Say what you want about Lance Armstrong and his now apparent/confirmed lack of integrity. The world cycling community is vowing to rid the history books of Lance’s “accomplishments” but I shall remember him as a stellar cyclist — doping or not. I rarely elevate people to “hero” status so I have not lost one today, but I do feel a little sense of loss regardless.
I would like to know how he managed to get away with it for so long. Armstrong was tested constantly and to the best of my knowledge never tested positive.
Today’s Personal Project
Try to improve my health.
Try to improve my attitude.
Try to give a shit about things.
Try to enjoy tonight’s Dignan Porch concert at The EARL even if there are only fifteen people in attendance as was the case last Monday night at The EARL.
Pay my auto insurance.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Trade a sugar-sweetened beverage for water, no-sugar-added juice, or skim or low-fat milk.
The typical 32-ounce (1 liter) sugar-sweetened soft drink contains about 400 calories (1940 kilojoules) and no nutrients at all. Drink a glass of 100% juice or skim or low-fat milk instead, and you get important nutrients like vitamins A and C, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which your body needs to stay healthy. Water is the best thirst-quenching drink there is, both free and easy to find.
Guess that I shouldn’t have started the day with a Venti Pumpkin-Spiced Latte this morning… Damn though, it was tasty.
LEAF Could Have Been Called SUN
Sunblock was never a consideration for my LEAF packing list, and I am paying for that slightly today. That’s right, I got (minor) sunburn in late October while in Black Mountain, NC. Go figure.
Other than my new skin condition LEAF itself was much fun. The weather was nearly perfect, rather cool at night, but that’s to be expected this time of year. The beer was plentiful. And about the only irritant was the appearance of bees or yellow jackets due to the mid-day warmth.
I played a lot with ITP-Readers Lisa’s and Randy’s boys, spent time chatting with Lisa and Randy, drank some delicious adult beverages, heard some music, and ate vegetarian food all weekend. LEAF is the odd-ball festival where it is actually easier to be a vegetarian than a carnivore. Damn hippies.
An Update On The Pssstbox
While driving home yesterday I was forced to use my Jambox because I accidentally left my other portable speaker in the “on” position on Friday, thus draining its battery. While futzing with the Jambox I accidentally turned off “Live Audio” mode, which I’ve come to find out quizzically lowers the maximum volume of the device. I still think the Jambox’s maximum volume is too low to be of great use, but I might now be able to use it while driving.
ITP Flickr Pic
I have a couple of snaps from the weekend which may grace this space, but I was in no mood to deal with them last night.
Missed Out: Alejandro Escovedo
There aren’t many things which keep me away from a Alejandro Escovedo show, especially when he brings the full band — returning home from a weekend of camping is one of those things. I was bushed by the time I finally rolled into the ITP-Estate and I still had to unload all of the crap out of the Jackmobile. Oh, I was also unshowered at that time. As I sat down for a minute I quickly realized that I wasn’t heading out again.
And I Know Better
While sitting there making my in/out decision I grabbed my right little piggy tore its toenail. At forty-seven, and having done this many times in the past, I know better than to attempt to rip part of my finger/toe nails off, especially when twenty feet away there is a nail clipper. But no, rip away I did, and now I have a painful toe because I ripped off more than I should have.
Who wants to date a future Mensa member?!?!
RealiTV Update: TAR — Missed Out
I got home just in time to watch my beloved NY Jets kick a tying field goal, recover a fumble and then kick what should have been a game-winning field goal against the hated New England Patriots. But they left too much time on the clock and allowed Tom Brady to march the Patriots down to field goal range in fewer than two minutes. The fucking Patriots tied the game with a last-second kick, and I promptly turned off the television because I knew two things:
- The Jets would lose the game in overtime. They did.
- The Amazing Race would start about an hour late and I didn’t feel like waiting for it. I didn’t.
So I’ve not seen the latest episode. Feel free to talk about it in the comments, I’m not sure if/when I will find the time to watch.
How Was Your Weekend?
Busy? Enjoyable? Embarrassing?
Inquiring minds want to know…
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – tired, frustrated
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – Parked at LEAF was the Magic Love Bus. The Magic Love Bus is an old school bus painted hippy-style, open for all to peruse.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – LEAF activities, nothing measured
Morning Weigh-In – 200.6 pounds. I think my scale is broken because I am still way too fat. Perhaps I ripped off two pounds’ worth of weight in toenail?
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~51.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Days Of Bed-Making – 17* (I suppose had I made my sleeping bag and blanket in Black Mountain I could have claimed credit)
Vegetarian Meals – 39
Carnivorous Meals – 12
Pancakes Eaten – 4
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
October 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
– Find someone else to go out on a date with
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
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
- Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
- God, No! — Penn Jillette
- The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
- Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
- How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
- Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
- Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
- Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury
- White Jacket Required — Jenna Weber
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
I didn’t watch TAR either – Allan was at the firehouse (& busy), so we decided we’d watch it tonight.
Went out to see Lord Brady of Brady on Saturday at the Highland Games. (the Opening ceremonies with the announcing of all the special guests cracked me up with the names). I’m not a fan of the bagpipe, and there were LOTS & LOTS of those, but the Caber Tossing and the other athletics were very cool to watch. Damn those guys are strong.
Sunday I went & rode my bike with some of my 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk walker friends – meeting people that have dealt with cancer realy puts life into perspective – I’ve got it pretty damn good health wise.
I usually get the first sun burn of the year sometime around Feb or March…so no sympathy from me 🙂
For your Daily Challenge, I would say skip the juice as well. Most fruit juice is just sugar, with a few vitamins, all the fiber and such has been taken out. Better to stick with water and eat your fruit.
Saturday was a frustrating day, I watched a good part of the Purdue game, with less than 3 minutes to go and Purdue up by 8, I figured it was safe to go take a nap…I was wrong. It’s hard being a Boilermaker, *sigh*
The town in which I went to high school (Dunedin, FL) is the sister city of some Scottish town (though I can’t recall which) so I have heard a lot of bad bag piping in my time.
I too am impressed by the strength of the caber tossers.
I am okay health wise, as I sit here sneezing due to cold or allergies, and a hurting toe caused by my laziness and stupidity.
This year was unusual for me, perhaps I haven’t gone outside as much, or probably more accurately I have been using sunscreen for outside events like cycling or (rare) photo walks.
I’m no doctor, but I think we are more prone to sun burns now compared to June – August because it’s not humid now and more pleasant to sit outside longer (not realizing we are toasting ourselves) .
The highland athletics were something else. I wouldn’t want to pick a fight with one of them. Travis gave it a shot in the kids area. Oh he also did the weight throw and hit the volunteer!
Glad you had fun with the Beebe’s – I know it’s hard not to.