Worn Out Wednesday

Perhaps it’s because of what you’ll be reading about below, or perhaps it’s a cumulation of things occurring this week, but I was extremely tired when I woke up this morning. So, I decided to give myself a walking break today.

Today’s Personal Project
Do two tasks which have slipped through the cracks recently (read “I didn’t do”)
1. Exchange shorts at Target
2. Start my pushup/situp routine

Today’s Daily Challenge
Boost your energy by trading your sugary or processed snack for fruit or whole-grain treats.

Refined ingredients like white sugar and white flour have been processed and stripped of fiber and nutrients, which means they’re not as healthy as unrefined foods that naturally still have the good stuff intact. To make things worse, our bodies absorb processed grains and sugars (like white flour, white sugar, and high fructose corn syrup) very quickly. This causes a blood sugar spike and quick drop, leaving you feeling wiped-out and hungry again very quickly. By switching to a whole grain or naturally sweet snack, you’ll avoid the crash and stay fuller and more energetic longer.

I started today be eating Mrs. May’s Trio Bar. This isn’t exactly what the challenge stipulates, but it’s better than nothing…

Will Walk For Food
Yesterday I tried something different with my “workout” — walking to dinner and then walking back. I took off from my office and walked ~2.5 miles to a pizza place near Roswell Road, where I proceeded to pig out on garlic rolls and a Greek salad. To punish myself for eating too much I extended my walk back to ~4.2 miles, and then hopped into the Jackmobile and drove home.

Want To See Where I’ll Be Heading Next Week?
Yesterday I watched another episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, this is the episode where he picks up Ricky Gervais in Manhattan. In this episode Seinfeld and Gervais drive out to City Island, New York, coincidentally the area of New York in which my brother and sister-in-law live, and where yours truly will be visiting next week.

This may be of interest only to me, and perhaps my brother, but I found it entertaining enough mention it here.

La Vuelta Es No Buena
Those of you who are cycling fans know that La Vuelta a España starts this Saturday. I was all geeked up to fork over some cash to NBC Universal Sports so that I could get online access only to be told that they are not offering that service this year due to an “authorization” agreement (see below). 🙁

On July 27, 2012, all live streaming events and full event replays will only be available exclusively to DIRECTV and DISH customers with Universal Sports as part of their television package. These events will no longer be offered for sale online, but will be free to users who verify their subscriptions on our website. As future providers add Universal Sports to their channel lineup, it is likely that authenticated access to UniversalSports.com will also be granted.

Thankfully I’ve yet to pull the plug on my DISH Network subscription (see, procrastination can be a good thing!) but in the future it looks as if I’ll be locked out^*.

^* – unless of course I get a video feed from somewhere else…

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but tired
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Build And Analyze” podcast
Website Of The Day – You may have heard a lot of nerd buzz about App.net, another “social network” that I can ignore.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~6.7 miles
Morning Weigh-In – the problem with this is that I only think about doing this when I am at work.

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~27.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 20
Carnivorous Meals – 15
Pancakes Eaten – 2

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

August Goals
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles (might be hard given the amount of travel scheduled this month)
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 75 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]