Sansabelt

When I was a kid there was a brand of slacks called “Sansabelt.” These pants were marketed as slacks which didn’t require a belt (or a sense of fashion). I didn’t know it at the time, but the name was a play on “without a belt” by using the French word for “without” — sans.

Today I am sans a belt, because I need a new black belt to replace the black/brown reversible belt that I broke recently. Luckily my jeans aren’t so loose that I’ll look like a East Atlanta homie with my underwear showing as I walk.

Today’s Personal Project
Buy a new black belt.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Share one idea for comforting yourself without unhealthy snacks, like walking or calling a friend.

Comforting ourselves with food is very common – who hasn’t eaten something sweet, salty, or fatty during (or after) an emotional situation? For many of us – especially those who were soothed with food when they were younger – the habit can become so ingrained that we reach for snacks before thinking about what else we could do to calm down. By coming up with and sharing an idea, you’ll have other options at the ready next time … and you may get some good ideas from others, too.

Is beer a food? 😉

Walka Walka
Remember that 8:00am meeting I referenced yesterday? Well, it did a great job of putting a kink into my morning walk; I only covered 3.5 miles yesterday morning. So when my boss mentioned going for a walk after work I was all in. We walked about 4.4 miles yesterday afternoon, making my total for the day 7.9 miles. Not bad for me, if I do say so.

You May Want To Sit For This
I’m not buying an iPhone 5?
Whoa, whoa, let’s not talk nonsense here! I’ll be ordering my new phone as soon as operators are standing by tomorrow.

Instead I’d like to issue a rare “WTF, Apple?” statement. With the new (admittedly less than exciting) iPhone 5 announcement yesterday Apple introduced a new charging/syncing “standard” they are calling Lightning. Gone is the thirty-pin connector used since the iPod’s (Kids, those were spinning-disc devices we used to use to carry around our entire music library.) introduction nine years ago. Okay, Apple wanted a smaller connector, I get that. Apple also recognized that people have many devices which use the old thirty-pin standard so they are selling a thirty-pin-to-Lighting adaptor — for $30(!). Seriously, Apple has $100B in cash, why do they feel compelled to screw us on the price for an adaptor which is needed to connect perfectly-good accessories to the new devices?

I guess that’s how you amass $100B…

Tilting The Scale
I’m looking at my current Vegetarian/Carnivorous stats in a bit of disbelief. I keep thinking that I’ve eaten far more vegetarian meals (compared to carnivorous ones) this month, but the numbers do not prove that out. This is especially bothersome because I don’t believe that any of the thirteen breakfasts that I’ve eaten in September have contained meat (which means I’ve been depriving myself of bacon!) The count only adds up to thirty-three instead of thirty-six as one would imagine because there were a few days during which I only ate two meals instead of three.

I’ve eaten a vegetarian breakfast, and plan to do the same for lunch. However, I plan to visit Taco Mac tonight to take in part of the Packers/Bears game, so I am almost guaranteed to be noshing on flesh then.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – irksome
Current Music – listening to a CBC Radio 3 podcast. Surely by now you know that I love me some Canadian music
Website Of The Day – Every wanted to know all there is about battery technology> If so then head on over to Battery University. (I think UGA played them opening weekend, right?)
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~3.5 miles + ~4.4 miles = ~7.9 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 203.2 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~43.2 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~50.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 19
Carnivorous Meals – 14
Pancakes Eaten – 3

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

September Goals
– Wear “nice” clothes to work at least twice a week, if for no other reason than to have people wonder why I am dressing up. New!
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 100 miles
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 100 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups
– Read a non-techincal book

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]