SteveCook.net

Was doing a lot of running around this weekend. I rushed home Firday after work to go to the UNM/CU football game. One of Jonah’s friends plays in YAFL, and they were going to have a game during halftime. We all had a lot of fun. We ate out after that (I ate good! I swear!) and didn’t get home until pretty late.

Saturday I worked out and then we went Jonah’s soccer game (6 to zero… and Jonah’s team didn’t have 6). Though, when Jonah was the goalie, he didn’t let any through – despite the other team’s bigger offense and multiple tries. O-well. It was his last game of the year, and baseball is also over, so he gets a break for a little while. Now he wants to play basketball. Sheesh!

Saturday night I worked a little on TeamSites and nearly finished the 308 book final edits. I have to do more research to complete it though… so though I’m done editing 95% of the pages, it’s that last 5% that’s going to take 50% of the time to complete. O-well. I also worked a little on some software for SteveJ. (auto reboot of home router via RPC).

Sunday was just as busy! I went on a two hour ride (just under 40 miles) ~19.9mph average – stupid streets and bridges cause me to slow down on parts, spoiling my average time! Then had to rush and get ready to go to Gus’ for dinner. Having just burned 1400 calories, I was able to pig out on a HUGE t-bone and one and a half baked potatos (and not gain any weight!). I got home and worked a little on the new Database design for CheatCodes/GameRadar/etc.

I also taunted SteveJ with the following picture (excuse the helmet hair please :

(I’m challenging him to lose weight and go on the Iron Horse with me Come on SteveJ!

I highly recommend this show on Food Network. His entertaining and educational “nutritional anthropologist” segments, combined with the funny “W” segments and the occasional “Oh Bother”, make the show very entertaining. Put it on your Tivo’s Season Pass list! NOW!

About two years ago I started writing a book about buying and owning a Ferrari 308. I was working with a publisher, and finished the first rough draft about a year ago (actually it was over a year ago). Since then, I’ve been waiting for the fact checking and edits to be done. After a long wait (a bunch of different things – and now it’s a new publisher), I finally got their edits back, and I’m updating it for the final draft! I’m through the first three and a half chapters, and have another three and a half chapters to go (unfortunately they’re longer chapters *DOH*).

I rode an hour on a stationary bike at the gym this week, keeping my heart rate in the 80% range. Yesterday I rode 34 miles with an average of 21mph (with the last mile at about 24mph). I’ve lightened up on the weight training and bumped up the aerobic activity (added rowing to my workouts) in preperation for the Iron Horse race.

I woke up Friday and quickly noticed that I was extremely dizzy. Not in the figurative, “blond” way, I mean seriously unable to stand upright without wanting to puke. I laid down and didn’t get up until late afternoon. I’m still not sure what caused it (short flu?), but it’s mostly gone now. Janet thought it was my diet, so I ate over 2400 calories on Saturday and Sunday – combine that with not working out (due to above dizziness) and I’m back to 180 lbs! DOH! Anyway, I rode to work today and felt okay – only minor dizziness when I got here – I’m going to take it easy on the way home.

I spent most of the weekend relaxing, but did decide to ride in the Iron Horse Classic this coming Memorial day. 47 miles straight up! I was going to start training this weekend, but I’m going to start slow this week and develop a training plan.

I bought a macMini last week and so far it’s been great. Janet and Jonah like it, since it’s very easy to use. I like it because it has a bash shell built in and comes with apache and php, and it took about 2 minutes to install MySQL and set it all up. I’ll have more reviews about it when I have more time to play with it. I have two tests this weekend that I should really study and prepare for…

The Soup on E! is one of the best shows ever. If you haven’t watched it recently, it is as good as ever and getting better every week. Watch it! Tivo it!

I just thought I’d write a little bit about the television shows I’ve been watching. Though I don’t watch a ton of TV, I usually have it on in the background when I’m working.

LOST: I borrowed a friends Season 1 DVD’s and started watching last week. Unfortunately, it’s kept me up way past my bedtime. I’m glad I didn’t watch this during the regular season – the non-stop cliff hangers each week would have driven me nuts. I’m just into the part where Hurley is trying to figure out what the numbers are, boone (sp?) is in another airplane crash, and Sawyer kills the wrong guy.

The Apprentice: Okay, the dude that got fired last week deserved it for one main reason. Trump flat out told him to bring in the guy that caused the loss. He said no, I want the idiot in here with me, and Trump AGAIN tells him ‘you SURE you don’t want the frickin’ idiot that caused the loss?” .. Nope… I would have just fired him right there. If you can’t get THAT big of a hint, you’re an 1d10t.

Medium: I enjoy the show, but if her husband goes on about how he doesn’t believe any of her dreams again, I’m going to puke. DUDE! Seriously! It’s the whole premise of the show, and you see it every week – she talks to dead people. If she says don’t get on a plane – DON’T! sheesh.

Desperate Housewives: This season is getting off to a very slow start. There’s no mystery yet. Sure, there are some small curiousities… but not the big mystery of the first season. Hopefully this will ramp up in the near future.

On a non-TV note, I’m installing Mac OS X on an old Mac here. Just trying out the Apple thing. Going okay so far… And on a final note, this morning I weighed 179.0.

After a solid three months in my 180 lbs range – with lows of 177, a high of 184, and most time in the 180-182 rage (all in the 12.5-14% bodyfat range), I’ve decided to go for 8% body fat at somewhere around 172-175.

It’s been relitively easy the last couple months. I work out regularly, and have been riding my bike 20 miles a day at least 4 days a week (and often 30 or 40 miles on Saturday or Sunday. So, I didn’t have to diet much. It was only at two or three days of bad eating that I would get above 182 and as soon as I got over that, I would eat good for a few days to get back to 180. This has been working great, and I don’t feel restricted at all, plus if I had any cravings, I could indulge enough to get rid of it and continue on along my happy way.

So, why this refocusing? Honestly? I really, REALLY, REALLY, want to get a “six pack”. I’ve got that 6-9lbs (about 4% of body weight) around my mid-section that I still have. I can just barely see the top stomach muscles, but the bottom four are well hidden under a nice layer of fat. Time to get rid of that and get down to 8%.

My planned diet started on Monday. I’m shooting for an optimal 40/40/20 ratio for protein/carbs/fat. Wit about 1600 calories per day for the first 2 weeks, then 1800 for two weeks after that. I also added some various supplements to my diet to make sure I get everything I need. As of this morning, I was at 180.5 and 13%.

Today was just one of those standard Saturdays (ones when I don’t have classes, anyway). I woke up late, after working pretty late on TeamSites. The modules continue to move along and it’s still tough to avoid feature-creep.

After making pancakes (Jonah’s favorite) for the family, I did a small tune up on my old Specialized mountain bike. I was able to straighten out the wheels by adjusting the spokes. It rides pretty well now, and I may ride it on rainy days. I rode my road bike home Wednesday in a MAJOR downpour, and now there is a slight squeek in the chain. I greased it, but it’s still there but only slightly – it’s going to Bike World soon for a professional tune-up. (letting squeeks continue means added wear and tear). I also got a Ferrari Cycling Jersey (by Colnago) this week. It ROCKS.

Jonah had a soccer game and then a baseball game. They didn’t win either . They try pretty hard, but for some reason, Jonah never seems to get on any teams with really good players. (No, I know, you’re thinking, well, maybe it’s him..) Well, granted he’s not the greatest six year old soccer player, but the teams he’s on all have beginners, while the teams they play usually have some experienced players. Anyway, he’s getting better, and having a lot of fun – which is what really counts.

After the games, we went to the Greek Festival. It was similar to all the previous years, and fun. Jonah enjoys it the most because they have half a dozen blow-up jumping “rides”. He was well tuckered out when we got home.

I ordered a few things off Amazon as well: The Pirates of Silicon Valley DVD, The Helmsman hardcover re-release, and Quicksilver (by Stephanie Spinner) for Jonah, and Yourself!Fitness software for me.