August 2009
15 posts
Today I choose these 3
Of the six NFL preseason games scheduled to be played today, I’m going to try to catch these three:
ATL vs. DET 3:00 PM CT
CHI vs. BUF 6:00 PM CT
SEA vs. SD 9:00 PM CT Whenever the Detroit Lions, possibly the worst team ever to play in the NFL, wins a game, even in preseason, it is an occasion for celebration. Will they win this afternoon? I don’t know, but I will be listening.
...
The NFL Preseason So Far
Of course it’s practically impossible to evaluate the strength of an NFL team based on its performance in the preseason. Most teams seldom play their star players during this time, choosing instead to let them rest and avoid injury while playing the rookies and the 2nd and 3rd team players in order to determine which of them will best be able to contribute when the “real” season...
It always amuses me when...
… a new member to a CC (Correspondence Chess) club buys into the myth that we’re a “friendly” operation comprised of “friendly” people, and tries to send personal messages either along with or independent of the chess moves. Heh. That’s not how we are and that’s not what we do.
CC players are like silent assassins. The only communication we care...
The USPS is so lame!
It took the Post Office a full two weeks to get a postcard from Toledo, Ohio, to San Antonio, Texas! And that, boys and girls, is absolutely ridiculous!
No kidding! The date of the postmark on the front of the card was 31 July, and it didn’t arrive in my mail box here in San Antonio until yesterday, 13 August.
For cryin’ out loud, I could ride a horse from there to here in less...
The scales were kind...
…and the mailman brought me a treat.
To my delight, yesterday’s “overeating” didn’t bump my body weight up at all. Thanks to another good night’s sleep (I always lose weight best when I’m sleeping well!), I’m still firmly on the 239 lb. WLP plateau that I’ve been on for almost a week now.
Earlier this afternoon the mailman delivered...
Wednesday found me eating more...
…than I intended to, but at least I was eating the “right” foods and avoiding the “wrong” ones. And my general sense throughout the day was of being healthier and more energetic than has been the case for awhile. So if the scales aren’t kind to me when I wake and weigh myself, that won’t disturb me too much.
Unless outside noises interfere,...
Still up with insomnia
Darn it. Tried to bore myself into drowziness by playing shisensho - for nearly an hour. So now I’m totally bored with shisensho, but I’m still not sleepy. Darn it.
Too tired to do anything worthwhile, but still not the least bit sleepy: insomnia really sucks..
Tuesday was a good day
I accomplished my main chores and surprised myself by taking care of a few minor ones that weren’t on the day’s task list. Go, me!
So I bought myself a treat: a 2009 NFL.com Field Pass. When the regular season starts on 05 Sept., I’ll now be able to listen to live play-by-play of every game. For only $30. I consider that a very good deal! Now if I could only find something...
Suppose I should be relieved
On the one hand, I’m no longer concerned about coming down with some kind of bug. I’m actually feeling better, much better than I have for the past several hours.
But on the other hand, in order to get feeling better, I had to do a bit of eating. Darn it! It seems my body isn’t going to let me diet as severely as I’d hoped. Crappity!
So I took two aspirin tablets...
…and I hope they cut this sort of headache, sort of body ache thing that’s keeping me awake.
Hey! I know! I can fool around with some of the strange tumblr themes while I try to relax and get myself feeling better. That’s sometimes fun.
Surprisingly...
…the Sunday morning scales were kind to me: recording the same weight as Saturday despite my “splurge” eating.
Reflecting on that, I realize now that the Weight Loss Project (WLP) has reached a stage where my body chemistry has shifted enough to continue sufficiently on its own as long as I don’t majorly bugger it up. It’s sort of like a 3-way balancing act now. As...
I'm a bit nervous about...
…how the bathroom scales are going to treat me in the morning. In order to counteract a deep fatigue today I broke the diet and ate a bit more than I should have.
The extra eating helped. My energy levels came back up and my state of mind improved remarkably. But… I wonder what the scales will say in the morning. Guess I’ll find out then.
Now, if I only knew...
For the last several days I’ve been tracking the progress of my UPS package from Nebraska. And at last the UPS tracking system shows that it has arrived in San Antonio. It’s on time for its scheduled delivery… sometime today.
Now, if I only knew what time the driver was going to come knocking at my door, I could sleep a little easier.
On the verge of lucid dreaming:
…that’s where my state of consciousness seems to be poised, and where it seems to have been for the past few hours. Wonder how that’s going to develop?
transitioning
Thank God, I’m back on track!
The chemical changes going on in my body as a result of the diet and increased exercise are surprisingly profound. And they’re affecting my mental state, too. The changes are all for the better, but they’re changes nonetheless, and adjusting to them is something of an adventure.
Last week found me dealing with a major insomnia episode, then a...
July 2009
21 posts
A sense of relief.
A few minutes ago I deleted my plurk account (plurk is a lower tier social-networking site) and deleted all links to it (I hope) from my personal portal pages, etc., around the Internet.
I’ve been there for approx. 10 months and probably got all the enjoyment out of it I could. The behavior of certain sociopathic members there reached such a level that I chose to simply dissociate myself...
Entering the 5th day of the diet...
…I’m still a bit disoriented by the waves of light-headedness and the sensation of my body feeding on itself: both natural things in the early stages of the Atkins Diet. I’ve been here before.
Still, it is comforting to look at the face in the mirror and find it less chipmunk-like and more human as the puffy cheeks recede. If progress continues at this pace, I may even see the...
Strange noises
I wonder WTF my upstairs neighbor is up to? Sounds like he’s moving heavy furniture around. Those thuds coming from his rooms (I think they’re coming from his rooms) are actually more felt than heard; I can feel them through my ceiling and walls. 11:00 PM is a bit late for that, imho.
Glad I was carrying a little cash
Yesterday afternoon I bussed out to my favorite Walmart, planning to do one of my bi-weekly major grocery shopping trips.
As I pushed my cart along from one aisle to another, I heard an announcement over the store’s speakers informing all shoppers that the service allowing access to credit card, debit card, check verification, and ATM machine use was offline. The announcement told us that...
Dieting?
After listening to “Professor Food” on the G. Gordon Liddy Show recently, the temptation to diet is upon me again.
The Atkins Diet, whether strictly followed or done in moderation, has been pretty effective for me in the past. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find myself doing that again in the very near future.
I'm expecting a light sleep tonight...
…because I’m expecting a USPS package delivery tomorrow. And I’m hoping one of the good mailmen will be on the route: good meaning in this instance that he’ll knock on the door loud enough to wake me and wait long enough for me to make it to the door.
But realizing it’s possible one of the “light, timid knockers” will be on the route, I’ll be...
And tonight's movie shall be...
The Devil’s Wedding Night presented by Elvira’s Movie Macabre, watched on Hulu.
I *heart* Elvira, and I *heart* Hulu. Wonder if I’ll *heart* this movie, too?
More Chess!
I may hate myself at times over the next few months for having done this, but tonight I signed up for four more server-based correspondence chess tourneys!
Yes, this is going to increase my game-load quite a bit, and take up a lot of my time. At least CC is a healthy activity and, when played at e4ec.org, under whose auspices these games will be played, it’s free.
So groggy!
Gads, but this has been a horrible week for sleeping! Today brought me only a total of 4 1/2 hours sleep, and they were in two segments separated by a three-hour block of zombiefied time.
I’m drinking coffee now at a quarter till 9:00 PM, trying to lift myself from this state of extreme grogginess in which I find myself, hoping to become at least a little productive before the next...
A dream journal goal
For the past week or two I’ve been keeping pretty good notes re: my nightly dreams, but I’ve been seriously slacking about writing up posts from those notes and putting them online at my dream journal.
I think a good goal for the remainder of this month will be turning those notes into dream journal posts and posting them. Some of those suckers are pretty interesting and, with the...
Mega-tired, but not the least bit sleepy
This is the 2nd or 3rd day in a row that I’ve been dealing with some pretty major insomnia. That is NOT my favorite thing to do!
I’m rather tempted to fix a breakfast then reach for the sleepiness that often follows a good meal. Sometimes that works.
Thanks for the coupons!
After massive reconstruction, the Walgreen’s store in my neighborhood has finally reopened.
Today’s mail included some coupons from them that I intend to spend: one of them probably tomorrow. Yes, I think I’ll do that.
I’m curious to see what the new store looks like from the inside. The outside is one heck of a lot bigger.
Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. And thanks for...
Strange noises
There have been some strange sounds in the hotel, voices, whoops and hollers in the hallway, a “pop” from out on the back patio, a few thuds from somewhere, from about 4:00 AM continuing up to the present time, a few minutes before 6:00 AM. Don’t know what’s going on, but I wouldn’t be too terribly surprised if the police show up at some point.
For a supposedly...
If nobody has any objections,...
… I’m going to start my weekend a little early this week. After a pretty productive few days, major tasks accomplished with flair and panache despite obstacles thrown in my way, I think I’m due.
Do I hear any objections? No? Anybody?
Well then, let my weekend begin! :)
Things balance out
One the one hand, I just learned that one of my favorite uncles passed away today. Uncle Max was rather old (heck, I’m 60 and he’s my Uncle - just do the math) and has been dealing with cancer for awhile, so his passing doesn’t come as a shock. He lived a good, successful life and had time to enjoy a long, happy retirement in Florida. I’m sure all his affairs were in order....
I'm rather curious about...
…the nature of whatever pernicious bug I picked up on Sunday when I was out getting new comic books and some groceries. Or maybe I don’t want to know. Whenever I’m out riding the buses I am, of course, potentially exposed to every germ and sickness making its way through the general population of San Antonio.
The darned thing hit me like a freight train last night as I was...
At 5:30 in the morning...
… I can safely think of Saturday night as being over. And I’m both stunned and delighted at how blessedly quiet it was. As a matter of fact, both Friday and Saturday nights of this weekend were the two most peaceful, quietest holiday weekend nights I can remember since I’ve been living here. And I’ve been here nearly a decade now.
I wish I knew who to thank for this....
Ah, Windows...
…(I’m thinking here about the Micro$oft Operating System), your tendency to develop bit rot over time never ceases to amaze me. It’s almost like decay is an integral part of your code.
surprised by the quiet
I’ve gotta say I’m pleasantly surprised by how quiet it’s been tonight.
In years past there’ve been loud, boisterous parties out on the back patio the night before 4th of July. Heck, sometimes we’ve even had drunks try to climb the fire escapes up to the top of the hotel to watch fireworks going off around the city. But there’s been none of that tonight.
...
I must have it pretty good.
My recent conversations with neighbors seem to always include a question they ask me: “What’s it like in your apartment right now?” They’re referring, of course, to how well my particular micro-climate is holding out against the heat we’ve been experiencing here in San Antonio.
Answering them honestly, I reply: “Actually, it’s pretty comfortable up in my...
Glad to be single
A couple sniping at each other at the bus stop a few minutes ago, and then on the bus back into town, made me appreciate, once again, how fortunate I am to be a single guy.
I’m SO GLAD that there’s no one in my life to bitch at me, whine at me, and do her level best to bring out the very worst parts of my nature!
Having been married once for several years, involved in a couple of...
June 2009
33 posts
Fatigue coupled with insomnia
Fatigue coupled with insomnia is not an enjoyable condition, but that’s what I’m dealing with today.
Between yesterday and today there were only three hours of sleep, and that’s not really enough for me to function responsibly on, though I’ve been trying.
I’m guessing that the heat under which we’re baking right now in San Antonio, unseasonable heat even for...
Coping with the heat
I find myself adapting a grammar rule I learned in Junior High School re: the use of commas, to dealing with the current heat wave we’re experiencing here in San Antonio: “When in doubt, don’t.”
As it applies to grammar, the rule cautions against the overuse of the comma in one’s writing. If the writer isn’t sure a comma should be used in a particular...
Leaving in threes
With today’s deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Micheal Jackson, and Ed McMahon passing just the other day, this has been a bad week for 70s icons.
sleep and chores
Today has gotten off to a late start, but I’m starting to shift from the purely “mechanical” chores to those that call for more mental acuity.
Tuesday’s sleep didn’t even start until 8:00 AM. The first sleep segment was broken at 1:00 PM by the mailman knocking at my door, delivering a package. Though I’d have preferred to remain asleep, it was good to receive...
A Happy Rhythm
I’ve noticed a pattern developing over the past week or so re: my daily task lists and how I work through them. Very seldom do I complete every chore I’ve laid out for myself, but I always get to most of them. And I always accomplish the ones that are most important.
This leaves me with a sense of satisfaction re: what I’ve gotten done. And those undone chores that I carry...
DILO work still hours away
Sunday brought me a sleep-period including two segments of actual sleep which together totaled 7 hours, separated by a 3-hour segment of bleary-eyed zombie-time. As I sit here at the keyboard I’m still in the slow process of waking/recovering from all that, and any work on today’s DILO project is a few hours away at best.
That means the first round of pictures I take will be early...
thoughts at 3:00 AM
All things considered, Friday was a good day. Was able to do a work-around with that kvm switch that’s in the process of dying first thing. Didn’t take too long.
The bus rides out to Walmart and back were better than normal. And my shopping there was surprisingly frugal; kept to my list and made it out of the store with two bags of groceries that only cost $43 and change.
Back home...
After a delay, back on track
An unexpected computer hardware problem threatened to totally muck up progress on today’s, if not this weekend’s, assigned tasks. Luckily I was able to fix it (I’ve got a kvm switch going bad, and had to switch one computer’s controls over to another series of ports) without too much time wasted. And now I’m racing to catch up.
It looks like I’ll be headed...
THIS time it'll take awhile.
I don’t know why, but defrosting my little refrigerator is one of those household chores I always put off as long as I can. It’s not particularly hard. As a matter of fact it’s dead simple. But it’s incredibly boring and time-consuming.
This time I’ve put it off for longer than I should have. The door to my little freezer compartment is so frost-bound that...
Grogginess
Thankfully, a solid, 9-hour, dream-filled sleep broke that massive insomnia spell. Whew! Now I’m left with residual grogginess that will probably linger for a few days, but will (hopefully) allow mental acuity and physical energy sufficient to take care of those items on my task list. The next few days will be busy, I hope.
Massive Insomnia
Absolutely no sleep whatsoever between yesterday and today results in today’s productivity being a whole lot lower than I’d hoped. Damn it.
Other than getting a little chess work taken care of, I’ve not done squat today. Sometimes this happens, but I do not like it when it does.
Waiting another day
I’m not yet in “time trouble” in any of my CC games, but if I wait much longer I will be.
The mental acuity isn’t where it should be to responsibly do chess work, so I’ll give myself another day away from the games. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll work on the chess.
Last.fm is scrobbling again
And I say, Yay!
Yesterday afternoon Last.fm mysteriously stopped scrobbling from my iTunes and from my Windows Media Player. Now it seems to be picking up iTunes. I wonder if it’ll pick up the WinMedia, too. I’ll try that a bit later.
Maybe 80%
Monday was an acceptable day, I accomplished maybe 80% of what was on my task list.
And I’ve changed the name of this little project. “Roscoe’s Random Thoughts” is more descriptive of what I do here, so I’ll probably stick with that for awhile.
And… I’m way tired but not the least bit sleepy. Damned insomnia, anyway!