10-Week program has begun!

Ok... let the pain begin!

I went ahead and purchased some weights this weekend to complete my home gym.

Got up at 4AM and stretched/warmed up for half an hour.. then opened my workout book to WEEK 1.

MONDAY.  

Every single exercise is listed (with a picture) for me.. I don't have to think.. just sweat!

The workout took me exactly one hour.  

My whole body hurts right now and will hurt more tomorrow.

Praise the Lord it's only Monday, Wednesday and Fridays (oh and some pain on Saturday for extra measure).

So I do get some recovery time.

Mom, thanks for reminding me about how most things in life (and I am speaking for myself here) start wonderful, and then taper off to diddly.

And thanks also for the 'blessings' and 'good luck!'.... I'm gunna need it.  

I am in hopes that this honestly is a 'life-change'.. not to be a power lifter or anything.. and not even an effort to get BIG.  But, more of a life change toward regular exercise and eating well... not the randomness that my life has been.

Thanks Miriam also for your encouragement and great ideas (before and after picture).  When this is over, I'll post them both!

And mostly.. Thank You Heather who has patiently helped me get things up and running, and has encouraged me every second of the way.. keep it comin'!  Now is when I need it the most.. or perhaps in a month.  

The program is 10weeks long... 'I've only just begun'.

Oh, great.. now I have that song in my head!

New Exercise Program - IMPACT TIME

I know what you are thinking... how on earth did Mike get so big so fast.
Well.. if you look closely.. this is NOT a picture of me.  Nope.  It's Arnold Swartzenegar.
Hah.. fooled ya.


I am currently in NOT the worse condition of my life.. but close.  Well, I take that back.. I am in OK shape, but have no real routine for exercise.
I honestly can't figure out how I stay in OK shape, since anything to do with exercise is more or less hit/miss.  Sure I walk the dog twice a day, sure I go for a random bike ride thru the neighborhood, sure I walk and hike whenever we go camping, sure I punch the bag in the garage every once in a great while.. but a routine? No.. it's pitiful.

So, I finally got fed up. Finally decided to get a plan.  I was given a book called IMPACT BODY PLAN. The author swears by it like any autor would.. but since the routines are using typical exercise items and not big machines, talks of nutrition and a balanced life, and also speeks plainly about how to say consistant and not so random.... I am going for it.

We went out yesterday and purchased some simple things we didn't yet have:  A Bosu ball (inflatable half dome shape - half of a huge beachball), a medicine ball (basically a 10lb basketball), a jumprope (basic kindergarten model), some kettelbells (cannonballs with handles) and a foam roller (a 6"round hotdog made of dense foam).  We already had some stretchy exercise cords and dumb-bells.  I only have one more thing to buy... a TRX (some kind of torture devise from the Middle Ages, repackaged).
Good Lord help us all!

So I am set.
Time for a LASTING change in my exercise schedule.
The next time you see that picture above (or a similar one).. it WILL be me!!
Bahahaahaa

Technology blew me away.. Again

I have always been enamored by technology.  Even as a kid, I tried to make my own robot.  When in college I worked on an Artificial Intelligence project and I have watched every movie that ever came out with a robot in it.  One of most amazing things for me has been voice recognition software… especially when it’s connected to some sort of program.

Back in college I remember downloading a program (off the internet – which was in its infancy and we were still calling it the world wide web.  That is so yesterday.)  The program was a typing program.  I was going to be able to just speak into the microphone and have it TYPE my essays and papers for me.  It was exciting.. I got all set up and ran thru the tutorial.  I was to read the sentences on screen and the computer was going to analyze what I said and type it.  So, as I recall.. it failed miserably.  I read the sentence “Eat your vegetables”, and it typed “Beat your testicles”.  I realized we had a LONG way to go and deleted the program.. waiting for technology to catch up to need.

It’s been a long time.

Finally it is here. 

Since I got my iPhone.. I have had a chance to experience some of the most advanced voice recognition software available.  I press  a button on my iPhone and after I hear a small ‘beep’ I speak a command.  Call my awesome wife, iPhone (dials Heather’s iPhone).  I could have said ‘work’ and that would have called her office.  Not too impressive.. nearly every smart phone can do this today (even some dumb ones).  Play songs by The Rolling Stones (cranks up “You don’t always get what you want” and other fine tunes.)  More impressive.   I’ve got an app made by Google.  This app has voice recognition for internet searching.  I press a button and ask, “What is the diameter of the earth?” (which brings up on screen 12,756.2 kilometers or 7,926.28 miles at the equator).  “What is the Indiana Jones Theme Song?” (brings up a 2 YouTube videos of Indy riding a horse jumping to a speeding jeep while the Theme song is playing.. and a ton of internet links for other sources).  “Where is the Louvre Museum?” (brings up a map of Paris, France with a pin on the exact location, you can click another button for directions to get there).  All impressive.. but hold yer horses… there’s more.

Yesterday I noticed a little button on the Google app I hadn’t seen before.  I must have been blinded by my enthusiasm… anyway… it was a little button with an icon of a camera on it.  Naturally I clicked it.

A quick explanation came on screen about usage: aim camera (oh.. the phone has a built in camera of course) at any monument, statue, work of art, product with a logo, any book cover, business card, bottle of wine or text (menu, signage, newspaper).  The instructions said it would identify the monument, sculptor and painter of any work of art, tell you about the product, describe the book, add the business card information into your contacts list and dial the person if needed, and report about the bottle of wine.  Also, If you take a picture of any text it will translate it from whatever language it is to English (or any other combination).

So.. I tried it… I took a picture of my V8 juice I was drinking and was soon on the product website.  I grabbed an Architecture magazine near me and opened it up.. looking for a monument.. but found the interior photos of a museum.. took a picture and the app identified the artwork on the walls.  I took a picture of some text (a document on my desk) and then translated it to German.  I took a picture last night at home of a banana cream pie… it had trouble with that… and returned similar pictures of other pastries.

Unbelievable.  Photo recognition software.

They said they are working on further advancement to be able to identify a tree if you take a picture of the leaf, and breed of dog if you took a picture of yours, etc.  But it still has a way to go.  It’s not too far off actually.. our iPhoto program on our computer at home (Apple).. can identify people in our photographs with pretty high accuracy. 

So… technology blew me away.. again.  I honestly wonder what is next?

OH.. here is the link if you want to check the program out for yourself:

http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/

Rubber Chicken Recipe

We ate a rubber chicken last night.  Not intentionally mind you, but we ate one all the same.

The dinner was a disaster, even though it started out with such high hopes.

Here’s the scenario:  Kids over for the weekend.  They are soooo good about us trying new recipes and they give very real feedback on the meal (unlike adults that say something like, “Oh, This is interesting, I’ll have to try this recipe… What’s your secret?”).  Yep.. the kids flat out said it stunk and Connor picked up the thigh and chewed on it like a dog.. pulling on it and stretching the rubberized chicken meat.

Ok.. here’s what’s up.  We recently acquired a medium sized Pampered Chef Roasting Pot … very nice.

We plan on using it for all sorts of oven-cooked meals.. yet one of the recipes was a microwave chicken recipe that cooks a chicken in 20minutes. Sounded too good to be true… so we gave it a try.

We followed the recipe to the T.  I even tied the legs together with a cotton string!!!  Oiled it all down, spices rubbed on top.. and popped it into the microwave. 

20minutes wasn’t enough.. half the chicken was cooked.. so we cut off a cooked leg and gave it to Connor to begin his feast.  10 to 15minutes later, the rest of the chicken was cooked to perfection… perfectly resembling rubber.  We gnawed at if for a while and then the kids asked for other stuff to eat.

I am going to cook the exact same size chicken in the same cookery… in the OVEN next time and see what happens.  We know it will take longer, but my guess is.. it will be edible.

So if anyone encourages you to cook a chicken in the microwave.. just smile and say.. “I have a recipe that works fine Thank You”.  =)

End of an Era

Well, This Tuesday evening we saw some history.

The Space Shuttle and the ISS (International Space Station) were clearly visible in the evening sky as they orbited 220miles overhead.  They were visible for about 3 minutes.  We had a bunch of friends over for dinner and games.. so we all ran outside and watched them orbit past.  It was cool.. but they looked much like very bright stars going by rather than spacecraft... i guess so.. they were over 200miles away!!!

The Space Shuttle Discovery was on it’s final descent… for good.

The International Space Station will stay up there orbiting.. but no longer visited by any US spacecraft for many many many years.

We had 5 space shuttles in all:

Discovery has landed (yesterday) for it’s last trip.. it orbited the earth 365 days in 39missions.

Endeavour and Atlantis will make their final flights this April and June respectively.

Two others were destroyed in accidents:

Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986, killing seven astronauts.   (Tons of publicity and I remember where I was standing when it happened).

Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere over Texas on February 1, 2003, killing seven more astronauts.  (Not televised nor reported very much.)

God rest their souls.

The International Space Station will continue to be visited by Russia, Europe and Japan, as well as two U.S. firms, Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences.  It’s a $100billion project of 16 nations that has been under construction 220 miles above Earth since 1998.

The USA is NOT planning any new space programs nor space craft construction any time soon… basically.. it’s over for now.  Thus ends our 30-year Space Shuttle program.

=(

Here are some quick pictures of the shuttle Discovery and the ISS.

Chilean Wine

Have you ever heard a Chilean wine?

Have you ever drank a Chilean wine?

Heather and I opened up a bottle of Escudo Rojo (2005) this evening and it was wonderful.
We drank it with some incredibly wonderful FISH... and I said a big to H*LL with the formalities that you must drink white wine with fish... it was awesome!  A side of rice and Heather's new favorite... wait for it... Cauliflower (with cheese on top)!!  Quite a feast.

=)

If you ever see this bottle in the store it only costs about $14 and has a great full body taste and is very smooth.

Long Live Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Maipo Chile!!!
And if he's dead... God rest his merry soul.
Amen

Steak for Take-Out??

I guess I've been in the dark ages.. because yesterday when Heather suggested we order a full Steak Dinner Take-Out.. I had never heard of such a thing.

She said, "Sure.. check this out."

She logged onto the Outback Steakhouse website... typed in our zip code and then picked a location (right down the street from our house).  The menu popped up for the Main Entrée.  We clicked on Prime Rib steak (8oz) with Crab Cakes...then answered a question about how we wanted it cooked (medium).  A pop up next wanted to know what we wanted for a side dish.. so I picked a loaded backed potato.  It asked if we wanted a salad and I naturally said YES and picked the type of salad and dressing (drop down selections that had everything from peppercorn to vinaigrette).  They tried to convince us to buy drinks too, but we had some beer in the fridge... so I declined.

We followed the same procedures for Heather and her selections.

When done... we clicked on the button that said.. "We'll bring cash."  And then it asked us when we wanted it to be done!!  We picked a time about half an hour away.. then the total cost came up on screen.
We answered one last question about what make and model of car we had and then it said, "See ya later".

Unbelievable.

We grabbed some cash at the ATM on the way and when we pulled up, this young waitress walks over to our car, pet our dog Rosie in the back window and says... "Mike, your meal is almost ready. "

I nearly freaked.
OH.. nearly forgot.. when she brought our food out.. the girl gave Rosie a doggie biscuit.  Go Figure.
I tipped well.

The food was hot.. and good.  They even tossed in 20 free Hot Wings which I think was a total accident.. And since we didn't notice it until we got home... they tasted great.

So.. welcome to the world of technology and "You can order just about anything in the world" on the internet.

Capturing some Rainwater

I watered all the plants in the house today with captured RAIN WATER!

Hey look at me being all GREEN and all!
LOL.
Heather and I had looked in to purchasing a large garden urn that had a hose attached (gravity fed) to capture rainwater and then use it for plants... well... We had a large bucket in the garage that had some sports equipment in it.. and I figured it would work just fine in the interim.

The bucket works fine as you can see here below.  The rain spout goes all thew way to the bottom of this bucket.  The green you see growing around the rim is just a little algae and is expected.

I have a nice little watering can that fits nicely down into this large bucket for filling and watering  the house plants.  So there you go... Heather and I are doing our little part to save the world.

Reduce Caffeine Intake?

Ok… I’m going to do it.
I am going to cut back on caffeine.
I don’t see myself going fully off caffeine any time soon, but the time has come to cut back.
As crazy at it may seem, and there is no obvious cause.. but I think I have an ulcer.  Heather thinks that the whole stress of my divorce and constantly having to communicate with the spawn of Satan… has created and is maintaining a nice little ulcer.  When I eat acidic foods.. I get a heartburn feeling and need to eat Tums.  2 Tums have been working.  But every day?  That just doesn’t seem right.  I am going to reduce the number of cups of coffee I drink significantly and see if that helps.
This morning we brewed half and half (decaf and regular) and it seems to be working.  I am also going to lay off the chips/salsa for a while and anything spicy.  I guess those hot wings last weekend were NOT in my favor.. I had to eat 4 Tums after that.

So here I go.
A new chapter.

I am in hopes that the ulcer goes away.. and that I don’t have to reduce my beer intake either!  One beer a day, missing a day here and there is my current beer drinking rate.. and I don’t plan to reduce thi!.
It seems OK.   And who says beer is acidic anyway.  Perhaps I will stick to Wheat Beers!
Anyway.

I’ll let you know how it goes…  Time will tell.

Lumps in my Breakfast

You know... I eat Cream of Wheat all the time... And it's high time I figured out how to make it without lumps.
I prefer Home-made oatmeal.. With brown sugar and raisins and real butter in it!!! But every week I whip up some Cream of Wheat.. With lumps.
:(
And stirring the farina in nice and slowly while stirring isn't helping much, if at all.

Paragliding!!!

I think I found my next THRILL!   And it's NOT on Blueberry Hill!!

I have been thinking about paragliding for a few years now and when I showed this little video to Heather.. she quickly said... "Let's do it!"
She is the absolutely most supportive wife in the world!

Here is the video clip that I showed her.. you can watch some of the others too by clicking on the links at this website.

http://www.flyaboveall.com/videos/20feb2010wilcox.htm

Unbelievable!