Wiglaf's Sandbox

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-01T09:58:00.002-06:00

So this year I am going to try something different for my New Year resolutions. Each month I am going to find something to focus on. So one month will be getting my diet in order, then the next month may be learning a new song on my guitar, etc, etc...

So for the month of January I am going to focus on my diet. Low carb FTW.

Took my own advice for web hosting and blogging.

2011-05-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

The renewal period on my webhosting came around and I decided to take my own advice. It is amazing how easy to do when an invoice for $95 is coming at you. Still working out the kinks on email and blog layout.

FLOSS would be a life saver if only could figure out a @#$% business plan.

2010-06-26T17:58:00.000-05:00

It is an amazing time we live in for a person who wants to start their own business. Your technical infrastructure costs have damn near plummeted to zero cost in many regards. Here is what I mean:

Web presence can be done using Squarespace. It is all point and click, drag and drop to get a decent website.

Phone Service is even more amazing. Between Skype and Google Voice you can have a phone setup that rivals many medium sized businesses. Then add into this that cellular service has gotten damn cheap and friggin amazing.

Mobile connectivity is broken out from Phone Service since you no longer need to use your cell phone just for calling. Now that smartphones communicate to the web and have a shit ton of processing power you really can be out of the office and still handling business. Take Sprint's Evo. Its more powerful then some laptops from a few years ago. And oh wait, you usually don't do any actual processing on the phone itself instead you use its data connectivity to interface with a host of remote servers.

Free or pay as you go internet services. Back up you documents to the cloud. Use the cloud for heavy duty computations. Not only do you not have to pay the infrastructure cost for this but you can ramp up or down how much you use these services as your budget allows.

Open source collabrative software. Git, subversion, Drupal, wikipedia, eGroupware, etc, etc...

Free office tools. Openoffice, googledocs,KOffice, etc, etc...

Free operating systems for your hardware. Ubuntu, Android, etc, etc... (And yes Ubuntu is easy enough for anyone to use and install.)

Free Customer Relation Management software to track your customer interactions.

Literally for a minimal cost you can get a professional grade infrastructure in place for your business. And what kills me about this is I can't think of a side business to start for the life of me. Here I sit with a college degree, a familarity with technology that would allow me to lower my startup cost and a wife that would help me find the time to do this. And not one damn idea comes to mind. Note that all those things can be used for ANY type of small business. Not just tech related.

Hell, our landscaper who is fixing up our backyard could lower her operating cost by implementing some of them. She lives off of her phone calling and interacting with customers and then writes down notes on whatever piece of paper is handy. This has caused a bit of delay on two occasions. (Both times were understandable.) But with a little training she could be keying in conversation recaps into some free CRM software to track customer conversations. Could be using one of the free office suites to save money. Could use her iphone to snap before and after pictures of our yard and then use one of the many photo sharing sites to display them to potential customers. On and on I could go.

And I wish I was in her shoes. I wish I had a viable business that I was running. But not a damn idea has come to me in the past two years that I have been actively pondering it. The best I had was opening up a sandwich wrap place that also sells smoothies. The location would need to be near enough for the Wal-mart lunch crowd and for the afternoon soccer mom crowd with their kids. But the upfront cost are just too much for me to risk. The other one was a suite of tools for Churches to use. Hosted website, custom smartphone app/mobile interface for communications, automated desktop publishing to the website for announcements, a/v infrastructure for a daily homily to be broadcast, webcam integration for day care facilities, etc, etc... All of these are existing components that just need to be tied together. Turns out that has been done. @#$%@!!!

Aargh!!! My kingdom for a business plan muse.

Changed jobs at work.

2010-06-24T16:29:00.000-05:00

So I have moved teams at work since I was getting kinda bored on my old one. Its not that the work wasn't challenging, its just that it wasn't challenging in the way I wanted it to be. Instead of being "Here's a technical problem to work through" it was becoming "Here's a project management headache to fix while dealing with other's egos" type of work.

Both are problems that are in my day to day job. The second one is the one I deal with so I can have fun with the first. It amazes me watching how some people are able to interact with others and magically come out with what they need from the other person without having to get frustrated. I feel like those kinds of situations would be easier if I had a giant pugel stick and could demand trial by combat. That would be freakin sweet.

"Uh Joe, you were supposed to have that server online today."

"Well I had some stuff come up and its going to be a few days."

"That does it! We are taking this to the Octagon."

And by the way, all trials by combat should be done in octagon fighting arenas.

But enough kvetching. Good news is the stuff I am now doing is new enough to me that it'll be a while before I am up to par where I can relax. Kinda sucks that the area where I sit is so warm that it makes me sleepy in the afternoon. All I need is to fall asleep face first into my keyboard. Qwerty face is a hard thing to hide.

So the technical problem I am facing right now is the common dilemma to all fields. How much effort do you put into something? Enough to meet the requirements? Enough to give the customer a heart attack when they see all the new bells and whistles? Its the age old question. When does done arrive? The report I am fixing is a report that has been broken for some time and people have lived with it. The fix was pretty much already designed and just needed some tweaks to finish it. But how it integrates into the overall flow is still horrible broken. Its the same story you always see. One time process gets written, becomes a bit more permanent, gets some new features bolted on, grows and morphs into this ungainly piece of junk. Looking back at the history of the program I could easily spend some time redesigning the whole thing and have a better solution. But if the report is so easily ignored that a whole country just made do with not getting the report does it really warrant a rewrite?

So I sit at work tweaking it more and more but at some point I just need to let it go. (Could have probably declared victory over it about 3 weeks ago.) Even while I know I could do a better job on this report the long term payback isn't there. There are other projects that I need to move on to that have a greater ROI. But it is so hard to let it go since I know I can deliver an amazing report given the time. At least this is the biggest complaint about my job. I really do understand and acknowledge that things could be much, much worse. So many of my classmates don't have jobs right now and sometimes I wonder how have I been so lucky. Sure if you are a hard worker you lessen the odds of being laid off but that is not a guarantee that you won't get laid off. Far from it as has been demonstrated in my field.

Started Exercising Again.

2010-03-27T16:21:00.000-05:00

Convinced Shannon to agree to sign up at Fuse Fitness here in Bentonville. Pretty nice gym when compared to Walton Fitness Center or the others I have been in. The real question is will this translate into any measurable sucess. Can't decide if I am going to set a goal of weight loss at first or just plain going to the gym consistently.

Spitting up

2009-09-13T16:40:00.000-05:00

Colin's latest feat is his ability to finish off every feeding with some spitting up of food. At first I thought we were over feeding him so we dialed the bottle size back. No luck. Not sure what this entails but for now we'll leave it be.

Following the iHerd.

2009-09-05T02:26:00.000-05:00

I have traded in my blackberry curve for an iPhone. So far I am still having to adjust to the damn thing. Still in the ambivalent stage of the swap. This isn't the first time imade this swap. Last time was when the original iPhone came out. The 3.0 firmware and the app store are the two items that helped to tip the scales back. But I am still not keen on the fact that I can't run apps in the background. At least the keyboard has been improved enough so that it is useable.

Colin's man bits.

2009-08-25T02:44:00.000-05:00

So, Shannon and I had a few "discussions" about whether to circumcise Colin or not. She was gung ho for it while I was kinda reluctant for it. Just seems wrong that it is ok with society to butcher a man's genitalia for a negligible health gain. Round and round we went, back and forth. Finally I decided I could be ok with this. It isn't like it this is some really off the wall kind of thing. And over the long run it makes things simpler.

In steps lady fate. When Colin was born he had a hydrocele. Since his man bits are all swollen they won't be doing a circumcision right now for fear of screwing it up. Now I find myself pissed that we wasted all that time discussing this to death when it would have been a moot point for the next 6-12 months.

As to other Colin news... Eating, shitting, pissing, sleeping and occasional bouts of crying. So far that is his day. Really can't wait until he gets to be a bit more interactive. Right now he feels more like another pet to take care of then a child of mine.

Hell, at least Boudreaux and Solomon can go through the whole night without pissing. I am sure I am going to burn for that last statement...

I have found my niche.

2009-08-13T17:23:00.000-05:00

Not sure why but Colin knocks right out when I put him on my chest when I am laying down. Doesn't do it for Shannon so something's unique about it. Not quite sure if this is a good thing but at least I know I can make Colin go to sleep. Does that mean I am boring to be around?

First post birth get together with birth parents.

2009-08-09T15:51:00.000-05:00

Had Mat and Alicia over for dinner this evening. Kinda awkward at first since there is no existing social context to mimic. No sitcom tv, no literary references, no past experiences, no nothing to guide us on how this should work. Kinda thawed out after a bit but each of us was so timid that there were some pretty long moments of silence in the conversations. Not even sure if the point I wanted to make came through. That we don't need to worry about what others think the social dynamic should be. That right now there are only 4 people whose input should listened to. (Mat, Alicia, Shannon and me.) Once Colin is old enough to express his feelings and thoughts he'll get some say. Anyone else who tells us what kind of relationship we should have can but their opinions are just that, opinions. For the most part we just need to make sure to be very communicative when something happens that crosses anyone's level of comfort.

So while it wasn't a bust it also wasn't a boom. I think it'll just take time for all of us to test the boundaries and see what is comfortable and what isn't. Kinda nice with all the social media sites to help facilitate conversations and picture sharing. Makes it a bit smoother. Still debating if these post need to continue to be about how I am dealing or more of what did Colin do recently. The first is cathartic for me. The second is more useful for other. Probably doesn't need to be an either/or situation but I only have so much blogging in me.

At least the food was good. Cooked a deboned chicken, corn on the cob, salad and fresh muffins for dessert. Could have used some bread or rolls though. Maybe some cornbread. Speaking of which. Is it weird to be looking forward to when he can eat grownup food? You don't know how much I am looking forward to the occasional fish sticks with Mac & Cheese. Yeah, yeah I know. I can have that now. But if I cook that now, I feel guilty for eating it. But later on... Well its for the kid so that makes it alright?

First geek photo for Colin down. Onto the next.

2009-08-09T07:51:00.000-05:00

Finally took the picture but it didn't quite come out like I wanted. Sorely understimated how tall that sign was. Wanted to go for the geek humor of converting it from " POP 2,346" to "POP = 2,346 + 1" but damn thing was out of reach.

Staying at home is for the birds.

2009-08-05T05:42:00.001-05:00

As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night, she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question — “Is this all?”

-Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

I know that right now is atypical in what I could expect as a stay at home dad... But with that being said I kinda have the feeling that it wouldn't be that bad from the amount of work required. Housework usually is done by about noon. Toss in an extra hour or two for the yard work. The mental and emotional bit is a bit daunting but that is what play groups are for. So while it is a bit isolating and daytime TV is horrible this isn't the hell that Betty Friedan made it out to be. It's work, but no more challenging than my regular job. Has society come far enough to make Betty's original concerns moot or since I have a penis I can't begin to understand the burden that housewives carry?

Court has adjourned

2009-08-04T12:33:00.000-05:00

Went before the judge today. Kinda scary quick how fast it went. I guess that may be due to our lawyer doing his job behind the scenes. Either way it is all official now. Afterwards, Shannon and I had planned on wanting to do something to celebrate. That something was to take a three hour nap. And I am glad to say that is exactly what I needed to celebrate with.

I didn't know babies can poop rabbit pooh.... Uh oh.

2009-08-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Powdered formula we use has given Colin constipation. Time to switch. Besides that everything else is kinda drifting along. Tired as hell right now due to having a long day. But at least the house is clean.

Swaddling blankets are the shiz-it.

2009-07-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

I was gung ho to use the standard square blanket for swaddling Colin. Shannon found some custom shaped pieces of fabric with velcro. Those things keep Colin locked up in blanket goodness. Although I do feel bad since they kinda remind me of baby straight jackets. But it keeps him feeling all warm and secure so I can't complain much.

Had the first Dr's appt today. All is well, except that we need to continue waiting for the fluid to go down in his penis area before we can get him circumsized. Was nice to hear the Dr reaffirm that it was ok to let Colin cry for a few moments before rushing to pick him up. Might make night times better. We shall see.

Found a couple of websites that sell snarky baby onesies. Need to find a few to buy that express the inner geek in him that I will draw out of him as he gets older. Speaking of inner geek. Time to try out the ability to include an image within the post.

[caption id="attachment_77" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Holding him one armed while he just quietly stared at everyone."][/caption]

Day 2 at home.

2009-07-30T17:59:00.000-05:00

Not as good a day as yesterday. Colin has started to demand to be held all the time. Yesterday it was feed him and hold him till he goes to sleep. Once he went to sleep we could put him in the bassinet for an hour or so. Now we don't get that. Not sure if it is the sound of heartbeats, temperature of our bodies or the angle he is held at that makes the difference. Going to play with the AC tonight and his clothing to see if raising the ambient temperature for him does the trick.

First day home.

2009-07-29T18:29:00.000-05:00

After a very tiring day at the hospital we finally got discharged. Only real long term issue is now the tailbone thing. Nurse wasn't too technical with us but there is a clump of nerves/blood vessels/tendons/pulleys/etc etc.. at the base of the spine. They saw something a little goofy when checking him out and want to schedule an MRI at a later date to make sure it isn't serious. If there is something wrong a quick procedure can fix it. If it doesn't get fixed then it'll hurt his posture and mobility a little bit when he gets older and starts to move around. Considering how calmly that was relayed to us it sounds pretty straightforward. But it may be nothing so no worries yet.

On the home front side, it is taking some effort to make Shannon realize that when it is my turn to deal with Colin she needs to focus on resting up and not hovering. Not sure if that is nervousness or just plain fear that my having testicles means I am going to mess things up. Going to give her a chance to calm down about it before I start really calling her on it. The three hour feeding schedule is going to suck but I think once we find our rhythm we should be alright. I say this after Colin just woke up screaming since halfway through his sleep cycle he had a massive dirty diaper. Need to figure out a way to encourage him to take care of that when he is awake.

Paperwork side of things is going along ok. Figured out how to get him added to Shannon's insurance eventually so when it is time we can hit the ground running about that one. Next up is trying to get a college fund started. That is going to be a pain in the ass since all the documentation reads like a car manual. In theory it is straight forward but they can't just say "Give us money for 18 years and we'll give you 4 yours of college." with out making it into a 4 page disclaimer.

Had a scary call from b-mom this morning. She is resting up from the cesarian and had some tearing and leakage. At first I panicked and didn't realize it was a little tearing and not a full blown tear. My inner vision in my mind was that she was having her "stuff" poking out of the wound. (Stuff being the non-medical term for her bits since I have no idea what a cesarian really is beyond that it is an alternate way to get a kid out of a uterus.) Was so glad to hear that it wasn't as bad as I thought but it goes to show how I need to think before I react.

It is kinda odd to figure out what our relationship is going to be with b-mom and b-dad now. You have everyone else telling you their opinion on how we should interact. We need to make sure to tune those external people out and only listen to the 5 people involved. Myself, Shannon, B-mom, B-dad and eventually Colin. Anyone else's opinion needs to be ignored. I'll probably try and give them a call next week to see how they are doing. Hopefully there is no awkwardness or if there is it wears off quickly.

Java Certified

2009-06-28T19:20:00.000-05:00

Latest and greatest goal that I want to work towards is taking Sun's java certification tests. Ought to be fun.

Andy's Frozen Custard

2009-05-18T17:46:00.000-05:00

Took Shannon, my sister, godchild and myself to Andy's. Was kinda nice in that Saturday Evening Post kinda way. Wasn't meant to last though. Abigail had a busy day and decided she was ready to go back home right that instance. Never mind the 10 minutes of driving left.

Backyard

2009-05-17T16:48:00.000-05:00

So my big project these past two years has been building a patio and leveling the backyard. Both of these are to help keep the ground drier so that the dogs don't track in mud. FInally threw in the towel and decided to get a contractor to get me a bid on doing the project. I just can't seem to be able to finish it myself. Kinda annoyed that I need help in setting the railroad ties but they are just too heavy for me.

On the adoption front. 2 months or so until the big day. Getting really nervous. Will I always make the right decisions? Will I be a good dad? I can't be the first prospective parent to worry about these things. I just hope that I don't screw anything up. I figure minor mistakes are going to happen and are ok. I just don't want to make any big mistakes since mistakes in this situation will effect my son for the rest of his life. Gotta remember to teach him how to be a good man.

Man I am feeling introspective tonight. Usually takes a few beers to get that way but I haven't had a drop in a while. No big grand plan to not drink, just lost the taste for beer. Used to have a beer with dinner on occasion but now it ends up overpowering the flavor of the food. Oh well, at least I know I won't miss it if I do give up my six pack a month beer habit... I really have toned down since back in college.

Knocking the dust off a bit.

2009-03-30T18:04:00.000-05:00

Been almost 5 months since I last posted. Not much has changed. Including my weight. Got the creative urge though so I need to figure out how to channel it into this site. Stay tuned.

Something a little different.

2008-11-18T19:43:00.000-06:00

I have always been a fan about trying to understand our culture. How did America get to be "America" kinda stuff. One of the beliefs that I zeroed in on throughout my life is that our country is a country of individuals going through life on many paths that all somehow lead us to a similar experiences. We may not walk on the same path in the woods but we all walk through the woods if I can be allowed a weak metaphor.

So one of the things I feel strongly about is personal religious views. You can have whatever views you want, they can have theirs, I can have mine as long as we all agree to infringe or impact anyone else. To use another metaphor, you right to swing your fist ends when you touch me. And my views have shifted throughout my life. Catholic, methodist, baptist, buddhist, agnostic, atheist. Those have been the major religious dogmas I have at one point followed. I realize this so I do kinda take a less than serious approach to religion and strict devotion. So much of faith is built upon not knowing and having to take things on faith... (That is one of the least elegant ways to make that point and I should do better.) How dare I assume that something I believe be the one true answer.

So as with other times in my life I have felt the religious pendulum swing again in my life. I don't think it is a denominational swing but more of a participation swing. Trying to walk the walk. Being a better person based on my deeds and not just my thoughts. Feels good but also feels very awkward. At some point I'll either drift again or the newness will wear off and it'll be a habit. Part of this shift comes from the Emerging Church movement. That church life is more than slapping on some slacks and writing a check for the collection. That "Thou shall" is just as important as "Thou shall not" to follow.

I'll let this rattle around a bit more in my life and maybe this will be an interesting ride. Or maybe in six months from now I'll be contemplating a conversion to Judaism or Wicca.

Hiking

2008-09-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

Got done with me and Shannon's 2nd area hike. A bit more fun than making yet another lap around the neighborhood. But the pace is driving me nuts. 52 minutes to complete 3.5 km. It was pretty steep and hilly but good lord, my farts travel faster.

Been conscious of my eating habits this week.

2008-09-18T02:59:00.000-05:00

Man I eat a lot of junk. No easy way to excuse that. Good thing is that I am lazy so if I stock my house with better snacks I don't mind. Time to purge the house of stuff the inlaws left behind and fill it with fruits and shit.

Ouch...

2008-09-07T17:23:00.000-05:00

Ahem.... Let me begin my excuse.

2 week business trip.

1/2 big toenail removed on right foot.

Full big toenail removed on left foot.

In-laws evacuated to here and brought nothing but good tasting bad food for me.

Sheer laziness.

Now that I have that out of my system, time to move on and try again at losing weight. Man this sucks. Did go for a hike with Shannon in Hobbs State Park here in Arkansas. Need to get some shoes that have ankle support. Was a nice walk though.

Mmmmhhhh.... Kindle...

2008-07-24T17:58:00.000-05:00

Having to prepare for a multiweek business trip. Hotel I am going to be in has wireless for a fee and my company is too cheap to pay for it. So a good chunk of my free time will be spent no doing things on the internet. Thinking about getting a Kindle for reading. Either that or I'll be playing a hell of a lot of Song Summoner.

Took it slow.

2008-07-20T16:01:00.000-05:00

After my little pity party this morning, I went ahead and made up my mind that I was going to do 5km today. Didn't matter if I did it slow or in multiple parts, I was going to do it. Thankfully my toe didn't force me to renege on that promise to myself. Was able to do it in a simple stroll. Was muggy and hot as hell outside but was also a beautiful evening. So at least I got something to show for myself today. Tomorrow is probably going to be a lift weights or dig in the backyard day. @#$@ patio isn't going like it should.

Uggh... Need to find something new to do.

2008-07-20T05:42:00.000-05:00

Need to find some sort of hobby to take up my spare time. Bored me isn't a good me. It is too hot outside and I am too lazy for most of the outdoor activities. (Never mind the foot issue.) Might go buy one of those mini-ITX boards and try and build a computer in to some weird case mod. Either that or learn to write an app for my Blackberry. Nothing spectacular just something to do. It's either that or go back to vegging out in front of the TV and that has paid off in pounds.

I don't get it. Last year I did the same damn thing as what I am doing now and was able to drop 30 pounds. I was hoping to be able to do that on and off over the next couple of years and make long term progress. But right now I can't seem to get any headway. Between my shins, ankle and feet versus work sucking, I don't know which to try and blame. (Of course I read that last sentence and think to myself that all of those have me in common so what should I REALLY blame.) With Shannon gone for a week I am going to focus on getting some stuff straight. Maybe without the distraction I can figure out what is different now versus then.

The only good thing I can say is that we have the money squared away for the adoption now. Shannon and I can't agree on when to start the process though. I want a few more attempts at IUI's and she is ready to throw in the towel. I think the happy middle ground is going to be one more attempt and if it doesn't work we start the process but continue doing IUI's as well. Just feels like we are giving up a little.

Podiatrists rock.

2008-07-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

Went to a podiatrists to get a check up on my feet. Besides having shin splints, I also have some pretty fugly toe nails. He went ahead and took care of one nail permanently. Said that it could have been a contributing factor to my ankle and shin issues. Not the root of the issue but wasn't helping. I really should have done this so long ago. Going to suck for the next two weeks but it will be worth it.

I hang out with some funny assholes.

2008-07-08T08:05:00.000-05:00

Worked to hard on my chest and back. Sore as hell. Made the mistake of telling some friends. They decided to being as uproariously funny as they could. Good times but damn it was painful to laugh that much. Good times.

Lifting Weights

2008-07-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Since my shin splints need some time to heal I am going to start just lifting weights for a while. Kinda feels like a cop out since I am changing paths without actually making any headway with the first path.

New approach.

2008-06-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

GOing to try just walking. No attempts to jog. The goal is to get some mileage and but not speed. Just did a long-ish walk for me and it wasn't that bad. My shins don't hurt but I can tell they were pushed. Going to try this for a week or two and see how it pans out for weight loss.

Push to hard and it'll push back.

2008-06-24T16:25:00.000-05:00

So I started feeling guilty this week about being sick and haven't made progress losing weight. Decided to push myself really hard yesterday to make up for it. Now my damn ankle is swollen and my shins are on fire. I should have let myself recover more before trying to set things right again.

I think I am going to take some time off from limping and just lift weights. Wouldn't mind riding an exercise bike but I am afraid I'll break em.

Not feeling so well.

2008-06-20T17:56:00.000-05:00

Got a bit of a bug. Dizziness, fever, chills and disorientation. Lovely mix. Going to take it easy.

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

2008-06-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

Uhm... Big talk last night coming out of me about today. Lots of bravado and posturing. Which doesn't fare well when I let work get in my way. Did manage to run at lunch when I saw what kind of day it was going to be. Maybe tomorrow I'll get off in time for the 5k.

Note that I said "let" instead of some of the other word choices. I really should have just left work instead of trying to get ahead. Doesn't seem like anything I do to get ahead really gets me ahead. But it is a seductive siren's call. Stay a few minutes later, roll that DUS package out tonight instead of tomorrow. Reply to that email now instead of tomorrow.

Need to find a race.

2008-06-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

Decided to try and find a 5k for the fall. Something to train for. A goal if you will. Figure between now and then I'll be able to at least get my time down to something that isn't completely embarrassing.

http://arkansasrunner.com/calendar.htm

This site has a some ones that fit the bill. This one looks good. Although, if I remember correctly Batesville is a small town and it may not be the best of places to stretch into a weekend trip.

Especially considering the weight chart... Damn, I hope this all muscle gain as my body acclimates to exercise.

You could be swinging on a star...

2008-06-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

Caught a bit of the movie Hudson Hawk earlier and now I have that song stuck in my head. Meh... Guilty pleasure movie since it is so over the top with some of its jokes. So bad it is good.

Was set to go for a lunch time run today but had an unexpected doctor's appointment. Can't say that it would have taken much to dissuade me. Weather has been horrible. So to offset my laziness, I made sure to eat a salad for dinner. (As you can tell buy my weight graph, that isn't the dinner of choice.)

Weather is supposed to be real nice tomorrow. Right now my fastest 5k time is 56:17. A rather pitiful amount. Tomorrow I am going to try and better it. FIgure the worst that'll happen is that I'll rack up 5k. The best is that I lower my time and can use it to help keep me motivated. Either way I win, maybe.

Stress

2008-06-14T06:22:00.000-05:00

Not so good these past few days. Stress at work and at home has ended up being the excuse du'jour. New team, means new people to train up and new shit to fix. Starting to see the glimmer of easiness behind the tarnished surface. The home life has been in the shitter since last month's IUI didn't work and we got turned down by two banks for a loan to start the adoption process. Banker said I should have spent more time building up equity instead of paying off debt. Said our debt to income ratio was amazing but our lack of collateral was a deal killer. Can't blame them since they have there own jobs to do. Just pisses me off that I can remember me and Shannon consciously making the decision to pay down debt rather than build equity in the house. Picked the wrong one for this situation.

But that wasn't the kicker. I actually want to us to do a few more months of IUI and hold off on starting the adoption process. Turns out I don't get as much say as I assumed I should. Still working on that discussion. Still working through that one but it just feels shitty to give up with the only medical explanation being "Unexplained Infertility". What kinda bullshit diagnosis is that? Who decided that the "I don't know" excuse is allowed? You think there would have been announcement over the PA or some memo sent out. Would have been real handy back during calculus.

THe final straw is stumbling across this statute. But since my health insurance is through an HMO they don't have to offer this kind of coverage. So everything relating this has been out of pocket expenses, which leads back to the first paragraph about needing money and being unhappy with work. Merry fucking go round of stress and loathing.

So fuck feeling bad about not losing weight this week. Hell, I am just glad that I made it 6 miles this week.

Death to fast food!!! Oh wait. Does that include Buffalo Wings?

2008-06-08T15:58:00.000-05:00

Haven't even begun to try and improve my mileage or pace. Just glad to have been able to stick with a frequent schedule. One more week of just making sure to show up and then it'll be time to try increase the pace. I almost was tempted to wear the Nike+ stuff while cutting grass. Was curious about how much distance is it to cut my yard. But that would have screwed up my numbers and probably isn't as far as I think it would be.

Did have a setback yesterday though at Buffalo Wild Wings. Hot damn, I can't resist their Caribbean Jerk flavored wings. Might need to figure out a menu item that is better for me and yet can still have that sauce on it. It felt so bad but tasted so good to eat those wings with a pint of Boulevard Wheat. The only real lesson I took for that was that if I don't find a release, I'll end up pig-ing out.

No weight loss yet.

2008-06-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

I know I shouldn't be expecting miracles. Especially considering having a hiatus for a while. That and the nominal ramp up time it takes for your body to generate new muscle for what you are doing. But I would love to see the damn scale at least budge a bit. At least I get to notice the money I am saving by not going out to eat lunch. That is until the next thing breaks around here. Need to get back on track with setting up a ladder of CD's for an emergency fund. ING's good and all that but too tempting having the emergency fund so liquid.

Pleasurable soreness.

2008-06-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

Was able to push myself hard enough to actually have a good workout without overdoing it on my bad ankle. For once I knew my limits and when to stop... Need to transfer that experience to eating pizza.

So here I sit feeling physically tired but energetic and happy at feeling tired. Unfortunately, I have a Hebrew saying that comes to mind right now. This too shall pass. In the bad times it reminded me to take solace that things will eventually take a turn for the better. During the good times it reminded me that eventually things will suck. Damnable saying and its dual purpose. SO while I am stoked and all energetic about starting working out again I have to remember that it is the long haul that counts no the short term.

This week at work should be pretty good. Shareholders is going on so there is always a few good concerts to check out. Journey and All American Rejects should be pretty bad ass.

Time to get back on the horse again.

2008-06-01T18:44:00.000-05:00

Ankle's finally back into a walkable shape. So that means back to working out. Created a challenge to start off with. 61 km over 61 days. Slow and steady. Really wish there was a way to create a challenge where it was the number of workouts of XXX km long per week.

BTW. BBC America has some great programming. Check out You Are What You Eat. Good show. But does make it look a lot easier than it feels at times.

Today just outright sucks.

2008-05-28T17:21:00.000-05:00

Started off the day having to work on my day off... (Queue movie reference from Clerks.) Couple this with twisting the fuck out of my ankle. Now combine this with a healthy dose of emotional overeating. Viola you have my day summed up.

Holy fuck. Damn dog just jumped on my ankle while jumping in the bed. Time to pop an asprin or two and go to bed while whimpering...

Mmmmhhhh... Yogurt.

2008-05-26T16:57:00.000-05:00

While yogurt doesn't exactly replace a good frozen sherbet it can do in a pinch. Especially if it is locally produced yogurt that is fresh and creamy. Wanted to strangle Shannon when she pointed out I should go for the light yogurt. Dammit woman! I have already given up soft drinks. At least leave me my real dairy products. On some level I know she is right but it doesn't mean I like to hear it.

Next up is to get in to a reliable routine of 3-4 times a week. So far it looks like Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday is going to be my best shot.

Kick ass web host provider.

2008-05-26T05:45:00.000-05:00

I can't rave enough about how good A2 Hosting has been. Everything has gone smoothly during the transfer and they have really taken care of me. The one issue that required a phone call was due to my old DNS provider not toeing the line. They took the time to explain what happened and offered some advice on options.

Cheap price and great customer service.

Batter, batter, batter, SWING!!!

2008-05-21T18:09:00.000-05:00

On the eating and exercise front, things were alright today. Not good but not too bad. But did make it to an Arkansas Naturals game. Something different to do and it wasn't that bad. Probably make it a once a year kind of thing.

Did you play in the mud, Boudreaux? ... Holy Shit, don't bleed on the carpet!

2008-05-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

Worked out during lunch and stuck to my diet over the past few days. Having to start out really slow since I have a bit of a cold and I also don't want to stress my back out... That was supposed to be the sum total of what I had to say about my day.

Instead, I had a bit a crisis with my dog. Came home after work and went into the backyard to play fetch with Boudreaux and Solomon. Looked like Boudreaux had been playing in the mud since he brown clumps of stuff of his face... Nope it was blood. Don't know how but he gashed the shit out of his forehead, right above his eyebrow. Inch long cut right on the eyebrow ridge. Holy shit, did I freak out. And I still can't figure out how in the hell it happened. Both dogs were locked in the backyard. No weirdness between the two of them and Solomon does not have a penchant for disfiguring Boudreaux so I don't think it was Solomon. Right now the only guess I have is that Boudreaux got his head stuck under part of the fence. He does do that but it is a big leap to go from watching him do that once or twice to ripping an eyebrow up.

print("Hello World\n");

2008-05-19T00:04:00.000-05:00

So I have decided to renew my effort to blogging... I look forward to putting content out there for future interviewers to look at while doing a background research on me. (You laugh but that is what we looked at for one of our recent new hires. His hobbies showed a technical curiosity that helped tip things in his favor.)

BTW. Most of my posts are going to weight related since the underlying motivation is that when I blog about weight loss I actually lose weight. Something about not wanting to let down some mythical audience who reads my blog. On your right you will see two widgets that will be helpful. The first will be a line graph tracking my weight loss. The second will be an aggregation of my Nike+ info.