Morbid Obesity!

That's what my doctor called it when I went a pound over the line from just plain over-weight. I've decided on a plan of action to get back to my ideal weight, which I was at before changing jobs to a sedentary one from a job where I had to walk a few miles a day in a Supercenter over 200K sq/ft. My feet feel better but my waistline doesn't. I've reviewed many diet products on my site and for me the majority I am unable to take due to prescription conflict (I can't even use Genseng) for my blood pressure. I took my own column advice and DID check with my doctor and I'm glad I did. I don't want to trade one problem for something more serious. I did take some earlier positive steps and went on Chantix. I'll be celebrating my second full year of being Marlboro free(I quit with ease after one week w/o cravings or withdrawl) on Cinco de Mayo (something easy to remember). One issue down and one to go!

I dug out my copy of a great book my doctor in Massachusetts referred me to (he told me to buy it and bring it to him to see for himself that I did buy it) read cover to cover. Surprisingly, I did read it and it made so much sense that I followed the diet and I lost a sh**load of weight in a fairly short time with no ill effect, sans one! The diet book I'm referring to was published in 1996 and authored by Drs. Eades and Eades (Michael and Mary) and was a New York Times Best Seller. The book I'm referring to I Protein Power and is what the popular Atkins Diet is based on - high protein/low carbs. That's right, low not no carbs. You need carbs to live, just not as many as we tend to consume. I usually work protein shakes into the mix to boost the protein intake but the bars tend to be VERY chewy and somewhat 'gritty' to the palette. It's a 'makes sense' diet that's not hard to do which brings me back to the ill effect I mentioned earlier. That effect is Ketosis. It's something you WILL experience on this diet at the point you will come to know as the day you started burning your fat off.

Ketosis.
Definition: A stage in fat metabolism which is stimulated primarily when the liver is low on glycogen (stored glucose), although some is happening continually. The breakdown of fats in this process results in three different molecules called “ketones” or “ketone bodies”, two of which (acetoacetate and ß-hydroxybutyrate) can be used for fuel by most tissues of the body. Some tissues, such as the heart muscle, prefer ketones to glucose. The third ketone, acetone, cannot be used by the body and is excreted in the urine and breath. The Atkins approach encourages people to monitor this process by testing their urine with a strip called Ketostix (brand name for a product made by Bayer).

Important Note: Ketosis is not the same thing as Ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition that can occur in diabetes.

I never used the stick tests because of the third ketone listed above. Your breath gets BAD! This can be handled using a decent sugar free mint. I have to mention here that this is the stage I disliked and loved at the same time. I disliked the malodorous breath but loved the fact that it was fat being burned off me that I was smelling. Actually, it's not as bad as it sounds but it is a surprise when you first notice it. I honestly lost a lot of fat weight and in turn was feeding my muscle tissue with the protein. One last thought if you have no dietary restriction, either religious or vegan. How can you not like a diet that lets you eat as much bacon as you want? Watch the nitrites in most bacon though!That's another story for someone else to write.

For those of you so inclined to partake of this diet, please send me some feedback on your progress. I'll be posting my start weight and will post my progress through the weeks to come. I don't mind spending money on smaller clothes, the bigger sizes are the heart-breaker!

The Water Watch Continues.

It's the same, it seems, everywhere where water is needed it can't be found and where it's not wanted there is an over-abundance of it, like in the mid-west right now. Unfortunately, there is no middle ground when nature decides to do anything, and nothing it does is ever simple. California and Florida are burning up and the mid-west is drowning. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a nationwide water distribution network where we could pump out flood areas to drought or fire areas. I know it would be catastrophic if we were to pump sea water into fire areas due to the salinity of the water and what it would do to the environment. Water crisis in the East and West, what can we do to help. We are in real trouble with our water.

In so far as what we can do the options are simple and straight-forward! We can use less water! That's it in a nutshell, use less H2O. Run your yard water a few minutes less, use car washes that reclaim the water used (many do it now), use low flow toilets, run the dishwasher when it's full (you know who you are), when replacing a washing machine buy the most efficient one around-front loaders (half the water used and cleaner clothes), use and efficient nozzle on your yard hose and make sure you turn off the outside faucet and then open the sprayer to relieve the hose pressure. This is because in the hotter months the hose could explode from steam pressure within it (trust me, I know first hand) and cause the water to vent unchecked until you, or a neighbor, notices it. Mine cost me $50 in water lost to a mud puddle by the time I found out.

I mentioned in a previous post a sweet device that is available for older toilet tanks to upgrade them to low flow (1.0 to 1.6 gpf). The dual flush tank kit can conceivably reduce your water usage (cost) by at least a third compared to a full 3 gal flush. The dual flush allows you to flush either liquid waste or solid waste, liquid using the least water necessary to complete a water exchange in the commode. I have a pool, lawn, and a garden with fruit trees and live in Florida which is under drought rules now. I need to save as much as I can in order to keep my yard alive and this kit is saving me money, not to mention my lawn. Look into it and see if it's something you could use. I know from living in Massachusetts we had a huge water bill quarterly which was more sewer fees than water used, but based on how much water we put into the sewer system. I could have saved a bundle up there if this were available before. Take a look and let me know what you think, tell me if I'm wrong or right. I'm thinking about what the next five years of water will cost me now than before. I've provided a couple of links for you if your interested.

I Hate Shopping for Others.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an ogre when it comes to doing for others. just don't like going shopping for intimate or personal care products for women in stores. It's sort of embarrassing for everybody involved, mostly me! Sure, send me out for groceries, dry cleaning, movie rentals, whatever! Just don't send me out for pads, Midol, nail polish, eye cream, or hair dye. Please, anything but hair dyes. The clerks look at the box then at my hair and they must think it's for me and then know it has to be because now I'm getting red faced while they pause with it in their hand so others can now see it. Things like Midol they know aren't for me and I can look elsewhere while they ring it up and they probably think "oh, what a nice guy getting this for his girl". Bah, not unless there are no other options! Why not buy a pre-supply of things like dyes, creams and water pills from on-line resources? I think it's a great idea until hear "I wonder how I'd look as a redhead?" I think I'm going to need to o to the store for some Advil after that, for me!

I Love to Tour Ships!

I will finally get to go aboard a cruise ship and have a look around. My friend Kelly, who's getting married, will be taking a cruise for her honeymoon and the cruise line, in hopes of generating business I imagine, will be letting a limited number of cruise guests tour the ship before sailing the day after the wedding. I forget whether it's a Carnival or Celebrity or Norwegian cruise line. I'm just happy to go aboard. They won't be letting us into or around more sensitive areas like the bridge or engine areas, 911 I figure, but there's plenty to see and too little time to take it all in. I've heard of the slab sided ships but have never seen one. I'm going to try to find out when it's coming in to the Port of Tampa and go see it come in. know the name of the ship is the Inspiration. I jut looked it up and it is a Carnival vessel. I think I'm going to go see when it arrives and use a half or full day off, depending on the time since I'll already be in Tampa.

Week-end Yard Work? Please Rain!

In a moment of foolish weakness I said I was going to do some yard work this weekend. This was before I decided I wanted to relax after my 55 hour week. It's not the number of hours I worked, I used to do 70 every week, it's because I'm up at 4 a.m. and I go to bed at 11 p.m. - Ouch! I do need to go to Lowes and look for my 3rd Persian lime tree. The last 2 trees died from late season frosts this really torqued me off. It's the one tree besides the naval orange and Ruby Red g-fruit trees that I wanted. I just found out last week that Persian limes do best in containers that can be taken in during a frost because "they don't survive well in a frost in Florida" like, say, my baby Clementine orange tree? That lived and it was 1/4 the size of the lime tree. I also promised that I'd help plant 2 rose bushes (they do smell nice) and a Hibiscus (don't hold me to the spelling) as well as clean out the shed in the back of the house. On the bright side, rain is in Sunday's forecast! Pillow, give me pillow!

Why Are They Changing My Signs at Work?

I went to work the other day and found that I no longer knew how to get out of the building. Due to the fact that we do employ a number of 'other language' people we needed to sign the building for them to know how and where to go to leave the building. What? They have had no problem finding the doors before this and nobody ever complained about it because they knew enter signs and exit signs looked like and they understood the wording but someone got a hold of a little used county ordinance that required us to put up new signing. I have no problem with bilingual signs anywhere. If it gets everybody to observe the same rules I'm all for it. Really! My issue is why they took down the required English signs to do it. Over 95% of the people who tour our facility are English speaking and would need to know where to go if suddenly there was smoke or fire present. Right? Of course I'm right. I'm thinking that these English speaking administrators should maybe become English reading administrators. The ordinance that they posted said they were required to post 'bi-lingual' emergency signing in the building. When I get my paycheck this week I think I better cash it right away! lol

Middle Aged with a Gut! Time to do something.

I past the big 5 0 two years ago and didn't give it much thought. I was going to my doctor on a regular basis, having my blood pressure checked every time, and faithfully taking the blood pressure medicine I have been taking for the past 20+ years. My BP numbers have been very good as well as my lab results for the past few years, in fact they've been better than good. So what's the problem? I got fat and my weight for my height (6') puts me between chunky and fat bas***d! Clinically referred to as Morbidly Obese! Okay, "my name is so-and-so and I'm a fat man"! Nothing 'Anonymous' about that but when the doc is right, he's right. I'm at a bad age to have belly fat. More good news from the Scientific Community today folks. Neck fat is now a heart related issue along with belly fat. I read it on MSN.com tonight. I'm so screwed! Okay, I did it before I moved to Florida and I can do it again. I did the Atkins Diet and it did work. I dropped several belt sizes, had really bad breath(from Ketosis, and felt a lot better about my appearance and well being. Atkins alone didn't do it for me though. I did use some other products like protein bars, shakes and a supplement or two that were non-narcotic. I've been doing some preliminary research into what's available now versus before and there are some cool new products. I just bought, yesterday as a matter of fact, Kellogs protein meal bars and little sleeves of Kellogs protein water mix. I've also inquire about Pure Protein bars and Solo Slim. They all look helpful along with the Atkins regimen.Oh yes, by the way, the bad breath from Ketosis is a good thing even though it sounds bad. Ketosis is when your body, from the higher levels of protein ingested with lower carbs causes your body to burn fat in overdrive to the point where you are actually smelling fat being burned through your exhales. I use this as the definitive gauge of when I am actually burning fat and I know it's working. I told you it was a good thing. I found a great book through my old doctor in Boston about Atkins called Protein Power and I actually did read this from cover to cover and it does explain Ketosis in it. Wish me luck. I'm going to miss my Dr Pepper moments.

Company Benefits Sign-Up Time Again!

Why is it that every company I have ever worked for insists that you re-signup for benefits EVERY year until you finally retire or drop dead from writers cramp. I like to keep things simple. I need health insurance for my wife and me as well as dental coverage. The company I'm with now also offers eye care coverage that will cover the cost of the exam only. The last company had a program called VSP that covered the exam AND the complete pair of glasses, regardless of lens type. If you want to get fruity-licious with your glasses, you paid the difference in coverage. I'm not complaining though, most companies don't even offer that much. My big thing this year is my life insurance. I've been smoke free for 2 years now and I was told I can claim myself as a non-smoker now. This gives me more obtainable coverage for 'just in case' at a cost that will no longer break the bank. With all the layoffs going down across the country people are finding it hard to get guaranteed issue life insurance that they can afford after basic expenses are met. I know that most of the country is still working and the numbers seem huge, which they are under the circumstances, but basic life is so important for your loved ones in case something ever did happen, as it did happen to the wife of a close friend of mine last week, leaving him 3 kids to raise alone. Be thankful for what you have and take full advantage of what you can get and afford.

June Wedding in March? I guess so.

Kelly, a friend of mine, has announced that she will be getting married this month and will be having a June wedding. June wedding in March? I've always known that Kelly has always been a few lemons short of a dozen but this takes the cake. What's worse is that I have been asked by Barry, her betrothed, to be one of his groomsmen and that the wedding will be held right here in Florida, when the temps are once again in the 80's, Oh Joy! To be in a tuxedo just as the heat starts to come roaring back and we're right in the middle of a drought. Yes, a drought, that's right. How is a drought important here? When rains come to Florida this time of year they are preceded by a cool or cold front which makes wearing a tux a lot more comfortable than the dry sun. I'll do an update is something ridiculous happens at the ceremony.

On-Line Shopping Taking Major Market Share!

Tough economy, high unemployment, fewer hours at work, or status quo from last year. Whatever your situation may be the one common denominator we all have is shopping, we all need things. Now shopping has a new keyword and that's savings. The Internet has continually shown itself to be a haven for deals and wheels! I say wheels because I recently got a great deal on Pirelli tires on-line, but I digress. I also recently found a seized police property web site to make bids on recovered property that went unclaimed and got myself an excellent watch for pennies on the dollar, brand new in the box and verified authentic by the mfg, who is also on-line! I saw a YouTube video with Howie Mandel and his son buying an Xbox on a web site and he put it on Howie's charge card. Oh well! Whether your looking for 'The Sale' to come your way or are savvy enough to go find it on your own the bottom line is simple, if you look you will find it! Have fun looking for those things you've had a hard time finding. You'll probably find it'll come with FREE shipping as well!

Where's My Memory? No, My Computer Memory!

I just spent a few dollars and thought that I was upgrading my PC memory from 2 gigs to 4 gigs and that I'd be blazing again with my dual-core leading the way. I guess I should have read every part of my motherboard spec sheets. I brought the machine up and did a memory check and saw I had 3 gigs total memory. 3 gigs? What happened to that extra gig? Well, it's like this you see. The part of the spec sheet I didn't think was important to the type of chip I bought also said that this motherboard would recognize only 3 gigs even if I installed 8 gigs. Memory limitations for this architecture. This will be the last of the limited mobo upgrades I do in the future. I want the PCIe and the mega-memory allowances and all the other bells and whistles like a large front-side bus and extra SATA allocation points. I was wondering one thing through all of this. I never hear MAC people complaining about memory upgrades. I know Mac memory is supposed to be very user friendly but so is my PC machine, mostly. I cut my teeth on PC's min the 80's when 16 color video displays were the 'bomb' and Microsoft Excel was alive with colors. I hope "Mac'ers" have a better time upgrading than I did because I would be able to use these chips on the machine I want to build. Live and learn!

GREEN Water is a GOOD Thing to Have!

That's right, I said GREEN water is a good thing to have since the keyword here is GREEN, not green as in algae or mold. GREEN as in efficient and non-wasteful use of our greatest natural resource, water. Most people are using at least 3+ gallons of water for every flip of the toilet lever. Recent laws have mandated the use of 1.6 gallon toilets in all new and existing construction. You can't go into a Lowes or Home Depot and buy a bigger toilet because they are illegal now, at least in states like Florida where water is usually in shorter supply until the rainy summers come through. The low-flow toilet has come to the forefront with save water tips and saving money tips consumers can take advantage of.

The low-flow toilet comes in many different configurations such as pressurized, vacuum, and gravity feed with different styles amongst them all. The gravity feed model offers the best choice for most households where noise and efficiency are required. The pressured toilets can be a bit noisy with a louder than normal 'whoosh' when flushed and the vacuum models just aren't there yet for efficient flushing in one flip of the handle. The gravity feed will dispense a volume of the tank water at once into the bowl without the swirl of older toilets to push waste away easily. There is one unit I saw recently on "Ask This Old House" where they installed a brand new dual flush toilet. I'm placing links in this article for reference to a site I found that specializes in an alternative to the $500 cost of the ATOH installation. First, let me elaborate on what this toilet is.

The dual flush toilet is a great idea that is being used widely in Europe and IS a water saver. There are two selectors to choose from when flushing the toilet, 1 is for liquid waste and the other is for solids. The liquids side uses apprx .8 to 1.1 gals to sweep the bowl and the solids side uses apprx 1.6 gals. I think this is a great idea, especially if you are on a sewer based water system where most of your costs are for sewer fees, not water used. Less water means less sewer impact means less overall cost for water usage. Paying $500 seems a bit steep though. I, for one, cannot afford that kind of cost if I'm going to make that mortgage payment. The company that I have linked has a retrofit kit that can give you the pros and take away the cons of converting with a dual flush retrofit. I know with the California Water Crisis and the scattered water crisis' in Florida these are becoming more attractive every day. The choice is yours and I like to bring you decent GREEN technology as it proves itself to be reliable and resource/cost effective. I think it's worth a look and looking is, as always, FREE!

Can You Raed Tihs?

Only great minds can read this.
This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too.

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe
out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed tihs frowrad it!


COPY AND FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT!
I'm ptosnig tihs on all my web pegas for all to try.

Collateral Unemployment Damage!

That's right, collateral unemployment damage. That's when things get so bad job-wise that people who would never resort to theft are put into a position where they have to do something to survive when the money finally stops. Often this will put the infirm and elderly at a supreme disadvantage because they tend to make easy targets for hit and run theft. The problem is that many unintentional injuries, and sometimes deaths, occur in the commission of these crimes of desperation. Protection is the new priority for personal and property concerns. Many have opted for the often called "rape whistle" that emits a very loud, attention getting sound, but only if someone is there to hear it. Chemical weapons such as pepper spray and Mace are also effective but can be used against the victim if they're not fast enough getting it, spray it into the wind and have it come back at them, or by spraying someone under the influence of narcotics which will often enrage them instead. I won't get into Tasers because of the effect on an elderly person with heart issues that has it turned back on them.

Household safety is becoming a big business at the home goods stores with steel doors, window locks, and sliding door stops. People who use only cellular phone service need to find out if 911 will get them help quickly or from a routed call that may take too many minutes. VOIP (ie: Vonage Internet telephone) 911 service needs to be confirmed for where you live and them it will route your call to your local EMS/Police dispatch. This is a very easy procedure that I have done with them myself. You can also set up wired and wireless cameras outside to see who is at any door and you can install a wired and wireless alarm around you house as well. Wireless alarms are good if you have other structures such as yard sheds with lawn and garden equipment in them. A wireless camera and alarm in this situation can greatly help law enforcement identify thieves and recover your goods quickly.

I know this sounds like doom and gloom but this is reality here folks! Theft is going to increase as people become more desperate for some income whether it's slinging fries at the golden arches or selling your pressure washer at the pawn shop.

How Much a Pack? Damn!

Will cigarette smokers have any money left for anything else? Altria Group (MO) says it will soon raise prices on Marlboro and other brands by 71 cents a pack. In less than a month, a federal excise tax will kick in to the tune of 61 cents per pack.

The Altria price hike -- the third in as many months -- is a reaction to the new federal tax. Altria thinks cigarette sales could drop a bit, so it's increasing prices to make up for the loss. Now, analysts at Credit Suisse expect Altria's revenue to grow this year instead of decline.

The average price for cigarettes will soon be above $5 a pack, according to Credit Suisse. That probably won't have much of an impact on smokers, the analysts said, since sales volume didn't really change in states where prices have already surpassed that mark.

I wonder, then, what is the price level that will finally turn off smokers?

I finally got fed up with how I felt all the time and paid for a Chantix prescription. I stopped smoking within a week and I'm coming up on 2 years smoke free this May 5th! My savings (apprx) is $ 2,760.00 based on $30 per carton (Marlboro Light Menthols) for 23 months. I'm not preaching, just saying.
The above article, without my final comments, was courtesy of MSN Money 06 Mar 2009.