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Sunday, May 30, 2004
Well yesterday was a day that would have been considered a bust by most, but optimism reigned supreme and good fortune won out. We had scheduled a little get-together-cookout-thing at Pennie's with Tatiana and Carlos. We were going to play some games, eat some food and laugh a lot. Well, I got a hairbrained idea to change to the plan and go to the Miller Outdoor Theater to take in a musical tribute to the 50's & 60's so we made arrangements to change everything. It was all set to happen when Pennie's son, Zach found out he needed a ride home from work which would fall right in the big middle of the show so Pennie had to opt out. We cancelled the whole thing (and probably ensured that Tati & Carlos were convinced we were just nuts.) Well, we then decided that since Pennie was stuck at the house - we would just go back to the old plan and head to her house. It was too short of notice to get the Escamilla's to change their plans again so I brought my Magic cards and we were set to just spend the evening playing games.
Pennie mentioned that she had picked up some of those low-to-the-ground lawn chairs for the show at the Miller and while testing them out on her driveway, inspiration struck. We decided to go check out some parks in the Woodlands area. We were first amazed at the sheer number of parks and then were further amazed at how TINY they are... While driving we came upon the Marsh Experience (a small park built on a marsh.) We opted to check it out and were pleasantly surprised.
Here Pennie gets the "Good Eye Award" by spotting this tree frog.
This cool turtle was obviously looking for food, but we were unprepared and just watched him swim.
We then found Lake Woodlands and were rewarded with a very nice evening of the wind coming across the lake, ducks swimming about, boaters paddling by, and a ton of people watching. It was very cool and was the inspiration behind our plans for tomorrow. Tony and Allison are coming up and we are going back to the lake to do some cooking and hopefully, boating. (If I can borrow the canoe I sold Scott.)
Added photo to blog dated 05-29-04 snail shots
Added photo to blog dated 05-20-04 photo work for the Comets
Added photo to blog dated 04-17-04 camerawork in Laredo
Added photo to blog dated 04-16-04 flowering cactus on the way to Laredo
Saturday, May 29, 2004
With what appears to be a late spring bloom , Turtle World is awash with new life. The gathering of the toads took place again this year with the same results - hundreds of thousands of tadpoles. In addition, we have a huge crop of snails this year. Pennie noticed a little tiny pebble with three tiny snails perched just above the waterline saying, "Are those snails?" Upon further inspection, they were indeed baby snails. We were amazed to discover hundreds of the tiny snails under rocks, under leaves and all over in the stream area of the pond.
I developed an ingenious method of transfering them from their birthing area in the stream into the pond itself, after I noticed they were especially fond of clinging to the underside of leaves laying on the rocks. I took several leaves and clippings of reeds from the lemon grass and laid them in the pebble stream. A couple hours later, I was happy to see them covered with the snails as they made their way to the shade. I then take the leaf and place it on a rock in the main pond. Within a few minutes, they slide off the leaf back into the water and the leaf is availble to put back in the stream. I have done this transfer on about forty leaves so far and am putting major numbers in the pond where they are needed more.
I will try to take some pictures when I have some time. (UPDATE - Here they are)
Pennie and I went to see The Day After Tomorrow and I am thinking it should have been called The Day I Wasted My Money on a Movie. I was really looking forward to it because I have always loved disaster films and figured with the kind of storm promised here would be awesome with the advances in computer graphics. The disaster segments were very cool - but the disaster part of the movie was tiny. When you see the preview, you have actually seen almost every second of disaster from the film.
The film took a very good book, The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and totally destroyed it. The script was horrible, the acting was deplorable and the politics were disgusting. We are talking a Vice President that looks like Cheney's twin and a President that was clueless. The diabolical evil Republican duo ignore warnings of global warming causing a change in the earth's atmosphere and are thus the cause of the next ice age. Hollywood filled nearly every second of the film with some ultra-liberal slam. The problem with all these "I told you the liberals were right" scenarios is that they had to totally throw science out the window to make it happen.
Stupid backstories thrown in as if an intern in a meeting somewhere said, "Hey shouldn't there be a back story?," the crappiest computer-generated wolves, the most dumb-downed script I have seen in years, the total lack of any basis in reality, and the outright evil condemnation of anything remotely right of waaaaaay left, make this movie a must-miss.
RATING 4 out of 10
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Here are the totals for the day: (goal)
Total Calories: 1,530(<2,200)
% Fat: 20%(25-35%)
% Carbohydrates: 49% (45-55%)
% Protein: 31% (15-25%)
Weekly Aerobic points: 3.4 (11.5/wk)
Got the calories back down... I really should have had more, but I wasn't hungry. (Anyway, I was a little over a couple days there so it all should even out.) The fat contest was a little low too, but that has been over for a few days as well. Carbs were right on and protein continues to run a bit high.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Matrix: Revolutions should have been called Lametrix: Revulsion... while it was not as stinky as the second installment of the Matrix trilogy, it was still rather stupid. They toned down the "deep thought" and focused more on shooting large chunks out of pillars, flipping around on wires while shooting, and of course, we cannot forget the 40 minute superman fight scene between Neo and Agent Smith. I have never felt like falling asleep during a fight scene before, but this one was the height of tedium. This movie is so bad, it is not worth wasting any more time typing.
RATING 4 out of 10
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Here are the totals for the day: (goal)
Total Calories: 2,123(<2,200)
% Fat: 33%(25-35%)
% Carbohydrates: 39% (45-55%)
% Protein: 28% (15-25%)
Weekly Aerobic points: 3.4 (11.5/wk)
Wow, I just weighed myself - I've lost ten pounds in the just over two weeks since starting this new health-conscious eating. It is a little faster than I had intended. I have to make sure I don't do it too fast so that I don't get tempted to binge, but I really don't feel like I have been deprived of anything. I am actually working to make sure I eat enough during the day lately. Healthy food is actually more filling than junk food. It's funny because when I eat the junk, it tends to make me feel stuffed right after eating it, but hungry quicker than good food.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Here are the totals for the day: (goal)
Total Calories: 2,340(<2,200)
% Fat: 28%(25-35%)
% Carbohydrates: 52% (45-55%)
% Protein: 20% (15-25%)
Weekly Aerobic points: 0 (11.5/wk)
My shortage of calories has caught up with me and I ate more than I intended today. (Still under my limits - but not at my goal.) The percentages are right on what they should be however. My luxury for the day was my first Dr. Pepper in weeks. It tasted great while I was drinking it, but I felt jittery about an hour later.
I recently completed the audiobook "The Brethen" by John Grisham. Rarely do I read or listen to fiction, but after "The Painted House" by Grisham, I figured I would give it another go. The book has an interesting enough premise, the characters are developed well and the story moves along fine. The only problem I had with the whole thing was the ending. Rather than risk spoiling it for a potential reader, I will just say.. I was left with the feeling.. "That's it?" It was very anti-climactic. It may be because the version I listened to was abridged, but I can't imagine an abridgement that cuts off the big finish.
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 1,631
% Fat: 31%
% Carbohydrates: 38%
% Protein: 31%
Weekly Aerobic points: 0
Saturday, May 22, 2004
I watched The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. It was not as good as I was expecting. The lead character's sappy, "I have done bad things but I am good person" image is tired. There is nothing original about the character. This movie would have worked much better without the Tom Cruise character. Ken Watanabe could have pulled this off entirely by himself. The story of the last samurai fighting for what he believes is right in face of ever-advancing westernization is a very compelling story. The Cruise character is putting Hollywood formula storytelling into an otherwise decent story. The addition of the liberal killer just takes away from a visually beautiful film. Without Tom Cruise's character, this movie is an 8 or 9... with the character, it should have been renamed to "The Last Lame Movie Tom Cruise Made."
RATING 6 out of 10
I was excited when I heard that there was a sequel to Shrek in the works. Pennie and I saw Shrek 2 Friday and I have to say I was disappointed. The story was nothing new - it was pretty much a rehash of the first one with a little "Most Extreme Makeovers" added in. The first one was ripe with subtle sight gags that left me rolling. This one had many more of the visual spoofs but they were pretty lame - basically a bunch of product placement. Starbucks, Burger King, The Gap, E Entertainment Television, and many more spatter the screen in advance of what is expected to be one of the largest tie-in marketing campaigns in history. Shrek 2 is a case of milking an unexpectedly great movie for all it is worth.
The only thing new in the entire movie was the character Puss in Boots, played by Antonio Banderas and seemingly a spoof of himself in the role of Zorro. I also like Larry King in the role of the ugly stepsister waitress.
Fun to watch but it is a very poor imitation of the original and another score for the "sequels aren't as good as the originals" column.
RATING 6 out of 10
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 1,752
% Fat: 37%
% Carbohydrates: 37%
% Protein: 26%
Weekly Aerobic points: 6.2
Friday, May 21, 2004
I watched the documentary Lost in La Mancha. I have been wanting to see it for quite some time as it chronicles the attempt by Terry Gilliam to produce his adaptation of the Don Quixote story. When I heard it was being made, I could not wait. I have always loved the story of Don Quixote and sometimes feel a bit of the knight errant in my own goals and dreams. When I heard Johnny Depp was slated to play Sancho Panza, it added more fuel to the fire. Long story short - the film was never completed. This is the story of the production and the problems encountered. It was an excellent look at the nuts and bolts of filmmaking from a production standpoint. It is sad to watch as a filmmaker because you can empathize with those crushed dreams. In its own way, it is the story of Don Quixote itself. To dream the impossible dream and to finally succumb to reality and die.
RATING 8 out of 10
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Well, I covered the Houston Comets tonight - it was pretty cool being on the floor with the players, coaches etc. even though they lost.
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 1,460
% Fat: 35%
% Carbohydrates: 28%
% Protein: 37%
Weekly Aerobic points: 6.2
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 2,295
% Fat: 36%
% Carbohydrates: 47%
% Protein: 19%
Weekly Aerobic points: 6.2
RANT TIME!Well, it is time to speak out about the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and related events. First off, I think the abuse is unwarranted and wrong. I do not however agree with our media coverage and condemnation of our entire military effort because of it. I understand that our soldiers have been fighting and dying against many of these prisoners. I understand that when a friend of yours is killed by an enemy combatant, it is likely that you would feel moved to smack around or humiliate a prisoner that you might feel at least partly responsible. I also understand that the immense pressure to show results caused by our media's constant criticism of our involvement might make the higher ups request more pressure to be put on prisoners during interrogation.
That being said. It is wrong to take the action that was purportedly taken by our military against these prisoners. Our country was founded on a Constitution that guarantees basic human rights. Not just American rights. These soldiers should be court martialed, dishonorably discharged and punished according to the law, but I would remind the military detractors that if these same incidents occurred during a college hazing ritual, the punishments would not be nearly as strict.
I place the blame for the beheading of Nicholas Berg firmly on the media. Their constant coverage of the prisoner abuse scandal resulted in that horrible act. Judge for yourself - in the last few weeks, how much coverage have you seen of the Abu Ghraib prison incident versus what should be a call for outrage in the video of Nicholas Berg. If there was any doubt that the media has a liberal bias, this should be it. We are talking DEAD, as in HEAD OFF - and they are covering humiliated naked prisoners. There is no comparison of what is the greater evil - and what is the greater human rights abuse. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS you name it - they have the blood of Nicholas Berg on their hands.
Go to CNN's website - you can see the pictures of the prison scandal plastered all over on the FREE content portion. To see ANY of the Nicholas Berg tape, you have to be a PAYING member. They are clearly biased and covering what furthers their agenda.
Again, both incidents are wrong, but don't be misled by the lopsided coverage of CNN. They are furthering the aims of radical fundamentalist Muslims - not reporting the news.
I think the restriction in calories has affected my sleep. It is not that I am sleeping poorly or anything like that - I am sleeping much more soundly than I ever have. We are talking waking up in drool haha. My theory is that with less calories, the body shuts things down more. That could explain why Brian sleeps so long and so deeply.
Also, I have started a side gig for the Herald-Coaster newspaper in Richmond/Rosenberg. I will be covering both the Texas Marauders of the Total Impact Football League (semi-pro)and the WNBA Houston Comets. The Comets' first game is Thursday night which should be awesome. They are playing the San Antonio Silver Stars (formerly the Utah Starz).
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
I decided to quit being lazy and go back to the exercise program I adopted when I discovered my high cholesterol in college. I was working as an intern at the Cardiac Rehab Center when I tested out at 279. I was a rather odd case in that I had very high cholesterol but I had extremely high HDL (good) levels and when I was given a MAX VO2 test, I came in at around 65 which is the same level as elite cyclists (which are the most fit athletes.) I took Dr. Kenneth Cooper's aerobic points system and vowed to lower my cholesterol. (Incidentally, it was Cooper who first coined the term 'aerobic') I worked at it mainly through cycling and the result in a couple months was a 202 level.
Here is the plan. (I realize that these points will mean nothing to many of you, but I am posting them mainly so that I can have them handy when I need them.) If you are at all interested in getting into shape, I recommend checking out any of the books by Dr. Cooper and getting after it.
Week | Distance | Time | Freq/Wk | Points/Wk |
1 | 4.0 | 20:00 | 3 | 10.0 |
2 | 4.0 | 18:00 | 3 | 11.5 |
3 | 5.0 | 24:00 | 4 | 19.0 |
4 | 5.0 | 22:00 | 4 | 21.3 |
5 | 5.0 | 20:00 | 4 | 24.0 |
6 | 6.0 | 26:00 | 4 | 27.2 |
7 | 6.0 | 24:00 | 4 | 30.0 |
8 | 7.0 | 30:00 | 4 | 33.2 |
9 | 7.0 | 28:00 | 4 | 36.0 |
10 | 7.0 | 27:55 | 4 | 36.1 |
I will post my week-to-date Aerobic Points totals instead of minutes of exercise.
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 1,936
% Fat: 26%
% Carbohydrates: 36%
% Protein: 38%
Weekly Aerobic points: 4
Tonight I made a great baked garlic chicken breast. It was a really tasty and healthy recipe. I made three slits in the top of the chicken breasts and laid in slivers of fresh garlic. I seasoned it with red and black pepper and baked it together with some red potatoes sliced thinly and seasoned the same. It was darn good. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some fat free cheese melted over the top after it was about half done. Some swiss would have been excellent. I will have to look for that - certainly they make fat free cheese.
Monday, May 17, 2004
I missed a couple days of entering my data as things have been really busy. Pennie and I went to Victoria and watched a play with my mom. The play was Godspell. It was a decidedly updated version of the popular musical and despite a couple of weak singing performances, it entertained throughout. The guy that played JC had an excellent voice and seemed much more at ease in this role than in the last one I saw him in.
After the play, we went out to a late Mother's Day dinner at Furr's Cafeteria. We had a really good time. Mom's friend Colleen joined us and it was non-stop chuckles and good times.
Also, Tony V. came into town Friday really late and stayed through Sunday morning when we headed to Victoria.
Oh yeah and I think Wednesday or Thursday or something like that, Pennie and I went to a movie. I remember now - it was Friday before Tony came to town. We saw Van Helsing and I was pleasantly surprised. I wanted to see it just because of the special effects and the fact that it promised to reprise the classic movie monsters. Turns out the special effects were the least impressive thing about the film. Sure, the effects were there in every scene, but they did not dominate the film and served more to create the environment than to 'wow' you with digital wizardry. (Which is not to say there was no wizardry) Hugh Jackman did a really good job with the main character. Kate Beckinsale is starting to make a habit of these monster movies.
The coolest of the movie monsters
RATING 8 out of 10
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 1,782
% Fat: 41%
% Carbohydrates: 46%
% Protein: 13%
Minutes of exercise: 0
The fat is high again, but I am doing good on the total calories still so I will continue to drop weight.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 1,805
% Fat: 41%
% Carbohydrates: 31%
% Protein: 29%
Minutes of exercise: 0
I watched the DVD of the PBS series Globe Trekkers: Destination Northern Australia. I guess I have another destination to add to my list of places to see. I as telling Pennie the other day that I am going to have to live to be about 395 in order to see and do everything I have planned. (Hence the major focus on eating healthy lately.)
If I don't stop finding more cool things - I just might run out of years before I run out of adventures...
RATING 7 out of 10
I watched Black Hawk Down again for the first time since it came out. It is an excellent look at modern warfare and the unconventional situations our military is consistantly face with. I was surprised to see how many people were in the film that are big stars now. The most pleasant surprise was Eric Bana (The Hulk.) I see that he is also in Troy which opens today. He is really good at his craft.
RATING 8 out of 10
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 2,200
% Fat: 24%
% Carbohydrates: 58%
% Protein: 18%
Minutes of exercise: 0
I watched the DVD of the PBS series Globe Trekkers: Destination Greece. The series is a very cool way to preview areas of the world that you would like to explore in person. The style is shot like I intend to do with RVing. Basically, they just follow a person around as they discover hidden treasures and well-known landmarks. Each DVD covers a different destination and encompasses things like where to stay, how much things cost, options for transportation, and things to do. Very cool series. I have seen only the Greece one so far and now I want to go to Greece.
RATING 7 out of 10
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 2,381
% Fat: 39%
% Carbohydrates: 42%
% Protein: 19%
Minutes of exercise: 0
I wasn't off too far today, overall the trend is improving. I was a bit lopsided until I had a big ol' apple to end the day. Now I see why "an apple a day..." It really helped the numbers. I actually had green beans, a banana and an apple all in the same day - Pops is spinning in his grave.
I saw the movie The Fighting Kentuckian with John Wayne. I have been on an old movie kick and John Wayne is "old dude" of the moment. I thought it was a cute film. The acting by Wayne was very good. Oliver Hardy of Laurel & Hardy fame played his comic-relief sidekick. It is a romantic tale about the good guy getting the girl and setting things right with the local bad guys - so obviously, I liked it.
RATING 7 out of 10
I saw the DVD Three Mo' Tenors. It was originally broadcast on PBS spanning four hundred years of music, three languages and seven different musical styles. It was entertaining, and utterly watchable throughout although the wide range of music felt jarring at time as you settle into a mood and are jolted into another.
RATING 7 out of 10
I also watched the movie Solaris. I like Steven Soderbergh and have been meaning to watch this one. George Clooney did a good job with the material, but the film falls a little flat. It tries to be too deep, too cerebral but does little to make you want to stay awake and see the resolution. Clooney's talents are for the most part wasted as he deadpans the entire film - he is just not as believable nor fun to watch as a deep thinker as he is when he portrays the mischeivous smart ass type.
RATING 5 out of 10
The more I research nutrition, the more I discover that it is really a very young and inexact science. We all know that fat has 9 calories per gram and carbs and protein each have 4 calories per gram, right? (Okay, well some of us knew that - haha) Turns out... there are two problems with calculating your percentages - the food industry is allowed to round DOWN on things like fat. Nice, huh? They can round down to the nearest half gram. Also, to further complicate things, carbohydrates really has closer to 3.6 calories per gram and protein is closer to 4.2 - again, rounding is skewing the numbers.
Sure, it only means a few calories when you look at an apple. When you view a 2,000+ calorie day however, these numbers can cause hundreds of calories to go missing from the equation. Okay, that doesn't mean we are eating more calories than we think, because the total calories are pretty darn accurate. What is means is that the percentages calculated are on a smaller total amount. In the end though - the percentages hold up pretty true even though there are missing calories.
Long story short - I have again modified the formulas in my spreadsheet so now I feel as confident as possible that the numbers I will be posting are the most accurate available.
About now you are thinking, "Geez, I thought this nutrition kick would be over by now and he would be back to posting pictures, reviewing movies, and telling funny stories..." Have no fear - those will return right now - but the nutrition thing is determining whether I die of complications from atherosclerosis or stay around a few more decades. I have a lot of writing to do, so I guess I will keep the nutrition stuff around. (I'll try to keep it out of the way of your reading. :)
See, I am already back to reviewing film. I watched Barton Fink by the Coen brothers. It was one of their earlier films that I never saw. The comedy was definitely up to par for them and John Turturro was excellent as always. If ever there was a perfect "everyman oddball" character, Turturro is it. It was funny to see John Goodman playing almost the same character (with a twisted difference) as he did in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Overall, it was decent, but they have done better work. OBWAT is a case in point.
RATING 7 out of 10
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Here are the totals for the day:
Total Calories: 2,069
% Carbohydrates: 60%
% Fat: 24%
% Protein: 15%
Minutes of exercise: 0
I kinda blew it on the fat again today... but the trend is in the right direction because I am eating a heck of a lot healthier than I have been previously. I am still staying right around or under 2,000 calaries a day too which means that I am losing about 700 calories a day in weight. (This adds up to just over a pound in a week.)
UPDATE - I found and error in my Excel spreadsheet and as you can see from the numbers, it is vastly different than what I had posted earlier. (Unless you didn't see if before it changed - it was at like 49% fat...
Okay, I am adapting my health plan or I should say my diet regimen a little bit.
For the record, I need roughly 2,700 calories a day to continue to at my present weight so I will be shooting for totals under that each day.
I am going to track things a little differently. I am going to also shoot for the following breakdown in my calorie distribution:
Carbohydrates 45-55%
Fat 25-35%
Protein 15-25%
Minutes of exercise 30-60
I know this is going to flip out the anti-carb camp, but it has a sound basis in science, unlike some diet plans that are out there. I intend to try to make those carbs score well on the glycemic index. I.e. those that take longer to breakdown.
I will now only be posting:
Total Calories:
% Carbohydrates:
% Fat:
% Protein:
Minutes of exercise:
If I hit the target area the listing will be in GREEN, if I am over, it will be in RED and if I am under, it will be in BLUE
Need help tracking your own healthy eating? Well, first look at the labels - most everything made these days has good food values information on the label. In the case of things like fruits, vegetable and restaurant food however, you need a place to look things up sometimes. The site Calorie-Count.com is a great tool!
Monday, May 10, 2004
Here are the totals for Monday the 10th...
Total calories consumed 1,524 kcal
% of total calories from fat 42%
Total grams of carbohydrates 161 g
Minutes of exercise 20 min (yardwork)
I kinda fell off the wagon on eating healthy today as Brian brought me a tbone steak that my brother made for me. It was great but it had nearly 50% fat. Overall though the calories were low and the carbs were fine.
I watched the film High Noon last night for the first time. I have been a Gary Cooper fan since Pride of the Yankees (argueably the best movie ever... okay, I might be the only one argueing, but it is a good film.) The film was revolutionary in its day as the movie ran almost in real time, covering the final hour before the 'big showdown,' Cooper did fine a fine job.
RATING 7 out of 10
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Here are the totals for Sunday the 9th...
Total calories consumed 1,981 kcal
% of total calories from fat 18%
Total grams of carbohydrates 297 g
Minutes of exercise 30 min(back on the bicycle)
Today was quite a bit more in the calorie total as well as on the carbohydrate totals, but the fat content was pretty good. I baked some fish dinner which turned out pretty good, but I added some macaroni and cheese which really drove the carb total up.
I completed the book "Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential" by Richard Restak M.D. It is an interesting look at how to improve your brain power with exercise and memory techniques. Overall, the book had some good info, but had a lot of repitition.
I also just completed a 12hour audio version of the book "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis. It was an interesting look at the little-known stories behind our founding fathers. The detailed account of the duel between Hamilton and Burr is great. Throw away your history books and check this out if you have any interest in the full story.
I watched Bullitt with Steve McQueen as I have had some free time while laying on my back. It was a decent movie and actually pretty darn good for its day. It just doesn't hold up over time as audiences of today are a lot more sophisticated.
RATING 7 out of 10
I also watched Rooster Cogburn. I picked it up thinking it was True Grit, oh well. It is actually the sequel. The characters were pretty good, John Wayne was a little over-the-top in his attempts at humor, but it was good enough to watch all the way through.
RATING 7 out of 10
I also watched a very good series on DVD called A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Film. It was a three part series that covered American cinema from its inception through to when Martin Scorsese started making film. At the end, I had a huge list of films that I now want to see.
RATING 10 out of 10
Saturday, May 08, 2004
In my quest to return to optimum health, I went grocery shopping today. I bought carrots, lettuce, bananas, apples, and even corn. (Yeah - I can hardly believe it myself!) I also bought skinless chicken breasts and several varieties of fish. I am going to have to do a little online research on new recipes. I have decided that instead of my normal methods of cooking the meats (i.e. fried) I will rely more heavily on spices and less on grease and butter and the like. I bought a ton of new spices that I would like to try.
Here are the totals for Saturday the 8th...
Total calories consumed 1,365 kcal
% of total calories from fat 19%
Total grams of carbohydrates 148 g
Minutes of exercise 0 min(the back is still hurting pretty badly so exercise will have to wait)
I had a USANA Nutrimeal Strawberry shake for lunch with a banana and 1/2 cup of Sunny D - it makes an excellent smoothie if you mix it with water and ice cubes and throw the whole thing in the blender. For dinner I had a very good meal of baked chicken breast and red potatos. I had one coke today which really throws the bad carbs category out of whack, but overall it was a darn healthy day of food intake and didn't feel at all like a sacrifice.
It is really just a matter of paying attention to the labels. I had some beef jerky as a snack because it is very low in fat, but it had almost as many calories as two chicken breasts... not a terrible food; it just needs to be included in moderation.
Another nice thing is that although the total is a very low calorie day, I still felt pretty darn stuffed after dinner.
WELCOME to the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my blog!
This whole prescription thing is a bit of a mystery to me... having never filled a prescription before in my life, I was a little unprepared in terms of how it is done. I went to Wal-Mart with my prescription and figured easy-cheesy and I would be out with my stuff. Not so fast. Turns out at first they couldn't get my prescription company to admit I was even on the plan and then after finally getting it right, they instructed the pharmacist that I had a mail-order only benefit. I took the prescriptions and went home. I got online and looked up my mail order site and found out that this so-called "benefit" is not that at all... I get a discount by ordering online, but not much of one.
I guess it is no big deal because I really wasn't going to take the pain medicine anyway and the muscle-relaxers only if my back started hurting really badly.
While on the subject of health, I will segway into my new goal for my blog. I am going to list the following information each day in an effort to make myself publicly accountable for correcting some health issues:
Total calories consumed
% of total calories from fat
Total grams of carbohydrates
Minutes of exercise
It is a start, my goal is to keep my % of total calories from fat down to under 35% or so. There will be days when I blow it, but if I keep a chart... (hey maybe I should keep a chart like I do in bicycling) it will keep me on good behavior.
Friday, May 07, 2004
Well more news from the doctor... not too good I am afraid. They called back with my blood test results. It turns out that everything is normal and fine except (and its a big 'except') my cholesterol. Turns out my level is a whopping 305!! Yeah, that was three HUNDRED! My doctor wants to put me on Lipitor, but being adamantly anti-drug, I asked if I could try an alternative treatment method. I asked him to give me two months to try it my way and then re-test me. He said he did not like the idea, but that he would go along with trying it.
I am going to attack the cause of the problem rather than treat or coverup the symptoms. I will do what I can to eat better and get more exercise. I have always responded rather quickly to exercise and would prefer to correct the lifestyle rather than just become hooked on the cure. Sure, Lipitor is non-addictive, but eating with abandon and then taking a "magic pill" to fix it certainly could be.
I will use the blog as a way to make my progress public. I find I respond better when I make my goals public as was evident from the Hotter N' Hell Hundred. I planned on doing it for several years, but finally accomplished it after making it as public as possible.
Well, I went to the doctor yesterday for a physical. The physical was prompted by the back pain I have been experiencing. After a pretty thorough workup, I have been diagnosed with a bulging disc. I have since done some research of my own and discovered that bulging disc, slipped disc, herniated disc, etc. are terms that are used interchangeable, but mean the same thing. So what is a bulging disc?
The disc is a circle of cartilage between each vertebra in the spine that acts as both a shock absorber and a shock distributor. If you jump up and down, imagine what would happen to the stack of bony vertebra that make up the spine without the cushioning of the discs. Move your back side to side. Again, you can visualize the give and take of the discs between the vertebrae. Without discs, the spine simply could not function.
Discs don't really "slip". Instead, they bulge, herniate, or rupture. Saying a disc has "slipped" does suggest that something has "slipped out" and is not where it's supposed to be, which is what happens in disc injuries.
Discs are made up of concentric circles or rings of fibrous material with a tough gelatinous center. When cracks or fissures occur in the fibrous rings, the gelatinous material in the center can begin to push out. A number of different factors may cause the disc to "slip".
Probably chief among the reasons in my case is being overweight. Lack of a firm abdomen and core puts extra stress on the spine. In addition, another of the most frequent causes is poor posture when sitting - I do a ton of sitting hunched over my computer... (as I am doing each time I blog.) The solutions however are for the most part in my control.
While surgery is an option in extreme cases, many symptoms are relieved through a regimen of weight loss, exercise, stretching, and improved posture. I think I can handle those...
Sunday, May 02, 2004
What a day! Talk about experiences vs. objects... this day was all about experiences. Saturday was torrential thunderstorms which put a damper on any plans for the day, but Sunday was storybook weather with a storybook adventure.
Pennie & I loaded the bikes into the truck and headed downtown in the morning. We had an inkling of a plan for the day - simply, to check out the changes being made to the downtown tourist areas on bicycle and have an adventure. It turned out better than we could have imagined. And if you take away the costs of food (which we would have had not matter where we were) we spent a grand total of FOUR DOLLARS!
We rode around downtown and I have to say the changes to the landscape there are impressive. Just a few years ago, downtown Houston was scary in the middle of the day - now it was clean, full of activity and extremely attractive. We rode our bike up to the University of Houston, Downtown Campus which is the northernmost point of of the light rail system. I have to say that I was a big opponent of this rail system because of the way it was marketed to the public. It was sold as a way to decrease traffic congestion, but was designed without commuters needs at all. I see now the plan behind the design. It was created 100% for tourism. The line makes a lot of sense when you look at it as further development of tourism in downtown Houston. And for that task, it is a 100% winner.
We got on the rail and were surprised that they let us bring our bikes with us. We had planned on locking them up at UH and touring on foot. This is where our "big" expense for the day came in... we bought two day passes on the rail system for $2 each. We got off at the Hermann Park exit to go cruise around the park... and it was here we discovered yet another amazing surprise.
First, we rode around the nice new trails surrounding the area and came upon a huge reflecting pool. It was a stunning jewel in a park landscape that I thought I knew completely. We recruited a very nice lady on a park bench to snap this picture. Did I tell you this was a great day?
Further into the park, to our amazement, we discovered the Japanese Gardens. We were shocked to learn that this hidden piece of paradise has been here OVER TWENTY YEARS!! Isn't that crazy? We seem to continually find hidden treasures within our own city. We met a really nice couple and they said they come to the gardens almost every day. It is odd to have been in this city for a decade and never known it was here. He took this picture of the two of us on one of the many little bridges spanning all the water features.
Amid all the oriental plants, shaded greenery and scenic pagoda seating, we came across this duck and her day old ducklings. Did I tell you this day was great?
We rode around Hermann Park and just had a great time. We met a couple of nice Basset hounds and humorously enough, spent all our time trying to get a picture of Maisy here who is camera shy and the one we took of her bud Kirby didn't turn out - haha. Look at those eyes! Did I tell you this was a great day?
After all the discovery overload, we hopped back on the rail and road to the medical center to find something to eat. We grabbed a couple quick sandwiches at Subway and continued our adventure. Deciding that we wanted to get back to downtown, we once again hopped aboard the rail and rode into the heart of the tourist area.
I had heard that the Comets were have an open-house practice and season kickoff event at the Toyota Center and they invited all the fans to come out for free, so we decided to swing by. After some great help from the officials there in finding a place to lock up the bikes, we headed into the Toyota Center to watch some basketball. I am big fan of women's basketball probably because while at SFA, our women were ranked #3 in the nation and always dominated. Dave & I never missed a Ladyjack homegame and thoroughly loved letting the refs hear it when something was called wrong on "our girls." I took that love of the women's game into being a fan of the Comets once the WNBA started... them winning the first four championships of the league's history has just added to my affection toward this more team-oriented version of Mr. Naismith's game. It was cool to watch them practice, as they did it in the form of a team scrimmage, complete with officials and scorekeeping etc.
At the half, the Houston Energy Dancers came out and did their shake-yo-booty thing and then started throwing T-shirts to the crowd. One came right near me and I brick-handed it as it bounced off into the row in front. I thought it was all over as you don't really get too many shots at those things when one plopped down right behind Pennie and I out-quicked the three other arms scrambling for it! Did I tell you this was a great day?
After the Comets finished doing their thing, we hopped back on the bikes and rode to the other side of downtown once again, this time to the Spaghetti Warehouse. I really love this restaurant and haven't been there since I worked at the YMCA downtown nearly 15 years ago. It was Pennie's first time and we had an absolutely great meal. Pennie was so impressed with the service and hustle of the staff, that she flagged down the manager to compliment her on everything and we each got coupons for a FREE MEAL on the next visit! Did I tell you this was a great day?
We rode back to the truck, loaded up the bikes and decided that we needed to top off the day with something sweet. We went to Cold Stone Creamery in the Rice Village area because we like the atmosphere that location. It is right next to the Baker's Street Pub and some other outdoor venues so we can sit outside, enjoy the weather, the music and people watch. A couple of excellent ice cream dishes was the perfect finishing touch to a .... well, you know - a great day!!
