Update

I know, I know, I haven't written in a while.

The truth is, I have been working a lot, going to kung fu, spending time with Victoria, and when I sleep, I sleep like the dead, recently. And also, wtf is in the air??? My eyes have been itchy for like, a week now. Damn allergies.

So, if you read my previous post regarding IF, that is going well, so far. Granted my last post was only a few minutes ago, but regardless, it's still going well. I was about to do San He for my 1st time today, but then I heard my email and like the Pavlovian slave that I am, came running.

This weekend is shaping up to be busy and nice. If you read Victoria's blog you will see that, yes, she is indeed moving to live at my house with me. Yes, this is a big step. I know this and do feel that we are ready for it. To me, she is way different from any girl that I have ever dated and I have never known that this is what I want so freakin' fast. You know what they say though about opportunity or something. I'm too lazy to Google, but well, you have to take it when it comes.

At any rate, that will be happening gradually over the next month, so we won't be consumed with it all weekend. But, let's back up.

I was planning on going to class today, however, I am pretty effing sore from yesterday brown belt work. Also, I went back way to far on a rollover during warm ups, which caused my neck to make a noise that I hadn't heard in a while. My upper back is all sore and feels shitty. So does my right heel for some reason. I am a mess. Bleh...

Tonight, we are going to see the new Indiana Jones movie at the Alamo. That should be fun. I can't wait to eat =).

Tomorrow, I am not sure what we are doing during the day, but I will need to clean up a little bit to get my house ready for the next UFC PPV which is tomorrow. I am having some friends over to watch it. That is always a good time.

Sunday, we are going to move some of V's stuff over, particularly clothes and essentials.

Monday, we don't really have any solid plans, but I DO need to pack and get ready for my trip. My loose itinerary for next week is as follows:

• Tuesday - Leave for NYC @ 720am out of Austin. Arrive @ LaGaurdia Airport or "Satan's Asshole, as I like to call it" (Dane Cooke) at around noon EST. Go to boss' house in NJ. Go home to parent's house in Staten Island.
• Wednesday - Go to Long Island, work. Leave for Boston from LI.
• Thursday - Work in Boston. Stay over.
• Friday - Finish work in Boston. Go back home to parent's house in Staten Island.
• Saturday - Stay in Staten Island, visit with family.
• Sunday - Fly home to Austin.

 

IF

(Intermittent Fasting)

So, I finally got to read the book "EatStopEat" and I loved it. I won't spoil all of the good parts (so you read it hehe), but what I really enjoyed the most was how the author (Brad Pilon) dispelled common myths and misconceptions about how fast effects the body. To date, I had subscribed to the common knowledge that, well, everyone else does.

Suffice it to say, I am going to be trying this theory out. Actually, I am trying it today. Victoria offered to try it with me which, I thought was really cool. So, we stopped eating at around 930pm last night. The next time I will be eating is at the Alamo Draft House tonight when we are watching Indiana Jones.

The basic idea behind this is as follows:

"Diets" or "eating plans" most often fail in the long term. Sure, in the short term, they might work really well. How many of you have tried the "South Beach Diet" or the "Abs Diet"? I have. I got pretty good results for the first couple of months, then pretty much said "fuck it, this is way too much work", and went back to whatever I was doing before I started.

FAIL.

Some of the myths/misconceptions that this book speaks to are:

• the idea that fasting will kill your metabolism.
• the idea that you will lose muscle mass from fasting.
• that eating 6-8 times per day will "stoke" your metabolism.
• why eating "plans" or "diets" typically fail once you extend the observation period.

The bottom line is that reading this book really made me think about some of the ideas that I have accepted as conventional wisdom. What I like even better is that the claims that are made are backed up by scientific studies and data. They are not just said and expected to be accepted. I would recommend this book to anyone, if nothing more than to just have some new ideas to think about in the health/nutrition arena.

It is currently 11:13am. I have not eaten anything since 9:30pm last night. Overall, I feel just fine. I do feel some pangs of hunger, but they come and go. I am trying to not think about it. Ultimately, I would like to be able to do this 2x/week.

Which brings me to talking about some things that I am doing to get ready for my next test.

1. Josh Hillis fighter workout which is 3x/week (starting on Monday).
2. Lots of jump rope.
3. Lots of form practicing.
4. San He Chuan 3x/day ( I am shooting for 3x/day, we shall see how that pans out ).

Anyway, to sum up, right now, I am about 205-210 depending on what day and what scale. As I move forward with the above AND with IF, I will post changes, if any.

 

She's F**king Obama...

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

For real???

I would like to preface this post by saying that I absolutely LOVE my new job. I have learned more in the past few weeks regarding development than I think I did at my last job in a whole year.

The difference now, though, is dealing with small clients that have somewhat strange requests from time to time.

Case in point (sent in by a male, nonetheless):

Question.

One of my FAVORITE hobbies at work is checking on ticket availability at ticketmaster.com

However, this morning when I was trying like a mad man to get the BEST MADONNA tickets I possibly could, I think I “tried” too many times, and it seems ticketmaster blocked our IP address!

This has happened in the past, but only for like ten to fifteen minutes at a time. I have been unable to log in to ticketmaster for 4 hours and now I’m concerned. Especially because tomorrow morning, WHILE I HAVE TO BE HERE, more tickets are going on sale at 9am.

Some people have mentioned a program that resets your IP address for you, but I’m thinking that doesn’t sound like an option.

Any ideas on what I can do to sneak back on to ticketmaster.com

My 1st response:

Is this for real? We have help him get Madonna tickets??!?!?!

Then I sucked it up and actually responded:

A) I do not know if this substantiated. How would we know if Ticketmaster “temporarily blocks an IP address”? All I could really find on this topic is this article from Slashdot:

http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/10/07/2332237.shtml

B) If you were going to try and sneak back in, you would have to make the site think that you had a different IP. The only way that I know of to do that is to use a proxy. There are MANY ways to do this and they are as simple as a google search away. Here are some that might work:

1. FoxyProxy - http://foxyproxy.mozdev.org/ - Complete details for download setup on this site. This is a plug in for Firefox.
2. Proxy Changer - http://www.proxychanger.com/ - If you use IE…
3. Listing of available proxy servers: http://www.publicproxyservers.com/

I am not sure if this will work, however as I found this on Ticketmaster’s site:

Proxy Servers

Some online service providers, such as AOL or Prodigy, use a device called a proxy server. Proxy servers save copies of sites on their server rather than connecting users to the Internet or the specific site requested. In most cases this works fine.

Using a proxy server might prevent you from purchasing tickets because you need to access our ticketing system directly. If you do not know if you are accessing the Internet through using a proxy server, contact your Internet service provider.

Access Ticketmaster.com through a direct Internet connection and not through any service using proxy servers.

My recommendation would to calm down and try less. I don’t think we should be helping clients “sneak” back into web sites after they had been blocked due to what the site has deemed to be “malicious” or “questionable” use.

Pretty funny IMO. I should start a web site or something... like the Chronicles of George (go here if you have never been, it's hilarious).