Contradictionary quotes

Thanks to crimethinc for these gems

Ruh-roh!

You know, this is how world wars start....

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38369962

Song of the week

If your library system subscribes to Freegal, like ours does, you can get 5 free downloads a week per card holder.  I just got three versions of this song on it.  Well worth it.

"Bells of Rhymney" by Oysterband

Is there hope for the future?
Say the brown bells of Merthyr.
Who made the mine owners?
Say the black bells of Rhondda.
And who killed the miners?
Say the grim bells of Blaina.

They will plunder willy-nilly,
Say the bells of Caerphilly.
They have fangs, they have teeth,
Shout the loud bells of Neath.
Even God is weary,
Say the moist bells of Swansea.
What will you give me?
Say the sad bells of Rhymney.

Throw the vandals in court,
Shout the loud bells of Newport.
All would be well if,
Say the green bells of Cardiff.
Why so worried, sisters, why?
Say the silver bells of Wye.
What will you give me?
Say the sad bells of Rhymney.

Oh what can you give me?
Say the sad bells of Rhymney.
Is there hope for the future?
Say the brown bells of Merthyr.
Who made the mine owners?
Say the black bells of Rhondda.
And who killed the miners?
Say the grim bells of Blaina.

Who killed the miners?
Who killed the miners?
Who killed the miners?
Who killed the miners?

Bastards!!!.........Bastards!!!

Always look on the bright side...

https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/amp/life-expectancy-lower-trump-voters-n694421?client=ms-android-att-us

Fun to find likeminded individuals....

http://crimethinc.com/

Just ordered a few of their books as xmas presents, and a couple to keep, of course.

No better sign....

That we are finished as a society.

Dinild Trimp

Wow. I like the O'Reilly factor one:

http://dinild.tumblr.com/

Catch some rays...

Gamma rays.  That's right, friends!  Home Depot has you "covered" with an all in one 14 person inderground shelter, although as discussed in the Q&As you will need a filtered air supply and proper shielding on top to survive the fallout.  

This came up on the first few results after typing "how to build a bomb shelter" into google.  Apparently, every box store has survival rations as well.  They are probably doing a solid business these days.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Life-Pod-Shelters-14-Person-Underground-Tornado-Storm-Shelter-FP-14/205717276?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA-D28I-InsideGardenOther%7c&gclid=COfC38ee4dACFYiEswods1gM2A&gclsrc=aw.ds

In other news, gun stores are hurting since Trump won and the irrational fear of the US government coming to "take your guns" isn't driving sales to their usual clients.  But I could give it until a bit after Trump takes office and business will be booming again.  

Why?  Because right about then everyone opposed to Trump will come to realize that most of the people who supported Trump already have a lot of guns.  And more than a few of them seem rather happy to use them against their fellow citizens, if their psychotic web posts are any indication.  And the last thing you want to be is unarmed when a madman and his legions of well-armed, mindless drones take power.  Hope for the best (HA!), prepare for the worst.....

A quote from the Rogue One trailer keeps cycling in my head:  

"The world is coming apart...."

I admit, the trailer looks good, if only for its apparent relevance (but boy, the last one suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked). Probably won't be able to bring myself to see another obvious Disney cash grab that steals all of its ideas from anime.

It does make me wonder how old Ryan will be when he figures out that we are the Empire.

Since we are post-fact now.....

This must be true!!!

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/12070168

Trump was born in hell, and Cheney is his bro.  Love the pic.

Also, Trump tower is listed at 664' on google.  I think they shaved 2' off the actual to hide the obvious.

"Bizarre rituals intended to bring about the END OF THE WORLD and now it looks like it may actually be happening."

At this rate, only a matter of time until Zuul shows up on the top of Trump Tower and starts raining shit down on all of us.  Trump won't choose a marshmallow man, though.  Nope, he would choose himself. Convinced he has no capacity to think of anything but himself. Well played, Zuul.

Get ready for Weird Al's Christmas at Ground Zero next year, folks.  If we make it that long.....

Here's to being an optimist!

Even this was too optimistic

This was written in 2010.  The end of his first scenario (pasted below), which was estimated to happen around 2025, just happened.  It's over, folks.  

Time to get a job in the East.  Australia is sounding pretty good right now.  Or, offgrid it and go to Ireland.  

I am halfway through "The Devil's Chessboard" by Talbot.  It details the life, constant treasonous acts, and moral bankruptcy of Allen Dulles and his Wall Street cronies.  From protecting their rich nazi pals during and after WWII, the McCarthy era, numerous overthrows of democratic governments, all the way through the Kennedy assassination, it details the dark side of our laughable "democracy."  The use of the CIA as a personal extragovernmental tool to protect the wealth of his friends, and to undermine the American government and democracy here at home.  So, in a nutshell, we had this coming.  We have been building bad karma for a long, long time......

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-american-empire/

"Faced with a fading superpower incapable of paying the bills, China, India, Iran, Russia, and other powers, great and regional, provocatively challenge U.S. dominion over the oceans, space, and cyberspace.  Meanwhile, amid soaring prices, ever-rising unemployment, and a continuing decline in real wages, domestic divisions widen into violent clashes and divisive debates, often over remarkably irrelevant issues. Riding a political tide of disillusionment and despair, a far-right patriot captures the presidency with thundering rhetoric, demanding respect for American authority and threatening military retaliation or economic reprisal. The world pays next to no attention as the American Century ends in silence."

Found my 2020 candidate already

This guy 4 prez:

https://www.google.com/amp/fusion.net/story/304688/donald-trump-oral-sex-tattoo/amp/?client=ms-android-att-us

Miscommunication

Apparently bagpipes and the Confederate flag were combined in the Ashland holiday parade.

Not sure why my parents would send me this, other than to scare the living shit out of me.  

The parade clip not shown, but the resultinh texts back and forth are.  

Seriously reconsidering the trip home for my mom's birthday.  And all subsequent trips to the wastes, for that matter.  

Arts and crafts time with Ryan

Also, a great idea for your next party.

"Eat shit Trump" brownies....

Edward Bernays Propaganda

Fridge magnet

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.........

Rx N8n

Now I understand the draw......

On the nose

My new mug came in....

Song of the week

You are free by Jimmy Eat World:

Riddles keep me up at night
A lonely feeling to be understood
You told me often how it was
But I wasn't ready to heart it so plain
Amazing, the effort we put in
Amazing, the emotional bridges, tunnels, roads, and ways
We go around what's one step from our face

I see it clearly now

Honey, you are free
As much as you can stand to be
You are free
And it's anything you think that means
You are free
To be who you want
What you need, yeah, who you want
What you need, baby, you are free

Everyone has their opinions
But I'm the one that's gotta walk it
So much fear to get over
And so much pain to get past
Wish there was a easy way through
Wish there was a way to learn it all and have
My bright new shiny tools
Without the cost attached

I think we've paid enough

Honey, you are free
As much as you can stand to be
You are free
And it's anything you think that means
You are free
To be who you want
What you need, yeah, who you want
What you need, baby, you are free

I think we've paid enough
I think we've paid enough

Honey, you are free
As much as you can stand to be
You are free
And it's anything you think that means
You are free
To be who you want
What you need, yeah, who you want
What you need, baby, you are free

Python the sage

So I am learning Python.  It is great so far.  The example today was programming your own magic 8 ball.  Just generating a random answer was boring, so I modified it to accept questions and give a randomly selected answer back to the user.

I am shitting you not, this is a screenshot of the first run of the program.  Python's text is blue.  My questions are in black.

Unfortunately, the computer says we are all doomed.  Therefore, it won't be able to run as a candidate next election.

Hunger strike, day 1

Following my recently reawakened survivalist train of thought, it has been a while since I went without food.  Time to get the body back into that mode.  

What better reason than the ultimate Tuesday fuckup to go on a hunger strike? 

Today is day 1 of a planned 14 day liquid diet.  Just got all my food for the next two weeks for $35 at Harris Teeter.  V8 is on sale for $2.50 a bottle.

1 bottle of V8 per day.  To drink:  water.

Hopefully will check in daily, but according to the guy that went on an all juice diet, by day three you just want to lie around and be away from society, since food is such a central part of our interaction with other human beings.

Which, if anything, complete social isolation sounds closer to my natural state.

His real name

Thanks to Jon Stewart for outing his real name a while back.

I plan to use this moniker at high volune whenever I see him on TV at the inlaws for the next 4-8 years, and FVC for short, since I can't bring myself to say "President T......"  

Hell, I can't even type it.  

Fuckface von Clownstick and his loyal band of Fucktards.  Certainly not eloquent, but remarkably accurate.

China wins....figuratively and literally

With this gem, China summed it up.  This election cycle will stand as China's ultimate rebuttal to democracy for....well, forever.  Or, at least, the rest of society as we know it.

The survival rate for humanity just dropped SIGNIFICANTLY.  Not that it was that high to begin with.  America just chose the form of the destructor, folks.

"On a long enough time frame, the survival rate of everyone drops to zero."

Feeling unusually motivated, though.  My original reason for starting to run in high school was training for the apocalypse, after all.  Tonight I will be running quarters in the cold punctuated by pushups after Ryan hits the sack, with my Bane-esque particulate mask on just for kicks.  

"And so I will feed the people hope to poison their souls....."

Installed the Army PRT app on my phone to start my own personal bootcamp beginning tomorrow.  Wonder if there is a Krav Maga studio around here.  

Prepare yourselves!

Way to go evangelicals....

"DT is an antichrist, right down to the fact that Christians love him....."

http://www.redstate.com/diary/clconnett/2016/05/16/yes-dear-christian-antichrist/

Guess they finally get to act out their favorite book.....Revelation!

Another good one

https://www.google.com/amp/www.deathandtaxesmag.com/309245/america-says-fuck-it-elects-trump-president%3Famp%3D1?client=ms-android-att-us

Love it...

Lucky bastard got out in the 80s:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/08/america-its-over/

Oh boy...

Thats right, America.  Looks like a Donald Trump presidency.

Holy fucking shit.

Anybody wanna start a compound somewhere in South America?  Was talking to Tyler last week and we were pretty sure South America will be spared in a nuclear exchange.

A few years ago I would have just laughed it off and be the first to ride the blast wave. 

Now I have Ryan to think about.  Guess I will be looking at international job opportunities tomorrow.  I doubt anyone will bother to nuke Singapore.

Either that or quit here, buy a house cash away from the city, and start a food truck with Schwartz.

Tending bar in Hawaii also works.  

Damn, maybe I've been thinking about this all wrong.  Perhaps impetus to bug out isn't all that bad.  Literally all those options sound more fun, if nowhere near as lucrative, than rotting in a cubicle for another 19 years.  

Maybe we can all stop treading water and start swimming.

I said a year ago that whoever nominated the outsider would win.  I hate it when I'm right........

First job application if Trump wins.....

Song of the week

Bartholomew by The Silent Comedy.....

Oh my god
Please help me, knee deep in the river tryin' to get clean
He says wash your hands, get out the stains
But you best believe, boy, there's hell to pay
Yeah you best believe, boy, there's hell to pay, sayin'
Come on

Oh my god
Please help me, waist deep in the river, can you hear my plea?
He says, son, you come like a beggar in the streets
You might make it, boy, but by the skin of your teeth
You might make it, boy, but by the skin of your teeth, sayin'

I rambled with the worst of them 
Fell in love with a harlequin
Saw the darkest hearts of men
And I saw myself starin' back again
And I saw myself starin' back again

Oh my god
Please help me, neck deep in the river screamin' for relief
He says, it's mine to give, but it's yours to choose
You're gonna sink or swim, you're gonna learn the truth
No matter what you do you're gonna learn the truth sayin'

Ate the bread that once was stone
Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone
Bowed down to get the kings overthrown
And I'm all alone and the fire grows
And I'm all alone and the fire grows

La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la

La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la

Swing sweet charity (La la la la la la la la la la la)
Take what's left of me (La la la la la la la la la la la)
A new beginning or is this the end? (La la la la la la la la la la la)
Swing sweet Seraphim (La la la la la la la la la la la)
Take me back again (La la la la la la la la la la la)
or watch me make the messes of men (La la la la la la la la la la la)

Higher order

Soooo.....lots of theories out there on the Donald.

At first I thought he might be a Democratic plant intended to destroy the Republican Party.  But now it seems he is trying just hard enough to make the election close, but lose.  Or even win?  Why would the Democrats want that?  Clearly a landslide loss would fracture the Republican party.

They can't let that happen....so what are they doing?  Keeping it close to continue deceiving people that the election isn't rigged?  I would have said maybe had all the talk not turned to election rigging on both sides, each claiming the machines are hacked by Russia / the Clinton Foundation / whoever.

Fear mongering is squelching third parties, which can't be allowed to enter the fray.  They like their completely owned two party system.  Why take out a second mortgage on a third party when they own the system free and clear?

That seems to speak to other intentions.  Maybe the elite aren't too settled on Clinton after all?

The darker part of my mind popped a new idea out today.  Maybe the masters of society want violence at the polls.  Maybe the electorate is getting a bit too independent-minded, and they've decided that it is time to step up the game.  

Violence at the polls would provide easy scapegoats to distract the populace from their real problems for a while, make it easier to pass even more laws targetting American citizens (think Patriot act squared), and solidify public support for an even more oppressive police state.  I bet they like the fact that absolutely no policy has been discussed in the campaign.  It's Locke and Demosthenes out there.

Another benefit for the elite, in pitting Americans against each other, is that it deepens and cements the divide between the poles, ensuring that the two sides can endlessly blamestorm each other for another generation.  Think 1984 minus East Asia, since in our case we only have two polar parties (Oceana has always been at war with Eurasia!).  

And the mindless on each side join together in their cursing of the screen when it shows their vile enemy, turning to unbridled joy as the program shifts to their beloved leader.  Only here, in our sad reality, you only need one program to control both sides.   Each side watches the same program and the red and blue sheep simply rave and rant 180 degrees out of phase.  Inexplicably, they never realize that the two people who elicit their devotion and hatred are the exact same psycopath, just in slightly different clothing.  Doublethink, anyone?

Orwell should have thought capitalism through to its logical conclusion.  Had he looked ahead, he may have been able to conceive a world not too distant from his view of communist societies in 1984.  A world very much like our own.  Instead of Big Brother, we have our personal monitors in the form of smartphones, voluntary self surveillance in the form of Facebook, and the destruction of privacy in the form of constant and pervasice government and corporate monitoring.  All manner of spacemonkeys running bureaucracies that although not quite the Ministry of Love, we can settle with the Department of Homeland Security.

Welcome to the dystopian novel that is our time.  Forget 1984, America.  Throw it in the memory hole.  

Welcome to 2016........

Song of the week

Voyager by Angels and Airwaves.....

"Watch me as I break the television
Talk me off the ledge, I can't envision
Take me to the hole to throw a wish in
I am on my way, unstoppable
Lock the doors and warn the federation
Bright and bold, here comes the revolution
My oh my, the king is on a mission
I am on my way, unstoppable
Pure in heart, a king infallible
Great big fucking time
So powerful, I"

"I'm a smooth operator........I'm a loose elevator"

Take it easy......

If anything, events at work this week have demonstrated that people take things way, way too seriously.  

People really need to lighten up.  It could be worse....

The image of the day has to go to the following, which is now my official project management philosophy, replacing the other ejection photo I previously used.  The other landing seemed a bit too stable for my taste (original PM philosophy photo shown below).

Original PM philosophy:

Thank you, North Korea....

For a chuckle wjile readimg one of the better tweets criticizing the debate tonight.

It was bad.  Sooooooo bad.  We are doooooooooooooooooooommmmed!  

ATV trail

blazed a trail in the back.  Need to take a chainsaw and cut a path through a few fallen logs.  It's 1/8 of a mile now, think I can double or triple it once I clear the way to the other side of the woods.

Want to get access to the creek bed and drive all the way up it.

Feed forward loop....

We are doooooooomed!

https://www.google.com/amp/gizmodo.com/climate-change-is-making-this-portable-air-conditioner-1785687572/amp?client=ms-android-att-us

Fuck Columbus

This Columbus day, let's all burn and piss on Spanish flags instead of whatever it is we are supposed to do on this bogus holiday.....

Today's workout

800m body weight circuit.  Sucked!

Today is Day 14

It's day 14 of the new program. For those unfamiliar, the program started on my 37^th birthday. The idea is to take a full circle ride around the sun whilst following several rules, with the goal of eliminating coping mechanisms and getting back in touch with my authentic voice.

Of course, the first two that came to mind were alcohol and caffeine, but I had already began a campaign to minimize the use of both of those. I hadn't had caffeinated coffee regularly in almost a year, but went on a coffee bender prior to the start of the program just for the heck of it. And I had been having chai tea lattes a lot a the cafe at work as an excuse to get up from my mind-numbing job. Sort of a mini-escape. But I need to ditch all that.

I went vegetarian in May 2015, so meat wasn't an option either. I stopped watching news and deleted all my news apps on the phone six monthgs ago. But I did scrap together some rules to follow.

My theory is that if I stop coping, I may start taking more steps to find a job that is not so odious to my nature.

The primary objectives for the program were:

1. No alcohol (eliminates coping mechanism for social situations and job dissatisfaction)

2. No coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated – reduces spending and artificial productivity, reduces exercising and resting heart rate)

3. Exercise Every Day (intended to help weight loss, but I am now wondering if this is a coping mechanism in itself)

4. Log All Food (hopefully improve quality of fuel. Very hard to do in this society. It's easier not to eat than to eat healthy in America)

5. No Sweets (my ultimate addiction – sugar. Eliminating this is a purely mind over matter thing, but also for health and weight reasons)

I also added secondary objectives, focused on minimizing spending:

1. No Amazon orders (reduces unecessary spending)

2. Buy a maximum of one lunch per week (reduces uncessesary spending and coping mechanisms / lunch breaks)

3. No cafe purchases (eliminates small spending that adds up over time / coffee break coping mechanism)

4. Kill Cell Phone While Home (hopefully, building up to killing it altogether)

So far, I've met all the primary and secondary objectives. I lost 6 lbs the first week but have been holding steady since then. But weight isn't the primary goal of this program. No, the goal is self control, and a voluntary hiatus from all those things that serve to make me servile, little more than a lab rat stuffed in a gray cubicle.

And here, on day 14, perhaps the clarity is beginning to return....

Sure, Marx was right that religion is the opiate of the people, but our modern overseers need much more than that. Try as they might, they can't stop all progress. Too many people have seen through that particular charade. They are now turning to an expanding and ever more sophisticated number of treatments to ensure your slavelike devotion. They have alcohol to numb your senses and give you a brief respite from your trite, meaningless existence. For those that need an extra push, they have a cadre of doctors ready to prescribe you all manner of pills for any symptom you wish to address, but will offer no suggestions on how to address the root cause. They have all manner of fast foods, restaurants, and grocery stores to address your hunger at the market price, but will never satisfy your basic nutritional needs. They have an endless array of garments, gadgets, and gizmos to have you chase in and out of fashion, spending your life earning money to buy things you don't need. They have houses and home improvement stores, so that while you never notice that your house has more space than you will ever need, somehow it always needs more work. They have an all too perfectly rigged political media machine to feed you lie after lie after lie, and a dismal education system to ensure that you won't be able to tell the difference. They have credit cards and mortgages, to ensure that even if you aren't buying their things, at the first of the month they always get their pound of flesh.

Yes, it's starting to return. That bane of clarity. But, is clarity really that bad? Sure, the other way is more.....comfortable.

But maybe I want to be a more noble lab mouse.....

OK people, sign my petition!

Link to Jason's petition to rejoin the United Kingdom

Go go go!

Keep up the pressure!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/22/house-democrats-stage-sit-in-over-gun-legislation/86241864/

Great Pele quote......

Hiralious!

Switzerland tunnel: The oddest moments of the opening ceremony -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-36428799

So true it needs to be shared....

Thanks to Dave Grant for finding this nugget of truth.

TAME THE MAMMOTH (link)

The Illusion of Choice

Between two psychopaths.

America, you get what you deserve........

Hidden signs in the woods.....

Was sitting in my chair, looking out into the woods, when an anarchy sign appeared in the foliage.

Setting records....

On this watch, anyway.  Fastest half marathon this morning (split the difference between my slowest in missoula 2014 and my fastest in Roanoke 2001), fastest mile (last mile of the half marathon - 8:35), and longest run (outside).  With chasing Ryan around and taking him for walks, up to 19.5 miles today.

I am Jack's sore legs.

Longest lifetime run was a 15 mile training run on a treadmill two weeks ago, staring at closed blinds in the gym.  It was an enlightening run.  More meditation than workout, really.

The house in the middle

The whole cleanliness propaganda film on Youtube:

Youtube video link

"The lack of fire-safe housekeeping has doomed this house to destruction"  

The atom bomb going off outside for whatever geopolitical reason is not to blame, rather your lack of housekeeping!

Last week's summary

Ended up down another 3 lbs last week.  Was bad on Saturday and Sunday thanks to no exercise and an abundance of food.  

Shooting for another 2 lbs this week.  May need to implement a fasting on the weekend rule to keep things going.  

Long run tomorrow on the treadmill.  Sticking up on calories today.  We will see how it all looks on Sunday.....

Meet me here halfway, across elation....

Today was supposed to be the 12 mile day, but I figured what the hell, go for 13.1.  Brought my camelbak to work for hydration.

Ran a half marathon on the treadmills at work at 2.0 elevation.  The preprogrammed workout limit is 60 minutes, so I rotated to three different machines to get the whole half marathon in.  

The first machine was in direct sunlight, ao it was a bit warm but felt good.  An hour in, chugged a smoothie to keep energy up.  Never eaten anything whilst running until today.  Worked out well, could feel the energy burst about 15 minutes into the second spurt.

Was surprised how easy the second hour went, since last week I was dead around 11 miles.  This week felt great.  So good I didn't bother eating the banana I brought and finished the last 24:30 up on water.  Took a sip every half mile and it seemed to work, plus my pack lasted the whole run.

Best part was the music and the wandering mind.  And watching others come, do their workout, and go in three shifts.  Spent the better part of last night organizing my music into different paces.  First 60 was long slow songs to keep me from overpacing.  Second 60 was medium pace, final 24:30 on fast songs.  Favorite songs during the first two hours came from angels and airwaves (thus the title of the post from Tremors on The Dream Walker).  At the end, I was pleased that "even if she falls" by blink brought me to a strong finish.

At the end, estimate I had two miles left in the tank, but decided to save them for later since I was already past goal.  Stretched for a while and slammed a protein shake upon return to the office.  

Successful test run for the upcoming half in mid-April, and halfway to the full in July.  May need to track down my larger camelbak after all.

As of today, 15 lbs left to go to goal.  Goal is to vaporize another 10 by the end of april.  That should also help add the miles.

RIP trump

http://gothamist.com/2016/03/27/photo_you_can_visit_donald_trumps_t.php

Weight Update

Made it through lent with Rules 3, 5, 6, and 7.  The others proved a bit too much at once, but after the last day of Lent, I got a big surge of motivation and implemented Rule 4 and to some extent, Rule 1. 

 

It's been a week since the new rules and I have lost 6.5 pounds.

 

Had another 11 mile long run last Friday.  Ate up the night before, but for the most part was able to keep well under the calorie limit.  I don't count exercise in the total, (e.g., my goal is to limit to 1300 calories regardless of exercise).  I did go significantly over the goal on Thursday and Friday, thanks to the long run.  The graph shows the end results for last week with exercise counted.  So, with exercise, I was 2,822 calories under my weekly budget of 1300 calories per day.

From where I am now, I am 18.5 pounds to goal weight.  Hoping to drop another 3 this week and 2 per week from then on.  Keeping the no coffee.  Booze, I can have on special occasions but the calories must be offset by dropping other food, which effectively eliminates it from the diet (maybe 1-2 beers per week).  I figure that any long run over 10 miles earns me a beer or two.  But honestly, after a few beers last week to celebrate the end of the run and the end of Lent, I was kinda underwhelmed.  Didn't feel it that much, and definitely don't want to sacrifice any stamina for empty calories.

 

Today is on track so far, trying to decrease carb content to around 30% of calories consumed.  Today I'm running about a third each on carb, protein, and fat thanks to a piece of quiche for breakfast and rye bread cheese sammy for lunch.  Finish it up with veggie hotdogs (no buns), broccoli, and (maybe) a beer with the parents.  Still gets me under 1300, and I did spin class, a 5k run, and weights today.  Net calories, considering exercise, will be -38 if I stay on track.  Which, dammit, I will.  

18.5 to go!!!!!!!

 

Also, trying to decide on a good soundtrack for the marathon in July.  Think I'll just listen to every Angels & Airwaves album in a row, which gives 4.8 hours of runtime.  That's 11 minute miles, which is my goal pace.  Perfect.  Now I need to find some food I can eat while running.

Yup - new desktop background for work

How appropriate.

Running a little low

Felt a bit woozy this morning after cleaning the van.  Checked HR - 46.  I was sitting down when I took it, but had not been "resting."

Perhaps it's time to see the doc again......

Immediate Accusations

Katy accused me of spraying the wall when she saw the post.  If only!

Wonder if a can of paint will fit in my hydration pack.  It definitely will without the water..........

From the "lost" run today

Was beat to hell after sprints and a legmaggedon TRX course yesterday.  Got on the treadmill today and then realized it was 71 degrees outside, so out i went in search of a 5k in a random direction.  Aimless wanderings through the hills of rockville.  Ran to Tilden park, but it didn't have a path along the stream, headed back up through the neighborhoods and after a while, decided to head back.

Happened across some oddly applicable graffiti on the way back to sprayed on the footpath wall that runs along Montrose road between 270 and 355.

Think I will make it a temporary work background.

Made it back.  5 miles total.  Not far but more than I was expecting today.  Looking forward to long run on Friday.....

Mind altering states...

Watching DMT: the spirit molecule on netflix.  Pretty interesting stuff.  About a molecule that we can produce ourselves through meditation.  Side note, started meditating again the other night.  Going to keep it up.

Some good quotes:

 "Why is it that in the entire western world these substances that have been found so interesting by hundreds of cultures for thousands of years are prohibited. How did these cultures that consider themselves to be enlightened, democratic, and scientific get to declaring plants illegal?  Our society values alert problem solving consciousness and it devalues all other states of consciousness. Any kind of consciousness that is not related to the production or consumption of material goods is stigmatized in our society today. Of course, we accept drunkenness.  We allow people some brief respite from the material grind.  Society that subscribes to that model is a society that is going to condemn states of consciousness that have nothing to do with the alert problem-solving mentality.  If you go back to the 1960s when there is a tremendous upsurge of exploration of psychedelics I would say that the huge backlash that followed had to do with the fear on the part of the powers-that-be that if enough people went into those relms and into those experiences, the very fabric of the society we have today would be picked apart.  And, most importantly, those in power at the top but not be in power at the top anymore."

In honor of metro shutting down

A custom graphic to celebrate

Phase 2

Still holding steady on weight, although I haven't been tracking at all and generally eating way too many carbs. 

Back on the tracker and adjusting calorie balance as shown.....last time I did this 10 lbs was gone in a week.  Will check back next weekend with an update.

It's the end of the world as we know it

And I feel fine.........

No, really.  Maybe it's peeking my head temporarily out of the caffeine / booze addiction, but I've been pretty content this week.

Even with the potential Trump presidency, plus all the other indicators that we, as a species, are heading straight into the toilet.  I kinda don't mind.

At work I've had this weird zen thing going.  Sitting on a balance ball, building a makeshift standing desk from three empty paper boxes stacked on my desk.  All the senior people stopping by to ask my opinion on the agency's impending budgetary doom.  Trading conspiracy theories.  Yeah, I seem to be settling in.  Apparently bureaucracy has an attraction to the insane.  But it hit me this week as I coasted through a brief to executive management:  I have nothing left to fear anymore.  I'm completely free.

Oddly enough running has gone a full 180 from last February, when I had lost all interest.  I wouldn't say that I'm terribly interested now, but thanks to an estimated 50-70% boost in endurance thanks to the elimination of coffee and booze, I think the July marathon may not be so tough.  Hit 11 miles this Monday with plenty left in the tank, without water or supplies.  Scrambling over trees, through the woods, and on trails on the northwest branch.  Through the mud and muck of a global warming induced floodzone that looks completely different than my last run there.  60 degrees.  Perfect.

Ryan's doing well.  The no TV plan, instituted mostly because I can't stand to watch TV anymore, seems to be reaping some postitive results.  Right now he's playing with play-doh, namong and stacking the colors after refusing to hit the sack this evening.  Oh well, more time to spend with him.

Yup it all seems to be coming together just in time for the world to fly apart.  Timing is everything.

America, you’re stupid: Donald Trump’s political triumph makes it official — we’re a nation of idiots - Salon.com

Canada looks better and better every day.......

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/24/america_youre_stupid_donald_trumps_political_triumph_makes_it_official_were_a_nation_of_idiots/

Time to replace it!

The crisis of US governability - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-35590361

Touché, BBC!

Would be much more work to top this editorial myself.  

Guess I'm part of the malaise.....

-------------------------------

American exceptionalism in a time of American malaise - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35438548

I don't get it.....

Been up all night for the third night in a row with Ryan.

My question is....besides accidents, why do siblings even exist?

Progress Log ?

Holding steady on weight. Including on maintaining within the UK
guidelines. Mostly because I haven't been logging calories over the
blizzard break.

Over the last few weeks, I have come up with a few new workouts. The
first, which I tried out last week, was mile trials. That is, running
on a treadmill at a start speed and then upping the speed 0.5 mph
every quarter mile. Starting at 6.0 mph this results in a 8:57 pace.
Starting at 6.5 mph this results in a 8:20 pace. 7.0 mph start gives
you a 7:47 pace. A good, total annihilation workout.

Earlier this week tried a combo workout, which was a 2.0 mile slow
warmup, then 800m sawtooth workouts (adding 0.5 mph from start speed)
for 2.5 miles, then 400m pyramid for 2.5 miles. 7 miles total, and
all told they end up well under 10 minute miles. That kicked my ass.
I was dumping sweat early in the 800m sprints, but kept going. And
kept speeding up. Love it.

Was recently reunited with an old pile of CDs and have begun importing
them all onto my computer. Scatterd amongst them was the Million
Dollar Hotel soundtrack. A little-known movie produced and
soundtracked by U2. The final track is "Anarchy in the USA," a track
in Spanish that begins:

"Yo soy un Antichristo, yo soy anarchista....."

Which makes me reflect on the fact that I am, at heart, an anarchist.
And as luck would have it, I am currently assigned as a rulemaking
project manager. An anarchist writing rules. You can't make this
stuff up.

Fighting for song of the day is "Circus" by Carbon Leaf:

"I'm so done with this circus, yet I love this escape.... How do you
free yourself and leave the rest of the beasts in their gilded
cage......Is this where, where I belong?!? Is this where I belong?!?"

As if to confirm my mood of late, "Corduroy" by Pearl Jam comes up on random:

"I don't wanna take what you can give, I would rather starve than eat
your bread, I would rather run but I can't walk, guess I'll lie alone
just like before....."

Thanks to the rise of Trump, no doubt left that the American system of
boundless capitalism has failed. Laughably. The death throes of a
bygone era. Like all systems based on faulty assumptions, it will
collapse. They're so desperate to convince us that America is a
democracy that they have put an actual reality TV icon in the race.
How pathetic. Not sure they realized how far he would go, but
whatever. That's infotainment!

And still you will cast your vote on a machine not connected to
anything. Best of luck with that.

Me? I'm heading to the gym. It's likely to be more productive than
anything anyone else accomplishes today.

Better start paying us like doctors....

If you want us to save you.

-------------------------

Prince Philip says engineers are key to global population solutions - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35211130

Into the wild.....

Started out a normal run up the hill on Beaumont to Randolph, then Zooropa comes on random on the way down Randolph:

"And I have no compass, and I have no map, and I have no reason, no reason to get back..."

Kept on past Hawkesbury and down to the creek, and found a slightly beaten path off the road into NW branch park.  About 100 meters into the woods, spooked 7 deer, who were using the same footpath I was.  Chased them for a while, then went off the path down to the creek (pictured).  Meandered along the creek for a while, stumbling over fallen limbs and rocks, dipping into the low creek at some points, and crashing through reeds until I hit another slightly trodden path, one of those that looks like a bike has been ridden through a couple times.

This led back to a road that I would have hit anyway on my original route, just a half mile from the house.  Next time I will go the whole way to the house in the woods.  Just have to cross one creek leader.

There's something elemental about running off the path.  The best part of the run was when I struck out running through light woods without a path set out for me.

When the ground is dryer I plan to meander all the way home.....

Week 1 report

Weighed in this morning down another 0.2 lbs, making the week total down 4 lbs from last week's local maximum.  

Before today, a total of 699 calories below my allowable per day 1296 daily average, even though I splurged yesterday and ended up well over the calorie limit.

On the drinking front, have had 3 pints of beer at 7%, which equates to about 4 on the British scale, 1 pint below the new health guidelines. 

18 more lbs to go.  Same plan next week until I hit a plateau.  If I do, more drastic measures may be necessary......

Song of the day

Ode to the Snow by Carbon Leaf:

•  
• Snowfall requires listening
  And the silence it brings is deafening
  As it whispers it echoes
  Echoes through my bones
  Bury me like silent peace
  These gifts they fall like ancient memories
  Like voices from the past
  Cascading down
  
  And the stillness drifts back in like possibility
  And in the silence is where you find the song
  And I'm blinded by the ease of letting go
  World's shutting down, just an ode to the snow
  
  Tree limbs bend and spring up again
  The snowfall fumbling down through the pines
  To baptize, to confirm
  The frozen hallowed ground
  Exhume my youth, everlasting change
  Blankets entomb, the dreary colors fade
  And I'm reminded to the time
  When I did everything
  
  When the stillness drifts back in like possibility
  And in the silence is where you find the song
  And I'm blinded by the ease of letting go
  World's shutting down, just an ode to the snow
  
  When the stillness drifts back in like possibility
  And in the silence is where you find the song
  When I'm blinded by the ease of letting go
  World's shutting down, just an ode to the snow
  World's shutting down, just an ode to the snow
  World's shutting down, just an ode to the snow

Progress Log 3

On the scale today, down another 0.4 lbs. Hoping the trend will keep
up, but will probably plateau at some point.

Had Moby's veggie platter at the House of Kabob to keep the lunch
calories down. Was pretty tasty, though I had to skip breakfast.

Just back from some quarters and weightlifting. Energy levels good.
Think the body is acknowledging the fact that I'm not in a mood to
stop anytime soon.

So far, one beer this week, which I am counting as 16 oz because it
was 7%. May have another tonight, but would need to adjust dinner
intake down, and ultimately keep the weekly total under 5 pints.

Going to try a long run tomorrow to get that back into the rotation.
Also need to meander over to the pool and pay my dues for the year so
I can start that up again.

Progress Log 2

Weighed in today another 0.5 lbs down, thanks to the double run
yesterday and continued portion control. Even was able to sneak in a
Sierra Nevada Torpedo last night and still come in well under the
limit. It occurred to me that you enjoy each one much more when you
only have one to have, sipping it slowly. It was a tasty beverage.

The measuring cups and kitchen scale are coming in handy to figure out
how much I can have and still come in under the limit.

Need to get back over to the pool and do some swimming sprints to mix
things up a bit. A bit hard to get motivated to do that when it is 21
degrees outside.

So, for today not much on the exercise front. Will probably hit the
weights just before heading home, but haven't been able to bring
myself to do spin yet this year. The class is at a particularly bad
time on Wednesday, since the only time you can get people in the room
to meet here is Wednesday at 1pm, and that overlaps with the class.

Forgot my badge today, so had to trek Ryan in 19 degree weather from
Metro to NRC. Sucked. Poor little guy was cold with the wind
whipping past the buildings.

Need to find a technical job here at NRC. This PM stuff drives me
nuts. Too introverted to survive long in this role, anyway.
Interacting with people just wears me down. Probably be healthier and
less stress if I can just find an engineering position and lock myself
away in a cubicle, crunching numbers, programming, or looking at
issues with pumps and valves in my old group here.

Maybe I'll wander into one of the technical BC's offices today. To be
honest, I'd take a demotion now that I have over a year at my current
level, which provides the check box for higher positions (not that I'm
particularly interested in any of those).

At least wandering around will get my step count up.

Bis spater - J

Progress Log 1

Started the new program yesterday. Installed an 85cm stability ball in
my office in place of my chair.

Last night, I was pretty hungry before bed. Got up this morning down
about a lb. Measured out 2/3 cup of cereal and 2/3 cup whole milk for
breakfast, 1/4 cup almonds for lunch, packed up computer, workout
supplies, and the boy and headed to work.

Oh, and no coffee. Switching to caffeine free herbal teas for this
little trek to 215 (and beyond?).

Had some Kashi bars stashed at work to complement the almonds. Headed
to the gym at lunch and did 800m warmup, then 400m speed pyramids on
the treadmill at 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 8.5, 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.5.
Notable songs were "Even if She Falls" by Blink 182 (repeated for the
8.5, 9.0, 8.5 sets), then "The Boys are Back" by Dropkick Murphys
coming back down.

After the quarters, finished up the run with a varying pace 800m to
the song "Zooropa" by U2 when it came on random.

Feeling good so far. Heading back to the gym for weights before
picking up Ryan.

Have the meal plan for tonight. 2 cups of the vegetarian white chili
Katy made yesterday and 1 cup of rice. No additives (sour cream,
cheese, etc.). And a multivitamin chased by several glasses of water.

We'll see what the scale holds for tomorrow.

Race to goal weight

Oddly enough, I met a LoseIt challenge of dropping 25 lbs in 2015, after starting way late but with a kick start thanks to a couple bouts of Noravirus (I had it 3 times in 2015, what a record to set!

This year, guess the goal will be to get back to my grad school weight, which means dropping another 20 lbs to 215, while maintaining strength (using bench as a measure - at 265 lbs).  This is going to be tough since I am already within 5 lbs of my minimum since I began tracking, and the last time I was under 230 lbs was at Carderock, Round 2, after almost 200 days of sobriety and running like a madman with Dave Grant. 

There is some hope in my recent acceptance that running is not the answer.  You either make up the calories or your body adapts to the motion and efficiency starts working against you.  Short, high intensity bursts of exercise go a lot further to burn fat than the slow, steady churn and burn of long distance running.  Most of my progress this year has been thanks to that change.  I lost the most weight when I changed out distance runs for sets of 400m / 800m sprints and adding lifting back into my routine twice a week.

Guess I'll keep that routine up, and keep one long run a week on Fridays as the going in plan.  Also need to add in some random workouts to keep my body guessing.

Will also keep up the switch to vegetarian.  Overall, I feel a lot better after the switch.  Meat free since May, except for two times when I have been unable to avoid it in order not to offend.  Truth be told, no cravings except for the occasional severe episode for fried chicken, oddly enough.

And the calorie counting.  Oh, the calorie counting.  Started up counting on LoseIt again with my normal, massive deductions to compensate for thyroid issues today.  Katy was dismayed to learn that I hit my calorie limit at lunch, so no dinner for me (she had just started cooking dinner when I told her this).  But hey, it's the only thing that works consistently.

And to the final change, which is probably the hardest.  In fact, I think it's even harder than going totally sober.  Sobriety isn't that bad after the 14th day, except when you have those days of piercing clarity.  I'm planning to switching drinking habits to less than or equal to the new UK guidelines for health, which are 14 British units per week regardless of whether you are a man or a woman.  And don't get all hopeful yet - there are 3 British units in one pint of 5% lager.  So less than 5 pints of 5% lager per week.  Much less than 5 pints for me, since my typical tastes are for beer that is upwards of 7%.  They also recommend "several" dry days per week.  Not too hard if you are following the limit.

Perhaps an additional modifier, should the above not result in progress, will be a workout per unit earned (which, in LoseIt lingo, a workout is 30 minutes of any exercise)?  Dunno about that one, will try a baseline deduction to 14 units per week first and see where it goes from there.

Of course Katy eats a meatball sub in my face today.  We stopped at a sandwich place while Ryan was sleeping in the car.  The only vegetarian option they had (besides salad) was a black bean burger.  And I hate black bean burgers, so I snacked on the dried peas we bought this morning instead.  Decent test of my willpower.  Dammit. 

20 lbs to go.  Burn it down!