We've been inundated with rain. No flooding in the North County area where we live, but a substantial amount. It certainly is nice to wake up to the sound of rain drops on the cement walkway outside. I've always loved the rain and sloshing about though I remember the time my parents bought me a brand new fur collared coat then I went outside and explored the gully wash that ran nearby our property. After an hour of sloshing through mud and wet vegetation I returned soaked and the new coat a muddy collage of colors. I believe dad used a yard stick on my bare behind. I never quite figured out the logic of that punishment, because a half an hour later they presented me with a new bike. So I guess the sequence of events went something like this: we're pissed let's do something, then afterwards it was, "Now what? We bought this bike for him." It must have been my birthday.
Joy and I will be in Portland on February 2nd with plenty of rain I'm sure. Avery's pictures are adorable, it will be such a thrill to hold her and to look into her eyes. I will have amassed 20,000 points in Presidents Challenge program for fitness, that's enough to earn a bronze medal which will be my gift to Avery. Gramps aint going to be a fat ass no mo. Twenty pushups for Avery! (Not just yet Avery, pretty soon though)
I'm working on my off day. The dispatcher called last night and was breathing hard so I relented and volunteered my services. It's for six and a half hours and I don't go in until noon so it'll just kind of slide by for me.
I'll see John Smith tomorrow. It was John, who I saw in 1996, who linked me up with Joy after so many years of no contact. It is hard to believe that it has been over ten years since I last saw him. Anyway, I'll take the MetroLink up to San Juan Capistrano and visit with him for a couple of hours and then I guess it will be another ten years before another reunion.
We'll close on our house this coming Thursday. Can't say enough for the help from Denise and Collin. Thank you! At this time I'm entertaining the thought of full time work until June of 2009 and then take whatever retirement benefit is available to me from NCTD. At that point we'll consider our options as far as where and when to live and for how long, etc...
Today is the second week of the cleansing diet. First week went well. Second week will be the same except that I ramp up the powdered ingredients by one third more and eliminate all meat. I don't know that I'll ever become a vegan but it doesn't seem to be such a difficult lifestyle choice. For me the difficult lifestyle selection is a commitment to full time exercise. I have to continually remind myself to move rather than sit.
I am at 282.0 lbs today. I'm comfortable with .1 lb weight loss per day. There's not a need to hurry about this weight loss. It took me years to put it on and it is going to take much less time getting it off even if it is at the rate of a tenth of a pound a day. With this outlook I am rocketing downward. An aside observation: I can now step onto the weight scale and look down and actually see the registering numbers rather than having to step off before being able to see them. Ah, the small things in everyday life which make it so abundant!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Coffee, alcohol and adrenaline
Presently drinking coffee at the now time of: 12:15 a.m....... Twelve hours ago it was beer while watching a valiant attempt by the Chargers to unseat the vaunted N.E. Patriots from the top spot of the NFL.
How is adrenaline spelled? I thought it was spelled: a d r e n o l i n e but not the case, the schwa was an a and not an o. I am laughing at myself with my Kiva cap complete with a bicycle headlight, CD player and me stooped over the large dictionary by the front door searching for the correct spelling.
At Unity this morning, Reverend Julie spoke of going within to find peace and solutions rather than outwardly manipulating events to fit our definitions. On three different occasions someone's watch started beeping........meditation, prayer and a marvelous song by the guest pianist and the fricking watch was beeping! Oh how I was thankful to be able to go within and not step outside and crush that fucking watch! I mean that could have been my newly purchased watch from Walgreens Drug Store and I don't know how to shut the thing off. I have found peace.
I have mentioned how I have wanted to "turn it up a notch" in regards to exercise. I find it to be more talk than action. In my mind I can "just do it" but that's much easier said than done. However, with that said, I am up to six REAL push ups (I think I'm good for eight, but I am afraid that I may fail if I test my hunch). I have now begun to do push ups (maximum 6) in front of the bus when at time points. I don't do them on the ground, but I use the lowered bike rack as my grip for the muscle work. As I age I lament (but not too much) the fact that I didn't push myself for more strength. Actually, I am going to try to become as strong as I can be over the course of as many years that I have left; Now that is a lofty goal! It is in print for not only me to reread, but for anyone else to see. Do I walk it or talk it? At the moment it's talk.........I'm still hesitant to try for eight push ups.
For the next three weeks I am going on a controlled diet to cleanse various body functions. Wish me luck. I'll accept any kind of encouragement too :)
___________________________________________________________________________________
“Isn't it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity...”
Vaclav Havel quotes (Czech Playwright and President of Czechoslovakia(1989-92), b.1936)
How is adrenaline spelled? I thought it was spelled: a d r e n o l i n e but not the case, the schwa was an a and not an o. I am laughing at myself with my Kiva cap complete with a bicycle headlight, CD player and me stooped over the large dictionary by the front door searching for the correct spelling.
At Unity this morning, Reverend Julie spoke of going within to find peace and solutions rather than outwardly manipulating events to fit our definitions. On three different occasions someone's watch started beeping........meditation, prayer and a marvelous song by the guest pianist and the fricking watch was beeping! Oh how I was thankful to be able to go within and not step outside and crush that fucking watch! I mean that could have been my newly purchased watch from Walgreens Drug Store and I don't know how to shut the thing off. I have found peace.
I have mentioned how I have wanted to "turn it up a notch" in regards to exercise. I find it to be more talk than action. In my mind I can "just do it" but that's much easier said than done. However, with that said, I am up to six REAL push ups (I think I'm good for eight, but I am afraid that I may fail if I test my hunch). I have now begun to do push ups (maximum 6) in front of the bus when at time points. I don't do them on the ground, but I use the lowered bike rack as my grip for the muscle work. As I age I lament (but not too much) the fact that I didn't push myself for more strength. Actually, I am going to try to become as strong as I can be over the course of as many years that I have left; Now that is a lofty goal! It is in print for not only me to reread, but for anyone else to see. Do I walk it or talk it? At the moment it's talk.........I'm still hesitant to try for eight push ups.
For the next three weeks I am going on a controlled diet to cleanse various body functions. Wish me luck. I'll accept any kind of encouragement too :)
___________________________________________________________________________________
“Isn't it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity...”
Vaclav Havel quotes (Czech Playwright and President of Czechoslovakia(1989-92), b.1936)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
283.8
The ritual for my morning weigh-in is as follows: My right leg up and over Nancy (sleeping next to me) much in the fashion of a track meet high jumper. Take down the Tanita from atop my non functional CD player which incidentally has five CD's inside and I can't get to. Walk through the hallway and place the Tanita on the tile floor. Step on the scale while both hands are pushing against the walls; this allows for a gradual weight increase on the Tanita. In no way do I want this machine pissed at me. Think about it, if I can't get five CD's out of a broken CD player then what would be the consequences of having a fancy smancy weight scale disenchanted with the way it's handled. And the resulting read for today? Uh huh that's right dog, 283.8 lbs. Tanita, baby, today I'm going to rub your glass surface slow and gentle with a warm moistened cloth and loving hands, because Tanny Baby, you ROCK!
Talked to Al and Dot on the phone yesterday. Always enjoy talking to them. They are situated in a small comfortable house in Boulder close to where Johanna lives which will make it much more convenient for Johanna to check on the two of them.
I'm up to 92,000 grains of rice. It takes me approximately 6 minutes to amass 1,000 grains which is the size of an average serving of rice. So I think 15 minutes a day at the computer trying to do something for humanity while improving my vocabulary is certainly a positive.
Starting today I am going to do sets of three push ups ten times a day. I did six in a row two days ago so three should be the right number for repetitions.
Collin called a couple of days ago and told us the results were in on their child to be. It's a boy and all indicators say everything is fine. He told Joy they've decided on the first and middle names and said they were going to keep it secret, but he did suggest we probably would be able to guess the the middle name with certainty. My thinking cap is on Miss Olmstead (my fourth grade teacher); You would be so proud of me!.............or you are.....or.......you am? Never mind, I've put the cap on and I am not watching the clock, now give me the damned "C" so I can go out to recess and play kickball.
Talked to Al and Dot on the phone yesterday. Always enjoy talking to them. They are situated in a small comfortable house in Boulder close to where Johanna lives which will make it much more convenient for Johanna to check on the two of them.
I'm up to 92,000 grains of rice. It takes me approximately 6 minutes to amass 1,000 grains which is the size of an average serving of rice. So I think 15 minutes a day at the computer trying to do something for humanity while improving my vocabulary is certainly a positive.
Starting today I am going to do sets of three push ups ten times a day. I did six in a row two days ago so three should be the right number for repetitions.
Collin called a couple of days ago and told us the results were in on their child to be. It's a boy and all indicators say everything is fine. He told Joy they've decided on the first and middle names and said they were going to keep it secret, but he did suggest we probably would be able to guess the the middle name with certainty. My thinking cap is on Miss Olmstead (my fourth grade teacher); You would be so proud of me!.............or you are.....or.......you am? Never mind, I've put the cap on and I am not watching the clock, now give me the damned "C" so I can go out to recess and play kickball.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
70,280
Just can't stop playing Free Rice.
I was watching Book Notes this morning and an historical author, Mark Perry, was discussing World War II and the working relationship between Eisenhower and Marshall. Somewhere in the course of questioning from the audience came this shocking gem: The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff is not in the chain of command! Huh? Think about it, not in the chain of command. It goes as follows: President, Secretary of Defense and then the seven commanders who form the Joint Chiefs, but the Chairman is out of the loop. Interestingly strange I say. Put another way: There are eight male Generals or Admirals who comprise the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chairman; (Question): If there are 14 gonads amongst them where is the missing pair?
Perry at one point expresses to the audience that he is a Republican in a party that no longer shares his values and goes on to explain he is an isolationist, small government advocate, etc...and then the following brought a big grin with an equal sigh from me. Perry is explaining how the present policy against global terrorism is skewed (at this point he apologizes for sounding like "liberal psychobabble") and then guess what? Uh huh, he uses the liberal position to explain a better policy to confront global terrorism, i.e., this is a battle of an idea and not a militarily forced solution. At that point I arose from my chair and repositioned myself in front of the computer screen and racked up more grains of rice for the Third World. Since I have to go to work, I couldn't very well slug down any beer. Third Worlders you lucked out this morning. COOPERATIVE INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM POLICE TASK FORCE WHERE ARE YOU?
____________________________________________________________________
I just looked at the pattern of rice grain contribution for the month of January:
January 1, 2008 114,143,280
January 2, 2008 143,815,320
January 3, 2008 161,073,080
January 4, 2008 163,428,220
January 5, 2008 112,720,840
January 6, 2008 109,177,920
January 7, 2008 159,954,980
January 8, 2008 168,648,120
January 9, 2008 173,358,320
January 10,2008 190,065,540
January 11,2008 195,108,860
I can only conclude that there others around the world who also have to go to work.
I was watching Book Notes this morning and an historical author, Mark Perry, was discussing World War II and the working relationship between Eisenhower and Marshall. Somewhere in the course of questioning from the audience came this shocking gem: The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff is not in the chain of command! Huh? Think about it, not in the chain of command. It goes as follows: President, Secretary of Defense and then the seven commanders who form the Joint Chiefs, but the Chairman is out of the loop. Interestingly strange I say. Put another way: There are eight male Generals or Admirals who comprise the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chairman; (Question): If there are 14 gonads amongst them where is the missing pair?
Perry at one point expresses to the audience that he is a Republican in a party that no longer shares his values and goes on to explain he is an isolationist, small government advocate, etc...and then the following brought a big grin with an equal sigh from me. Perry is explaining how the present policy against global terrorism is skewed (at this point he apologizes for sounding like "liberal psychobabble") and then guess what? Uh huh, he uses the liberal position to explain a better policy to confront global terrorism, i.e., this is a battle of an idea and not a militarily forced solution. At that point I arose from my chair and repositioned myself in front of the computer screen and racked up more grains of rice for the Third World. Since I have to go to work, I couldn't very well slug down any beer. Third Worlders you lucked out this morning. COOPERATIVE INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM POLICE TASK FORCE WHERE ARE YOU?
____________________________________________________________________
I just looked at the pattern of rice grain contribution for the month of January:
January 1, 2008 114,143,280
January 2, 2008 143,815,320
January 3, 2008 161,073,080
January 4, 2008 163,428,220
January 5, 2008 112,720,840
January 6, 2008 109,177,920
January 7, 2008 159,954,980
January 8, 2008 168,648,120
January 9, 2008 173,358,320
January 10,2008 190,065,540
January 11,2008 195,108,860
I can only conclude that there others around the world who also have to go to work.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Back At It
Had a spill on my bike at 1 mph which left me sore on the Butt Tocks (Forest Gump enunciation). I measured the bruise area this morning: 7" X 11"! I thought it wise to chill out for a couple of days. I just now returned from the park with Nancy. She, cheering me on with encouraging barks and pants while I did the Tiger Moves. Not really........... Nancy is the quietest dog I've ever been around, though come to think of it, Arty is pretty mellow too.
I been obsessing with the www.freerice.com website. I've now been recording each incorrect answer. I'm up to over 75 words at least. Presently I've contributed more than 62,000 grains of rice to the program. I'm going to try for a minimum of 500,000 by next January (2009). Incidentally one thousand rice grains is the equivalent of the average meal size.
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It's 3:00 p.m. and I have to be in the driver's room by 1608 hours so I had better sign off for now. Tonight will the first time to ride the bike home in about a week.
I been obsessing with the www.freerice.com website. I've now been recording each incorrect answer. I'm up to over 75 words at least. Presently I've contributed more than 62,000 grains of rice to the program. I'm going to try for a minimum of 500,000 by next January (2009). Incidentally one thousand rice grains is the equivalent of the average meal size.
____________________________________________________________________
How does playing the vocabulary game at FreeRice help me?
Learning new vocabulary has tremendous benefits. It can help you:
- Formulate your ideas better
- Write better papers, emails and business letters
- Speak more precisely and persuasively
- Comprehend more of what you read
- Read faster because you comprehend better
- Get better grades in high school, college and graduate school
- Score higher on tests like the SAT, GRE, LSAT and GMAT
- Perform better at job interviews and conferences
- Sell yourself, your services, and your products better
- Be more effective and successful at your job
After you have done FreeRice for a couple of days, you may notice an odd phenomenon. Words that you have never consciously used before will begin to pop into your head while you are speaking or writing. You will feel yourself using and knowing more words.
How does the FreeRice vocabulary program work?
FreeRice has a custom database containing thousands of words at varying degrees of difficulty. There are words appropriate for people just learning English and words that will challenge the most scholarly professors. In between are thousands of words for students, business people, homemakers, doctors, truck drivers, retired people… everyone!
FreeRice automatically adjusts to your level of vocabulary. It starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty and then, based on how you do, assigns you an approximate starting level. You then determine a more exact level for yourself as you play. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level. This one-to-three ratio is best for keeping you at the “outer fringe” of your vocabulary, where learning can take place.
There are 50 levels in all, but it is rare for people to get above level 48.
How is the difficulty level for each word determined?
The program keeps track of how many people get each word right or wrong, and then adjusts each word’s difficulty level accordingly. So the words at the easiest levels are the ones that people most often get right. The words at the hardest levels are the ones that people most often get wrong. As more and more people have played the game, these levels have become increasingly more accurate.
Is FreeRice adding more words?
Yes. A team of professional lexicographers from the firm of Lexiteria is working to add words and additional levels to the FreeRice database. In particular, the hunt is on to find the hairiest and most difficult words in the English language. But we are also looking to add easy words, medium words and all the other words you might ever want to know. The new entries should begin to appear in January 2008. In short, we do not want you to run out of vocabulary to learn anytime soon...
When did FreeRice increase the amount donated for each correct answer from 10 grains of rice to 20 grains?
For its first seven weeks, FreeRice gave 10 grains of rice for each correct answer. On November 28, 2007, we were able to increase this to 20 grains. We hope to be able to increase this again in the future. Here is how we look at it: Your part is to play and donate the rice. Our part is to increase the amount you can donate!
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It's 3:00 p.m. and I have to be in the driver's room by 1608 hours so I had better sign off for now. Tonight will the first time to ride the bike home in about a week.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Tanita Measurement
Today I used the scale which Megan and Damian sent me for Christmas. It was christened at 286.2 pounds. Then I pressed all the various buttons and a variety of numbers popped up indicating that I was still a fat ass (the Chinese have no tact).
Last night I took "the hill" with no sweat. I was wearing a headlamp and I guess it was good that I was, because another bicyclist was coasting downward and there could have been a good chance of collision. The area that I ride is about six feet wide with a guard rail to my left and a chain link fence on my right side. Very unusual to see another rider at 12:30 a.m.
Got an email from Dave Martin inviting me to come up to San Onofre (17 miles north on I-5) and rendezvous for a short bike ride after he finishes surfing. Dave's sixty-eight years old and the best all-around athlete I've ever been around. He had a heart attack about three years ago, but had a shunt implanted and now he's good to go. I still see him as the BMOC. He could do it all. Anyway, maybe next week I'll be up there pedaling away.
I'm at 75% of the 20,000 points I need to earn in order to receive a bronze medal from The Presidents Council on Physical Fitness. Avery, this one is for you! The next one will be for your cousin in Cheyenne. The third one will be a joint award and the fourth goes to Nancy who sees to it that I get over to the park and exercise.
Denise and Collin are keeping us appraised of the goings on with our house in Cheyenne. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty on this transaction!
Last night I took "the hill" with no sweat. I was wearing a headlamp and I guess it was good that I was, because another bicyclist was coasting downward and there could have been a good chance of collision. The area that I ride is about six feet wide with a guard rail to my left and a chain link fence on my right side. Very unusual to see another rider at 12:30 a.m.
Got an email from Dave Martin inviting me to come up to San Onofre (17 miles north on I-5) and rendezvous for a short bike ride after he finishes surfing. Dave's sixty-eight years old and the best all-around athlete I've ever been around. He had a heart attack about three years ago, but had a shunt implanted and now he's good to go. I still see him as the BMOC. He could do it all. Anyway, maybe next week I'll be up there pedaling away.
I'm at 75% of the 20,000 points I need to earn in order to receive a bronze medal from The Presidents Council on Physical Fitness. Avery, this one is for you! The next one will be for your cousin in Cheyenne. The third one will be a joint award and the fourth goes to Nancy who sees to it that I get over to the park and exercise.
Denise and Collin are keeping us appraised of the goings on with our house in Cheyenne. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty on this transaction!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
January 2, 2008
Once again the flying colors racing across the TV screen have been put to rest for another year. I don't think I watched an entire game. Either I slept through a portion or all of a game, or I was jacking around with the computer. Still, I love January 1st and all of the football games.
We're very, very close to owning a house in Cheyenne. Actually we've signed all of the necessary papers for the purchase, but there are inspections taking place, etc..., but for all intents and purpose we have a second home in Cheyenne. It's located in the "avenues area"(whatever that means) about five blocks from Collin and Denise's house. This is great and Denise is doing a bang up job following through on all of the details.
Joy and I will be going to Portland (Feb 2 thru 6) for a visit with our new grand daughter, Avery! Is that cool or what? Very exciting.
Weigh-in for the "biggest loser" contest at work will be January 11th. I'm sure I'll be in the money, i.e, 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. I didn't do a weight check today, because I was afraid to look; I had a few 40 ouncers yesterday and the day before too....oh well...Still, I'm doing okay. As I look in the mirror and I can see changes taking place. As I remarked to Scott in an email today, I may have lost weight, but anyway you cut it, 285 pounds is still pretty stout for a 5'9" frame. I am projecting myself to weigh around 230 pounds by the time the next reunion takes place.
I'll be driving about six hours from now. I'll only have to work four days before another two off.....that is nice. I'm starting to formulate what's going to take place within the next two years. I'll probably retire within the next two years and then continue to work for NCTD, but at reduced hours. I'll be allowed to work a yearly sum of approximately 975 hours and no more. So my plan is to go balls to the wall and rack up the 975 hours as rapidly as possible and then just coast the rest of the year which means Portland and Cheyenne visits often. Babysitting service is done freely with love :-)
So life is good. I'm going to see Joel Osteen this Friday at Cox Arena in San Diego. I just love to listen to him; such a humble laid back approach to preaching.
We're very, very close to owning a house in Cheyenne. Actually we've signed all of the necessary papers for the purchase, but there are inspections taking place, etc..., but for all intents and purpose we have a second home in Cheyenne. It's located in the "avenues area"(whatever that means) about five blocks from Collin and Denise's house. This is great and Denise is doing a bang up job following through on all of the details.
Joy and I will be going to Portland (Feb 2 thru 6) for a visit with our new grand daughter, Avery! Is that cool or what? Very exciting.
Weigh-in for the "biggest loser" contest at work will be January 11th. I'm sure I'll be in the money, i.e, 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. I didn't do a weight check today, because I was afraid to look; I had a few 40 ouncers yesterday and the day before too....oh well...Still, I'm doing okay. As I look in the mirror and I can see changes taking place. As I remarked to Scott in an email today, I may have lost weight, but anyway you cut it, 285 pounds is still pretty stout for a 5'9" frame. I am projecting myself to weigh around 230 pounds by the time the next reunion takes place.
I'll be driving about six hours from now. I'll only have to work four days before another two off.....that is nice. I'm starting to formulate what's going to take place within the next two years. I'll probably retire within the next two years and then continue to work for NCTD, but at reduced hours. I'll be allowed to work a yearly sum of approximately 975 hours and no more. So my plan is to go balls to the wall and rack up the 975 hours as rapidly as possible and then just coast the rest of the year which means Portland and Cheyenne visits often. Babysitting service is done freely with love :-)
So life is good. I'm going to see Joel Osteen this Friday at Cox Arena in San Diego. I just love to listen to him; such a humble laid back approach to preaching.
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