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.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
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!
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