I heard about this site on the radio today, and thought it sounded pretty intriguing.
I haven't taken the test yet, myself (it apparently takes about half an hour), but I liked the way the guy was talking on the radio today.
One of my favorite points he made is that really being healthy isn't about being a "super" athlete or anything extreme like that. He quoted Governor Arnold as once having said something to the effect of, "There isn't an athlete I know who hasn't destroyed their body for their sport."
If anybody does try it before I do, let me know what you think.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Fame!
I don't think I've liked back to The bearable lightness of being yet, which bothers me. I'm sorry!
I usually try to post a link to anybody who links to me, but you know how it goes.
What I really need to do is put a links list in the sidebar. Maybe that'll be a project for this weekend . . .
I usually try to post a link to anybody who links to me, but you know how it goes.
What I really need to do is put a links list in the sidebar. Maybe that'll be a project for this weekend . . .
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Ground Turkey
It's not the super-lean stuff they encourage you to buy in the fitness magazines, but it is leaner than ground beef, and the way my wife's been getting it, it's been cheaper than ground beef.
Yup. We're talkin' turkey.
It's been an experiment. Neither of us have much experience with the stuff, and I was a little surprised to see that it thawed to more of a soupy texture than the consistency we normally associate with ground beef.
Undaunted, we started thickening it up. Rather than using breadcrumbs, like you'd do for meatballs, we used oatmeal. Higher fiber, complex carbs. Also, I still have a can of Neston I got at an international food shop a while back. Neston is a flakey, whole wheat cereal Nestle sells in Brazil that makes a good additive for shakes. It's got vitamins and minerals and thickens the same as the oatmeal or breadcrumbs would.
We've also learned that it's dreadfully bland by itself. We've added all manner of seasonings, from barbecue sauce to Grillmates to vinegar. We've made burgers, meat sauces and meatballs with it, and while some experiments have been more successful than others, we're getting closer to figuring it out. The spaghetti Marci made tonight turned out really well.
So I recommend it to those frugal adventurers who are willing to put the extra bit of work in the extra few cents will save you, but do be warned that what you're going to get will not be something you can just form into a patty and put on the grill. The addition of the oatmeal or bran or whatever-your-flavor will do the trick, though, and makes the final product even better for you.
Yup. We're talkin' turkey.
It's been an experiment. Neither of us have much experience with the stuff, and I was a little surprised to see that it thawed to more of a soupy texture than the consistency we normally associate with ground beef.
Undaunted, we started thickening it up. Rather than using breadcrumbs, like you'd do for meatballs, we used oatmeal. Higher fiber, complex carbs. Also, I still have a can of Neston I got at an international food shop a while back. Neston is a flakey, whole wheat cereal Nestle sells in Brazil that makes a good additive for shakes. It's got vitamins and minerals and thickens the same as the oatmeal or breadcrumbs would.We've also learned that it's dreadfully bland by itself. We've added all manner of seasonings, from barbecue sauce to Grillmates to vinegar. We've made burgers, meat sauces and meatballs with it, and while some experiments have been more successful than others, we're getting closer to figuring it out. The spaghetti Marci made tonight turned out really well.
So I recommend it to those frugal adventurers who are willing to put the extra bit of work in the extra few cents will save you, but do be warned that what you're going to get will not be something you can just form into a patty and put on the grill. The addition of the oatmeal or bran or whatever-your-flavor will do the trick, though, and makes the final product even better for you.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Fat Man Walking
Okay, a quick word about this guy.
I first heard him on the radio about a month ago. The makers of the insoles who are sponsoring him were having him do radio interviews to sponsor them.
Personally, I thought it was a terrible idea. And not just because he's going to walk right through New Mexico, a state which has driven even some who've attempted to drive through it insane.
And not just because, even though the six months is already half up, he's not even 1/6th of the way.
The fact is that, for all his talk of "No quick fixes for me!" on the website, this is still a quick fix. It's a long, slow, torturous quick fix, but it's a quick fix just the same.
A quick fix is a one-time "stunt" that is meant to make everything all better, but that is so far removed from your natural reality as to be ineffective in the long term. In this case, once he gets back home he's still going to have to go through the process of finding an exercise program, figuring out a healthy diet, and completely changing his life for the purpose of maintaining any weight he lost, or losing any weight he doesn't lose in these six months (or more).
And he'd have to spent six months (or more) of his life away from at least part of his family. Granted, this is the part of his story I know the least about, but that could easily be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Is it worth it to try to change your life, if your family goes to pot in your absence?
But now that I've seen the site, I see his kids are pretty young, and are kind of tagging along in the support van with Mom. Which turns this whole thing into a big six month long family vacation, which I've got no problem with at all. I wish this guy a ton of luck.
Of course, he really is still going to have to get down to the real business of changing his life, eating habits, and exercise patterns once he gets home. The temptation will be to say, "Alright, now a week off." The week will become a month, then a year, and then he'll be back where he started from. And pretty soon his kids will start saying to him, "Daddy, when are you going to walk across the country again," and he'll realize he's back where he started from.
But that doesn't have to be! And I must say, this is a heck of a way to kick off a turnaround.
I first heard him on the radio about a month ago. The makers of the insoles who are sponsoring him were having him do radio interviews to sponsor them.
Personally, I thought it was a terrible idea. And not just because he's going to walk right through New Mexico, a state which has driven even some who've attempted to drive through it insane.
And not just because, even though the six months is already half up, he's not even 1/6th of the way.
The fact is that, for all his talk of "No quick fixes for me!" on the website, this is still a quick fix. It's a long, slow, torturous quick fix, but it's a quick fix just the same.
A quick fix is a one-time "stunt" that is meant to make everything all better, but that is so far removed from your natural reality as to be ineffective in the long term. In this case, once he gets back home he's still going to have to go through the process of finding an exercise program, figuring out a healthy diet, and completely changing his life for the purpose of maintaining any weight he lost, or losing any weight he doesn't lose in these six months (or more).
And he'd have to spent six months (or more) of his life away from at least part of his family. Granted, this is the part of his story I know the least about, but that could easily be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Is it worth it to try to change your life, if your family goes to pot in your absence?
But now that I've seen the site, I see his kids are pretty young, and are kind of tagging along in the support van with Mom. Which turns this whole thing into a big six month long family vacation, which I've got no problem with at all. I wish this guy a ton of luck.
Of course, he really is still going to have to get down to the real business of changing his life, eating habits, and exercise patterns once he gets home. The temptation will be to say, "Alright, now a week off." The week will become a month, then a year, and then he'll be back where he started from. And pretty soon his kids will start saying to him, "Daddy, when are you going to walk across the country again," and he'll realize he's back where he started from.
But that doesn't have to be! And I must say, this is a heck of a way to kick off a turnaround.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Friday Mythbustin': A Magic Pill
Myth: If I just refinance my house/consolidate my debt/get liposuction/get my stomach stapled, my problems will be solved.
Truth: By treating only the symptom of the problem rather than the cause, you're just postponing the moment you have to deal with the problem, and possibly making them worse.
How did I get here?
In trying to find one's way out of a mess, this question is often the first one you need to answer. You need it answered before you even begin to answer the question that seems more pressing--How do I get out?
Because without answering the "How did I get here?" question, even if there were a "magic pill" that could whisk you away to Someplace Better, you would likely begin to wander much as you had before, and end up back in the same spot!
The real power would come not from your relocation, but from your power to prevent your return.
However, the so-called cures are rarely as magical as in our examples.
Home refinances are often more expensive than simply paying off debt. Thirty years of low interest can add up to more than five years of high interest. And if you opt for an interest-only loan, then your debt doesn't go down at all. You pay extra interest for the ability to lock your debt up somewhere, only so it can pop out and terrorize you later.
Stomach stapling is an incredible health trade-off. Often people who have had the operation end up thinner, but with reduced immune systems and other symptoms of malnutrition. Some even manage to re-grow their stomachs and gain back lost weight in spite of the surgery.
It's like if someone who's beginning to have trouble walking rushing out and purchasing a motorized cart. While the cart may seem easier, the fact that it's keeping them from walking can actually accelerate the problem. The answer may be that they need to walk more, not less, and they really ought to consult a physician.
All of these things are treating symptoms, rather than the problem. It's the equivalent of shoving two cotton balls up your nose because your nose is running. It plugs up the leak, but doesn't actually address the fact that you've got germs inside you doing bad stuff.
If you are having problems with your finances or with your weight, there is an underlying cause or two. Some examples:
1. Lack of Information. You simply do not know another way, or are ignorant of the effects of certain things. This one can be obvious--if somebody says 403b, for example, you either know what they're talking about or you don't.
Sometimes, though, the knowledge void isn't obvious, and you have to look a little harder to find it.
2. Incorrect or incomplete information. Someone might have told you, for example, that it's good to carry around some debt at all times in order to boost your credit score, or some other such silly nonsense.
The problem with this one, as opposed to the previous one, is this one is less obvious. There isn't an obvious gap in your knowledge--you think you know the answer!
Because of this, it is impossible to self-diagnose. You have no way of knowing, by yourself, which of your beliefs are true or false or a combination thereof. The only way to address this issue is to be constantly testing for it, by being in a constant state of learning, though whatever medium appeals to you.
3. Assumptions. I think this one is particularly true about weight problems. People think they're overweight because they're big boned, or they have a metabolism problem, or a thyroid problem. Or, they think their weight can't possibly be because of metabolism or a thyroid problem (It's never the big-boned thing. That's just bunk).
The problem with the assumptions is they exist independent of actual reality. And until the assumptions, either through research or professional diagnosis, are corrected, you are incapable of solving the problem.
4. Emotional issues. We are emotional creatures. We don't act logically all the time--Mr. Spock seemed weird to us for a reason. Getting our emotions regarding these things straightened out can be an even bigger hindrance than any of the previous three problems.
So it's in one of these four areas that things have gone wrong, and whichever one it is will keep steering you wrong no matter how many quick-fix patch-up jobs you attempt.
Truth: By treating only the symptom of the problem rather than the cause, you're just postponing the moment you have to deal with the problem, and possibly making them worse.
How did I get here?
In trying to find one's way out of a mess, this question is often the first one you need to answer. You need it answered before you even begin to answer the question that seems more pressing--How do I get out?
Because without answering the "How did I get here?" question, even if there were a "magic pill" that could whisk you away to Someplace Better, you would likely begin to wander much as you had before, and end up back in the same spot!
The real power would come not from your relocation, but from your power to prevent your return.
However, the so-called cures are rarely as magical as in our examples.
Home refinances are often more expensive than simply paying off debt. Thirty years of low interest can add up to more than five years of high interest. And if you opt for an interest-only loan, then your debt doesn't go down at all. You pay extra interest for the ability to lock your debt up somewhere, only so it can pop out and terrorize you later.
Stomach stapling is an incredible health trade-off. Often people who have had the operation end up thinner, but with reduced immune systems and other symptoms of malnutrition. Some even manage to re-grow their stomachs and gain back lost weight in spite of the surgery.
It's like if someone who's beginning to have trouble walking rushing out and purchasing a motorized cart. While the cart may seem easier, the fact that it's keeping them from walking can actually accelerate the problem. The answer may be that they need to walk more, not less, and they really ought to consult a physician.
All of these things are treating symptoms, rather than the problem. It's the equivalent of shoving two cotton balls up your nose because your nose is running. It plugs up the leak, but doesn't actually address the fact that you've got germs inside you doing bad stuff.
If you are having problems with your finances or with your weight, there is an underlying cause or two. Some examples:
1. Lack of Information. You simply do not know another way, or are ignorant of the effects of certain things. This one can be obvious--if somebody says 403b, for example, you either know what they're talking about or you don't.
Sometimes, though, the knowledge void isn't obvious, and you have to look a little harder to find it.
2. Incorrect or incomplete information. Someone might have told you, for example, that it's good to carry around some debt at all times in order to boost your credit score, or some other such silly nonsense.
The problem with this one, as opposed to the previous one, is this one is less obvious. There isn't an obvious gap in your knowledge--you think you know the answer!
Because of this, it is impossible to self-diagnose. You have no way of knowing, by yourself, which of your beliefs are true or false or a combination thereof. The only way to address this issue is to be constantly testing for it, by being in a constant state of learning, though whatever medium appeals to you.
3. Assumptions. I think this one is particularly true about weight problems. People think they're overweight because they're big boned, or they have a metabolism problem, or a thyroid problem. Or, they think their weight can't possibly be because of metabolism or a thyroid problem (It's never the big-boned thing. That's just bunk).
The problem with the assumptions is they exist independent of actual reality. And until the assumptions, either through research or professional diagnosis, are corrected, you are incapable of solving the problem.
4. Emotional issues. We are emotional creatures. We don't act logically all the time--Mr. Spock seemed weird to us for a reason. Getting our emotions regarding these things straightened out can be an even bigger hindrance than any of the previous three problems.
So it's in one of these four areas that things have gone wrong, and whichever one it is will keep steering you wrong no matter how many quick-fix patch-up jobs you attempt.
Quote Of The Week:
The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. Those who succeed are those who have thoroughly learned the immense importance of plan in life, and the tragic brevity of time.
- W.J. Davison
- W.J. Davison
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Super-Fast Updates
This, ironically, is both my slowest and fastest update ever.
As in, it's the longest I've gone between posts, but my first post using my super-fast, super-hype DSL connection.
Wow. It's a little bit faster.
I haven't hooked up my wireless router yet (Thank you, Becky!) but I will soon.
Our house is actually kind of turned upside down right now. My wife borrowed a carpet cleaner thing today, so most of my apartment is in my kitchen and my bedroom, so even the set-up I've got for the DSL right now was just temporary to make sure it was working.
But whoo-doggies, is this thing faster. I am feeling so spoiled right now.
Bring on your big files! Bring on your huge flash-powered websites! Bring on the large version of the film trailers!
I am the king of cyberspace!
As in, it's the longest I've gone between posts, but my first post using my super-fast, super-hype DSL connection.
Wow. It's a little bit faster.
I haven't hooked up my wireless router yet (Thank you, Becky!) but I will soon.
Our house is actually kind of turned upside down right now. My wife borrowed a carpet cleaner thing today, so most of my apartment is in my kitchen and my bedroom, so even the set-up I've got for the DSL right now was just temporary to make sure it was working.
But whoo-doggies, is this thing faster. I am feeling so spoiled right now.
Bring on your big files! Bring on your huge flash-powered websites! Bring on the large version of the film trailers!
I am the king of cyberspace!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Emma's Eyes
I know there are comments I haven't replied to, and I'll get to them I swear--it's just been a long day and I have to get up early tomorrow for work.
But I do want to let everybody know that the optometrist has officially declared that, while wearing glasses, Emma's eyes are completely straight. She won't even need to use a patch.
This could change six months from now, but for right now, her eyes are responding remarkably well to corrective lenses, and she won't need any other treatment.
She deserves to catch a break once in a while.
(And I do promise to post a pic. Pics have, in fact, been taken--like a dunce, I just forgot to email them to myself. I'll get 'em up! I swear!)
But I do want to let everybody know that the optometrist has officially declared that, while wearing glasses, Emma's eyes are completely straight. She won't even need to use a patch.
This could change six months from now, but for right now, her eyes are responding remarkably well to corrective lenses, and she won't need any other treatment.
She deserves to catch a break once in a while.
(And I do promise to post a pic. Pics have, in fact, been taken--like a dunce, I just forgot to email them to myself. I'll get 'em up! I swear!)
Monday, July 11, 2005
A Big Thank-You
To everyone who participated in my birthday. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and/or presents and/or emails. You all are awesome.
On a fitness note, I got a pair of dumbells, which means I now have no excuse for not lifting weights more frequently.
Since my birthday was supposed to be sort of a milestone in the year, excpect a sort of "year in review"-type post this week.
On a fitness note, I got a pair of dumbells, which means I now have no excuse for not lifting weights more frequently.
Since my birthday was supposed to be sort of a milestone in the year, excpect a sort of "year in review"-type post this week.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Friday Mythbustin': Don't Eat Before Bedtime
Myth: If you don't eat before bedtime, your body won't store up the calories and you won't gain weight.
Fact: If you eat more calories than you burn, it doesn't matter when you eat them.
I guess it kind of makes sense. If you eat only when you're doing stuff, you'll burn more of the calories, right? When you're sleeping, all you're doing is just . . . sleeping.
Yeah. But to be honest with you, when you're sleeping, you're not burning that many fewer calories than when you're sitting watching TV (Fitday.com gives you no calorie credit for doing either one). Unless you're actually up and moving, eating before you sit down for that Seinfeld marathon is exactly the same as eating before you sleep.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts showed that going to bed hungry (Going 3 hours without eating before bedtime) increased a person's risk of obesity by over 100%! The only things worse were eating breakfast out of the house (137%) and not eating breakfast at all (A whopping 450%!).
Now some people swear by this weight-loss trick, and have had terrific luck with it. I think there's a reason for this:
A lot of people only have access to food once they get home from work. They come home, eat dinner, and then snack until bed time. By eliminating all the pre-bedtime snacks, they significantly cut their calorie intake. As long as they don't eat the food at other times (which they don't, because they're not in the house at other times), they're going to experience weight loss.
What I want to do is reassure them that if they give in and have something, they don't need to beat themselves up over it. In fact, it's probably a good idea.
Obviously, this isn't permission to eat the whole pint of Chubby Dumpy Ice Cream, but it does say that eating is just as important a tool in weight loss as the not eating is.
So grab that apple, or have a little meal replacement shake. High protein meals before bed help the muscle grow while you're sleeping.
Just be reasonable about it.
Fact: If you eat more calories than you burn, it doesn't matter when you eat them.
I guess it kind of makes sense. If you eat only when you're doing stuff, you'll burn more of the calories, right? When you're sleeping, all you're doing is just . . . sleeping.
Yeah. But to be honest with you, when you're sleeping, you're not burning that many fewer calories than when you're sitting watching TV (Fitday.com gives you no calorie credit for doing either one). Unless you're actually up and moving, eating before you sit down for that Seinfeld marathon is exactly the same as eating before you sleep.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts showed that going to bed hungry (Going 3 hours without eating before bedtime) increased a person's risk of obesity by over 100%! The only things worse were eating breakfast out of the house (137%) and not eating breakfast at all (A whopping 450%!).
Now some people swear by this weight-loss trick, and have had terrific luck with it. I think there's a reason for this:
A lot of people only have access to food once they get home from work. They come home, eat dinner, and then snack until bed time. By eliminating all the pre-bedtime snacks, they significantly cut their calorie intake. As long as they don't eat the food at other times (which they don't, because they're not in the house at other times), they're going to experience weight loss.
What I want to do is reassure them that if they give in and have something, they don't need to beat themselves up over it. In fact, it's probably a good idea.
Obviously, this isn't permission to eat the whole pint of Chubby Dumpy Ice Cream, but it does say that eating is just as important a tool in weight loss as the not eating is.
So grab that apple, or have a little meal replacement shake. High protein meals before bed help the muscle grow while you're sleeping.
Just be reasonable about it.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Alice's Adventures In Turnaround
In Lewis Carroll's book, Through The Looking Glass, there's a scene that's always stuck in my brain. It's not in any of the adaptations I've seen, but the scene rings true for me, and the scene is incredibly resonant.
In the book, Alice meets the Red Queen, who is not a playing card, but rather, a chess piece. After some amusing exchanges, this happens:
Just at this moment, somehow or other, they began to run.
Alice never could quite make out, in thinking it over afterwards, how it was that they began: all she remembers is, that they were running hand in hand, and the Queen went so fast that it was all she could do to keep up with her: and still the Queen kept crying "Faster!" but Alice felt she could not go faster, though she had no breath to say so.
The most curious part of the thing was, that the trees and the other things round them never changed their places at all: however fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything. "I wonder if all the things move along with us?" thought poor puzzled Alice. And the Queen seemed to guess her thoughts, for she cried, "Faster! Don't try to talk!"
Not that Alice had any idea of doing that. She felt as if she would never be able to talk again, she was getting so out of breath: and still the Queen cried, "Faster! Faster!" and dragged her along. "Are we nearly there?" Alice managed to pant out at last.
"Nearly there!" the Queen repeated. "Why, we passed it ten minutes ago! Faster!" And they ran on for a time in silence, with the wind whistling in Alice's ears, and almost blowing her hair off her head, she fancied.
"Now! Now!" cried the Queen. "Faster! Faster!" And they went so fast that at last they seemed to skim through the air, hardly touching the ground with their feet, till suddenly, just as Alice was getting quite exhausted, they stopped, and she found herself sitting on the ground, breathless and giddy. The Queen propped her against a tree, and said kindly, "You may rest a little now."
Alice looked round her in great surprise. "Why, I do believe we've been under this tree all the time! Everything's just as it was!"
"Of course it is," said the Queen: "what would you have it?"
"Well, in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else -- if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
Not to correct poor Alice, but I think there are plenty of times in this country where things seem to work exactly as they do on the Red Queen's chessboard. We run and work and labor and try just to have things stay the same, at it seems like the effort to make something actually change is Herculean.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
The Abs Diet
So my new reading is The Abs Diet, the bright orange book you've seen at the bookstore and supermarket.
The guy who wrote it is the editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine, and it shows. The writing has the same type of "We want to seem hip so bad, we're going to show you how hip we are at least once a paragraph," writing style that litters the magazine, which wouldn't be nearly so annoying if his definition of "hip" didn't match with that of a sophomore in high school. Hip means beer and girls.
Add to that the title and the promise--washboard abs in six weeks.
That's ludicrous all the way around. People don't need abs. Abs are nice, and are a good sign you've lost weight--the guys who track this kind of stuff say that you'll see abs when your body fat gets down around 11%--but they aren't vital to good health.
And, add to that the cutesy way he tries to make the "12 authorized foods" fit his acronym "ABS DIET POWER 12." A is for "Almonds and other nuts." S is for "Spinach and other leafy greens." The list is extremely forced.
There, in a handful of paragraphs, you have my only complaints about the entire book. The nutrition is sound, the logic is good, the recipes look tasty. He also points out it isn't a diet so much as a way of eating--an important aspect of not just losing a couple quick pounds, but about changing your lifestyle.
A lot of people are skipping the big thick book and just buying the little $8 Food Guide
, which includes the chapters from the book on food, along with recipes and lists of what to get when eating out.
Worth a look.
The guy who wrote it is the editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine, and it shows. The writing has the same type of "We want to seem hip so bad, we're going to show you how hip we are at least once a paragraph," writing style that litters the magazine, which wouldn't be nearly so annoying if his definition of "hip" didn't match with that of a sophomore in high school. Hip means beer and girls.
Add to that the title and the promise--washboard abs in six weeks.
That's ludicrous all the way around. People don't need abs. Abs are nice, and are a good sign you've lost weight--the guys who track this kind of stuff say that you'll see abs when your body fat gets down around 11%--but they aren't vital to good health.
And, add to that the cutesy way he tries to make the "12 authorized foods" fit his acronym "ABS DIET POWER 12." A is for "Almonds and other nuts." S is for "Spinach and other leafy greens." The list is extremely forced.
There, in a handful of paragraphs, you have my only complaints about the entire book. The nutrition is sound, the logic is good, the recipes look tasty. He also points out it isn't a diet so much as a way of eating--an important aspect of not just losing a couple quick pounds, but about changing your lifestyle.
A lot of people are skipping the big thick book and just buying the little $8 Food Guide
, which includes the chapters from the book on food, along with recipes and lists of what to get when eating out.Worth a look.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Here I Come Back From The Dead, Oh No . . . . . !!!
I got a little under the weather.
For those who don't read my other blog, I'm currently writing a screenplay. It's been interesting, because the book I'm using as a guide is one that acknowledges the difficulties of writing a screenplay. "No other book acknowledges the fact that you think you're going to die of this," quoth the book, and the amazing part is, it's right.
The way the book does it, see, is by paralleling the difficulties you're going through writing the thing with the difficulties your hero is facing throughout your movie.
At the start, you know you want to write a movie, but you're not really sure what all it's going to entail or how it's going to be. Your hero--same thing. He starts out wanting something but he's not sure what he will have to through between now and then.
And then you start getting into it, and you have to keep going forward not looking back, even when it starts to look a little harder than you thought. Ditto your hero.
And as things get going, there's actually a time where the screenwriter and the hero both just feel like throwing in the towel. This isn't what they signed up for, it's not what they wanted it to be, they can tell so much of what's gone before is just bad, bad, bad.
That's the day when it's the hardest for the screenwriter to sit down and plunk out the pages. That's when it takes fortitude and guts and character to keep on going and see it through.
It's true in screenplays. It's true in movies.
And it's true in 365 day turnarounds.
The car problems stunk. Being sick stunk. Coming back up four pounds (wonder why the Tale of the Tape hasn't been updated in a while?) stunk.
So there's that moment where you have to knuckle down, recognize the cost of what you wanted, and decide you want it anyway.
Onward, ho!
For those who don't read my other blog, I'm currently writing a screenplay. It's been interesting, because the book I'm using as a guide is one that acknowledges the difficulties of writing a screenplay. "No other book acknowledges the fact that you think you're going to die of this," quoth the book, and the amazing part is, it's right.
The way the book does it, see, is by paralleling the difficulties you're going through writing the thing with the difficulties your hero is facing throughout your movie.
At the start, you know you want to write a movie, but you're not really sure what all it's going to entail or how it's going to be. Your hero--same thing. He starts out wanting something but he's not sure what he will have to through between now and then.
And then you start getting into it, and you have to keep going forward not looking back, even when it starts to look a little harder than you thought. Ditto your hero.
And as things get going, there's actually a time where the screenwriter and the hero both just feel like throwing in the towel. This isn't what they signed up for, it's not what they wanted it to be, they can tell so much of what's gone before is just bad, bad, bad.
That's the day when it's the hardest for the screenwriter to sit down and plunk out the pages. That's when it takes fortitude and guts and character to keep on going and see it through.
It's true in screenplays. It's true in movies.
And it's true in 365 day turnarounds.
The car problems stunk. Being sick stunk. Coming back up four pounds (wonder why the Tale of the Tape hasn't been updated in a while?) stunk.
So there's that moment where you have to knuckle down, recognize the cost of what you wanted, and decide you want it anyway.
Onward, ho!
Thursday, June 30, 2005
New Phone Deal
Okay, here's the deal:
We're ditching Netflix. They're great for selection, but they're a lousy value, and they've got lousy customer service.
We're also switiching phone companies. The new "Verizon Freedom Unlimited" plan gives us the unlimited long distance my wife needs so badly, and combined with their DSL, we'll actually be paying about the same as what we used to pay for Unlimited Long Distance with voice mail.
So I'm getting DSL and Unlimited Long Distance for less than what I used to pay just for the phone bill and dial-up.
However, I didn't let them lock me in to a one year contract, despite the offer of the free wireless router. I want to be able to ditch this quick if I need to, or if, as the frog and the dog sang, "Somethin' better comes along."
We're ditching Netflix. They're great for selection, but they're a lousy value, and they've got lousy customer service.
We're also switiching phone companies. The new "Verizon Freedom Unlimited" plan gives us the unlimited long distance my wife needs so badly, and combined with their DSL, we'll actually be paying about the same as what we used to pay for Unlimited Long Distance with voice mail.
So I'm getting DSL and Unlimited Long Distance for less than what I used to pay just for the phone bill and dial-up.
However, I didn't let them lock me in to a one year contract, despite the offer of the free wireless router. I want to be able to ditch this quick if I need to, or if, as the frog and the dog sang, "Somethin' better comes along."
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Emma's Eyes
Usually, when people see me after a while, they ask about Emma. She's got a leg tumor and some other problems, but is sweet as pie in spite of it all.
One of the problems is her eyes. To put it gently, they tend to cross. Her right eye tends to drift off course a bit.
As it turns out, this is strabismus, a generic term for any visual defect that causes misalignment of the eyes. Her particular type of strabismus is called accommodative esotropia. That's a fancy way of saying she's really, really farsighted. So farsighted, that her eyes need to cross that much in order for her to focus.
The first step in her treatment is glasses. There's a chance that glasses alone might help. We'll see if we have to do any patching or anything else from there.
We did find some pretty cool Dora The Explorer glasses that were purple, so she's excited. I'll try to get a picture or two up when they come in.
One of the problems is her eyes. To put it gently, they tend to cross. Her right eye tends to drift off course a bit.
As it turns out, this is strabismus, a generic term for any visual defect that causes misalignment of the eyes. Her particular type of strabismus is called accommodative esotropia. That's a fancy way of saying she's really, really farsighted. So farsighted, that her eyes need to cross that much in order for her to focus.
The first step in her treatment is glasses. There's a chance that glasses alone might help. We'll see if we have to do any patching or anything else from there.
We did find some pretty cool Dora The Explorer glasses that were purple, so she's excited. I'll try to get a picture or two up when they come in.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Friday Mythbustin': Crunch Away That Tummy!
Myth: If you have a tummy, if you do enough sit-ups, it'll go away.
Fact: If you do enough sit-ups, you'll have rock-hard abs underneath that tummy.
There still seems to be this persistent myth that muscle can "turn" to fat, and vice versa. That's biological nonsense. That's like saying your hair could, somehow, turn into fingers. It's made up of different biological "stuff."
The only things you can do with fat is burn it or add to it. Period.
And, unfortunately, your body does not select which fat to burn based on what part of your body you're working out. It will still pull fat from the next place it has set up to pull fat from.
On the other hand, that might be fortunate. Because what it means is, you don't have to work your abs harder than any other part of the body. Do a few exercises for it, just like you would for your chest or your back, to make it stronger. Follow your normal combination of a healthy diet, cardio, and weights. That'll get that belly down, and insure there's something nice under there when it's gone.
Fact: If you do enough sit-ups, you'll have rock-hard abs underneath that tummy.
There still seems to be this persistent myth that muscle can "turn" to fat, and vice versa. That's biological nonsense. That's like saying your hair could, somehow, turn into fingers. It's made up of different biological "stuff."
The only things you can do with fat is burn it or add to it. Period.
And, unfortunately, your body does not select which fat to burn based on what part of your body you're working out. It will still pull fat from the next place it has set up to pull fat from.
On the other hand, that might be fortunate. Because what it means is, you don't have to work your abs harder than any other part of the body. Do a few exercises for it, just like you would for your chest or your back, to make it stronger. Follow your normal combination of a healthy diet, cardio, and weights. That'll get that belly down, and insure there's something nice under there when it's gone.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Tale Of The Tape . . .
. . . will be updated soon.
In the meantime, head on over to Dave Ramsey's website and nose around a little.
In the meantime, head on over to Dave Ramsey's website and nose around a little.
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