While visiting my mom, I saw a video extolling the virtues of a plant-based diet versus an animal-based diet. The video was not the greatest in terms of production values, (i.e. most of the film was shots of someone talking, or stills with voice-overs) but it certainly got the point across. Most of the content was stuff that I already knew, but which I’ve been somewhat comfortable with ignoring. For example, I already knew: ...

Hey everyone, it’s aelfsciene day! Here’s wishing you good friends, good food, good fun, and a designated driver, if appropriate. Be well!

Posted as a comment in but I wanted to save it for myself too. I believe there’s a sort of cognitive dissonance going on in some cases, where children are taught that science/observation/experimentation/reason is a good tool for testing knowledge and understanding, and then taught on Sundays that all that doesn’t apply to God and related mythos. I also think that everyone’s reaction to it is different… maybe it depends on whether a child is taught early on to think, learn, solve problems and adapt, or whether a child is taught to obey and not question. ...

Crap. I just showed up to a $VP meeting unprepared. I promised to do two important things, about the only things I promised 2 weeks ago, and I totally failed to do anything at all on them. So I got sternly “reminded” in front of peers that when I say I will do something, I need to do it. It’s not the first time it’s happened, either; both of my to-do items have had their dates moved a couple times due to previous failure. ...

Last week on WW I managed to stay below my 40 points for 5 out of 7 days. Not a lot, mind you… I’m still well within my weekly goal, since there’s another 35 “floating” points to use any time within the week. My biggest points day was when I had specialty’s breakfast sandwich with sausage, also coffee cake, and also got take-out Thai food for dinner. I can’t do that every day, but doing that once a week definitely won’t kill me. ...

Greg: I like sex. Sex is not all-important, but it’s very important. I like to have sex with a partner, because watching her enjoyment is important. I enjoy sex by myself, but it doesn’t satisfy my desire for affection to/from another. I want my partner to *want* to have sex with me. I want my partner to be able to communicate what she wants. I want my partner to be willing to experiment and try new things. I will often do things for my partner that aren’t pleasurable, or even uncomfortable/awkward, if they are pleasing to her. I want my partner to be willing to do some things that are uncomfortable/awkward, but probably not often. I want sex with my partner to be spontaneous and playful. I’m not willing to be without an active sexual partner any more. ...

Dear Board members, Recently I received a notice that my trash cans were not put away in a timely fashion. It is a legitimate complaint, but I would like to take issue with how this complaint was handled.

So far I have been paying attention to portion sizes, and not trying to cut down quantities, really, but cutting out a few small things here and there (like candy, pretty much entirely. According to the suggested POINTS goal, I’m doing well and coming in under the suggested amount. One day was well under the daily (41 points), and the other day was over the daily amount, but uses less than 1/7th of the weekly overflow (35 extra/week). ...

First day of exercising in the morning. Nothing too exciting… this morning’s workout took roughly 10 minutes and consisted of: 3 stretches, 4 mini-crunches, 5 leg lifts, 3 mini-push-ups, jogging in place for 160(x2) steps, and 7 jumping jacks. This was “Level 2” on the fitness scale (see previous post for link to _The Hacker’s Diet_ chapter: “What, Me Exercise?”). It was pretty easy to complete, but I spent the next half-hour coughing up something from my chest, so I’m perfectly willing to follow Walker’s advice and stay at this “level” for a week before turning it up a notch. ...

It’s January, and I’m a little late for “resolutions”, but I’d like to go through part of the exercise anyway. That is, I want to take the opportunity to examine myself and decide what I would like to change about myself. Whether I follow through and end up in a better place next year is not yet certain, but at least I’ll have a record. I’m now at 290, the heaviest I think I’ve been in my life. I haven’t exercised more than a few minutes total since May or June. I usually eat what I pick up at restaurants (both lunch and dinner). I’m not really “stress eating” per se, but I so far haven’t taken the time to make food for myself, and my crappy commute makes it even harder to make and execute a meal plan. ...