Max: New iMac

Saweet!

Max: 33 and 1/3

Well not quite. I am a mere 33 years and one day old. Or in the Vietnam era parlance heard at a recent Kerry rally, I am 33 years and a wake up.

For the vast majority of the people I know the day was like any other. Outside of Laura, my parents, my sister and my grandmother I received no birthday wishes. And that is fine. For the most part it was just another ordinary day. My wife woke me up in the middle of the night in the mood to get rude. I protested that I had to get up at 7 and rolled back over. At the butt crack of dawn I was up and on the road. I spent the day getting bitched at for things I did not do, holding the hands of a bunch of tightly wired dead end users through basic computer maintenance. I answer such profound questions as, "Do I click on the 'Create Contact' button to create a contact?" Followed up with questions like, "Do I have to do that for every contact I want to create?" After a few millennia, the day ended and I spent the better part of an hour on the I-270 parking lot.

The only major difference between yesterday and a typical day is my parents took me out to dinner. I had the biggest steak I think I have ever eaten. Though Dad tells me there is a steak house in Manhattan that specializes in porterhouses so big they put mine to shame.

Then a night of TV, some lovin' and a good night's sleep.

The good news is, in two years I can finally run for President.

Max: Fucking Corsican Twins and Shit

I just got my test back. Guess who has low testosterone?

That explains why I have been wanting a Mustang so bad recently.

Max: Be it Ever so Crumbling There is no Place Like Home

Last night Laura and I scored a major victory against the forces of entropy. We (meaning mostly Laura and her dad) finished major renovation on our dining room. We intend to use it as a temporary living room until we build the planned addition that will be the permanent living room. After a week and a half away from home, we decided to demote the temporary living room to a temporary bedroom. We (meaning mainly Laura and her dad, with a smidge of help from me) set up the bed, TV and partial home network and we (meaning mainly Laura and me, with a smidge of help from the dog) actually slept in our own bed.

Today, we (meaning Laura and her dad, with a smidge of help from gravity) started dropping the upstairs ceilings while we (meaning me and my worn out, aching muscles) hid out at the library. Hopefully we (meaning mainly Laura, me, her dad and whoever we scam into helping us) are within a few weeks of finishing the ceilings and getting the house into something resembling livable shape.

Jericho: Day 31

Okay, I know, the last several posts of mine have been about this fricking diet. I'm sorry. I'm 32 and a working stiff and this is the only thing going on in my life. Sorry. Really.

But, I gotta tell you, this diet is a good thing. I'm sleeping better - I was getting up three or more times a night to pee - not anymore. When I wake up in the morning, I really gotta go, but, at least I'm sleeping through the night. Steph and I have both noticed a lessening in flatulence. I have more energy, Steph has taken to calling me "Mr. Motivated." My clothes are just now starting to loosen, and I'm actually looking forward to buying a new wardrobe a few monhs down the line. This diet has been so easy so far - I wish I had done this five years ago!

Steph has lost 15 pounds so far - she is very excited, with good reason. That's like a half pound a day! I don't know how much I've lost - I go back to the cargo scale on the 7th of September. I'm looking for 30 total - I'm hoping for 40! We'll see ...

We go to the doctor on Sept. 8th for our fasting glucose tests. Probably after that Steph and I will move on to the next stage of the diet, OWL - On-going Weight Loss. This is a big deal. Steph and I agree that this is the longest either of us have been on a diet and not cheated. If I make it to Sept. 8th, it will certainly be the longest I have been on a diet.

Okay, I lied, I had a cheat on Sunday. A small one - but I'm ashamed of myself none-the-less. I went to dinner with friends and I got a rack of ribs. It was Tony Roma's for chrissake! Everything there is covered in BBQ sauce! I could have asked for my ribs wihout sauce - but what is the freaking point of that! So, I just did it. I had only had 6 of my 20 grams of carbs for the day, Atkins.com says BBQ sauce is 2 carbs per table spoon. I didn't have fries, I had green beans. I didn't eat any of the bread they bring to the table. I was a good boy - in a cheating sort of way!

However, the thing that ticks me off now, I'm looking out on the wb for how many carbs Tony Roma's BBQ sauce has, and I find that they have a low carb sauce!!! "Nada Lotta Carbs" - I didn't see this on the menu. I wasn't told about this. This sucks! I wish I had known. Oh well. I am glad to see that several restaurants are offering lower carb options. Steph and I went to T.G.I. Friday's and had steaks off their Atkins Approved menu last night. Not a bad deal. We both had Strip Steak and broccoli and passed on the low-carb cheese cake. We got out of there for a decent price, too. I'm pretty sure we'll be going back.

Well, I'm going to go nuke my lemon-pepper chicken and veggie. I'll let you all know if I fall off the wagon ...

Max: Ramblin' Man

It has been over a week since I last slept in my own bed. And even then I was only there for four hours. Last Sunday, Laura and I headed to Branson for a mini-vacation while the asbestos was being removed from our house. I kept some notes on my Palm for a post here. I may get it up tomorrow.

We were hoping that they would have the work finished before we got back. A week later, they are still at it. We have been sleeping on a day bed in my in-laws' computer room. Our ceilings are starting to sag, so once the asbestos is removed we are probably going to have to take them down and replace them. I may get to sleep in my own bed once or twice before I head to TN to sleep on the ground for a week in the name of bass.

More details tomorrow. Or maybe December.

Max: John Cleese Pens The Tale On Superman

SUPERMAN: TRUE BRIT is an original hardcover graphic novel with a humorous new take on the Superman legend. What if... the book supposes... instead of baby Superman's rocket ship crashlanding in Smallville, the man of steel arrives in a small English town and is adopted by British parents - the Clarks.

More here.

Max: Just a Reminder

That my birthday is coming up in just a couple of weeks, in case anybody wants to get me anything. Just a littleshow of love or whatever.

Jericho: It works!

It wasn't all for nothing - no, sir!

Today is day twelve, the diet has been zipping along. I have to admit, this is the best I have felt abovt a diet and the best I have felt on a diet. Most of the cravings have gone away, I still get pangs for sweets and chocolate, but not nearly as bad or as often. I actually feel full at meals, and as tiny as our meals are as compared with what we used to eat, that's a shock to me. I certainly don't feel like I'm being deprived or missing out - it's tough to feel that way while you are eating one of my fabulously charcoal grilled steaks! Or, now as I sit here snacking on peperoni (a rare treat - I'm celebrating) while Steph is making bacon cheese-burgers for dinner! Yes, no buns, who needs buns? I have bacon!!!

This Induction thing has been challenging - but the rules are pretty simple and they rock if you like meat. The first week was tough. Losing the caffiene habit hurt. I had a day or two of really low energy. But, then, Steph started looking at her blood-sugar, it creeped down under 100, then even under 70. We took mine one day, I was back under 120, at 114. Good for both of us. Then, we found Diet Rite soda - no carbs, sweetened with Splenda, no caffiene! I have done more grilling in the last two weeks than I have done in the three months before that, but I was paid off with great steak and full chicken breasts - with the skin on!

Starting the diet was expensive. We blew at least $200 on meat, shakes, bars and some other begining items. Then - we cleaned out our cabinets - we probably gave $200 of stuff to some friends of ours, $30 of that was just Equal packets. But, I'm not blowing money on sweets and junk at work, because I don't need it or want it. We aren't going out to eat three or more nights a week. And, when we did go out to eat, we didn't get soda or an appetiser or dessert - we saved about $12 to $15 bucks right there. (BTW I got a Royal Red Burger, for those of you not familiar with Red Robin, that's a cheese burger topped with bacon and a fried egg. All on the diet. Yeah, no bun, and I got celery sticks insted of fries. Total for Steph and I: $27 plus tip) So, in the end, it will probably balance out.

I thought we should wait until the full two weeks of Induction before we got weighed. Steph couldn't wait. Steph went and weighed herself day before yesterday. She lost seven pounds. I went today, scheduling to go to the big scale for Monday was tough. I lost a few more pounds than Steph, but, then again, I have about 200 more to lose. Anyway, the scale said I weigh 458.7 - yes, that's 17.1 pounds difference. Ummm ....

Yeah Baby! SEVENTEEN!!! Woo-hoooo!!!!!

So, I'm pretty excited. I know I won't keep up this level, but I also know we didn't go to the gym this entire time. We'll get to the gym, I'm still hoping for 3 or 4 pounds a week. The table in the book shows that I have a low resistance to weight loss, and we could continue to the next phase of the diet. But, Steph and I are thinking we should stick to Induction for another four weeks. Then, we get our fasting glucose tests and we talk to the doctor again. The foods on Induction are a little boring, but the rules are so easy and the method has been so effective, we have decided to stick to it. We'll see where we are in two more weeks. But, for the moment, I'm all about this diet and totally commited!

I rule! I'm not a fat loser! YES!!