do it more or less right. That is to say, I didn't mess it up badly enought that I had to start over.
Now for the fun part. I had to find a place to mount the outside reciever. The first problem was that I wanted to put it on our bedroom but the transmitter had to be less that 80 feet away and any walls that it had to pass through would decrease that distance. The other and more difficult problem was that the outside transmitter, could not in any circumstance, get wet. I'm no genius or anything but how do you design an OUTDOOR transmitter in such a way that it will not work if it gets wet? Seems like that should have been on the top of the design requirements list to me, but what do I know?
I finally decided on a spot above the basement window that was about 4 feet off the ground and under a 3 foot overhang and set about installing it. I realized rather quickly that I was going to need a flashlight to do this since it gets dark at 5:30 these days. Of course I couldn't find one so I did what any Dad would do in my shoes. I found the nearest toy that emitted light of any kind. It was a flashlight shaped like a cow that moo's everytime you turn it on. I can only imagine what the neighbors must have thought if they had happened to be outside.
In the end I got it set up and working, and I know that without a doubt that the outside of our basement window was 16.9 degreees this morning.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Diet Update
We did a weigh in again yesterday, although this week we made the decision to start doing our weigh ins in the mornings instead of at night. This was the end of the first month of our calorie counting diet.
I consumed 58,560 calories in 28 days or an average of 2091 a day. My need over that period of time I estimated to be 77,954 calories, or 2784 a day. So on average I ate 693 less calories a day than I needed. So based on those estimates I should have lost 5 pounds. I actually lost 12. I started at 203 and I am now 191. So my real usage over that period of time was 102,454, or 3659 a day. The only thing that I can figure is that my metabolism has been greatly increased by the workout class that I have been attending twice a week.
In any case, I'm now only 6 pounds from my original goal. Hopefully I can continue to stick with it. As it is I already may need new jeans. My current ones are getting awfully loose, and I'm on the last notch of my belt.
I consumed 58,560 calories in 28 days or an average of 2091 a day. My need over that period of time I estimated to be 77,954 calories, or 2784 a day. So on average I ate 693 less calories a day than I needed. So based on those estimates I should have lost 5 pounds. I actually lost 12. I started at 203 and I am now 191. So my real usage over that period of time was 102,454, or 3659 a day. The only thing that I can figure is that my metabolism has been greatly increased by the workout class that I have been attending twice a week.
In any case, I'm now only 6 pounds from my original goal. Hopefully I can continue to stick with it. As it is I already may need new jeans. My current ones are getting awfully loose, and I'm on the last notch of my belt.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Door Courtesy
I can't stand "door courtesy". At least that's what I call it. Clearly it's polite and the right thing to do but for whatever reason it has evolved into a huge pet peave of mine to the point that I will try to time when I get to a door so that I won't have to hold it for anyone else or have it held for me.
I really hate it when I am clearly oustide the "I need the door held for me out of politeness" span of distance, and still the person holds the door and stares at you with some stupid grin on their face. Thus forcing me to choose whether to indure a humiliating jog to the door or to just continue at my current pace and leave him standing there for what seems like too long.
One way I look like an idiot jogging to a door, and the other I look rude for forcing him to hold the door for a fraction beyond the arbitrary amount of time that seems polite. It's a no win situation and the other side of it isn't much better...
If I get to a door and there is someone behind me. I never know for sure if they are far enough behind me that I can just go through without seeming rude or if I should try to hold it for them and risk being the guy with the stupid grin on my face (mentioned above) forcing them to make the tough choice.
I've actually stayed in my car and waited for people to be well ahead of me walking in to work so as not to have to deal with this, and ran up stairs if I knew that their was a door at the top that might force me to make a decision.
The clear exception here is my wife, as any life loving guy knows, there is no situation in which the door should NOT be held for her, so the choice is moot.
So anyway, if you are closing in on a door, and you see me surreptitiously examining a hedge behind you, you'll know why.
I really hate it when I am clearly oustide the "I need the door held for me out of politeness" span of distance, and still the person holds the door and stares at you with some stupid grin on their face. Thus forcing me to choose whether to indure a humiliating jog to the door or to just continue at my current pace and leave him standing there for what seems like too long.
One way I look like an idiot jogging to a door, and the other I look rude for forcing him to hold the door for a fraction beyond the arbitrary amount of time that seems polite. It's a no win situation and the other side of it isn't much better...
If I get to a door and there is someone behind me. I never know for sure if they are far enough behind me that I can just go through without seeming rude or if I should try to hold it for them and risk being the guy with the stupid grin on my face (mentioned above) forcing them to make the tough choice.
I've actually stayed in my car and waited for people to be well ahead of me walking in to work so as not to have to deal with this, and ran up stairs if I knew that their was a door at the top that might force me to make a decision.
The clear exception here is my wife, as any life loving guy knows, there is no situation in which the door should NOT be held for her, so the choice is moot.
So anyway, if you are closing in on a door, and you see me surreptitiously examining a hedge behind you, you'll know why.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
A Swine Wheel
A friend of mine at work and I were talking about game shows yesterday for some reason when he told me this story about one time when he was watching Wheel of Fortune.
This was what the board looked like:
TAKE YOUR
DAUGHTER TO
_ORK DAY
The lady that was playing decided to spin. This almost always results in a bankrupt when the contestants get greedy with only one obvious letter left, but somehow she landed on an actual dollar amount, and then called out with all the confidence in the world: "P"!!!!!!!
I don't know where this lady comes from but "Take your daughter to pork day" doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.
Thanks to JB for that one.
This was what the board looked like:
TAKE YOUR
DAUGHTER TO
_ORK DAY
The lady that was playing decided to spin. This almost always results in a bankrupt when the contestants get greedy with only one obvious letter left, but somehow she landed on an actual dollar amount, and then called out with all the confidence in the world: "P"!!!!!!!
I don't know where this lady comes from but "Take your daughter to pork day" doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.
Thanks to JB for that one.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Your Molecules Love Me
I just read about a recent study in which a university discovered that there is a molecule called NGF that is responsible for that head over heals feeling that people get when they fall in love. They say it will only last in your system for about a year. That should explain the divorce rate these days if it's true, but it got me thinking...
What if there is a chemical that is responsible for giving your boss that great feeling that he/she gets when they give you a raise? Why can't we work on extracting that one for personal use?
Or, the feeling of good will that a policeman gets when he lets you off with a warning.
How about that feeling of honesty achieved by a nice used car salesman when he doesn't rip you off?
In the future, when you are at the mechanic and he is about to tell you what all is "wrong" with your car, you could dig through your case of happy feelings and pelt him with "it's just the air filter, it will cost $12.50" before he knew what hit him.
It might be annoying carrying around all those spray bottles, but you can just hit yourself in the face with the "I like carrying heavy stuff because it burns more calories" spray so that it won't bother you so much.
The idea that everything that we feel can be tied to a chemical is a little unnerving, but I think we could all get used to it. At least, we will once they figure out which molecule makes us feel good about chemistry.
What if there is a chemical that is responsible for giving your boss that great feeling that he/she gets when they give you a raise? Why can't we work on extracting that one for personal use?
Or, the feeling of good will that a policeman gets when he lets you off with a warning.
How about that feeling of honesty achieved by a nice used car salesman when he doesn't rip you off?
In the future, when you are at the mechanic and he is about to tell you what all is "wrong" with your car, you could dig through your case of happy feelings and pelt him with "it's just the air filter, it will cost $12.50" before he knew what hit him.
It might be annoying carrying around all those spray bottles, but you can just hit yourself in the face with the "I like carrying heavy stuff because it burns more calories" spray so that it won't bother you so much.
The idea that everything that we feel can be tied to a chemical is a little unnerving, but I think we could all get used to it. At least, we will once they figure out which molecule makes us feel good about chemistry.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Clowning Around
As you well know, there is a lot of competition between fast food chains but it has apparently reached a new level.
It would seem that some companies are planting agents inside other chains to clean them out when the doors close.
Check out the following link to read the news story:
News Story
"The parents of Ronald, Billy "Big Mac" MacDonald and his wife, Frita "Small Fry" MacDonald could not be reached for comment."
Honestly, why didn't this guy apply AT Mcdonalds? He could have definetly played the sympathy card for having been named that and maybe with a little luck, ended up in a simalar role as "Jarod" for Subway.
Knowing the way the world works these days, expect to see a lawsuit filed soon, regarding payment for the free publicity he provided. Soon to be followed by his new book, "Walking In My Big Red Shoes". First Chapter: "How I misunderstood the "Dollar" Menu Concept".
And for any McDonalds managers out there, beware of hiring anyone named "Wendy Thomas", because paybacks are rough.
It would seem that some companies are planting agents inside other chains to clean them out when the doors close.
Check out the following link to read the news story:
News Story
"The parents of Ronald, Billy "Big Mac" MacDonald and his wife, Frita "Small Fry" MacDonald could not be reached for comment."
Honestly, why didn't this guy apply AT Mcdonalds? He could have definetly played the sympathy card for having been named that and maybe with a little luck, ended up in a simalar role as "Jarod" for Subway.
Knowing the way the world works these days, expect to see a lawsuit filed soon, regarding payment for the free publicity he provided. Soon to be followed by his new book, "Walking In My Big Red Shoes". First Chapter: "How I misunderstood the "Dollar" Menu Concept".
And for any McDonalds managers out there, beware of hiring anyone named "Wendy Thomas", because paybacks are rough.
Free Money
So in light of recent events, I think I've come up with a fairly fool proof money making scheme. It's not something that can be done over and over, but more of a one shot deal.
This past week the new XBox 360 came out. Video game junkies from around the world were doing whatever it took to get their hands on one. Those who were lucky enough to get their names at the top of the waiting lists got first dibs on what was apparently a "too small for demand" shipment.
Not suprisingly, a lot of these early birds turned around and sold their Xbox's on ebay for 2 and 3 times what they paid for them.
So here's my scheme. The Playstation 3 comes out next spring and I'm betting that it will be more of the same type of hysteria. If I can get lucky enough to get at the top of one of the lists and get one, I could potentially double my money on ebay. Worst case scenario, I could take it back if it didn't sell, so I'd be out nothing.
So unless there is some obvious loophole that I'm overlooking, I could rack up a quick $500 for doing practically nothing. Seems like it's worth a shot to me.
Feel free to leave me a comment below if you think of something that I didn't but as far as I can tell it seems pretty foolproof, and we can use all the free money we can get.
This past week the new XBox 360 came out. Video game junkies from around the world were doing whatever it took to get their hands on one. Those who were lucky enough to get their names at the top of the waiting lists got first dibs on what was apparently a "too small for demand" shipment.
Not suprisingly, a lot of these early birds turned around and sold their Xbox's on ebay for 2 and 3 times what they paid for them.
So here's my scheme. The Playstation 3 comes out next spring and I'm betting that it will be more of the same type of hysteria. If I can get lucky enough to get at the top of one of the lists and get one, I could potentially double my money on ebay. Worst case scenario, I could take it back if it didn't sell, so I'd be out nothing.
So unless there is some obvious loophole that I'm overlooking, I could rack up a quick $500 for doing practically nothing. Seems like it's worth a shot to me.
Feel free to leave me a comment below if you think of something that I didn't but as far as I can tell it seems pretty foolproof, and we can use all the free money we can get.
Monday, November 28, 2005
The Pizza Flu
I'm going to have to skip this week's diet update because I got some sort of flu bug yesterday and I'm fairly certain that my weigh-in last night was skewed by it.
On saturday night we decided to get some pizza. We felt a little bad about it, but decided that we have both been pretty good and deserved it. Also, we figured it was a holiday weekend and if we broke even this week then that would probably have to be considered a victory.
We got it from Pizza Hut, and either there was something really bad in the pizza that only affected my wife and I or my wife's flu shot from earlier in the week went bad because we woke up with some serious stomach issues. Between the two of us, my parents' bathrooms, didn't stay unoccupied for long.
I still don't feel all that great today, although I'm much improved. I still have the after flu head and body aches but at least I can eat again. All I have to say is that if this Bird Flu they keep talking about is worse than the Pizza Flu, then I want nothing to do with it.
Of course, this could have been God's way of removing my craving for pizza permanently. I can't even stand to think about it. I guess I did ask him to help me stick to my diet. Mysterious ways, indeed.
On saturday night we decided to get some pizza. We felt a little bad about it, but decided that we have both been pretty good and deserved it. Also, we figured it was a holiday weekend and if we broke even this week then that would probably have to be considered a victory.
We got it from Pizza Hut, and either there was something really bad in the pizza that only affected my wife and I or my wife's flu shot from earlier in the week went bad because we woke up with some serious stomach issues. Between the two of us, my parents' bathrooms, didn't stay unoccupied for long.
I still don't feel all that great today, although I'm much improved. I still have the after flu head and body aches but at least I can eat again. All I have to say is that if this Bird Flu they keep talking about is worse than the Pizza Flu, then I want nothing to do with it.
Of course, this could have been God's way of removing my craving for pizza permanently. I can't even stand to think about it. I guess I did ask him to help me stick to my diet. Mysterious ways, indeed.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Bandwagons
How many times have you accused someone of "jumping on a bandwagon"? I was thinking today after I said that that I actually have no idea what a bandwagon is and furthermore, who might have ever wanted to jump on one.
So in the old days did they have parades in which the band was followed by a wagon carrying all their stuff? I can only assume then that band members were giant celebrities and it was all they could do to keep people from jumping onto their wagon and mobbing them. This must have been what happened to Lawrence Welk in his pre-tv years. Maybe People Magazine even had a Sexiest Tuba Player list.
Or maybe "Bandwagon" is actually the name of a old bridge that is long forgotten. Perhaps in ancient times helpless victims and the drawers of short straws would jump off of the bridge to sacrifice themselves and become more pleasing to the God's of the home team?
I can't honestly say that I have any real idea what the true meaning is, but it had to come from somewhere. Personally I'm going with the sexy tuba player theory until I'm proven wrong.
So in the old days did they have parades in which the band was followed by a wagon carrying all their stuff? I can only assume then that band members were giant celebrities and it was all they could do to keep people from jumping onto their wagon and mobbing them. This must have been what happened to Lawrence Welk in his pre-tv years. Maybe People Magazine even had a Sexiest Tuba Player list.
Or maybe "Bandwagon" is actually the name of a old bridge that is long forgotten. Perhaps in ancient times helpless victims and the drawers of short straws would jump off of the bridge to sacrifice themselves and become more pleasing to the God's of the home team?
I can't honestly say that I have any real idea what the true meaning is, but it had to come from somewhere. Personally I'm going with the sexy tuba player theory until I'm proven wrong.
Diet Update
This week was a bit more normal as far as my diet goes. According to my calculations I should have lost 2 pounds, and I did exactly that. That first week was obviously a fluke but it did kick start my campaign with a bang. So now I'm at 195 with Thanksgiving looming this week. I don't intend to count calories on Thanksgiving day, but I'm not planning to just eat like crazy either. At this rate it should take me about another 5 weeks of this to reach my goal of 185. Sounds like it could be a nice Christmas present to myself. Hopefully at that point I will be satisfied and I can just set about maintaining my weight.
I'm not sure where all this will power is coming from. I have tried stuff like this before and had no luck controlling my cravings. I think the thing that I did right this time was starting slowly. I started that workout class and then didn't actively watch what I ate at first. It gave me a chance to get used to the extra energy loss without adding in the loss of food right away. Now that I have been doing the class for 3-4 months the calorie counting isn't that hard and my metabolism is way up.
The other thing that helps is that we can't really afford to buy junk food or eat out very much. It's pretty easy to resist things that you can't afford.
Here's hoping to see 193 on the scale next sunday night!
I'm not sure where all this will power is coming from. I have tried stuff like this before and had no luck controlling my cravings. I think the thing that I did right this time was starting slowly. I started that workout class and then didn't actively watch what I ate at first. It gave me a chance to get used to the extra energy loss without adding in the loss of food right away. Now that I have been doing the class for 3-4 months the calorie counting isn't that hard and my metabolism is way up.
The other thing that helps is that we can't really afford to buy junk food or eat out very much. It's pretty easy to resist things that you can't afford.
Here's hoping to see 193 on the scale next sunday night!
Monday, November 21, 2005
Down From the Ledges
Instant classic, or so it was deemed by ESPN. The OSU/Michigan game was instant heartburn for me. Those close games are only exciting and fun after the fact, and then only if your team wins.
In my case I was getting pretty angry about all the turnovers in the game. OSU had Michigan on the ropes and let them back in the game by not holding onto the ball. At one point my wife literally had to talk me off of a ledge, sort of. When Michigan went up 21-12, I decided to go work outside and give up on the game. I was literally on the roof working on our Christmas lights when OSU scored the touchdown to make 21 -19. She called to me from inside the garage that I'd better come back in and watch the rest of the game.
Thank goodness for the miracle of DVR. I climbed down the ladder and rewound the game so I could see the touchdown and the rest is history. It's nice to see Michigan get a little taste of what it was like for us during the John Cooper era.
So anyway, congrats to the Buckeyes and bring on the Fighting Irish. At least we hope so. It would stink to not get into a BCS game after all that, but only time will tell.
In my case I was getting pretty angry about all the turnovers in the game. OSU had Michigan on the ropes and let them back in the game by not holding onto the ball. At one point my wife literally had to talk me off of a ledge, sort of. When Michigan went up 21-12, I decided to go work outside and give up on the game. I was literally on the roof working on our Christmas lights when OSU scored the touchdown to make 21 -19. She called to me from inside the garage that I'd better come back in and watch the rest of the game.
Thank goodness for the miracle of DVR. I climbed down the ladder and rewound the game so I could see the touchdown and the rest is history. It's nice to see Michigan get a little taste of what it was like for us during the John Cooper era.
So anyway, congrats to the Buckeyes and bring on the Fighting Irish. At least we hope so. It would stink to not get into a BCS game after all that, but only time will tell.
Friday, November 18, 2005
My New Shirt
Last sunday we went to my Mom and Dad's after church. We normally do this, because they live just around the block from the church and we live 20 minutes away, so it saves us 40 minutes of driving each week by not having to go home and then come back for church in the evenings. Plus it gives them a chance to see the kiddos.
Well I had forgotten that the all church thanksgiving dinner was that evening and the shirt that I had on had a few stains on it. It would have been fine for our small group but not in front of the whole church, so I borrowed a shirt from my Dad that he didn't really want and ultimately he told me to just keep it.
Today I saw that shirt in the closet and decided to wear it to work. I'm sitting at my desk and one of my coworkers walks in. He just stares at me and then says "What are you doing?" I have no idea what he is talking about and ideas are running through my head like maybe I accidentally wheeled over his cat with my office chair or something. Finally he tells me that I am wearing a GOLD colored shirt on the friday before the OSU/Michigan game! For those of you not from Ohio, that is kind of a cardinal sin around here.
Thankfully he had an extra OSU t-shirt in his workout bag that he let me borrow to wear over my shameful shirt. It's a good thing too. Like accidentally wearing the wrong gang's colors in a bad part of town, I could have come into some trouble.
As it is, all potential shirt trouble has been avoided and all I can say is GO BUCKS!
O-H
Well I had forgotten that the all church thanksgiving dinner was that evening and the shirt that I had on had a few stains on it. It would have been fine for our small group but not in front of the whole church, so I borrowed a shirt from my Dad that he didn't really want and ultimately he told me to just keep it.
Today I saw that shirt in the closet and decided to wear it to work. I'm sitting at my desk and one of my coworkers walks in. He just stares at me and then says "What are you doing?" I have no idea what he is talking about and ideas are running through my head like maybe I accidentally wheeled over his cat with my office chair or something. Finally he tells me that I am wearing a GOLD colored shirt on the friday before the OSU/Michigan game! For those of you not from Ohio, that is kind of a cardinal sin around here.
Thankfully he had an extra OSU t-shirt in his workout bag that he let me borrow to wear over my shameful shirt. It's a good thing too. Like accidentally wearing the wrong gang's colors in a bad part of town, I could have come into some trouble.
As it is, all potential shirt trouble has been avoided and all I can say is GO BUCKS!
O-H
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Test Your Knowledge
My wife sent me a personal quiz this morning and it was a lot of fun. There is a web page where you can make up a quiz and send it to your friends to see how well they know you. I made one about me for you to take. If you have just been reading my blog and don't really know me, it could be tough, but give it a try anyway. Also feel free to make one of your own and send it to me to try.
Here is the link:
Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!
Here is the link:
Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
A Moment
I had what my Mom refers to as "a moment" yesterday. Which basically refers to a time when you do something really dumb and have no idea what you were thinking.
I was working on a problem here at work, and I needed to test to see if a record still existed in the system for this particular company. The guy that wrote up the problem had been able to log in with one of their ID's so I just emailed him and asked him to send me the ID and password that he had used. Doesn't sound too bad so far, but it was his answer that made me feel like a moron.
He wrote back and told me that there is now a way that we can search for ID's in the system and asked me if I knew about it and if I had used it before. Here is the kicker. Not only did I know about it, I wrote the code that makes it work.....
Well naturally I felt like an idiot and said so when I wrote him back. Fortunately he gave me the benefit of the doubt based on my lack of sleep lately with the new baby.
I still can't believe I did that, but I guess it just goes to show that we are all idiots at one time or another. Hopefully you aren't offended that I just called you an idiot, but if so, just remember that I have a tendency to say dumb things sometimes.
I was working on a problem here at work, and I needed to test to see if a record still existed in the system for this particular company. The guy that wrote up the problem had been able to log in with one of their ID's so I just emailed him and asked him to send me the ID and password that he had used. Doesn't sound too bad so far, but it was his answer that made me feel like a moron.
He wrote back and told me that there is now a way that we can search for ID's in the system and asked me if I knew about it and if I had used it before. Here is the kicker. Not only did I know about it, I wrote the code that makes it work.....
Well naturally I felt like an idiot and said so when I wrote him back. Fortunately he gave me the benefit of the doubt based on my lack of sleep lately with the new baby.
I still can't believe I did that, but I guess it just goes to show that we are all idiots at one time or another. Hopefully you aren't offended that I just called you an idiot, but if so, just remember that I have a tendency to say dumb things sometimes.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Doctored Christmas
Everyone has pictures like this from their childhood. Yourself as a baby or toddler helping your Mom and Dad decorate the tree and there is no doubt based on those pictures that everyone in them is having an incredible magical fun time.
I'm starting to learn that there really is a lot of doctoring that can be done, even with family photos. Crystal, Kylie and I tried to put up one of the Christmas trees last night. It was my tree and all we were really trying to accomplish was getting the actual tree put together. As a side note, my Mom and Dad bought me a new artificial tree this year because my old one had had it. We couldn't afford it, so I was very grateful.
Kylie was pretty tired and all she really wanted to was play with the branches. Anyone who has put one of these trees together before knows that the hard part is keeping all the different sized branches organized so that you don't lose any or get them mixed up. This was made a little easier on me since the tree is new and the colored stickers aren't missing or faded yet, but I was still getting pretty stressed when she would mess up the piles. Old habits die hard.
Kylie had a screaming fit every time I had to take the branch that she was playing with to put on the tree and would accept no substitutes. I tried to have her "help" me but she was having none of it. She even got mad that we shut off "Big Bird" in favor of Christmas music. All in all, what was supposed to be a fun family evening ended up giving us all a headache.
However, when we looked at the pictures on the digital camera, everyone appears to be having a great time. It was all in the timing. Taking pictures in the brief non-screaming phases and deleting the ones that showed what really happened. When my wife scrapbooks all this, no one who wasn't there won't think that it was a great evening filled with family fun.
I still think Christmas will be fun. Kylie still isn't two yet, so she is still a little too young to understand, but the pictures will always tell her that last night was a total blast.
I'm starting to learn that there really is a lot of doctoring that can be done, even with family photos. Crystal, Kylie and I tried to put up one of the Christmas trees last night. It was my tree and all we were really trying to accomplish was getting the actual tree put together. As a side note, my Mom and Dad bought me a new artificial tree this year because my old one had had it. We couldn't afford it, so I was very grateful.
Kylie was pretty tired and all she really wanted to was play with the branches. Anyone who has put one of these trees together before knows that the hard part is keeping all the different sized branches organized so that you don't lose any or get them mixed up. This was made a little easier on me since the tree is new and the colored stickers aren't missing or faded yet, but I was still getting pretty stressed when she would mess up the piles. Old habits die hard.
Kylie had a screaming fit every time I had to take the branch that she was playing with to put on the tree and would accept no substitutes. I tried to have her "help" me but she was having none of it. She even got mad that we shut off "Big Bird" in favor of Christmas music. All in all, what was supposed to be a fun family evening ended up giving us all a headache.
However, when we looked at the pictures on the digital camera, everyone appears to be having a great time. It was all in the timing. Taking pictures in the brief non-screaming phases and deleting the ones that showed what really happened. When my wife scrapbooks all this, no one who wasn't there won't think that it was a great evening filled with family fun.
I still think Christmas will be fun. Kylie still isn't two yet, so she is still a little too young to understand, but the pictures will always tell her that last night was a total blast.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Only Off by 21,000
Sorry I haven't posted in a while but as you know if you read my last entry, I had a four day weekend and I just didn't get around to it.
I've been trying to get healthier for a while now, and have been working out for the last few months but last week I decided to take a proactive approach to losing some weight by watching what I eat as well as exercising. I'm not really overweight, but I have more excess fat than I really want. I based everything I did on this article. It tells you that all the diets are trying to achieve the same goal. To help you use more calories than you take in. Basically, you have to take in 3500 less calories a week than you use if you want to lose a pound.
I used all the calculations to figure how many calories I use in a normal week and then set out to eat 3500 less than that last week. Based on my calculations I actually ate about 5000 less than my body used.
Last night was the end of week one, so I weighed in. (Just for the record I'm about 6' 2" and I weighed in at 203 to start last week.) I actually had to do it twice to be sure I wasn't misreading it. 197 pounds. How on earth did my "lose one pound a week" plan lose me 6? Obviously I was happy about it, but that doesn't even make sense. That means that I was off by 21,000 in the amount of calories that my body actually used last week. I can't believe that, and still think that there must be some other explanation.
I don't expect this trend to continue, but it's a good start. I'm hoping to get back to 185, and then reevaluate. Ultimately my goal is just to feel ok about not wearing a shirt when I mow. I'm tired of being the REALLY white guy at the pool.
I've been trying to get healthier for a while now, and have been working out for the last few months but last week I decided to take a proactive approach to losing some weight by watching what I eat as well as exercising. I'm not really overweight, but I have more excess fat than I really want. I based everything I did on this article. It tells you that all the diets are trying to achieve the same goal. To help you use more calories than you take in. Basically, you have to take in 3500 less calories a week than you use if you want to lose a pound.
I used all the calculations to figure how many calories I use in a normal week and then set out to eat 3500 less than that last week. Based on my calculations I actually ate about 5000 less than my body used.
Last night was the end of week one, so I weighed in. (Just for the record I'm about 6' 2" and I weighed in at 203 to start last week.) I actually had to do it twice to be sure I wasn't misreading it. 197 pounds. How on earth did my "lose one pound a week" plan lose me 6? Obviously I was happy about it, but that doesn't even make sense. That means that I was off by 21,000 in the amount of calories that my body actually used last week. I can't believe that, and still think that there must be some other explanation.
I don't expect this trend to continue, but it's a good start. I'm hoping to get back to 185, and then reevaluate. Ultimately my goal is just to feel ok about not wearing a shirt when I mow. I'm tired of being the REALLY white guy at the pool.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Luck Has Vacated Me
So I was in the cafeteria the other day and while waiting for my food to finish heating up, noticed that the monitors were running some sort of info on our latest employee survey. I hate doing those things but had done it this year after pressure from our managers, which probably had pressure from theirs.
It said that if 65% of the people did the survey, then there would be a random drawing for one free vacation day. If 75% of the people did it, then it would be 2 days, etc. I scoffed at the offer. "Who in their right mind would be motivated by that", I said. "As if anyone thinks that out of this whole company, they have a decent chance of winning a free day".
As you have probably already guessed, I was one of the two people that won a free day. It just cracks me up how you end up winning something that you thought was hopeless and never win the thing that really catches your eye. Not that a free vacation day is a trivial thing. I will greatly enjoy it, but I tried for weeks to win a free plasma tv in a radio contest and came up empty every time. I guess you just have to take what you get when you can get it. I'm sure that this friday will be a much better day for me than it would have been before I won.
Despite the title of today's entry, I'm not a big believer in luck. This is a God thing. No idea why, but obviously he has a reason. If I figure it out, I'll let you know. In the mean time, I think I'll go scoff at that plasma tv contest for a little while.
It said that if 65% of the people did the survey, then there would be a random drawing for one free vacation day. If 75% of the people did it, then it would be 2 days, etc. I scoffed at the offer. "Who in their right mind would be motivated by that", I said. "As if anyone thinks that out of this whole company, they have a decent chance of winning a free day".
As you have probably already guessed, I was one of the two people that won a free day. It just cracks me up how you end up winning something that you thought was hopeless and never win the thing that really catches your eye. Not that a free vacation day is a trivial thing. I will greatly enjoy it, but I tried for weeks to win a free plasma tv in a radio contest and came up empty every time. I guess you just have to take what you get when you can get it. I'm sure that this friday will be a much better day for me than it would have been before I won.
Despite the title of today's entry, I'm not a big believer in luck. This is a God thing. No idea why, but obviously he has a reason. If I figure it out, I'll let you know. In the mean time, I think I'll go scoff at that plasma tv contest for a little while.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Nothing has changed, except everything
A few months ago, I finally made the decision to start making regular trips to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist and the fact that I had had no cavities or tooth problems of any kind up to that point, helped me to convince myself that I only needed to go once in a while.
I had my first filling and it wasn't so bad, and I even went through the hoops of getting the x-rays done so that I could just start coming regularly to this same dentist.
Now my company has told us that they switched dental providers and that our coverage wouldn't change at all, but we would need to sign up again. So I did, and then after hearing from someone else that their dentist wasn't on the new plan I looked for mine. Sure enough, not on the list. So now, in 4 months when I have to go back, I will have to find a brand new dentist and have everything faxed over from my old dentist and go through all this "getting to know your teeth" stuff again with a whole new person.
Obviously this isn't a life and death problem, but it's annoying. It's hard enough to convince myself to go to the dentist without having to jump through all the hoops again.
Oh well, I guess sometimes insurance can chew you up. It bites, but what can you do but keep grinding away?
I had my first filling and it wasn't so bad, and I even went through the hoops of getting the x-rays done so that I could just start coming regularly to this same dentist.
Now my company has told us that they switched dental providers and that our coverage wouldn't change at all, but we would need to sign up again. So I did, and then after hearing from someone else that their dentist wasn't on the new plan I looked for mine. Sure enough, not on the list. So now, in 4 months when I have to go back, I will have to find a brand new dentist and have everything faxed over from my old dentist and go through all this "getting to know your teeth" stuff again with a whole new person.
Obviously this isn't a life and death problem, but it's annoying. It's hard enough to convince myself to go to the dentist without having to jump through all the hoops again.
Oh well, I guess sometimes insurance can chew you up. It bites, but what can you do but keep grinding away?
Monday, November 07, 2005
Only 48 more days!
I absolutely love Christmas season. I have my Mom to thank for that. Growing up, our house always looked and smelled like Santa's workshop as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes could be cleared away.
Crystal and I went Christmas shopping this weekend and it was so much fun. I love doing that, and it's made all the more fun by the fact that we can't afford to do much shopping these days so when we do get out, it's a special treat. Having kids is going to make this season even better. I can't wait to get them all riled up and excited about everything. Hopefully I will be able to do that while still keeping the true meaning in the forefront, but I don't think it will be too hard.
So anyway, I'm ready to get the trees out right now, and start wrapping presents. Why do we always wait until after Thanksgiving? I'm finding it harder to remember every year. I can't wait to see the Christmas season through my kids eyes. I just hope I can make it as fun for them as it was for me growing up.
I know that this wasn't a particularly funny entry, but it was lean pickens on funny topics this weekend, and I'm just in a good mood. :)
Crystal and I went Christmas shopping this weekend and it was so much fun. I love doing that, and it's made all the more fun by the fact that we can't afford to do much shopping these days so when we do get out, it's a special treat. Having kids is going to make this season even better. I can't wait to get them all riled up and excited about everything. Hopefully I will be able to do that while still keeping the true meaning in the forefront, but I don't think it will be too hard.
So anyway, I'm ready to get the trees out right now, and start wrapping presents. Why do we always wait until after Thanksgiving? I'm finding it harder to remember every year. I can't wait to see the Christmas season through my kids eyes. I just hope I can make it as fun for them as it was for me growing up.
I know that this wasn't a particularly funny entry, but it was lean pickens on funny topics this weekend, and I'm just in a good mood. :)
Friday, November 04, 2005
Walking the Federline
I don't plan to post much pop-culture stuff because it doesn't really interest me much, but I couldn't pass this one up. A friend told me about this, and it's too funny not to share. Kevin Federline if you don't know, is Britney Spears husband. He is a former dancer that worked for her in the past and now he is using his new found fame to launch a singing career. Check out the following lyrics. The last line is the kicker:
"Back then they called me K-Fed
But you can call me Daddy instead
Go ahead and say whatcha wanna
I'm gonna sell about 2 mil, oh, then I'm a goner
I know you all wish you was in my position
Cause I keep getting' in situations that you wish you was in, cousin
Steppin' in this game and y'all ain't got a clue
Getting anxious? Go take a peep
I'm starrin' in your magazines now every day and week
But maybe baby you can wait and see
Until then all these Pavarottis followin' me."
Clearly he meant to say "paparazzi" in that last line but I can't stop laughing at the visual of Britney and he running from the huge opera singer....
"I told you guys to leave us alone. We don't even like opera yo!, and we don't want your stinking handkerchiefs!!!!"
I still can't believe that those lyrics made it through the screening process. You just can't make this stuff up.
"Back then they called me K-Fed
But you can call me Daddy instead
Go ahead and say whatcha wanna
I'm gonna sell about 2 mil, oh, then I'm a goner
I know you all wish you was in my position
Cause I keep getting' in situations that you wish you was in, cousin
Steppin' in this game and y'all ain't got a clue
Getting anxious? Go take a peep
I'm starrin' in your magazines now every day and week
But maybe baby you can wait and see
Until then all these Pavarottis followin' me."
Clearly he meant to say "paparazzi" in that last line but I can't stop laughing at the visual of Britney and he running from the huge opera singer....
"I told you guys to leave us alone. We don't even like opera yo!, and we don't want your stinking handkerchiefs!!!!"
I still can't believe that those lyrics made it through the screening process. You just can't make this stuff up.
Doin' a Nickle
As of December 4th, I will have been at my current job for five years. This means that I get to choose a 5 year service gift. I got an email the other day that said that the gifts would be on display this morning in the lobby for us to check out so that we could start to make up our minds.
To give you some background, I work for a very old company. You have to work your way up to "Newbie", and anyone thats been here less that 10 years is still wet behind the ears, so naturally I expected the 5 year gifts to range anywhere from a personalized Bic pen to a half chewed stick of gum.
I was actually shocked to find that the first gift was a cd player with a built in TV. Thats not that usefull to me but it's pretty cool. The next thing I saw was a soft shell tackle box. I'm going fishing in Canada next year, so I considered it, but I already have a decent tackle box. Still it was a pretty decent gift compared to what I was expecting.
The next thing I saw is definetly going to be my gift. I was so shocked that I actually asked the lady if it had ended up on the wrong table by accident. To me, clearly, this was at least a 10 year gift. She assured me that it was, in fact, a five year gift and I was all the more shocked. A portable DVD,CD,MP3 player. Frankly I couldn't care less about the CD or MP3 player as I rarely listen to music, but a portable DVD player would be sweet. At least I think it would. I'm not sure if it's just the gadget junkie in me or if this is something that I would actually use, but I think I'll have a hard time passing it up. Maybe I'll go get a bic pen out of the office supply cabinet to celebrate.
To give you some background, I work for a very old company. You have to work your way up to "Newbie", and anyone thats been here less that 10 years is still wet behind the ears, so naturally I expected the 5 year gifts to range anywhere from a personalized Bic pen to a half chewed stick of gum.
I was actually shocked to find that the first gift was a cd player with a built in TV. Thats not that usefull to me but it's pretty cool. The next thing I saw was a soft shell tackle box. I'm going fishing in Canada next year, so I considered it, but I already have a decent tackle box. Still it was a pretty decent gift compared to what I was expecting.
The next thing I saw is definetly going to be my gift. I was so shocked that I actually asked the lady if it had ended up on the wrong table by accident. To me, clearly, this was at least a 10 year gift. She assured me that it was, in fact, a five year gift and I was all the more shocked. A portable DVD,CD,MP3 player. Frankly I couldn't care less about the CD or MP3 player as I rarely listen to music, but a portable DVD player would be sweet. At least I think it would. I'm not sure if it's just the gadget junkie in me or if this is something that I would actually use, but I think I'll have a hard time passing it up. Maybe I'll go get a bic pen out of the office supply cabinet to celebrate.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Learning from the best
My main hope for this blog is to make you the reader laugh. I hope to take what happens to me on a daily basis and find a funny way to tell the story that will both let you know what's going on with me and give you a chuckle at the same time. I'm still new at this and I'm trying to learn from the master which is why I have a link to the Dilbert Blog in my links section to the right. If you get the time, check out today's entry entitled "Hi Jean". As soon as I read it I felt like a moron. I had almost the exact same experience at the library yesterday and failed to see the humor in it. Cleary Scott Adams has made a career out of turning mundane things into humor and he has done a great job at it. I guess I'm inspired to try and focus more on the little things and see how they could be told as a funny story. So anyway, I'm hoping that next time I won't miss a golden comic nugget like that.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Candy Land
Normally left overs are a very good thing, but when they involve left over Halloween candy, they definetly are not. I feel absolutely gross and it's my own fault, because I can't stop eating all the excess Halloween candy that everyone has brought in to work. The only thing that helps me to feel a little better is that I started working out again this week. If I see another Kit Kat bar I'm probably going to eat it, and then puke. I have no will power with this sort of thing at all and it's only going to get worse with Thanksgiving right around the corner. Why can't binge eating result in better muscle tone and overall fitness instead of just stomach insulation? I guess they do say that God has a sense of humor. :)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Trick or Trade?
We took the girls trick or treating last night which was pretty fun. Everyone ooh'd and ahh'd at how cute they both were in their cow costumes. It was pretty neat to get to show them off a bit.
This was the first year that Kylie really kinda got the idea of trick or treating although it took her a house or two to get the hang of it. Before we left, my Mom had put some little packs of skittles in her bucket to get her started and at the first house, she decided to cash in. She walked right up to the lady and looked at the candy that she was handing out and then reached in her own bucket, took out a packet of skittles and laid them down on the step. Then she reached for the candy that the lady had. I laughed so hard. I was proud of her that she was willing to trade something she had in order to get something else, but once she realized that everyone was handing out free candy she just went nuts. I guess thats how we all must have learned to stop sharing.
If her Kindergarten teacher ever tells us that she isn't good at sharing at a future parent teacher conference, I'll just try to bribe her with some skittles.
This was the first year that Kylie really kinda got the idea of trick or treating although it took her a house or two to get the hang of it. Before we left, my Mom had put some little packs of skittles in her bucket to get her started and at the first house, she decided to cash in. She walked right up to the lady and looked at the candy that she was handing out and then reached in her own bucket, took out a packet of skittles and laid them down on the step. Then she reached for the candy that the lady had. I laughed so hard. I was proud of her that she was willing to trade something she had in order to get something else, but once she realized that everyone was handing out free candy she just went nuts. I guess thats how we all must have learned to stop sharing.
If her Kindergarten teacher ever tells us that she isn't good at sharing at a future parent teacher conference, I'll just try to bribe her with some skittles.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Brown out
Turn the power off in Cleveland. It's time to start thinking about the draft. The only NFL event in which the Browns are always a "top" team.
It's tough being a Browns fan these days. First Elway, then Byner, and now the Bengals (our only reason to feel better about ourselves) are even playing well. A friend once laughingly told me that it was child abuse to put my kids in Browns clothing and raise them as Browns fans. I'm not sure I can disagree at this point. It's been almost 20 years since we've had anything real to cheer about. Cleveland in general is just a tough town to cheer for. The Indians haven't won a world series since the 50's, and I don't think the Cavs have ever won anything. I watched the White Sox and Red Sox win the world series the last two years after over 80 years of waiting and it makes me wonder. Will my Grandchildren witness the first Browns super bowl victory? By then the NFL could be a very different league. Here's to waiting, and you never know, they could always suprise me.
My pick: Year 2047 - Cleveland Browns 34 - Beijing Bulldogs 13
It's tough being a Browns fan these days. First Elway, then Byner, and now the Bengals (our only reason to feel better about ourselves) are even playing well. A friend once laughingly told me that it was child abuse to put my kids in Browns clothing and raise them as Browns fans. I'm not sure I can disagree at this point. It's been almost 20 years since we've had anything real to cheer about. Cleveland in general is just a tough town to cheer for. The Indians haven't won a world series since the 50's, and I don't think the Cavs have ever won anything. I watched the White Sox and Red Sox win the world series the last two years after over 80 years of waiting and it makes me wonder. Will my Grandchildren witness the first Browns super bowl victory? By then the NFL could be a very different league. Here's to waiting, and you never know, they could always suprise me.
My pick: Year 2047 - Cleveland Browns 34 - Beijing Bulldogs 13
Friday, October 28, 2005
Thy carseat runneth over
Tonight Kylie and I went to the Zoo together for a special Daddy daughter night out. Crystal and the baby went to my moms for a craft party so it seemed like a good idea for us to spend some time together, and since we have zoo memberships this year, it was free for us to go. This weekend they are having a special Boo at the Zoo promotion, which basically just means that they've decorated a little and the kids can all wear their costumes and get some free candy here and there.
Kylie was all decked out in her cow costume which was mighty cute, and we headed off to the zoo. She absolutely loves animals and had a great time going from place to place and checking them all out. I scored some major Daddy bonus points for taking her.
Now here is where things got interesting (read funny). Things have a tendency to do that when kids are involved. Especially ones that didn't get naps today. Our time at the zoo was done so we headed home. Kylie was very tired and very ready to be home. She had her pacifier (or nuk as she calls it) so I figured that she would drift off to sleep. However, she managed to lose it somehow, and as most of you can guess, this was a calamity fit for the end of the world to a tired child. I think the 4th trumpet of the apocolypse in the Bible is something about "and thy nuk shall be lost, and all the world will tremble...". Probably not, but you can see how she might feel that way.
So here was my dilemna. She wanted out of her seat and she wanted her nuk. If I stopped to find her nuk, she would just be more upset about my not taking her out of the seat. If I just kept going, she would be mad about not having the nuk. I chose to just try and get home, and thus attempted to placate and distract her as much as I could with conversation. It wasn't working and I could tell that she was starting to really make herself mad. She was working herself into a frenzy and I knew that no good could come from this. Town was in site, only a couple more minutes and we would be home.
And then it happened. The sound no parent wants to hear. It sounded like someone took the lid off a big gulp and just dumped it in the back seat. Puke was spraying and splashing everywhere. All over her, the car seat and the back of my seat. TWO minutes from home. Nothing like a nasty mess to clean up to make your day. Chunks, need I say more? I think you get the picture. I spent a good bit of time cleaning before I could do much else once we got home.
So anyway, it was still a fun evening and I guess that kids will be kids till the cows come home, and sometimes the little cows are pretty messy by the time they get there.
Kylie was all decked out in her cow costume which was mighty cute, and we headed off to the zoo. She absolutely loves animals and had a great time going from place to place and checking them all out. I scored some major Daddy bonus points for taking her.
Now here is where things got interesting (read funny). Things have a tendency to do that when kids are involved. Especially ones that didn't get naps today. Our time at the zoo was done so we headed home. Kylie was very tired and very ready to be home. She had her pacifier (or nuk as she calls it) so I figured that she would drift off to sleep. However, she managed to lose it somehow, and as most of you can guess, this was a calamity fit for the end of the world to a tired child. I think the 4th trumpet of the apocolypse in the Bible is something about "and thy nuk shall be lost, and all the world will tremble...". Probably not, but you can see how she might feel that way.
So here was my dilemna. She wanted out of her seat and she wanted her nuk. If I stopped to find her nuk, she would just be more upset about my not taking her out of the seat. If I just kept going, she would be mad about not having the nuk. I chose to just try and get home, and thus attempted to placate and distract her as much as I could with conversation. It wasn't working and I could tell that she was starting to really make herself mad. She was working herself into a frenzy and I knew that no good could come from this. Town was in site, only a couple more minutes and we would be home.
And then it happened. The sound no parent wants to hear. It sounded like someone took the lid off a big gulp and just dumped it in the back seat. Puke was spraying and splashing everywhere. All over her, the car seat and the back of my seat. TWO minutes from home. Nothing like a nasty mess to clean up to make your day. Chunks, need I say more? I think you get the picture. I spent a good bit of time cleaning before I could do much else once we got home.
So anyway, it was still a fun evening and I guess that kids will be kids till the cows come home, and sometimes the little cows are pretty messy by the time they get there.
Kylie, in the living room, with the pliers
Last night was pumpkin carving night. My wife took the year off, so it will just be my creative genious gracing our front stoop over the weekend. Kylie, my oldest daughter who is almost two, is in that stage now where she really wants to help with anything we do. Her help, however, generally consists of making a mess of whatever I'm working on and making me stressed that she is going to really hurt something, namely herself. She just can't resist being a "Big Hepper" though.
So I have these pumpkin carving tools now.
My wife bought them for me last year along with some really cool patterns which have greatly increased the coolness of my carvings. The bad part, was that Kylie was extremely bent on playing with whatever saw I happened to be needing at the time. She had quite a fit when I took them from her but I was eventually able to placate her by giving her the needle nose pliers that I had been useing to pull out the carved pieces to play with. She proceded to "help" by pounding on the back of the pumpkin with those. In the end it was pretty cute, and I was glad that she was able to feel like she was a part of it. Being a big kid myself I can see the entertainment value of banging on a pumpkin with a pair of needle nose plyers.
Crystal and I agreed on a scary looking black cat for this year's carving. It turned out pretty cool, and I'm sure that the three people that drive down our middle of nowhere road in the next few days will love it!
So I have these pumpkin carving tools now.
My wife bought them for me last year along with some really cool patterns which have greatly increased the coolness of my carvings. The bad part, was that Kylie was extremely bent on playing with whatever saw I happened to be needing at the time. She had quite a fit when I took them from her but I was eventually able to placate her by giving her the needle nose pliers that I had been useing to pull out the carved pieces to play with. She proceded to "help" by pounding on the back of the pumpkin with those. In the end it was pretty cute, and I was glad that she was able to feel like she was a part of it. Being a big kid myself I can see the entertainment value of banging on a pumpkin with a pair of needle nose plyers.
Crystal and I agreed on a scary looking black cat for this year's carving. It turned out pretty cool, and I'm sure that the three people that drive down our middle of nowhere road in the next few days will love it!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Bigfoot? Aliens? Taquitos?
For the second time, I went to a Taco Bell looking for the newly advertised Taquitos (the ones with the lions in the commercial), and once again came up empty. The first time I just figured that my small town store just wasn't up on the newest things, but this time I was in the city. So is this a fast food bait and switch or just some sort of corporate screw up? I looked on the Taco Bell website and it isn't even listed on the menu. Did I dream this food up? Please tell me that someone else saw this commercial. Not that I care that much about fast food. Frankly I can't afford to eat it very often, but this just smells like a mystery to me, and I can't resist a good mystery. Good thing there weren't any Taco Bell's around when Conan Doyle was writing or we might have to read Sherlock Holmes and The Case of The Bean Burrito in english class. In Taco Bell's case, I guess the Hound of The Baskerville's ate their homework.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Forget coffee, try a cradle
So I read somewhere that babies sleep 16-18 hours a day. Is there an unwritten rule somewhere that says that none of them can be at night? I love Kerrigan to pieces but no matter how hard I try, I end up getting frustrated when she gets up 50 times. Last night I rocked her for 45 minutes and had her good and asleep and as soon as I laid her down in her cradle, WAAAAAA!!!! She seems to be able to sleep just about anywhere but there. Just the other day we were trying to feed her and couldn't get her awake enough and my wife jokingly suggesting laying her in her cradle for a while. We didn't try it but I still bet that it would have worked. :)
....and we're back
So as you can see I haven't updated my blog in a while, but I intend to change that. Hopefully I can turn it into something worth reading. I'm just going to lay down whatever comes to mind and hopefully I can entertain a few people. To fill the gaps, our first daughter is now almost two, and her name is Kylie. Our second daughter was born three weeks ago tomorrow, and her name is Kerrigan. We really like that name but worry about the link it might have with Nancy Kerrigan. I figured that by the time she is old enough to be in school that no one will have heard of Nancy Kerrigan so it shouldn't be a problem. I imagine that a lot of my stories will be about being a Dad, since that is most of what I'm doing these days. With two little girls to chase around, I don't have time for much else.
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