middlemann 3.0

One side effect of Facebook has been that I tend to think in terms of status updates throughout the day. Below is a list of updates that for one reason or another did not make the cut this week:

• I was too slow to catch a picture of the tiny pigtailed redhead picking her nose and staring at me while in line at Chic-fil-a
• Everyone at Panera for breakfast on Saturday is wearing workout clothes. I wonder how many of them actually worked out this morning.
• Protip: do not pass gas immediately before sitting onthe toilet. You will find yourself in a helpless and unfortunate position.
• Time with my friends makes make me want to be a better person
• When typing a recent email to a friend about her ministry, my iPhone auto-corrected a misspelling of ’special’ as ’sexual’. This would have made for a very awkward message.

I heard today that my friend and suitemate from college, Ben May, had gone missing.  I’ve heard unofficially that he left a note which breaks my heart. The outpouring from friends and family on Facebook is difficult to read – pleas for him to return home and prayers that he’s safe somewhere. It made me think a lot about about how isolating depression can be and how life can overwhelm someone to the point that they think it’s not worth it to go on. Ben is an incredibly outgoing and charasmatic guy, really unforgettable to anyone who’s ever met him. I echo the prayers and sentiments of his friends and family, hoping that he’s safe.

I discovered this neat little utility at the C3 Developers’ Forum out in Portland. DejaClick is a Firefox add-on that allows you to record actions in your browser and then play them back. It’s useful for automating repetitive tasks, especially those involved in software testing. http://www.dejaclick.com/

Let me begin by saying that I will attempt to control my excitement over the purchase of my new iPhone. I’ve been wanting one for quite a while now, and when my flip phone finally failed me, I decided it was time to go for it. If I had known how much I’d enjoy it, I might not have waited for so long. It’s been less than 2 days, and my habits are already changing. I’ve been relentessly searching out new apps to put my virtual world at my fingertips. I’m even blogging from it now. Can’t wait to see how irreplaceable this toy is going to become

Since a lot of my time at work is spent at my desk, I get to listen to quite a bit of music throughout the day.  I also have a friend at work who’s constantly introducing me to new stuff, so I thought I’d share some current favorites, new and old:

• Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
• Imogen Heap – First Train Home
• Joni Mitchell – California
• Iron and Wine – Each Coming Night

…more to come

Provocative title of an interesting article on Time.com that looks at the psychology and science behind exercise and appetite.  Check it out

Recently, I posted about my new point system for keeping up with exercise.  Only one week in, and I’m trying a few revisions.  First of all, running a mile is going to count for 4 points instead of 3.  The main point is to create a little more incentive for running over biking (which I’m more inclined toward with the new bike).  Second, I’m adding a weight lifting as a new type of exercise and setting the point value as one point per set.  The more variety, and the more reward, the more likely I am to push for the goal.

Last week’s totals were 31 miles biked, 3 miles run, 80 min walked for 51 points.

Off to the gym to start week 2.

I’ve known for a while that achievement is one of my best motivators.  Any time I can measure, mark, analyze or quantify improvement, it’s a good thing.  For a couple of years, it was keeping me in shape while I trained for longer and longer races and logged weekly mileage.  Now that I’ve had my bike for a few weeks and have been getting a kick our of riding it around, I’ve decided that it’s time to start logging miles again.  I also want to make sure that I’m incorporating running as well, so here’s what I’ve come up with.  Every week, I have a goal of earning 50 points – the values work like this: 1 point for every mile biked, 3 points for every mile run, and 1 point for every 10 minutes of cross training (weights, yoga, etc.)  I’m also toying with the idea of bonus points for early morning workouts, but I’ll have to see how it goes initially before adding more rules. Hopefully, in time, I’ll need more of a challenge and start bumping up the point goals.  In the end though, it’s just a structured way to make sure I’m getting back in shape. Should be fun.

I did some Googling this morning to figure out what the white stringy things attached to an egg yolk are.  This page answered that question and much more:  http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultrypage/poultry-FAQ.htm  Unless you were raised on a poultry farm, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something while reading this.