amazingly, this dev notebook survived almost 3.5 years (Oct 2006). had been holding out for USB 3.0, but finally had to give up because this one's on its last legs : 1) DVD burner stopped working back in 2007. actually, i dont think i've had any notebook DVD burner last more than 1 year. 2) ethernet port doesn't work because it was destroyed by a lightning strike surge. 3) only 1 USB port still works. the other 3 have been worn down so much that they only recognize that a device is connected for a couple minutes. so i have a hub connected to the 1 working port. 4) power connection is bad. i had to dremel the lip off the plug so i could shove it deeper into the connection. and the plug has electrical tape around it to keep the connection tight. 5) lost the left-shift and left-ctrl keys on the keyboard. been having to use the 'righties' instead. 6) battery no longer holds a charge. if the bad power connection becomes loose, then it powers down within 5 minutes. anyway, it made it through a ton of code ... it'll be missed.

i've taken a week off of dieting. so my bodyweight shot up 5 lbs. i have taken in alot of calories, but that should mainly be stored glycogen and water weight ... which i'll shed real quick. i've definitely been able to tell that my glycogen stores are full when lifting and powering through cardio. thats been fun; but i've also been feeling bloated from all the calories. plus all the additional sugars / carbs / fats / sodium have really cranked up the cravings. when i was cutting the last month i was rarely hungry; but the last week of not-dieting, i've wanted to eat all the time.

been checking out the scivation diet, and its got more than a couple interesting parts. mainly, its weird with carbs. its seriously low carb, in that it pushes alot of fibrous carbs with every meal, but you really only get complex carbs with the re-feed meal every 3rd day. and that re-feed meal is your last meal before bed ... carbs before bed, that'll be new. the other weird part is the diet's ok with fruit (grapefruits or blueberries) in the morning and at night ... every day! i like that alot. those simple carbs should help keep me sane. but i'm worried about the lack of complex carbs in the morning. but i'll give it a shot, because the simple sugars from the fruit might be enough. another odd thing is that its against the insulin spike post-workout. that'll be new for me to try out as well. it really recommends BCAAs during your workout, but i'm not one to carry around a bottle at the gym, so i'll opt for a protein drink immediately after cardio. that said, i do drink BCAAs throughout the rest of the day. of course its high protein but its also high fat. it starts out higher fat than i'm really comfortable with, so that will be where i cut back to reduce calories first. at least the constant fat intake throughout the day should help my energy levels. also sort of remember reading something about improved protein uptake when you have some fats with protein? this also gives me some flexibility to have some meals with a higher fat protein source and just not add any more fat sources to the meal. the plan can be used for months, so you start out higher calories and then reduce as you hit a sticking point. i haven't done that for a while, but will start that up again. i'm also going to stick with whole foods, and only rely on protein powder post-workout.

can already kind of guess how i'll modify this plan. first, i'll cut fats as i hit a sticking point. second, i might have to add some complex carbs into the morning meal. third, i might have to add some complex carbs post-workout as well.

i'd been waiting for these to come out (for men); and just got a pair yesterday. they are destabilizing, so they require more effort to stay upright. the first 30 minute session was more effective than expected. my lower abs were definitely working. that said, my legs didnt seem to be getting much out of it. anyway, they make a great addition to a treadmill desk, because they provide another method to make walking more difficult. so now i can throw on a weight vest while wearing the shape ups, and still keep the treadmill at low enough speeds to accurately use the mouse and keyboard.

i'm not sure if i would wear these to the gym on leg day. wearing these shoes while trying to do squats might be a bad idea.

i spent a month trying a pre-contest diet. i'm vainly trying to get a six pack (no plans to actually compete). as a programmer, i consider it 'hacking my body'. or the brains-n-brawn spin is 'mind over matter'. overall, i didn't lose any weight, but did lower my fat percentage. specifically, i attempted the gaspari nutrition pre-contest plan that comes with the mitotropin supplement. after about a week, my body began to shut down. the mistake was that i wasnt getting enough total calories. 1) i wasnt getting enough fat. to fix this, i got a shot glass to measure how much flaxseed oil i was taking in the morning and evening. also made sure to have 100 calorie almond packs on low carb days. had to use packs, because i was cheating with a larger container of raw almonds. 2) i wasnt getting enough protein. so i increased my portion size from 4oz per serving to 6oz servings. also added an afternoon protein shake during/after my 2nd cardio session. 3) i wasnt getting enough carbs on the low carb days. so i stopped counting carbs from fibrous veggies. on low carb days (50 grams carbs) i would have 1/2 cup of oats before a workout, and 1/2 a sweet potato after. even after making these changes i was still a zombie during workouts. so i modified the plan. instead of a high, medium, low, low carb days; i switched to high, low, low, low. the real modification was to allow some fruits. i would have a small grapefruit before a workout and blueberries afterwards with a protein shake. on high carb days, i might also have some blueberries in the evening, depending on how low my energy levels were. with those changes, i still felt like a zombie, so i also started taking a level Tbsp of waximaize post workout.

working out was tough. again, 'zombie' is the word. because it was mostly core lifts to burn more calories, but getting through those core lifts on low carbs took serious willpower. ultimately, i entirely stopped caring how much (namely how little) weight i was lifting. i would say that vanity is slowly switching from strength and being directed to seeing more muscle separation ... but that's not the case. instead, lifting on low carbs was entirely humbling, and i was just trying to survive the lifts. and then i'd go do cardio after lifting, and it was just pitiful. i'm quite certain that the people giving tours to potential new members would avoid walking past me because if they saw how sad i looked, that there is no way they'd join the gym. anyway, i mostly followed the gaspari lifting plan too; except i dropped the 'shoulder and traps' day. 1) i genetically have good shoulders and traps, so they dont really need the work. 2) i didnt burn many calories those days. dropping that upper body day, meant less days between leg days ... which burns the calories. 3) it made a 4 day lifting cycle (chest/tris/calves, legs/abs, back/bis/calves, cardio/abs) to sync up with the 4 day nutrition cycle (high, low, low, low). so i'd have a high carb day on the chest/tri day and load up for legs the following day.

visibly, i still have some fat covering my low abs, but that midsection bodyfat percentage measurement dropped the most. my love handles have shrinked quite a bit, along with lower back fat ... although these 2 areas still have some 'jiggle' to them. i am starting to see more seperation of upper (and side) ab muscles and my ribs are starting to become visible. plus my waist shrunk and is close to 34 inches. now that i've shed enough fat to physically feel my ab muscles, i can 'see' that my abs dont seem particularly well developed. i'm hoping that lifting abs every other day will help fix this. at least its more ab work than i've ever done before and i am definitely gaining more awareness of my core muscles, to target the proper muscles and avoid cheating.

the gaspari pre-contest diet was only supposed to be followed for a month. so now i'm taking at least a week off to fuel up, give my metabolism a kickstart, and switch things up by lifting for strength. that means more calories from good fats and carbs. plus i get to eat the foods that i missed : red meat, dairy, more fruits, fatty fish ... redi whip! and i'm going to avoid : flaxseed oil (yuck), spinach, and cracking/splitting eggs for egg whites. next month, i'm going to try the pre-contest diet from scivation. with the modifications, i'm relatively happy with the gaspari plan, but i want to try the scivation plan as well; because i'm still trying to figure out what works best for my body.

picked up a GoWearFit to try out. mainly, i just wanted to get another calorie estimate. initially, it estimates the calories i needed based on age, weight, activity, weight trend. this initial estimate was 3000 calories. based on counting calories for over a year, i knew this was a high estimate.

now having worn the device for 2 days, its averaging that i'm burning over 3200 calories each day. i also think this is a high estimate. because i generally eat about 2000 calories. if i was really burning over calories 3000 calories a day, then i would be losing 2 lbs each week. the problem is my weight has been mostly constant lately, and i generally only lost 1 lb a week when i was losing. when i was heavier, i did need 3000 calories; but as i lost the weight, it dropped to 2500 calories, and then 2000. at one point, i was only eating about 1500-1750 calories a day to keep losing. anyway, i'm assuming its caloric expenditure estimate is high because it initially estimated by caloric needs were so high.

so i ran its nutrition estimator by providing 3 days of my food log. that dropped my estimated caloric needs down to 2000 calories a day (thats with a 10% underestimation). so i'm assuming the GoWearFit device will have more conservative measurements over the next couple days.

as i lose more weight, it becomes harder for me to keep losing. i think part of the problem is my body is too efficient. so the plan is to keep it guessing. i already do this when it comes to weight training, but haven't really tried it with nutrition. for nutrition, i've mostly kept moving calories lower, and that works to an extent; until your body starts shutting down. the plan is to cycle between what would be a pre-contest bodybuilder diet and then a weight gain diet. i'm thinking 4 weeks pre-contest and then 2 weeks weight gain to start off with.

the pre-contest diet is super restrictive. only lean proteins (chicken, turkey, lean fish, egg whites). starchy complex carbs earlier in the day (oatmeal, bulgur, sweet potato). fibrous carbs in the evening (broccoli, green beans, asparagus, ...). fats from flaxseed oil and almonds. within this phase, i'm also going to try carb cycling. so i'll have a high carb day (150 grams), medium (100 grams) day, and low carb (~50 grams) days.

the weight gain phase will still be 'clean' food, but more of it for more calories. fattier protein sources will be added back in (e.g. beef, salmon, sardines, some egg yolks), and every day will be a higher carb day. there will also be more 'good fat' foods (e.g. avocado). plus fruits (e.g. berries) and dairy (e.g. greek yogurt).

the workout routine will coincide with the nutrition routine. so i'll be training for size during the pre-contest diet (i.e. 10+ reps) and for strength during the weight gain phase (5 reps). the extra calories are needed for the heavier weight, and the heavier weight is needed to get the testosterone flowing.

i met this years goal. bodyweight dropped just below 190 lbs. bodyfat percentage is below 8%. in total, i lost ~20 lbs this year (55 lbs from Apr 1st 08). visibly, i still have a little fat covering my lower abs and love handles. that said i've got more definition all around; especially when lifting. my strength has dropped a little, but is still about the same as the start of the year. leg strength is actually up after re-incorporating deadlifts. for lean muscle mass, i still seem to average losing 1 lb of muscle per every 5 lbs lost.

its been a struggle with my ego as i lose size and strength. so i have to keep promising myself that i'll work on bulking up again later. and i'm trying to redirect the ego towards getting lean and seeing more definition. this part is not easy for me.

i kept experimenting with nutrition. the main change was avoiding all processed foods, and preparing all my own meals. a typical day now looks like :

breakfast - oatmeal and egg white (1 yolk) pancake, asparagus
snack - blend protein shake, mixed berries
lunch - 4oz chicken, brussel sprouts
meal - 4oz fish, quinoa or barley, green beans
pre workout meal - 4oz beef, mixed veggies (starchy)
post workout drink - whey protein shake, yogurt, blueberries
post workout meal - 4oz turkey, beans, broccoli
nighttime snack - casein protein (on heavy days, mix with tofu)
other snacks throughout the day might be edamame, almonds, prunes.

this meal plan gives me a consistent amount of protein throughout the day, from many different sources. it minimizes carbs, fruit, and dairy but still keeps my energy levels constant (mentally and physically). compared to last year, i eat alot more veggies, which provides a ton more fiber. i really like this plan on the days when i get to workout early in the morning, because then i get almost all my starchy carbs taken care of just after noon.

it sounds trivial, but i spent some time this year learning about grocery stores. serious. i would go into a store during their off hours and spend an hour or two studying the products they offered. reading labels and comparing products takes time. i also tried some new foods. each shopping trip, i made sure to pick up 1 new item that i had no idea how to eat. then i'd go home and search for 'how to eat/cook X'. youTube really came in handy for this.

next years goal is set. the plan is to keep cutting down to the obligatory 'six pack'. i'm not entirely sure what my bodyweight will need to be to meet this goal? when i weighed 245, i would have guessed 215. when i was 215, i would have guessed 200. when i was 200, i would have guessed 190. now i'm 190 ... and i've learned to stop guessing. anyway, i calculate my lean mass above 175 lbs (estimated) ... so i should be close ... hopefully. the problem is my genetic disposition for storing fat primarily at the midsection is entirely working against me.

so this post is to draw a line in the sand :
i will post an 'after' picture sometime in 2k10

this was finally all wrapped up. the notebooks that were damaged were 'fixed' with ethernet notebook cards, or usb-to-ethernet adapters. but that left damaged ethernet ports on an xbox 360 and a Netgear ReadyNAS. since i want to use Netflix streaming with the 360, i'll end up replacing it with a new one. in the meantime, i've just been using it with a wireless adapter. that left the ReadyNAS, which effectively became a brick without the ethernet port. Netgear refused to fix it, because it was out of warranty, even though i was willing to pay for repairs. i also didn't have any luck finding an electronics shop that gave me confidence they could repair it. plus it wont work with usb-to-ethernet adapters. so the only way to get to the data is move the drives over to my 2nd ReadyNAS (which still works). Netgear refusing to repair the device put me off ReadyNAS, so i'll ultimately move the data to a 2nd WHS device.

my home owners insurance would cover the lightning strike, although there is a $1000 deductible for personal property damages. since my claim would be less than that, there was no need to file. fyi, my rates would not have gone up since lightning strikes are not my fault ... disregard the lightning rods, kites, and blasphemy.

so that left filing a claim to APC. it took a while, and i had to ship 2 heavy UPS to them, and then it took even more time, but they did agree to pay the claim. also, one of my UPS was no longer supported, and they shipped me a newer replacement for free. i'm not sure about the 2 UPS that i just shipped them ... i'm wondering if i'll get the newer model back? anyway, APC earned a customer for life.

now i'm waiting for the next lightning strike. the main addition is a power cleaner on the outside of my house. so a surge should be stopped before it even gets in, or before it gets close to a data line. if a surge were to come in through the data line, then that should fry my cable modem 1st ... if it were to get through the data protection of an UPS before that. all my devices are still on a UPS (some of them newer models). finally, i have some additional data surge protectors (APC) between long runs of ethernets. so if a surge did get inside the house, and jumped to a data line, the damage should be localized to 1 room, instead of knocking out equipment all over my condo.

er, um ... i've been searching for healthy cooking / food science shows. notice that most of these are for foreign audiences. here's what i've looked at :

BBC The Truth About Food - 6 part series about being healthy, sexy, feeding kids, etc... good stuff. i like how the UK will somewhat abuse the people they use in their experiments.

Food Detectives - food science. so far there experiements are entertaining, but i'm not sure i've gotten much use out of them. granted, i've only seen a couple episodes.

Food Investigators - Australian series that is mostly about how to pick healthier foods. i like it.

Good Eats - educational and entertaining. the problem is alot of the dishes have been too unhealthy. so i generally watch it to learn cooking basics, how to pick ingredients, and then i look for healthier preparation options online; or i make my own substitutions. but the host, Alton Brown, just lost something like 45 lbs ... so i'm holding my breath that the series will become healthier.

American Test Kitchen - this is real similar to Good Eats. they go in depth about 1 dish / ingredient, talk about cooking options, tools, etc... this show stands out in that they seem to frequently show what can go wrong.

What's Really in our Food - i think this is New Zealand. similar to Food Investigators, they help you decide the healthiest foods to eat. i like it.

Biggest Loser - er, um ... i tried to watch this, but i hated it. its way too much reality tv, too much intensive training, and barely any nutrition. people commonly refer to losing weight as 80-90% nutrition ... but instead the show seems to show 80-90% training.

what else should i be watching?