Weekend Update

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 12.5% BF

Not bad, but then again I did a towpath ride last night -- therefore there might be a bit of "suppression" in that figure -- and I also skipped going out -- therefore no "inflation." That's why I'm posting today even thought it's the weekend, doing a bit of bragging. Also, if things go back up by Monday (yes, I'm going out tonight), I'll at least have this weight documented.

Good day today: Slept in until 9:00, coffee shop for breakfast, killer workout at the gym (no Dawn: she has pinkeye), errands and a haircut; now I'm going to pick up a prescription, then work on my bike for tomorrow's ride. After that...

RIP: strange day today in the NY Times obits. I saw Lou Rawls there, and also Hugh Thompson (helicopter pilot who stopped the My Lai Massacre), and Yao Wenyuan (last surviving member of the Gang of Four), and Barry Cowsill (played in a band that was the inspiration for "The Partridge Family;" his post-Katrina remains were finally identified). I couldn't help thinking that they all seemed connected, as if it were a snapshot of "this is where we are today."

Darknet, Tristero, Naptime

Morning weigh-in: 182#, 10% BF

Got home last night, ate dinner (baked stuffed tofu w/ saurkraut) then played with the computer for a bit. I felt kind of tired so I'd already decided I wasn't going to the gym or anything, but I must have been more tired than I thought, couldn't keep my eyes open so I took a nap. Got up around 9:00, played with computer some more (GnuPG, minor changes to my website), then went back to bed.

Back to the Tinfoil Hat: Turns out that there's a Mozilla/Thunderbird extension for PGP/GPG, think I'll install it but first I'll have to get the latest version of GnuPG. Meantime, I see that WASTE is still available out there...

The Long And Winding Road

Morning weigh-in: 182#, 5.5% BF

Looks like I've been backtracking on my path to weight loss. Not too worried; yesterday was sort of written off anyway & there was also a bit of "bounceback from the exercise-suppressed low weight" going on... Dinner was salad and hot wings (plus two Magic Hat #9's) at the WB; exercise was a two mile run -- the road bike had a flat, which I discovered just as I was about to ride. Since I did laundry and messed with the computer beforehand, it was getting too late to both fix the tire and do a ride -- and I didn't want to ride offroad in the recent muck, so I wasn't switching bikes -- I dropped back and punted with the running option, which has the added bonus of taking less time.

I still managed to arrive at Which Brew kind of late, maybe 9:00 -- that's not really late for me, but I caught Brian just as he was getting ready to leave. He stuck around for one more beer & a little BS while I ate my salad, then took off. I was out of there quickly myself, didn't stay too late after eating, and I was home by 10:30.

Linux Voyager: I've been playing with ssh and scp lately, and now I'm looking again at GnuPG. Something in the air is making me think a lot about security and encryption...

So Far So Good

Morning weigh-in: 180#, 13% BF

Not too bad, three pounds or so in two days... Probably it's mostly water: I hit the gym last night, did a pretty hard warmup & a very satisfying workout, lotsa sweating though I felt pretty hydrated afterward as well as overnight. Had some hummus & pita before I went, threw in some laundry, hit the drycleaner on the way to the gym (opposite direction actually, but you know what I mean), then came home afterwards and had a salad plus the tofu/rice/stir-fry leftovers. Breakfast this morning was the oatmeal granola, then I had my "Monday Night Football Pool $2.00 Donut" when I got in to work -- doh! Tonight'll be tough too, it's Mug Club Night, therefore dinner will be at Which Brew. Well, I plan on doing a road ride before dinner, so I'll at least burn off some guilt.

Week One, Day Two

Morning weigh-in: 182.5#, 15.5% BF (weighed after the shower, elec resistance may have been messed up)

Breakfast, yesterday & today, was oat granola (w/organic whole milk) & coffee. Lunch, yesterday & today, was broiled chicken & pepper jack cheese on a hard roll. Dinner last night was tofu & veggie stir-fry over rice; tonight'll probably be leftover vegetarian chili. There were a few extras on the menu yesterday though: a donut and two trips to the candy machine at work, and some pita & hummus last night. I'm working on it.

Still feeling kind of run down, but that low-level cold seems to be abating. I skipped working out yesterday, played with the computer instead -- looking through Unix Power Tools, one of my Christmas gifts, and fiddling with ssh and scp. I may upgrade my Super Dimension Fortress membership (from ARPA to MetaARPA) so I can use some of the more powerful stuff like rsync, as well as X- and port-forwarding. I have all these capabilities at home, but currently have no place I can connect to, to use them...

Tonight is the gym, plus the start of laundry for the week.

Right Back Where I Started From

Morning weigh-in: 183.5#, 12.5% BF (eighteen pounds to lose)

OK, back at work after 2 weeks off, it's like I never left...

Therefore, Be It Resolved

My resolution(s):

1. Similar to the one two years ago, I want to drop a pound a week until I hit 165 -- tomorrow's weigh-in should tell me how many weeks that'll supposedly take. That's more of a goal than a resolution I guess; my actual resolution is probably more like: eat healthier, eat less, eat at home, skip the pizza & beer, do what you're supposed to to lose weight.

2. I'm also planning to get back into running regularly, and my goal is to run a 5k sometime in the spring, and a 10k sometime in the fall. (I'll also be doing at least one of the "King of the Hill" duathlons at Round Valley.) My resolution, I suppose, is to use running as a cardio exercise, and to build up my speed and distance, ie to train as a runner.

3. Bike more, and train on the bike more, and race. I want to go for distance this year, and I want to win (or at least be the top guy among my friends/peers). I'll be doing the Wilderness 101 again, and will probably do 24 Hours of Allamuchy solo, and the Vermont 50-Miler, and All-A-Muchy -- a-and don't forget my 12th consecutive Michaux race.

Hopefully, I'll forget all about this in a week or so...

A New Page, A New Leaf

I'm back. Didn't see the fireworks: I wasn't as prepared as I thought & so left here late, and it was slow going throught the snow & mud. Heard them though... Turned around at Stefko Boulevard rather than going all the way to Sand Island, figured I didn't want to have to deal with the possibility of drunken revelers. Happy New Year!!