Still Here

January 1, 2008

Wow, it's been a while since I put anything here. Time for a new-year's resolution and some updates.

All right, the diet's been working out pretty well (more below) so now I have the problem of being kinda scrawny underneath where all that fat used to be. I have a decent-enough skeleton to hang muscle off of, but my exercise is pretty much limited to 12-ounce curls. Now that I'm not toting around a bunch of extra weight I'm going to see if I can't do something to build a little muscle mass.

I'm not hopeful on that one (exercising in general, and weight lifting in particular, are pretty much anti-fun for me) but I managed to watch what I ate for almost a year, so who knows?

Updates

The Diet: I've been holding steady lately, thanks to Thanksgiving and Christmas, at about 180. I may be up a little bit now, but 179 was my lowest. Once the New Year's Day leftovers are gone, back on the diet I go.

The Mac: I've actually wound up using iMovie more than I thought I would, because I'm recording saved shows off my DVR. In iMovie I can clip out commercials and add chapter markers, which comes in handy for things like Mythbusters. If I don't find a copy of Battlestar Galactica season 3 I may start converting my DVR'ed copies of that as well.

I also have a copy of iWork '08, Apple's answer to Office. Except for the fact that it likes to destroy the layout of Excel files it's a pretty good imitation. And at $100 for 5 machines the price is a lot better, too. I still need to put together the review I've had in the back of my head since earlier in the fall.

Crappy speakers: I got rid of my T-Mobile phone when it died on me over Thanksgiving, and switched to Verizon instead. I'm pretty sure my speakers don't pick up any CDMA noise, but I'm not sure: When I bought an 802.11n router to use with the Mac I discovered that the wireless signal creates a constant tick every second or so. After I get Christmas paid off I may just have to spring for speakers that cost more than eight bucks.

The car: Still enjoying the Jetta. It's got a little more than 9,000 miles on it now, has lost the new-car smell, and has a covering of salt on it from going up to Ohio for Christmas. Karma also got me back for all those years of scrawling "WASH ME" onto cars that needing washing -- some douchebag got me either while I was in Ohio or while I was at a rest stop on my way back. That was a lot funnier before I owned a car.

Other 2007 Resolutions: Item number two was buying the car, so that one turned out OK. Item 3 was learning a .NET language. Two out of three ain't bad.

Football: See? I kept quiet all season. After laying a pretty big egg against the Bengals in week 16, the Browns were no longer in control of their own fate entering the playoffs. By (barely) beating Indianapolis's scrubs Sunday night, Tennessee grabbed the six slot in the conference, leaving Cleveland out of the postseason. They're the only winning club to not make the playoffs (also out are the 8-8 Texans).

Annoyances: Google Groups still thinks I'm a virus. It took me two months to register for Katsucon due to their pre-reg person not doing pre-reg. I had a head cold and scratchy throat on Christmas. I was the only one in the office on New Year's Eve (happily, no calls). On the upside, with the Pats going 16-0 we can finally stop listening to that cock Shula toot his own horn about the '72 Dolphins; on the downside, Boston sports fans will become even more arrogant and insufferable after their team wins its fourth Super Bowl in seven years.

Today: I've having just shy of a dozen people over for some New Year's food today. Aside from a large pot of chili I've never cooked for multiple people before. This could end very well, in which case I'll do it again next year, or it could end in disaster.

November 6, 2007January 7, 2008