WUMF: November 2013 Edition

Novemburrrr is more like it.  Holy crap!

YouTube Update

It’s been hard to keep up with stuff, but I’ve been trying.   At the time of writing this, I have three series going and possibly revisiting a one off I did with Bailey months ago.

Of course, there is the main series, Mongo Smashes:  Minecraft.  Additionally, I am still navigating a Sim Mongo through Sims 3 and side scrolling through Limbo, an indie game.    While it’s been loads of fun playing these, I just don’t have talent big name Tubers have in attracting viewers.    Also, I don’t have the time.   Because I’m not just doing  a straight play through of a game, the recording process is hard.  I hate to waste recording of gameplay when I’m not “feeling it”   This is something I hope will change in the next few months with some bigger changes in the works.  

It’s also very hard to pull this off with a shoe string budget.   For any of you who have ever edited video with Windows Movie Maker, it’s a process.  I don’t whether my PC just doesn’t have the capacity to handle the demands of the application.  There are several starts and stops due to excessive processing going on in the background OR it’s just a crappy application that comes out of the box with Windows.   In any case, I can’t afford to get Vegas or some other top notch editing program.   

I’ve heavily relied on the editing process and music to really create a better quality product and frankly, I think I’ve done quite well in that aspect.   Yeah, the comedy is a bit dull and I have a harder time proactively “making the funny” vs. reacting to something but it’s getting better.  Really do check out my Sims vids for some hilarity.   The pre-outro jokes added some great moments to the videos.

Mongo Smashes: Sims 3 

 

Mongo Smashes: Minecraft

 

Mongo Smashes: Limbo

This one is finally finished.

Mongo Smashes: Skyblock 1.1

Lesser Man Project

I have a post in the hopper for my recent trip to Virginia and I’ll have you know, I was on the treadmill almost every night while staying in a hotel.   I recently cracked the minus side of 260 and took steps to help keep trending in that direction.   It’s going to be harder heading into bad weather and holidays. 

That being said, I’ve upped my game by walking a mile almost every weekday on a hill behind my work.  It’s about 0.2 of a mile long and I do the hill three times up and three times down.  It takes the full 20 minutes to complete the circuit back to my car, so I am not caving like I would some days just circling the parking lot.

My legs hurt but I have more energy than I used to which makes for a better quality of life.  I just need to avoid going nuts with the holiday food.

My Mood
In case you've been wondering and I'm pretty sure you haven't...  I'm fine.  The posts have had a somewhat reflective, emo quality to them and that's bad.   Sorry.

Maybe the weight loss is affecting my mood.  Maybe it's other things.  Some days it's hot and cold running meh.  Next year I might clue you all in but I don't know.  It's not cool.  Just know, I'm fine.  I'm healthy.   I've got two certified professionals who can attest to that, so no worries.

Steelers

Holy crap, we got a shot at the playoffs?  WTF?!?!?!
Obviously!

 

"Obviously" at Skreened

Lesser Man Project Reborn

A few years ago I embarked on a quest to lose a shit ton of weight.   I even put a little widget in the corner to track my progress.

Well, I failed. 

I failed because I became bored. I started right after Halloween and lost twenty pounds by December.  Then, Winter kicked in and I couldn’t get outside and the holidays came in and destroyed my attempts to not eat as much.   By October of 2012, not only had I gained those 20 pounds back, I also packed on another 15 and looked horrible.   Granted, I wouldn’t have looked great no matter how much I lost.

In any case, December of 2012, I came down with a severe case of bronchitis and my kid had the stomach flu, which made me not want to eat anyway.   So, I thought it would be a perfect time to start over.  I immediately lost 10 pounds just from being sick and avoiding food for fear of throwing it back up.

But, this time, I hit that plateau right where Spring kicked in and I could get outside.  Then, in July, I started feeling that complacency and the weight was started to trend back towards 275.   So, I kicked it back into gear and started walking in late August.  Now, I walk nearly every day at work, before lunch.  What started out as a few laps around our office building parking lot has increased on a steady basis with distance and speed.  I am still working on portion control and that has been the biggest part of my being able to not crash and binge heavily on food.  

  

Now, I’ll give you the proof.  I'm usually not one for putting my big ugly mug up on the Internet, but I thought it was important to give you a look at how much difference 33 lbs. can make you feel about the way you look.  It's enough to make you want MORE!

This is four separate shots, using roughly the same position to show where I was in October of 2012 (Upper Right) through roughly four month periods until this month, nearly a year later.  Starting weight was 295 lbs.  Currently, it is 262.

So, it’s still going to be a struggle and my target date has now shifted ahead to accommodate my ability to not lose focus.   That’s the one thing you have to remember.  Don’t lose too much, too quick, or you’ll think you’re done.   You need to slowly move towards a new life.  Patience.  Perseverance.  Positive Moves.  Never let anything stop you.  Use any and all obstacles as a driving force.  Turn negative energy and thoughts into fuel.   Keep Going.

WUMF: April 2013 Edition

You’re all expecting these to be at least a week now, right?  I know.  Bad blogger.  But, here it is, another WUMF.

Obligatory YouTube Update

So, we’re four months into this experiment and it’s been slow.   I’ve actually found it somewhat hard to record.  Sometimes I need to be in a talkative mood, or at least in a good mood.  I only get to record after 9pm and that’s usually when I start getting tired. 

That being said, I caved and started adding ads to my videos.  Now, to be fair, I’ve only added the ones that overlay the videos and don’t make you wait 30 seconds or more to start watching the actual content.    The reason why I did was that I ended up filling an entire terabyte hard drive in a short time and had to buy another three terabyte one to stave off space issues.  That now brings the total amount of money spent on equipment alone to nearly $300 if you count FRAPS.   Not to mention I bought three brand new games to do videos for.

I also started to see an uptick in a couple of my vids.   The funny thing was, they were crap.  I was trying to play Dead Island Riptide and the fps went to shit when I started recording.   The videos became more about how bad it was and was there a way to fix it.   Still nothing, but both have seen over 100 views.    Yeah, I know that’s still a crap number, but comparative to the rest of my work, that’s the highest view count, by at least three times, I’ve had on any video.   Because of that, I needed to monetize some, so I can start recouping my costs.  That is, after all why I am doing this.  I want to show people how you can do it and make money.

I’m still looking to post an update to all of this, explaining what I am doing, but I’ve found other things to do with my channel.  I have a couple of oddball vids that are either of a tutorial nature or just me having fun with the editing process.  Links below.

Random Bits: Atari Adventure

How To Record DOSBox With FRAPS

The Easter Bunny Is From Best Buy?

My daughter got a tablet for Easter.  She’s five and better at Candy Crush Saga than her mother.   How sad is that?   I was initially against her getting one because I did not want to foster that technology suck hole that has swallowed up so many over-privileged children, turning them into the asshats we’ve come to know and loathe in the world.   Still, she spent a lot of time playing Nick Jr. and Qubo games on her mother’s laptop that it became a bit annoying to have to share.

However, we do have limitations on it.  She isn’t allowed to just install apps without us helping, especially since there are free ones that are intended for 16-18+ age groups.   Also, if she gets a yellow light at Kindergarten, which is a warning, she does not get to use it that day.  And, if she gets one on Friday, that’s the whole weekend.   So, I can always tell how the day went if I walk in the door from work and she’s not on her tablet.

She’s also been running around making videos of the cats and commenting while she plays games.   Trying to be like Dad, I guess.

Mowmentum

Since December, I’ve lost 30 lbs.  That’s still a struggle as I bounce up and down the scale a few pounds.   It has gotten better.  In fact, I spent a lot of time outside in the yard and didn’t mind it as much as I normally do.   This past weekend, I mowed the entire yard, a feat that nearly induces a heart attack since I live on a hillside.   Last year, I would usually split grass cutting duties with my wife.  She would cut the top, flat area and I cut the hill.  However, she was at work and the yard was ragged.   The entire thing was growing faster than normal, so I bit the bullet and did it.   

I had to stop in between, primarily because we had a lot of downed limbs that I needed to cut up and toss.   So, in between the front and the back, I removed limbs.   In between the back and the hill, I sat and drank water.   Then, after every few rows, I had to keep dumping the bag.  

Now, I am usually not a big fan of bagging clippings but the first cut is always a high one and with the added moisture still in the air from April, it is better to clear the clippings instead of letting them stay in the yard to rot.  That mower is a beast, though.   It’s much easier with the standard, no bagger mower.   I just decided to keep on trucking and not stop and it was rewarding to look at a nicer, cleaner, yard.

Clever Girl

I’ve been trying to lose weight since Christmas.  28 pounds have come off since December and I notice the difference.  I haven’t done anything except eat better.   It’s not even that I have given up anything, I just don’t eat extra.  I’ve cut back on portions.  However, I may have hit that plateau where I need to step it up since I haven’t lost any weight in the last two weeks.

Naturally, the answer is exercise. 

If we can keep from being in a deep freeze out there, I’d like to get out and walk more.  My daughter always likes to go out and this is a good chance for us both to exercise and get some fresh air.   She’s more committed to the idea than I am, it seems.

Yesterday was a rather gloomy day, threatening with rain in the afternoon.  When I came home from work, she was being a bit rambunctious and wanted to go on our walk.   I was hesitant because the weather was not playing ball.  After insisting we go, I got tired of her getting herself into trouble otherwise and decided to just get outside with her to burn off some energy.

We started up the street and she wanted to go explore the neighborhood.  She doesn’t realize that, for as far away as you get from the house, you have that much ground to cover in getting back.   She wants to tackle the hills.  I want a nice easy walk and eventually work my way up to inclines.

“I want to go down the big hill.”  She says.

I reminded her, “Yeah, but then we have to come back up.” 

“Daddy, I have all this energy to burn off.  If we just go home, I will still have that energy.”

“So?”

“I’ll be bored.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Daddy, if I’m bored, it will be your problem.”

We went down the big hill.

Now, on our way back to the house, I took it as an opportunity to help her do some reading.  She’s five and has to get this stuff nailed before first grade.  She managed to figure out “OAK” as in street, WATCH CHILDREN, and SPEED LIMIT. 

I saw one for a Fire Department Fish Fry and figured she would be able to decipher FIRE and FISH pretty easily.

She sounded out the F, the I, and the R and eventually came up with FIRE, but FISH was a little harder.

“Ffff – I…”

“Ok, now the next two letters are?”

“S and H”

“And together they make a sound like?”

“…”

“Sh sound.  They make a Sh sound.”

“Sh…  Does this say Shit?”

There endeth the lesson.

WUMF: February 2013 Edition

I was sitting there last night, waiting for my latest Build It video to compress into .WMV and thought, “What the hell am I going to post on Friday?”   Then, I realized, “CRAP!  I missed a WUMF.”  Maybe it’s because February is so short.  Maybe, I’ve just got the dumb.

38 Special

I turned 38 years old this week and as always, Mother Nature gets me the same thing, a blizzard.  Seriously, my streak is like 25-13  Every year, on or within a few days proximity of my birthday, a snow event takes place.  The Blizzard of 93 was like five days after my birthday.

And this year was stupid.   That snowfall was ridiculously overplayed and gone within a couple of hours.  The temperature did more to treat the roads than the local crews in my area did.   My kid even had school cancelled that day.   I think a 2-hr. delay would have been a substantial head start for the trucks to take care of business.   

But, it didn’t matter.  My wife took me to Dino’s in Greensburg for some wings.  I haven’t had Dino’s wings in a long time.  Which… is unfortunate, because I’ve been trying to lose weight.  Still crushed 15 for the hell of it.

40 and a hole

Speaking of losing weight, I’m still hovering at 28 pounds lost since Christmas.  I did have to do an emergency tracheotomy on my belt with my awl, though.  I had to add another hole to the inside because my belt was so loose.  I even managed to reclaim a pair of size 40 jeans in the process.  They are a tad snug, but I’m working on that.  Now that the damn groundhog prognostication is over, the weather can actually get nice and I can get outside and walk some.

Modern Empire

The Minecraft server, where I had been playing and recording videos from, is kind of defunct.  Not really sure how or why.  I was on a few days ago and one of the guys told me it was shutting down.  It was pretty razed by the time I got there.  Someone came through with world edit and sponged a lot of stuff.  I never see any of the admins or mods or even the owners on anymore.  I got directed to a new server where I was given mod status and I can pretty much build at will.   I plan on doing that once I get settled into the Mongo Smash series which aired its first video last week.  

Mongo Smashes

Yep, I done did it.  I posted the first video of me just playing Minecraft, live without a net.  I managed to record about two hours worth of material which will be chopped up into probably six or seven videos to be posted over the next month and a half.    Once EA gets their shit together, I’d like to go get SimCity and try it out.  Hopefully, I can record it.  For now, here’s the first episode of Mongo Smashes Minecraft: The Bad Seed.

Come join the Angry at TheAngryCast

That’s your WUMF, only a week late. 

The Hungry Games

I’m fat. I know this. I do not have any delusions that I am who I am. I’m not trying to strut around in tight clothes unaware of the fact that I look like a sausage in casing. I have had a battle with weight most of my life and will probably continue to do so until I am either dead or diabetic. That doesn’t mean I have not tried to lose weight. I am pretty good at losing a few pounds here and there. Usually, I end up putting some back on but I wouldn’t consider myself in need of a Maury intervention and a crew to come cut me out of my house.

That being said, I scoff at the notion that there are people out there who are so obsessed with losing weight in order to fit into a bridal dress that they would voluntarily opt to have a nasal gastric feeding tube inserted instead of losing weight naturally.  The new fad costs around $1500 and allows the “patient” to get all the nutrition they need from their feeding tube under a doctor’s supervision.

Are people that nuts?

Feeding tubes are not sexy. They are not trendy. They are not a diet fad. They are a method for keeping people fed who cannot, or will not, ingest food any other way.

A friend of mine’s father just went into hospice for the end stages of intestinal cancer. He opted to remove his feeding tube and has decided to stop treatment. He is reconciling his fate. He did not have the luxury of using the feeding tube to lose weight. He had it because it was keeping him nourished because he couldn’t eat like everyone else. I’m sure he’d be willing to trade places with these self conscious, pretentious brides, and go out for a steak dinner, instead of sitting there waiting for his body to starve itself while hopped up on morphine.

I bet Terry Schiavo would have rather been out looking for a new dress instead of being trapped in a coma with a feeding tube while these idiots are running around counting the pounds they are losing thanks to this fad. 

Look, if you can't fit into your bridal dress, then you got the wrong size.  Plain and simple.   If you put on a few pounds due to stress or tasting all of the cookies and food for the reception, then you probably should go get on the treadmill.  This insanity where people don't actually have to do any of the work in order to lose the weight is the main problem we have.  Everybody's lazy.  I know I could lose 20 pounds just by changing my eating habits.  I'VE DONE IT.  If I wanted to lose more, I could do some more exercise, too.   But in order to get something out of it, you need to put some effort into it.  These idiots are cheating just to achieve a certain look for one day.  They are mocking the people who don't have that luxury; the ones who are stricken with disease or injury that cannot voluntarily choose to have or remove the feeding tube without suffering the consequences.

But hey, it’s a free country and people have every right to be assholes… just like me with my Twinkies.

BTW, tonight I’m going for a bacon cheese burger, cup of tortilla soup, and a warm chocolate cookie at Max & Erma’s. The only tube I’ll be using is the straw for my Diet Coke. Suck on that bridezillas.

WUMF: February 2012 Edition

Weight and See
A couple years back I made this commitment to losing some weight. And when I say some I mean 80 lbs. I managed to get 20 out of the way in a couple of months and then the Winter set in and the holidays and the sleepiness and… Yeah, I failed, miserably.

Not only did I gain that 20 lbs. back I added another ten last year. So, I got a shaming from my doctor and my pants screamed at me when I would put them on, “Why?!?!? Why do you try? You know it won’t end well! The button’s going to go and someone is going to lose an eye.”  Still, the holidays came and I was a bad, bad donkey to quote my favorite King Prawn.

But I saw a picture of me from 1996, when I was 177 lbs. Sickly, but svelte. I was suffering through a three month bout with walking pneumonia while working at Cedar Point and I weighed less than I did in high school. That made me a little sad. Then, I started to notice that my daughter was drawing all these pictures of her family and I took up most of the page. That made me really sad.

Now, it’s not that I have any grand schemes to be 177 lbs., but I do plan on hitting that 200 lb. goal. I think what will make it better is that I started this in the late Winter, so the chance for exercise will be better as the weather gets warmer.

Oscar Night 2012
I was sick over the weekend. I think more so because of the antibiotics I was taking. I remember being on something like them when I had that bout with walking pneumonia I mentioned above. I managed to watch an hour and a half before crashing for some much needed sleep to help with the sickness. I DVR’d them and plan on watching them, just because.

Yeah, I already know who won and that doesn’t bother me. I’ve gotten a little disenchanted with the Oscars, anymore. The rules regarding best picture is a little bit like the rules over hits in the NFL. Can we just stick to five? How about this, the top five pictures that earned over 5% of first-places votes. This crap about anywhere between 5 and ten was stupid. Take all the votes and pick the top five based on percentage. If there is a tie, then include it. We’re rewarding campaign strategies, not films.

Was Moneyball really THAT great of a film compared to The Help or The Artist? Midnight in Paris?

Not to mention, how about The Muppets snagging a best song? I loved it. However, they had a 50/50 chance of winning against Rio? Rio? Best song is quickly becoming a category that is either neglected or well represented anymore. It’s like hit or miss each year with nominees. Looking back it’s been; 2, 4, 5, 3, 5, 5, 3. Somebody call Sting or Bruce or Bryan Adams and get that shit fixed.

As far as hosting goes, I think Billy Crystal was in Oscar mode. It was a return to the good hosting that has been missing since… well, probably the last time Billy hosted. And why did the Sammy Davis Jr. bit draw criticism? Because The Help was a multiple nominated movie? Billy Crystal has been doing the Sammy impression for years and considering the context of the scene, it was the only Billy impression usable.

And can we please deport Sacha Baron Cohen?  His shit isn't funny anymore.  I don't know if it ever was.   Showing up on the red carpet as The Dictator from his movie... The Dictator holding an urn with the supposed ashes of Kim Jong Il.  Did we not see how that was going down before he even spoke?  That joke was is decades old. 

“Who’s XXXXXX?” Twitter trends
Again, The youth of America need to have their Twitter accounts taken away from them until they start to actually learn something about life. During the Grammy’s it was “Who’s Paul McCartney?” and that got my blood boiling. During the Oscars it happened again, and this time those damn kids need to smarten up.

“Who is Billy Crystal?” Come on, half of you in the 18-24 crowd should recognize him as Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. You are the Pixar generation. If you don’t, go back and watch Monsters, Inc., The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Analyze This, and Running Scared (1986, not 200X) and find out what Soap is. I don’t want to burden you with the other stuff.

Come to think of it, perhaps this is a meme and people think it’s cool to not know anything. I wonder if kids asked Siri who these people were? Siri should slap them. Really.

WUMF: February Edition

We are finally inching towards Spring, which amazingly we've had a week where it was 60 degrees, followed by six to ten inches of snow, followed by 60 degrees. This can only mean locusts and boils are coming, folks.  I admit I’ve been working on this post for over two weeks. Actually, it’s been more like I spent fifteen minutes and slacked for the rest of the two weeks. In any case, here’s a smattering of WUMF for ya.


1. The Lesser Man Project: Week OHHELLIDON’TKNOW
I haven’t given on update on this in a long while but here’s the lowdown. Still sticking to the game plan but there were days of weakness and I did indulge in the “Cake in the Break Room” practice. This is where I started my downward spiral before. I managed to curb that habit, real quick. I’ve been eating fish at least once a week. Yeah, it’s breaded but sooooo good.

Having gotten over a bad couple of weeks of reoccurring stomach flu, I managed to not gain any weight back, which is good. But, then again, I’ve been hovering around the 20 lbs. mark for a month now, which is bad. With the weather getting nicer, here, It’s in the high 60s and still February the chances for more exercise increased but the opportunities are less because I’m losing an hour in drive time which puts me at not getting home until almost 6pm some days. I’ll need to find more excuses to get into the pool this summer, if just to do circles to help clean it.

2. Happy Time, Peggy!
After eight years I have finally freed myself of the biggest albatross around my neck. I worded my Facebook status to sound as if I had become single or ended a bad relationship, which I have. Just not with my wife, that is. Granted, my wife was involved but it’s more complicated than that.

Right around the time I started thinking about buying a house I was sort of strong armed into doing something I had resisted for seven years. I managed to get buy in life with not having a credit card. I used my check card for everything and if I didn’t have the cash, I didn’t buy it. But in order to establish a good credit standing I needed to have a card. So, I got one. My then fiancée had one. Then I went and purchased something and put it on the card. Then my fiancée did. Soon, I had two cards and she had three. Every time I’d amass a little bit of debt, I’d see another offer for a card that could transfer a balance and not hit me with a finance charge if I paid it off in time. So, I’d card jump and then my fiancée, turned wife would piggy back. Then we found ourselves with a considerable amount of card debt. Then we bought a house, then a car, then had a kid, then another car, then Christmases and vacations followed.

The point is there was always this looming debt that stared me in the face. Now, with the help of some strict spending habits and the shirt shops, I have managed to whittle down that debt into nothing. I still have a mortgage and a car payment and my monthly utility bills but there is no huge stone of debt hanging over my head. As the credit card companies get whacked with regulations, only to come back and figure out new ways to weasel more charges out of you, it’s nice to know I don’t have to play that game, anymore. Now, I can start working on that other pile of debt I have. Parental loans. I owe my Dad some money for the balloon payment on my car. After I hit the five year financing wall, I had a considerable amount still left to pay off and he was nice enough to grab it. Unfortunately, I stopped giving him checks because I had to focus on the other stuff but I’m ready to resume giving him money. I also owe a small bit to my Father-in-law because he fronted the down payment on this year’s vacation house. I could give that to him, easily but he gets funny about it, so I might pay him out of our tax return. That way he won’t think we’re going to go broke from it.

3. WE WILL: Not Compete
The Suckos are back in Spring Training, going for that Grape Fruit League pennant. The stark comparison is the news that Albert Pujols wanted $300 million over 10 years. Can you imagine McCutcheon or Alvarez asking for a ten year commitment for $300 million dollars? Can you imagine Bob Nutting giving more than a tenth of that for the same amount of time? They certainly wouldn’t have put up near the amount that Jose Bautista, former Pirate, is getting from the Blue Jays.

I say it’s time to institute a limit on payrolls. The players union would never go for a salary cap, so don’t think I’m not talking about one. Yes, it would curb the Yankees spending. I’m talking about a limit on how little a player can be paid. That would force the organization to have fund a minimum amount into their players payroll and have to start using that slush fund of revenue sharing from the bigger market teams to do it.

Naysayers will point to the 2010 World Series as proof that you don’t need to have a big bankroll to win a championship. Fine. I’ll accept that you can win on talent grown, not bought. However, the Giants and the Texans were forced to compete to get to that level. The Pirates are not forced to compete as long as the profits outweigh the infrastructure. And if Nutting plans on waiting until the wheels fall off to sell at a profit then let’s beat him to the pass and initiate a hostile takeover of the team. Green Bay pretty much owns the Packers and they just won the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh’s the kind of town that could handle that kind of thing. But if Nutting claims that everything is above board, then open the books and let someone take a look.

The most current news is that Frank Coonley said that they could not, at present, sustain a $70 million payroll and that they could not without a significant rise in attendance. Everyone jumped on this and said, “He’s blaming the fans! They won’t spend money because we refuse to come out and support a crappy product! Eff him and eff Nutting, too.” Well, that’s not what he’s saying… exactly. He’s saying that given the current climate, the club could not put $70 million towards payroll. He’s also saying that in order to get that kind of money, attendance would have to increase. It’s a non issue. The fans are never going to come back just to increase the payroll. They will have to win a pennant in order for attendance to rise that much. He’s not blaming the fans as much as he’s putting the weight of the future of them paying for talent on their shoulders and he’s flat out saying that it isn’t a possibility. So, they either keep floundering and attendance continues to drop or the find the right combination of raw talent that will elevate them into a winning season.

Personally, there is no chance in hell they will ever be able to pay for talent to come here without getting at least one high profile player. Then again, no high profile player would come here. The only scenario I can paint is that the team finally starts to lose money so Nutting bails, still getting a huge profit. The new owners will preferably be willing to spend some money up front and secure a top name player with the promise that they will help bring up and comers around and attract more high profile players. Small incremental steps that will probably cause there to be a few instances of losing money yet fans will believe that the front office is trying, in earnest, to turn the ship around and will come back out. That drives up attendance and payroll and we can start winning again.

4.  Jobby Job.
The new job is going well. I’ve finally taken a huge step into the world of process flow diagrams and learned Visio. It’s like a snake eating its own tail or at the least like playing Sudoku. Once you think you’ve got it all figured out you find yourself having to go back and tweak an early step. For someone who used to spend his time doing the crossword puzzles in ink, as a rule, it sucks.

Now, I’ve gone into some kind of quasi overlay of how to set access levels and tag knowledge with permissions. The finished product gave me a headache and made me wonder if there was a sailboat hidden in the picture. If anything, I wanted to quit smoking and give a complete stranger $50. I don’t even smoke.

5.  Sport or Skills Competition?
As a part of that whole job thing, I am forced to sit in a lot of traffic to and from work.  With one hand on the wheel and one on the dial I am constantly looking for something to keep my mind from psychically blowing up the cars in front of me.  One of those things is usually, The Fan, which is the local sports talk radio station.  The great thing about it is that they do discuss Pittsburgh sports.  The bad thing is that they bait people into debates which drives up ratings and gets people to call in and text.  Something that plays into their numbers, I'm sure.  Anyway, the afternoon show fired a direct shot at Southwestern Pennsylvania, specifically my old homestead of Fayette Nam.   They claimed NASCAR was not a sport.

After switching to a substation for power because of the blackout from too many lights going on with the phones, they took callers who could try and defend the claim, that it is.   Sad to say, not a one was able to convince the hosts, or me for that matter that NASCAR was, indeed, a sport. 

The callers said, "They are the most gracious of people when it comes to their fans." 

So?  That says nothing for athletics or sports.

"They are the biggest attraction for people."

Again, so?

Look, it you want to make the claim then say that the drivers are the most athletically skilled persons, using hand to eye coordination and agility to navigate and make quick decisions.  That would be something along the lines of a positive claim.  Frankly, I have to agree that NASCAR is not a sport, in the definition of what I feel a sport is.  It is a skills competition.  Darts are skills competition.  Golf is a skills competition.  Any activity that does not require some kind of cardio activity is not a true sport.  Olympic Diving... skills competition.  Bowling... skills competition.   Curling... waste of time.

Can drivers burn a lot of calories?  Sure.  There is a lot of tension and muscle flexing that goes on inside the car.  But there is no workout on the level of say a sprint to the warning track to catch a fly ball or a breakaway in hockey.  That's not to say that drivers and golfers are not athletes but when you can count John Daly in your ranks, then you have to think about whether or not it's really a sport. 


That’s all for this edition of WUMF. Be well.

The Lesser Man Project: Week 9

Sorry for the hiatus on the updates. I was caught up in the D-Bag Award posts and the holidays, along with some other news that will show up in, possibly, my final post????  Time will tell on that one. In any case, I hope you didn’t think I abandoned the project, because I didn’t.  In fact, I surprised myself with being off of work for the last two weeks of the year.  I figured boredom would have set in and I’d be reaching for the cookies and egg nog. Fortunately, there is some rule that any behavior for 21 days constitutes a habit. Well, at the time I went on vacation I had been at this for almost six weeks, which is twice as long.  I guess I have a habit now.

Speaking of habits, let’s go over the last four weeks. I’m not going to get into what all I ate, but I will share some. Let’s just say, I didn’t skimp on the holiday meals.

I started off week five having already lost 10 pounds from my heaviest weight. Then two weeks later I was head long into being off of work and around all kinds of bad food. I was doing my Christmas shopping and eating on the fly which is always a bad idea. I was hitting Starbucks because I was able to and taking in a few more Caramel Brule decadence than I should have in my position. I was eating at malls and going through the drive thru.

However, when I did stop at my favorite spot, Wendy’s, I managed to keep to my reduced meal plan with the value sized burger, fry, and drink. That was a plus. Being able to be satisfied by a very small amount of food is a good step towards winning the war.

Christmas Eve was filled with meat and cheese trays, ham and roast beef sandwiches, and various cookies. I tried to be good but I know I had one or two more chocolate covered Oreos than I should have. Christmas Day was just leftovers for lunch and turkey sandwiches for dinner at my parents. My Dad’s birthday was a couple days away and I was digging this dip my sister-in-law made and downing shrimp left and right. New Year’s Eve and Day were my worst meals. We had pierogies, pork, sauerkraut, hot dogs, and kielbasa. More cookies, more meat and cheese.

I did try some a new dish at one of our regular eateries.  I had fish and pierogies and loved it. At Fat Zackel’s in Claridge, they make an awesome Russian Cod and accompany it with three pierogies. It’s enough to get your gnosh on, but it won’t kill you. Skipping my daughter’s fries also helps.

Now to the biggest help over break.  I had, what has been called, around here as, The Pittsburgh Puke and Poop.  Actually, I never puked. My kid woke up the morning of the 19th with it but had stopped vomiting by noon.  My wife had a small bout with it and I was showing signs around mid week.  Like I said, I never threw up, but I wasn’t taking any chances and was pretty much eat toast and drinking ginger ale, because I was constantly nauseous.  Now, I would have expected to gain all that weight back after I felt better, but I am proud to say that as of a weigh in on the morning of January 5th, I had lost almost [drum roll] [paradiddle] [LOL]



18 pounds.

Now that’s a habit!

I’m back at work this week and have had one small indulgence, a tiny Frosty after my lunch on Tuesday.  Otherwise, I have been eating less and I am actually starting to feel like I’ve lost weight.  People have said I look like I've lost weight.  "Yeah, your face looks thinner."  Great.  If only I wore my pants around my nose, I'd feel like I had accomplished something. My knees still groan at me when I go up steps, but I’ve been finding pairs of pants, I was ready to throw out, fitting once more, which is a bonus. No more exploding buttons.

To summarize:

• Apparently getting the flu has benefits but don't expect all results to be the same.  I wouldn't go licking the Lincoln Logs at your kids' daycare, just yet. 
• If you plan on doing anything like this, do it a few weeks out of a big meal holiday like Thanksgiving. 
• Don’t call it a diet. It’s a change in habit.
• Most important, keep going. 

Now, I’m not going to get all caught up in the psychology of it all, just like I didn’t get caught up in all the counting and monitoring of what I did.  I’ve made all these changes in an effort to have them become an automatic thing. The subconscious mind will reach for a bowl of chips just as easily as it will walk past the kitchen at 11:30 at night, despite the cries of Ben and Jerry telling you to eat them. You simply have to train yourself, in small increments.

It’s nice to know I haven’t hit that plateau, yet, but my next challenge occurs starting January 10th. More on that later. Peace out!

The Lesser Man Project: Week 5

Week five puts me at my first major milestone for this experiment. 10 pounds lost. That’s an average of 2 pounds a week and I’ve barely done any real work other than cutting back to a cup of cereal every morning, eating smaller portions of lunch and dinner and limiting those pesky snacks to almost nothing.

Nothing major to report other than I am heading into rough waters as I get closer to the end of the month. Thanksgiving was easy compared to the thought of being off work for the last two weeks of the month. Being home for an extended amount of time is dangerous to someone trying to lose weight. Food is at the ready and boredom tends to lead to phantom hunger pains. Fortunately, I have a wife who loves to make lists. She’ll keep me busy, I’m sure.

In case you have been keeping score with that sliding scale on the side bar. I tried out a free countdown graph but my math skills are rusty. I’ve been flubbing the percentages for a few weeks now, so if anyone can verify to me that 12.5% of 80lbs would be 10lbs, I’d appreciate it. It would be nice if I could just enter in attributes like lost pounds and have it show up correctly. Maybe I’ll tweak the coding a bit to see if I can get it looking the way I want it to.



Take care all.

The Lesser Man Project: Week 3-4

This is just a quick update about this week and last week’s progress. With the holiday falling near the middle of the week I was swamped with other work in preparation for being off for a few days and had to miss posting. Apologies to all of you who are hanging on my every word concerning my quest to lose weight. Sarcasm is intended there.

This is going to be the toughest part of the experiment. We are heading into the winter which means lessened outdoor activity, unless you count putting up Christmas lights which should be considered an Olympic Sport at my house. It also means that we are heading full force into the holidays which means lots of bad influences like carbs from Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, cookies and leftover Halloween candy, and Egg Nog. Egg Nog, alone, could negate any progress I’ve made over the last couple of weeks.

I will say it has become so much easier to pass up the snacks. Because we are heading into December, people are bringing more and more goodies to work. I’ve passed up a few things but I hate to insult someone by not accepting their offer of food. One of my biggest problems is that I am, like my namesake, Mikey from the LIFE cereal ads. When I first met my wife back in 1998 I went to dinner at her house and met her parents. They like to cook and they don’t skimp on portions. Whenever I would finish my plate they would continually say, “Have some more.” Soon, one serving of pasta became two large plates. Trust me, I like food and I like to eat but I have to begin turning down such hospitality if I plan on losing the extra weight I’ve gained in the last ten years. So, here’s the progress report.

Here’s the good news.
I did not gain any weight after the Thanksgiving weekend, in fact, as of today, I'm down an additional pound. My wife made her first Thanksgiving dinner with a 14 pound fresh turkey, sweet potato casserole, homemade stuffing, corn casserole, and Pillsbury iced cinnamon rolls. All in all, I had two helpings of stuffing, turkey, sweet potatoes and rolls and managed to come back to work on Monday with no extra weight. And, it’s not like I did a damn thing but veg out on the couch watching movies and playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Free-For-All Deathmatch. That is a new addiction of mine and I really suck at it, which makes for a lot of frustration and continual attempts to get better. Let’s just say that I cannot wait until I unlock the perk of dropping a grenade when I get killed because I die more from grenade drops than I do from anything else.

Here’s the bad news.
I might be reaching that first plateau. I was kind of hoping I could get back to my earlier weight of 255-265 before having to add additional steps. I can explain the additional 20 pounds very easily. My mother-in-law passed away in April and that’s when I started gaining the extra weight. It would be normal for us to eat at my in-laws, maybe three to four times a week. Sure, the extra portions are a problem but at least the food is home cooked and not full of bad stuff. Since April, we have been going out more and eating quicker, more carb heavy and fatty foods. While my wife is becoming an awesome cook, especially with that turkey that I am still eating sandwiches from for lunch, she teaches piano almost every afternoon into the evening and doesn’t have a lot of time to prepare a meal.

Next Steps
Hopefully, with the brief lull in festive eating, I can knock off a few more pounds the way I have been. Last night I caught myself, after work, wanting to break into the sweet rolls before they have to be pitched. Luckily, they looked kind of nasty and we pitched them. The apple on my way home from work is still enough to hold me until dinner. Although, after the New Year, I am sure I will have to ramp up my efforts. Don’t expect any resolutions from me because they are trap and a great way to fail. In fact, I advise any of you, looking to lose weight, to follow my example. Don’t make a New Year’s Resolution because you are betting against yourself. Resolutions tend to be unrealistic, pie in the sky goals. Instead just start taking those small steps that create results and stick to them.

Breakfasts for the last week
Weekdays – 1 cup Lucky Charms and skim milk
Holiday weekend – no breakfast or Pillsbury cinnamon roll

Lunches for the last week
Leftover turkey sandwich
Light Yogurt
Diet Pepsi

Snacks for the last week
Apple
Pumpkin pie with Cool Whip (Late at night – VERY BAD)

Dinners for last week
Thanksgiving dinner
Leftover Thanksgiving dinner
More Leftover Thanksgiving dinner
McDonald’s club sandwich meal with Diet Coke, small
Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, small fry, small Diet Coke, no Frosty

The Lesser Man Project: Week 2

Here it is, week two. I topped out at six pounds by Saturday morning and I couldn’t believe that. I’ve seem to either reached a plateau or just negated the work I did because I’ve been hovering there since then.

I’m actually lucky to have not gained it all back this past weekend. It was a pretty bad one. It’s always hard to do the right thing when you don’t have the time to do it. Friday night, my father-in-law’s band played a set at the American Legion in Scottdale, PA. That meant rushing around to get things done in order to be there for an 8PM start. I was good for lunch, having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with my usual light yogurt and Diet Pepsi. On the way home from work I had my usual snack, a gala apple. Then nothing else until dinner.

I was the designated driver so I had to drive us all there, including my father-in-law and his friend. We had one of my wife’s piano students watch our daughter for the evening which would last well past midnight. After picking up her dinner, a pizza from Fox’s, I found myself desperately craving a piece, but I was good. However, after dropping off my father-in-law and unloading the equipment, my wife and I headed to McDonald’s for a quick bite. It was nearby and would be quick. So, I made up for that craving. I wasn’t too bad. I had a small diet coke, small fry, and a grilled chicken sandwich. In fact, I only had one beer in the first hour and drank a couple of Diet Cokes the rest of the night.

Saturday was a different story. We needed a small but, quick lunch in order to get some stuff done. I opted for some breakfast sandwiches at Sheetz. Usually, I’ll get extra cheese on it, but as part of the new plan, did without. For dinner, one of my wife’s friends wanted to go out with us and suggested a place we’ve never been to. We drove everyone to Indiana, PA, to visit Fire Mountain. It’s a buffet like Ponderosa or Old Country Buffet. It wasn’t bad. They had carving stations and salads and desserts. Figures, I’m trying to change the way I eat and we go to an all you can eat buffet. I had a piece of chicken, not breaded, some regular salad and seafood salad, breaded shrimp and a couple of other items. For dessert I had a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream and a small piece of chocolate cake. I could have been much worse, believe me.

Sunday, we had a late dinner that was more snack-like in nature. The Steelers played New England on Sunday night… and lost. We decided to have taco dip, Tostino’s Pizza Rolls, and a plate of cheese and crackers. I couldn’t help but have a two servings of the taco dip and pizza rolls. It’s amazing how good bad food can taste when you are cutting back. And I mean “bad” as in “bad for you.”

Monday, I had the leftover pizza from Friday night. Two pieces of pizza never tasted so good but since I’m used to eating four or maybe five, it was a short lived decadence. You know the rest of my lunch, yogurt and diet pop, and an apple for the ride home. That night was another night out.

I never really looked at how bad we’ve eaten until I started documenting it. I mean, we eat out a lot. I can count on one hand the times I’ve eaten dinner at home in a week. I’d still be able to give you a Boy Scout salute along with that. There’s no excuse other than we don’t cook a lot and with my wife teaching lessons until almost 7pm there isn’t a lot of desire to do it afterwards. I’m going to start looking into some crock pot stuff that I can do.

Monday would have also been my mother-in-law’s birthday. We would normally have eaten in on a Monday, but seeing as how we would have definitely taken her out to dinner we decided to continue that tradition. Persichetti’s in Jeannette was one of her favorite places but they are closed on Monday’s. Our normal Tuesday night stop is Zackel’s in Claridge so we opted for that Monday and Persichetti’s on Tuesday. In honor of my late mother-in-law, I had a Reuben. It was pretty good and light on the Thousand Island dressing. I had about four or five fries from my daughter’s plate and my diet drink.

Tuesday’s lunch consisted of my wife’s leftover Italian sub, which was half of a half with no dressing. The usual additions were present, light yogurt, Diet Pepsi and gala apple. At Persichetti’s that night, I had a house salad with house vinaigrette, a small piece of bread with butter and a turkey club. Normally, I would ask for extra Miracle Whip, but didn’t. It came with a small soufflé cup full and that was it. I also had a half of a piece of garlic toast at my wife’s insistence.

Today should an overload as I will be eating my wife’s left over spaghetti. She had the sampler, last night, which consisted of a piece of small portions of lasagna, gnocchi and spaghetti. She left half of the spaghetti and lasagna and I’m making that into two days worth of lunch. Today, the spaghetti and tomorrow, the lasagna.

Along with the observation about how bad I’ve been with eating out, here is what I’ve also noticed.

• Cereal is lasting me a lot longer but milk is going out of date before I can drink it.
• I’m not as hungry as I used to be. There are moments I feel really hungry before dinner but they are almost forgettable.
• I found a particular pair of pants that I stopped wearing because I assumed they wouldn’t fit. They are smaller in the waist than my normal ones and they don’t have any give, whatsoever. They fit now. They may have always fit, but they fit better than I thought they would and they were falling down, too.
• I’m having to throw a lot of food because I’m not eating it. Leftovers are taking forever to get rid of and I’m stretching them into one or two days worth of lunch.
• I feel satisfied and not hungry, even after a little bit of food.
• Food that I haven’t been eating taste really good, especially the stuff I shouldn’t be eating.
• I’m enjoying food more, mostly because I’m not feeling overfull after a meal. There were times I almost dreaded eating, because of how I would feel afterwards, but that’s not the case, now.

You can do this, too. I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor, so you have to figure out what is best for you.  I would also consult one of those people before you go crazy.  But these kinds of changes are small and aren’t really impacting your diet as much. I’m just thinking logically about how to approach this experiment. I’m cutting back on the amount of food, not the quality. I am recognizing where I need to have the give and take.

I’ll eventually plateau and have to take new steps to lose more weight, but I’m not suffering and I’m getting some desired results. This wasn’t hard to do. It was actually very easy. I know that for a lot of people out there, being overweight and actually doing something about losing it is hard, for whatever reason. Remember, I’m doing this with the intent of not making any drastic changes and not starving myself or becoming some fitness nut or health guru.

I could easily go home, grab a bowl of candy and go to town. It would be nothing for me to stop and get a pack of Klondike bars or something else that could derail my progress. You just have to get your mind in the direction you want to go and the body WILL follow. Start small, be realistic and just keep at it. Don’t be afraid to treat yourself for doing a good job but remember that the treat should still fall in line with the style of plan you are doing. For me, it might be dessert at a restaurant but share it or take some to go. You don’t have to give up on something good like Tiramisu, which I love, but perhaps just a little bit is enough to satisfy whatever urge you might have and still not be a detriment to your progress.

The mind first, then the body. That is what is important. If you cannot get your mind to accept that there needs to be a change, you will never stick to a plan. You cannot trick yourself, you cannot cheat yourself and you cannot beat something you don’t believe in beating.

Keep going. It will work.