My last post on this blog was back in May, but that wasn't a substantive post; it was a link to somewhere else. My last "real" post here was actually April 1st. Thought I'd provide some sort of update on how things are going.
The last thing I wrote about was a 'life reset' check-in; technically speaking, I should have provided another update back in June. Well...I've kind of given up writing publicly about that. I got the idea to write about it from Wil Wheaton, but I'm hardly a celebrity and don't really think it's that interesting to read about me. Plus in thinking about it...I'm not sure why I even read Wil's updates. It's great that he's doing well. But they're not providing me with reasons why I follow his blog (which is, to exclude a few things, I like his writing, and enjoy his updates on his creative stuff).
That isn't to say that I've given up on the ideas behind why I was writing these posts. Just works in progress, and you can chalk it all up to "self improvement". Everybody does it, you don't need to read about it.
What else I'm doing:
- Reading, sort of. You can see my Goodreads profile to catch up with what I've read recently. I've reached my 2016 reading goal (8 books) but still finishing a few things. I've had some trouble carving out time to read; partly because my normal reading time, lunch, is occupied by taking a walk. Perhaps I could combine the two. The most recent book I read was Fade In: The Writing of Star Trek Insurrection. I really enjoyed it, and recommend tracking it down. Watch Star Trek: Insurrection after.
- I recently re-watched Mockingjay parts 1 & 2 back-to-back with Vanessa. When we first saw Part 2, I didn't like it as much as Part 1. It's pretty clearly an inferior film, but when watched together with Part 1, it seems to work better the second time around. Thinking that maybe the film would have worked better as one film, rather than split into two parts. Make a few cuts here and there...and there we are.
- Writing - I'm working on writing more. This post is a bad example, but for instance, I'm working on a piece about what I would fix about Star Trek Nemesis. It's a pretty long piece so far, and not finished yet. But as it's not time sensitive, I don't feel bad taking my time. I probably won't get it finished until the end of September.
I've also been writing weekly posts on www.alternativeairwaves.com called Friday Playlist. It started out on a whim, and except for last Friday, I've been doing it weekly. I've had a lot of fun putting these together. The most recent playlist was the longest one I've written. Check it out! I eventually will set up a pretty URL. Probably http://www.alternativeairwaves.com/fridayplaylist.
- Podcasting - until August I was doing a great job posting monthly episodes. I have a playlist ready to go (songs picked out, at least) I just need to hit 'record'. Just didn't set aside any time for this in August, so I missed a month. No big deal. Only 3 more episodes before I hit #100!
That's pretty much it. Honestly, the impetus of this post was to talk about what I was writing. Turned into a bit more. Til next time!
Showing posts with label meta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meta. Show all posts
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The Reset Button
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| Original photo by flickr user Lucky Larry, 2010 |
Add to this that I've been closely following Wil Wheaton's Life Reboot posts, which began sometime in...November I want to say. Wil set some realistic goals (SMART goals, you might say), and is keeping tabs on his progress. I think this is the key element missing from most run-of-the-mill resolutions: follow-up.
February 1st, I'm going to push that reset button, and give myself a little Life Reboot. I'm going against my own "rules" by not starting right away, but I want to take some time and figure out what I want to work on. I have some basic ideas, but I want to hit the ground running - and I'd like to have some kind of a plan in place.
Next Monday, I'll have an update and a plan in place. I think I'm going to try to narrow it down to 7 things, ala Wil Wheaton. Also, based on the recommendation of my good friend Sarah, I will give the app HabitBull a try. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
X Minus Blog
How do you like that for a witty blog post title? OK, so I mentioned in my last podcast (link here) that I want to do a show about radio dramas that have been shared on archive.org, specifically starting with X Minus One. Each different show would constitute a season on the podcast.
Originally the plan started out just being to cover X Minus One by itself - and call it the X Minus Cast. I thought that was pretty clever? Maybe it's just me. Since I've expanded my focus, I've been struggling with a broader show title. Since The Old Time Radio Hour is taken by a podcast that's still updating, here's what I've come up with:
Originally the plan started out just being to cover X Minus One by itself - and call it the X Minus Cast. I thought that was pretty clever? Maybe it's just me. Since I've expanded my focus, I've been struggling with a broader show title. Since The Old Time Radio Hour is taken by a podcast that's still updating, here's what I've come up with:
- Old Time Radio Review Show (or OTRRS)
- Old Time Radio Show Review (or OTRSR)
- Old Time Radio Review (or OTRR)
- Old Time Radio Review Podcast (or OTRRP)
(The acronyms in the brackets would be for the URL - otrrp.tumblr.com or whatever)
What do you like the best? I think for simplicity's sake, I like Old Time Radio Review, because you know it's a show already. And presumably, you know it's a podcast - so you don't need that at the end. Still, there's a certain naming aesthetic with podcasts that including "podcast" or "cast" just seems to work.
Please leave a comment (or tweet at me or something) to let me know your opinion!
Friday, August 7, 2015
Vacation'd
I'm stealing this thread title from my podcast, because I can and who are you to stop me anyway??
Basically, as I start writing this, I have nothing productive to say; so I'm going to allow myself to just write what comes naturally. Actually, I have some notes in a notebook that I could probably transcribe, but I think I'll do that on the weekend from the comfort of home. So, bonus - you'll get some more stuff from me on the weekend.
Before I let my mind wander and forget to talk about it, the significance of the title is that for the last several weeks, I've been doing a combination of travelling up north to see Vanessa or her travelling to see me (if you don't know, she is working on a contract temporarily and is ~8 hours away). As a result I haven't worried about sticking to any self-imposed schedules or doing anything creative. I've sort of just...done things as I felt like it. A little freeing!
Having said that, I think I'm going to not worry about my "schedule" I wrote about several weeks ago. I think I've kind of reset my laziness and I'm not just sitting in front of the TV every night. It doesn't feel as important to keep up with magazines, comic books, or TV shows right now. I just want to have fun, and have fun creating things. If there's something I want to do, and it doesn't get done...it's not a big deal (as long as it's not something actually important).
In my last podcast I released, I recorded it entirely from my cell phone. It was pretty cool. Which has led me to the notion of releasing a different podcast using just my cell phone. I'm currently exploring methods of doing that; once I figure out a way that works to my satisfaction I will probably start doing that instead of writing here. I just find it fun to do podcasts, and it comes easier than writing.
I think that's it for now. Til the weekend!
Basically, as I start writing this, I have nothing productive to say; so I'm going to allow myself to just write what comes naturally. Actually, I have some notes in a notebook that I could probably transcribe, but I think I'll do that on the weekend from the comfort of home. So, bonus - you'll get some more stuff from me on the weekend.
Before I let my mind wander and forget to talk about it, the significance of the title is that for the last several weeks, I've been doing a combination of travelling up north to see Vanessa or her travelling to see me (if you don't know, she is working on a contract temporarily and is ~8 hours away). As a result I haven't worried about sticking to any self-imposed schedules or doing anything creative. I've sort of just...done things as I felt like it. A little freeing!
Having said that, I think I'm going to not worry about my "schedule" I wrote about several weeks ago. I think I've kind of reset my laziness and I'm not just sitting in front of the TV every night. It doesn't feel as important to keep up with magazines, comic books, or TV shows right now. I just want to have fun, and have fun creating things. If there's something I want to do, and it doesn't get done...it's not a big deal (as long as it's not something actually important).
In my last podcast I released, I recorded it entirely from my cell phone. It was pretty cool. Which has led me to the notion of releasing a different podcast using just my cell phone. I'm currently exploring methods of doing that; once I figure out a way that works to my satisfaction I will probably start doing that instead of writing here. I just find it fun to do podcasts, and it comes easier than writing.
I think that's it for now. Til the weekend!
Friday, July 3, 2015
A Round-Up
Not this kind of round-up.
I thought I'd check in based on my post last week, and make Thursdays my official day for posting here. Or maybe Fridays. I wrote all of this on Thursday but didn't finish editing (to add links).
I guess technically Im in my second weekdoing this new plan. I think it's going petty well! As I write this, Im watching some episodes of ReBoot (yes, I'm re-watching the show). My schedule was thrown for a loop this week, but that's what happens when you get a day off work in the middle of the week.
I've found the hardest day to stay intrested is Magazine Monday. I guess I'm just not that into magazines. But I did and some new TV Shows to follow! On Thursdays only of course.
- Dark Matter - I first leared of this show via Wil Wheaton. The basic premise of the show is 6 people wake up from stasis to discover they know basic skills but don't remember who they are. Already that's a great premise that hooked me. The series is created by the same people behind the Stargate TV shows.
It's interesting to think of them as "auteurs" because you can certainly pick up on the Stargate-like aspects. It's hard to define, but it's definitely noticeable and can make it easier to predict plot points. Overall, I like it. The title text makes me think of the N64 game Perfect Dark. TIL it's based on a comic book series!
- Killjoys - It's about bounty hunters, set in the future. A killjoy is a hunter with clearance to go after kill contracts. I don't want to give too much away, because it is a great show. It's visually stunning as well. I actually like this show better than Dark Matter.
Other things going on? We got a new camera, and I'm photographing anything and everything.
I've been a lot more productive these last two weeks as well. I released a podcast last weekend, the second in two weeks. That's really good for me! Usually I don't get more than one done in a month.
Good start for now!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
I'm Back (not to be confused with Bach)
I haven't posted in a while. In that last post, I mentioned a few things I had on the go in 2015. I'll address those topics shortly; first though, I had to get an idea out of my head that was generated while on my lunch time walk (which is the worst time for ideas - I can't write them down, and they compete for my attention against podcasts. Unfair to the podcasts, because then I don't listen to them).
I have an ever-growing list of media I wish to consume, coupled with an ever-growing list of media I wish to produce. To that end, I think I need to structure my weeks. You see, I'm on my own for the summer (inquire further in the comments if interested in the full story), and it's been that way since May 25th. I had all these grandiose plans to catch up on PVR recordings (movies & TV shows), get podcasts recorded, etc. etc. to fill my time between softball games.
I've watched some TV, but mostly have sucked my time with playing video games and not being very productive, aside from some household chores. This is why I need structure. The last couple of days, I actually accomplished some to-do list items because I actually made a to-do list and followed it. So obviously, I need to tighten my schedule. Here it is.
* by "a billion years" I mean 6 months.
I have an ever-growing list of media I wish to consume, coupled with an ever-growing list of media I wish to produce. To that end, I think I need to structure my weeks. You see, I'm on my own for the summer (inquire further in the comments if interested in the full story), and it's been that way since May 25th. I had all these grandiose plans to catch up on PVR recordings (movies & TV shows), get podcasts recorded, etc. etc. to fill my time between softball games.
I've watched some TV, but mostly have sucked my time with playing video games and not being very productive, aside from some household chores. This is why I need structure. The last couple of days, I actually accomplished some to-do list items because I actually made a to-do list and followed it. So obviously, I need to tighten my schedule. Here it is.
- Magazine Mondays - Something I've been meaning to start for a while. I subscribe digitally to a bunch of magazines from the Ottawa Public Library via Zinio, and I have a backlog.
- Book Tuesdays - The alliteration stops at Mondays. I will find time to read books outside of Tuesdays, but some weeks I find I don't read at all. So at least once a week my evenings will be spent behind the pages (digital or analog) of a book.
- Comic Book Wednesdays - I have some comic books backlogged, plus a few older ones I wouldn't mind re-visiting. Also, there is a specific purpose to this day - will get to that.
- Television Thursdays - Yay, alliteration is back! Thursdays are for catching up on recorded items on my PVR, YouTube series (think: TitansGrave, RCVR, other stuff)
- Free Music Fridays - Because I needed more alliteration; specifically though I need to stay on top of Creative Commons music for Alternative Airwaves.
- The Weekend - The weekend is multi-purpose. Record a podcast (or two), listen to music, read, whatever.
What is all of this for? Why give titles for everything? I'll answer the second question first: because I can. As to what it's all for - and why the title of this post is, "I'm Back" - because I want to flex my writing muscles a bit more, and get more use out of this silly blog. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of weekly writing over here, using any one of those days as a starting block. Which day I'll post I haven't decided yet - but that's not important.
The other purpose is for the media I wish to produce, as I alluded to above. I already have Alternative Airwaves to work on - hence the music listening on Fridays - but I'm trying to finish working on Star Trek: The "X" Generation and turn that into a podcast. I recorded an "Episode 0" for it to get feedback (ask for it in the comments, if you like!), but I need to do more writing first. It's a project where I can easily record episodes ahead of time and keep up with a consistent schedule, but if I get too far ahead recording, I won't have any material to work with anymore!
That ties in to the whole comic book Wednesdays - the new podcast idea will involve comic books as well, and I want to release it when comic books are released - Wednesdays. I guess that's the only tie-in. Carry on.
Alright, back to my 2015 Update post - here's where I am as of today...
- Podcasts / 2015 comeback: I'm doing...OK with this. I've got updates coming mostly monthly. I missed the month of April only, so that means for 2015 I've released an episode in Jan/Feb/Mar/May/June - that's much better than I thought! Working with my friend Mike for the Futurama Podcast...we at least released a mini episode in May!
- TV Shows: I have too many shows to "catch up" with. I think I may binge watch a bunch of things. Or I may not.
- Project 365/52/26 - I started this...and then stopped. Not my cup of tea.
- Weight Loss - I have not yet lost 38 pounds, and in fact missed my goal for May. But since the end of May, I've gotten back on track with things and the weight's going down. Work in progress.
That's it! Sorry for the length of the post, but that's my fault for not writing anything in a billion years.*
Friday, August 1, 2014
Hodgepodge
I haven't had a lot of things itching to get out of my mind lately, but I've been wanting to write something - so I thought I would throw something together. A hodgepodge, if you will. I figure a paragraph on everything will do.
- I was introduced to reddit a few weeks back; I had heard of the website before, but never really made use of it. It looked like a jumbled mess to me, and when occasionally I'd find reddit in search results, I didn't know how to navigate it. I'm still no pro at it, but I get it now and it has given me new things to read about.
- This week I've been dropping pounds like crazy. It hasn't been due to any extra exercise (that was last week...I put in some extra time due to some external pressure that ended up being unfounded). The main difference this week has been smaller dinners by using portion plates. Oh, the best part? I'm down 14.17% body fat - or, 39.3 lbs since November 2013. Crazy!
- 2048 is a simple yet addictive game. In short, the object is to move numbered tiles around a grid and combine them to ultimately create the number 2048. I've gotten has high as 1024, but that's about it. I'm close...I can feel it!
- A while back I watched Thor: The Dark World. It's not a perfect movie, but I found it really enjoyable - which is great for a character I've hardly related to in the past. I've never been a big Thor fan, so it's great that the movies can make the character relevant to me. Good comedic moments balanced with action set pieces.
- The Blue Jays are on a roll. Sort of. They had a spectacular month of May, which has set them up great considering the mediocre performance they've put forth in June & July. They've picked it up since the All-Star Break, but they have a long way to go if they want to do anything in the post-season. Sounds like Jays fans are excited again though, which is good...it's been too long.
- Recently read The Giver; I really liked this novel. It's really short, so it's an easy read. I gave it five stars on Goodreads, though thinking back to the book, it's not spectacular. Don't get me wrong - I'd still rate it five stars; but a book like Brave New World or 1984 are more up my alley than this was. Have you seen the trailer for the movie coming out soon? It looks terrible!
- I was introduced to reddit a few weeks back; I had heard of the website before, but never really made use of it. It looked like a jumbled mess to me, and when occasionally I'd find reddit in search results, I didn't know how to navigate it. I'm still no pro at it, but I get it now and it has given me new things to read about.
- This week I've been dropping pounds like crazy. It hasn't been due to any extra exercise (that was last week...I put in some extra time due to some external pressure that ended up being unfounded). The main difference this week has been smaller dinners by using portion plates. Oh, the best part? I'm down 14.17% body fat - or, 39.3 lbs since November 2013. Crazy!
- 2048 is a simple yet addictive game. In short, the object is to move numbered tiles around a grid and combine them to ultimately create the number 2048. I've gotten has high as 1024, but that's about it. I'm close...I can feel it!
- A while back I watched Thor: The Dark World. It's not a perfect movie, but I found it really enjoyable - which is great for a character I've hardly related to in the past. I've never been a big Thor fan, so it's great that the movies can make the character relevant to me. Good comedic moments balanced with action set pieces.
- The Blue Jays are on a roll. Sort of. They had a spectacular month of May, which has set them up great considering the mediocre performance they've put forth in June & July. They've picked it up since the All-Star Break, but they have a long way to go if they want to do anything in the post-season. Sounds like Jays fans are excited again though, which is good...it's been too long.
- Recently read The Giver; I really liked this novel. It's really short, so it's an easy read. I gave it five stars on Goodreads, though thinking back to the book, it's not spectacular. Don't get me wrong - I'd still rate it five stars; but a book like Brave New World or 1984 are more up my alley than this was. Have you seen the trailer for the movie coming out soon? It looks terrible!
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
A Toe-riffic Challenge
I've never broken a bone before in my life; that's a 30-year streak, which is pretty impressive! I've had my fair share of massive bruises, but I guess I'm just big-boned. Hopefully, that streak has not ended as a result of dumb luck.
This past Monday afternoon, I somehow managed to stub my toe on one of the pipes that stick out in the basement while carrying a basket of laundry to the laundry machines. At the time, I simply thought it was a run-of-the-mill toe stub: no visible marks to my toe, it seemed to be pointing in the right direction. It was just sore - which to me seems normal for a stubbed toe.
I went on to play some softball Monday night, which required wearing cleats - they were a little tight against my toe, and I played with a pretty bad limp. After the game when I took my cleats off, my toe was pretty much black and blue all over. Not a good sign! (For those who haven't researched broken toes on the Internet, this is pretty much the number one indication that it is broken.)
Since then, the bruising has gone down a LOT, and I'm just experiencing some minor pain (I'd qualify the toe as "tender"). I went to see the doctor, and he was able to move my toe around quite a bit. Without doing an x-ray, his best assessment was that it's probably not broken - and either way, the treatment would be the same: ice it, keep it elevated, and don't wear tight-fitting shoes.
Which brings us to the challenge - I have some fitness goals to meet, but I'm not supposed to wear shoes, essentially. It's great that it's the summer time and I can wear sandals, but it's also softball season. I'm not 100% sure what to do here - maybe it would be best to not play for a week? And, there should be plenty of exercise that can be done that doesn't require wearing proper shoes - I just can't go to the gym.
The whole point of this rambling is just to say that I'll have to find a way to stay active despite this really tiny limitation (seriously...it's my pinky toe). This really shouldn't be a huge problem - I've hurt my feet in different ways before; this one just could have been, and potentially could still be, much worse. All because of a stupid pipe in the basement.
This past Monday afternoon, I somehow managed to stub my toe on one of the pipes that stick out in the basement while carrying a basket of laundry to the laundry machines. At the time, I simply thought it was a run-of-the-mill toe stub: no visible marks to my toe, it seemed to be pointing in the right direction. It was just sore - which to me seems normal for a stubbed toe.
I went on to play some softball Monday night, which required wearing cleats - they were a little tight against my toe, and I played with a pretty bad limp. After the game when I took my cleats off, my toe was pretty much black and blue all over. Not a good sign! (For those who haven't researched broken toes on the Internet, this is pretty much the number one indication that it is broken.)
Since then, the bruising has gone down a LOT, and I'm just experiencing some minor pain (I'd qualify the toe as "tender"). I went to see the doctor, and he was able to move my toe around quite a bit. Without doing an x-ray, his best assessment was that it's probably not broken - and either way, the treatment would be the same: ice it, keep it elevated, and don't wear tight-fitting shoes.
Which brings us to the challenge - I have some fitness goals to meet, but I'm not supposed to wear shoes, essentially. It's great that it's the summer time and I can wear sandals, but it's also softball season. I'm not 100% sure what to do here - maybe it would be best to not play for a week? And, there should be plenty of exercise that can be done that doesn't require wearing proper shoes - I just can't go to the gym.
The whole point of this rambling is just to say that I'll have to find a way to stay active despite this really tiny limitation (seriously...it's my pinky toe). This really shouldn't be a huge problem - I've hurt my feet in different ways before; this one just could have been, and potentially could still be, much worse. All because of a stupid pipe in the basement.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Goal Update
Whoops - I meant to write something up as a follow-up to the Mini-Goal I set for March 28th. My apologies for missing that mark; I was also supposed to set a new stretch goal for May 4th.
Mini-Goal Results
As of March 12, I weighed 258.4 pounds and my goal was to reach 245.5 pounds by March 28 (5% body weight loss). This was close to the original number I wanted to reach by March 5th.
Actual Weight March 28th: 250.8
Difference: 7.6 lbs (3%)
Holy cow, I missed my goal by 2%! I could write a book about The Extra 2%...oh, wait a minute...
Updated Goal: May 4th
I never truly set a weight loss goal on Monday March 31st, which was what I was supposed to do. Let's set one retro-actively - I think that's still fair, considering my current progress (more on that in a bit).
Weight as of end of day March 31: 251.9 lbs
Goal weight, end of day May 4th: 219.6 lbs
Weight Loss Goal: 12.8% (32.2 lbs)
What I did to get that number, actually, was to take my weight on March 12 (258.4) and reduce it by 15% (which is the 219.6 number). So in total, I'd like to have lost 38.8 pounds.
The reason why I think it's fair to set this goal retro-actively is because my progress of late has not been great. As of Sunday, I finished the week at 249.2 pounds - but as of last night, I was back up to 250.2. This is not a coincidence, or hitting a wall; quite simply, Vanessa and I haven't been able to get out and be active as much as we would like.
No excuses or anything, but that's just the reason why progress has stagnated. There are a few external reasons, but to be perfectly honest, we should be able to overcome these and get our butts to the gym. That's not our reality though, so I'm OK with this "lack" of progress (though I should point out that we're not putting weight back ON, so this is still GOOD).
Obviously, we need to get back into our good habits that had some really positive results. In short, that was going to the gym 3-4 times a week (our goal is 4) and eating well. We haven't really changed our eating habits, so we only have one place to look.
We have to do more than just say we'll get back to the habits - here are some things that I hope will work for us, and maybe someone else might find them useful.
Mini-Goal Results
As of March 12, I weighed 258.4 pounds and my goal was to reach 245.5 pounds by March 28 (5% body weight loss). This was close to the original number I wanted to reach by March 5th.
Actual Weight March 28th: 250.8
Difference: 7.6 lbs (3%)
Holy cow, I missed my goal by 2%! I could write a book about The Extra 2%...oh, wait a minute...
Updated Goal: May 4th
I never truly set a weight loss goal on Monday March 31st, which was what I was supposed to do. Let's set one retro-actively - I think that's still fair, considering my current progress (more on that in a bit).
Weight as of end of day March 31: 251.9 lbs
Goal weight, end of day May 4th: 219.6 lbs
Weight Loss Goal: 12.8% (32.2 lbs)
What I did to get that number, actually, was to take my weight on March 12 (258.4) and reduce it by 15% (which is the 219.6 number). So in total, I'd like to have lost 38.8 pounds.
The reason why I think it's fair to set this goal retro-actively is because my progress of late has not been great. As of Sunday, I finished the week at 249.2 pounds - but as of last night, I was back up to 250.2. This is not a coincidence, or hitting a wall; quite simply, Vanessa and I haven't been able to get out and be active as much as we would like.
No excuses or anything, but that's just the reason why progress has stagnated. There are a few external reasons, but to be perfectly honest, we should be able to overcome these and get our butts to the gym. That's not our reality though, so I'm OK with this "lack" of progress (though I should point out that we're not putting weight back ON, so this is still GOOD).
Obviously, we need to get back into our good habits that had some really positive results. In short, that was going to the gym 3-4 times a week (our goal is 4) and eating well. We haven't really changed our eating habits, so we only have one place to look.
We have to do more than just say we'll get back to the habits - here are some things that I hope will work for us, and maybe someone else might find them useful.
- Assigning a weekly value to our gym visits; we have a weekly goal of a minimum of 4 visits per week, so based on what we're paying for our gym membership, we can assign a cost per visit. Any fewer visits than that and the cost per visit jumps, making the investment incredibly bad. At 4 visits, the cost per visit is pretty reasonable right now - so from a financial point of view, it makes sense to keep going!
- I recently borrowed Fit To Curl by John Morris from the library. The curling season is officially over for me, but I intend on starting up again in October. I'd like to improve my fitness level specifically for the sport, which is what the book is designed to do. But I feel that a lot of the exercises and stretches will help for the upcoming softball season, so I should see some benefits there too. In short, a focused training program will help get us out to the gym and doing something other than bike/weights/stretch/go home.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Mini Goal
I forgot to write on Monday about my next goal. I should say, "our" goal, because Vanessa and I are going for the same date (just different numbers).
So just a quick update...Monday I started out with an average weight of 258.4 pounds. Vanessa and I are going to try to lose as much as we can by March 28th, the Friday of her birthday weekend. While "as much as we can" is nice, it's nicer to have a concrete goal...so I'm aiming for 5% weight loss, which would put me in at 245.5 pounds - pretty much the original number I wanted to hit on my birthday.
I'm going to have to crunch some numbers to figure out the next goal after that, but the next goal takes us to May 5th, so there's opportunity to lose more than 5%.
So just a quick update...Monday I started out with an average weight of 258.4 pounds. Vanessa and I are going to try to lose as much as we can by March 28th, the Friday of her birthday weekend. While "as much as we can" is nice, it's nicer to have a concrete goal...so I'm aiming for 5% weight loss, which would put me in at 245.5 pounds - pretty much the original number I wanted to hit on my birthday.
I'm going to have to crunch some numbers to figure out the next goal after that, but the next goal takes us to May 5th, so there's opportunity to lose more than 5%.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Day 119
I started this weight loss plan (to lose 30 pounds by the time I turn 30) November 8th. The goal was to drop from 275.2 pounds to 245.2 pounds by March 5, 2014. Officially, the last date of this personal challenge was yesterday - Thursday March 6, because my daily weigh-in schedule was on a Friday-Thursday week. So how did I do? Prepare yourself for some numbers.
But first...a little background on how I went through this challenge and gathered information. I read that the best way to get an accurate progress report of your weight loss is to weigh yourself three times a day, and take the average. For best results, these times should be consistent. Because I only had time and access for two weigh-ins, I ditched the third and have done a decent job of weighing in at the same time each day. Armed with those daily numbers, I measured my progress based on my 7-day average weight.
I also participated in a free health clinic offered by my employer. I was given a CANRISK (your risk of developing diabetes) of 28, which is moderate. They measured my waist circumference, as well as my body fat %. I won't bore you with all the numbers - they're a few posts back.
But, my BMI back in November was 39.2. Today, it's 36.6. My score is still 28 - but I feel like that's partly to do with my waist measurements not changing (which I don't get - everybody says that they can see I've lost weight, but I don't know where they see it if my waist is the same). Either way? Reducing my BMI is really good.
On Friday November 8, 2013, I weighed 272.4 pounds in the morning and 278.0 pounds in the evening for an average of 275.2 pounds. On March 5, 2014, I weighed 257.2 pounds in the morning, 260.4 pounds at night, for an average of 258.8 pounds. That's a total loss of 16.4 pounds by the 30-years-old mark. Just over halfway to my actual goal. Considering that's better than losing 0 pounds or GAINING weight, I'm happy with that number.
As of Thursday March 6, 2014, I weighed 258.0 in the morning, 261.6 in the evening, for an average of 259.8. The total loss from November 8th is 17 pounds. That also gives me a 7-day average of 258.1 - which is still a 16 pound loss over 119 days.
I'm not nearly done yet, either. I'm taking a bit of a weekend break from tracking everything so I can re-start on a new Mon-Sun schedule, but the new goal is to lose even more weight. I haven't determined the exact amount yet, so I'll report back on Monday.
But first...a little background on how I went through this challenge and gathered information. I read that the best way to get an accurate progress report of your weight loss is to weigh yourself three times a day, and take the average. For best results, these times should be consistent. Because I only had time and access for two weigh-ins, I ditched the third and have done a decent job of weighing in at the same time each day. Armed with those daily numbers, I measured my progress based on my 7-day average weight.
I also participated in a free health clinic offered by my employer. I was given a CANRISK (your risk of developing diabetes) of 28, which is moderate. They measured my waist circumference, as well as my body fat %. I won't bore you with all the numbers - they're a few posts back.
But, my BMI back in November was 39.2. Today, it's 36.6. My score is still 28 - but I feel like that's partly to do with my waist measurements not changing (which I don't get - everybody says that they can see I've lost weight, but I don't know where they see it if my waist is the same). Either way? Reducing my BMI is really good.
On Friday November 8, 2013, I weighed 272.4 pounds in the morning and 278.0 pounds in the evening for an average of 275.2 pounds. On March 5, 2014, I weighed 257.2 pounds in the morning, 260.4 pounds at night, for an average of 258.8 pounds. That's a total loss of 16.4 pounds by the 30-years-old mark. Just over halfway to my actual goal. Considering that's better than losing 0 pounds or GAINING weight, I'm happy with that number.
As of Thursday March 6, 2014, I weighed 258.0 in the morning, 261.6 in the evening, for an average of 259.8. The total loss from November 8th is 17 pounds. That also gives me a 7-day average of 258.1 - which is still a 16 pound loss over 119 days.
I'm not nearly done yet, either. I'm taking a bit of a weekend break from tracking everything so I can re-start on a new Mon-Sun schedule, but the new goal is to lose even more weight. I haven't determined the exact amount yet, so I'll report back on Monday.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Creative Spirit
Lately I've been thinking a lot about writing. It's all been sparked by a comment last week on a blog post I wrote last year about a "Short Story Writing Month". Strangely (or maybe not so strangely) the writing I've thought about hasn't been fiction - it's non fiction writing.
I've made the decision a long time ago that I'm not a fiction writer, and I'm okay with that. I've also come to terms with not being "popular" or we'll known; it's not a goal for me, and it's also a direct consequence of a lousy work ethic when it comes to writing. Unfortunately, that same lousy work ethic means that I’m terrible at keeping up with something as simple as a blog.
I admire everyone out there who writes for a living (and for a hobby, too). The people that write every day are doing something that I keep saying, “oh, I can do that, no problem!”. I look at them and see a complete lack of fear - the fear of running out of things to write about, running out of opinions, coming off as boring.
But I also know that these people also experience that same fear. They just bowl over that fear and they just. do. it. No excuses, the job gets done. Believe me, I’ve gone through all of the excuses: no time, no motivation, no ideas. What has that got me? A whole lot of nothing.
No time? What kind of excuse is that? I have plenty of time every day. I wake up at 5:30AM, shower, and I’m usually done breakfast before 7, sometimes earlier. Of course I have the time to spend as little as 15 minutes stringing words together. What’s the hold-up here? It’s that lousy work ethic again.
I even thought that I would spend 15 minutes a day listening to music for my podcast, and I haven’t done that. I tend to put those together the day I intend to record, and the result is sometimes a not-so-well thought-out podcast.
You know, if you’re reading through this post so far you may come up with two deductions: 1) My thoughts are often scattered and not put together too well; and 2) I am a very lazy person with a terrible work ethic.
I’d say that part of both of those statements are true. My thoughts are often scattered, though I tend to organize them better in some cases more than others. I can have a terrible work ethic - when it comes to self-assigned duties. I work very hard at my job, so sometimes I feel like being lazy when it comes to personal things. I think that’s normal for most people, though.
Anyway, at this point I just wanted to write for the sake of writing. I feel like I need to do some daily writing, so this is a good starting point - consider this day one. I think I would like to spend 15 minutes a day working on a weekly blog post, so we’ll see how I manage with that. I have a few ideas on the back burner so I could bring those to the forefront.
Here’s a challenge: how many idioms or mixed metaphors could I use in one blog post?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
A Problem With Being Creative
Here's the thing. There are currently a lot of things going on in my head creatively, and I find I am thinking about them constantly. This is both a blessing and a curse (and not one of those cool superhero curse type of things); on the one hand, this is way better than being in a creative funk where you can't think of anything.
On the other hand, I feel sometimes that I've put too much on my plate. There's so much that I'm trying to do, when I probably should be doing One Thing, and putting my focus on that. Ostensibly, that One Thing should be my Podcast, but I think I should be trying to relegate that back into hobby territory.*
I don't mind that I'm working on several things at once. What I would prefer is to set aside specific times in the week where I can just switch this on, rather than be thinking about it all the time and become frustrated when I can't do anything about it, or have no time to work on it. Also, I have a lot of things going on at work right now, and I probably should be focusing on that, you know? Instead, I am writing a random blog post to eat up some time at work.
Once again this comes back to time management. I think I made that a resolution at the start of the year? I'm not sure. In any case I'm not going to re-visit my resolutions until June. In the meantime, I plan on watching the first DVD of my "DVD Survivor" series soon...I just need to find some time in my week to do it.
* - This will help in my feelings of "wow this is not nearly as good as it could/should be" re: the Podcast.
On the other hand, I feel sometimes that I've put too much on my plate. There's so much that I'm trying to do, when I probably should be doing One Thing, and putting my focus on that. Ostensibly, that One Thing should be my Podcast, but I think I should be trying to relegate that back into hobby territory.*
I don't mind that I'm working on several things at once. What I would prefer is to set aside specific times in the week where I can just switch this on, rather than be thinking about it all the time and become frustrated when I can't do anything about it, or have no time to work on it. Also, I have a lot of things going on at work right now, and I probably should be focusing on that, you know? Instead, I am writing a random blog post to eat up some time at work.
Once again this comes back to time management. I think I made that a resolution at the start of the year? I'm not sure. In any case I'm not going to re-visit my resolutions until June. In the meantime, I plan on watching the first DVD of my "DVD Survivor" series soon...I just need to find some time in my week to do it.
* - This will help in my feelings of "wow this is not nearly as good as it could/should be" re: the Podcast.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Disappointment - With a Positive Outlook
The Machine of Death Volume 2 Submission Deadline has come and gone (it was 00:00:00 July 16th 2011). Unfortunately, I did not manage to get anything put together for a submission - that's the disappointment part of this post. I would have loved to put something into contention to get included in a really cool anthology, but I just didn't find the time to put into writing it (and I am purposefully distinguishing "finding time" and "having no time").
So what's with the positive outlook? Despite my disappointing results with writing so far (I haven't even been doing daily prompts, as was my intention), I still feel like I'm being creative and productive. And that's despite being in the process of taking my house apart in advance of a September 1st move. Here's why I feel so creative:
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| Picture shamelessly stolen from Lifehacker |
So what's with the positive outlook? Despite my disappointing results with writing so far (I haven't even been doing daily prompts, as was my intention), I still feel like I'm being creative and productive. And that's despite being in the process of taking my house apart in advance of a September 1st move. Here's why I feel so creative:
- In the last week and a half, I've written a review of Titanic II, as well as an off-the-cuff piece about Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ricky Romero. I really liked how both pieces came out.
- I feel like Alternative Airwaves is going in a good direction; I'm on a bit of a haphazard posting schedule for the summer (in part due to the move), but I'm doing my best to stay on top of things and pump out what I think is a unique take on the music I'm linking to
- I actually feel motivated to write & produce new content; while I haven't actually done that as yet, this can only be a Good Thing. Actually, this blog post really is a result of feeling motivated - I just felt like writing something.
Friday, May 6, 2011
What's the point?
I've been doing some more thinking about my creative processes; this has all been spurned on by my attempts to come up with a submission to Machine of Death Volume 2. Basically, at what point do you stop kidding yourself and stop trying to be a creative fiction writer?
I have the work ethic to maintain a decent blog, and occasional guest posts on another, but that seems to be the extent of the writing that comes relatively effortlessly. I am usually pleased with the outcome of my "articles", but often I find myself questioning my writing when it comes to fiction. I know this is "normal", but I find it hard to come up with original ideas and actually see them through to the end.
So, do I tell myself, "stick to what you can actually do" and stop trying to write fiction? No, I don't think so. I'm stubborn. What I SHOULD do is go back to the basics. Stop trying to write anything complicated and just write. You know, this post is actually sounding a lot like one I just wrote a few weeks ago.
But sometimes I need to express these thoughts over and over so that they sink in. I still plan on putting together a submission for Machine of Death 2, but it's going to be something simple and manageable. I will be disappointed if it doesn't make the cut for published stories (there are already AT LEAST 30 submissions after all), but I will nevertheless hope for the best.
Wish me luck! Oh, and if you're a writer reading this: submit something to MOD2. I'm really looking forward to what everyone comes up with for round 2.
I have the work ethic to maintain a decent blog, and occasional guest posts on another, but that seems to be the extent of the writing that comes relatively effortlessly. I am usually pleased with the outcome of my "articles", but often I find myself questioning my writing when it comes to fiction. I know this is "normal", but I find it hard to come up with original ideas and actually see them through to the end.
So, do I tell myself, "stick to what you can actually do" and stop trying to write fiction? No, I don't think so. I'm stubborn. What I SHOULD do is go back to the basics. Stop trying to write anything complicated and just write. You know, this post is actually sounding a lot like one I just wrote a few weeks ago.
But sometimes I need to express these thoughts over and over so that they sink in. I still plan on putting together a submission for Machine of Death 2, but it's going to be something simple and manageable. I will be disappointed if it doesn't make the cut for published stories (there are already AT LEAST 30 submissions after all), but I will nevertheless hope for the best.
Wish me luck! Oh, and if you're a writer reading this: submit something to MOD2. I'm really looking forward to what everyone comes up with for round 2.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Just some thoughts.
I haven't posted in a while (that BSG finale was just too amazing, really), so I thought I would just make an entry without any real purpose beyond expressing some thoughts.
It might be a rather lengthy entry so I thought I'd put it all under a page break thingie.
It might be a rather lengthy entry so I thought I'd put it all under a page break thingie.
Friday, March 25, 2011
You know what I miss?
I miss:
being a part of things like Mulder & Scully's Bogus Journey (thank-you very much Wayback Machine)
the long-defunct star wars rpg the Bounty Hunters' Guild
in short: being a part of a like-minded community. Sure, I'm a member of a few forums here and there but they are largely non-specific beyond one common thing (i.e. Notebook in Hand's common theme is Creativity - but that is a very broad connecting theme. Not complaining a lot, mind you, it's a fun community!). However I don't think there's anything out there right now that I can jump into. No fandom that I'd like to join.
Perhaps though, that might change if I can be on the ground floor of that Blood & Chrome series comes out, I can get into that. Although to be honest, I'd rather it be something like a new Star Trek or Star Wars series, or something. As much as I like the Battlestar Galactica franchise, it feels like something with a concrete end, rather than something open* like those other two franchises (or even Stargate - and I tried and horribly failed to get into THAT community when Universe was launching).
I really didn't have a grand point to make in this post, except that I think my lack of a community to participate in amongst peers is leading me to try and fill that void by becoming Internet-Famous; I'm constantly trying to think of cool ideas to pull off after seeing something particularly neat that someone else has done. And then I remember I need actual artistic skills to become "Internet-Famous". I'd much prefer being the second kind of "Internet-Famous":
Obscure around the globe, but at least well-liked by members of a like-minded community. Is that so much to ask?
* Pardon my stealing of your trademark asterisks, Sarah, but you touched on this very topic a while ago so I thought it was fitting. I can't find it, but I assure any outside readers that it exists in some form on http://srkriger.com/.
being a part of things like Mulder & Scully's Bogus Journey (thank-you very much Wayback Machine)
the long-defunct star wars rpg the Bounty Hunters' Guild
in short: being a part of a like-minded community. Sure, I'm a member of a few forums here and there but they are largely non-specific beyond one common thing (i.e. Notebook in Hand's common theme is Creativity - but that is a very broad connecting theme. Not complaining a lot, mind you, it's a fun community!). However I don't think there's anything out there right now that I can jump into. No fandom that I'd like to join.
Perhaps though, that might change if I can be on the ground floor of that Blood & Chrome series comes out, I can get into that. Although to be honest, I'd rather it be something like a new Star Trek or Star Wars series, or something. As much as I like the Battlestar Galactica franchise, it feels like something with a concrete end, rather than something open* like those other two franchises (or even Stargate - and I tried and horribly failed to get into THAT community when Universe was launching).
I really didn't have a grand point to make in this post, except that I think my lack of a community to participate in amongst peers is leading me to try and fill that void by becoming Internet-Famous; I'm constantly trying to think of cool ideas to pull off after seeing something particularly neat that someone else has done. And then I remember I need actual artistic skills to become "Internet-Famous". I'd much prefer being the second kind of "Internet-Famous":
Obscure around the globe, but at least well-liked by members of a like-minded community. Is that so much to ask?
* Pardon my stealing of your trademark asterisks, Sarah, but you touched on this very topic a while ago so I thought it was fitting. I can't find it, but I assure any outside readers that it exists in some form on http://srkriger.com/.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Movie Reviews...
So once upon a time I ran this movie review blog called Quick & Dirty Movie Reviews. I had fun putting it together, and apparently it has over 13 thousand all-time hits, if I believe the stats. Of course, most of those hits are from porn-related search results, with the most popular being "Anita Briem's nipples" (which is in response to search results for this post). There wasn't actually anything "dirty" about the site, but I wrote it in a different voice than what I usually do.
The other fun part was that there was nothing serious about it whatsoever. Most of the time I wrote what I truly thought about a film, distilled from wordiness and right to the point - plus some sort of joke that seemed witty to me at the time of writing it. Other times I exaggerated what I thought about certain films, which was fun too.
The point of this post: I've been feeling restless creatively. A lot of it has to do with that short story anthology I'm trying to complete (I'm getting frustrated - love the story concepts, but not my execution), but the other bits of it is that I've realized (yet again) that I have more fun writing "quasi non-fiction". I call it quasi non-fiction because while I am expressing my personal opinions, I am doing so through a specific character, and not really as myself.
Boy am I long-winded. So I think I'm going to pick this up again, but this time I'm going to use Tumblr. I don't know if there are any mechanisms in existence to transfer a Wordpress Blog to Tumblr, but if not then I will just start from scratch. Because there is no way I'm re-typing all of those reviews.
The other fun part was that there was nothing serious about it whatsoever. Most of the time I wrote what I truly thought about a film, distilled from wordiness and right to the point - plus some sort of joke that seemed witty to me at the time of writing it. Other times I exaggerated what I thought about certain films, which was fun too.
The point of this post: I've been feeling restless creatively. A lot of it has to do with that short story anthology I'm trying to complete (I'm getting frustrated - love the story concepts, but not my execution), but the other bits of it is that I've realized (yet again) that I have more fun writing "quasi non-fiction". I call it quasi non-fiction because while I am expressing my personal opinions, I am doing so through a specific character, and not really as myself.
Boy am I long-winded. So I think I'm going to pick this up again, but this time I'm going to use Tumblr. I don't know if there are any mechanisms in existence to transfer a Wordpress Blog to Tumblr, but if not then I will just start from scratch. Because there is no way I'm re-typing all of those reviews.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Now what?
It's been a few days since the novel writing thingie ended; I've been on a cool-down period from writing for those few days, feeling a temporary burn-out. The creative bug is back, and I'm trying to ease myself back into Writing Mode™. This means that I *should* be ready to start the editing process of my novel Monday or Tuesday; if not, I deserve a swift kick in the pants. Expect an excerpt by Friday.
You'll notice I didn't say "expect the first chapter by Friday", because I finally decided what I'm going to do with the novel. I'm going to turn it into a short story, and write a bunch of others to make a little anthology. I will probably dig up older stories I have lying around somewhere and polish those a bit. I have one piece that needs some work but I put off doing it forever because I thought it was too daunting at the time. Now? Not so daunting, but it still requires major work.
(I am most definitely NOT taking part in that ABNA thing. I sincerely hope that somebody (anybody) I know does and has success, though. And by "somebody I know" I also mean Internet acquaintances, not just in-person-friends. Look I'm just trying to say I'm not hinting at any one specific person, and I'm only saying this because that's how it looks the way I wrote it. I should just stop right there.)
Now that I've made my decision, I need to have a plan in place. So here it is, and it includes EVERYTHING that is remotely related to writing.
You'll notice I didn't say "expect the first chapter by Friday", because I finally decided what I'm going to do with the novel. I'm going to turn it into a short story, and write a bunch of others to make a little anthology. I will probably dig up older stories I have lying around somewhere and polish those a bit. I have one piece that needs some work but I put off doing it forever because I thought it was too daunting at the time. Now? Not so daunting, but it still requires major work.
(I am most definitely NOT taking part in that ABNA thing. I sincerely hope that somebody (anybody) I know does and has success, though. And by "somebody I know" I also mean Internet acquaintances, not just in-person-friends. Look I'm just trying to say I'm not hinting at any one specific person, and I'm only saying this because that's how it looks the way I wrote it. I should just stop right there.)
Now that I've made my decision, I need to have a plan in place. So here it is, and it includes EVERYTHING that is remotely related to writing.
- Complete a short story anthology, with 10 stories at minimum. If I end up writing more than 10, that would be gravy. I haven't worked out a completion date yet, as it depends on how many stories I have now vs how many stories I still need to write.
- Publish said anthology via CreateSpace / Amazon.com Kindle store. Make available as a regular PDF as well
- Finish my episode reviews of Battlestar Galactica Season 4, and start a new series of reviews for Caprica. BSG should be finished by the end of December no problem (I believe I have 4 episodes left), Caprica can wait until January / the new year.
- ???
- Profit
The last two items are clearly a reference to a well-known joke. Or maybe not well-known, as I feel the need to point out that it is a joke / reference.
Monday, October 25, 2010
My Little Narrative Problem
With NaNoWriMo coming up in a week, I thought I would start sharing some behind-the-scenes blog posts to go along with my writing. This is honestly what's going to occupy most of the blog in the coming weeks, so I hope that I'm entertaining enough for you to keep reading over November (or as beardites will call it, MOvember).
I have a little problem about what kind of narrative to use for my novel (if you don't remember what my novel is going to be about, let me help you remember). The problem is that I don't know who the narrator is. Is it Larry, who is the main character for the book (in other words, 1st person narrative)? Is it an observer closely following Larry's actions (3rd person limited)? Or is the narrator simply Q (omnicscient 3rd person)?
The reason why I'm in this dilemma is because I am playing a few scenes around in my head (not writing, that would be cheating) and some of them - the opening chapter for instance - is perfect for 1st person, while others require a more sophisticated narrator than a high school kid. If I go with 1st person, I feel that there will be places in the book where I want to use words and references that would be far outside of the main character's immediate grasp.
I exaggerate a bit - the character probably would know some of the things I'd write, but it's hard to make readers believe that when you're writing from a character's personal voice. I also don't think I could accurately capture a high school student's mentality to within 90-100%, which means a separate voice would be helpful. That of course ruins my "perfect" opening scene that I have in my head.
I know I can easily jump between narrative voices as I write, but I don't think that's very practical. I should stick with one form from the beginning.
So does anyone have any suggestions? I would love to write a scene both ways prior to November, but I then wouldn't be able to use those words for the story without rewriting them. Any advice would be extremely helpful! :)
I have a little problem about what kind of narrative to use for my novel (if you don't remember what my novel is going to be about, let me help you remember). The problem is that I don't know who the narrator is. Is it Larry, who is the main character for the book (in other words, 1st person narrative)? Is it an observer closely following Larry's actions (3rd person limited)? Or is the narrator simply Q (omnicscient 3rd person)?
The reason why I'm in this dilemma is because I am playing a few scenes around in my head (not writing, that would be cheating) and some of them - the opening chapter for instance - is perfect for 1st person, while others require a more sophisticated narrator than a high school kid. If I go with 1st person, I feel that there will be places in the book where I want to use words and references that would be far outside of the main character's immediate grasp.
I exaggerate a bit - the character probably would know some of the things I'd write, but it's hard to make readers believe that when you're writing from a character's personal voice. I also don't think I could accurately capture a high school student's mentality to within 90-100%, which means a separate voice would be helpful. That of course ruins my "perfect" opening scene that I have in my head.
I know I can easily jump between narrative voices as I write, but I don't think that's very practical. I should stick with one form from the beginning.
So does anyone have any suggestions? I would love to write a scene both ways prior to November, but I then wouldn't be able to use those words for the story without rewriting them. Any advice would be extremely helpful! :)
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