Wednesday Weigh-In 20150730

No time to chat. Just posting the numbers.

Waist = 41.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Happy Birthday Medicare

Fifty years ago today, Medicare was enacted. #Medicare50

Few programs in the history of the United States have brought as much benefit to society as Medicare. Since its enactment in 1965, Medicare has provided access to quality health care for those Americans least likely to be attractive to private insurers - those over age 65, disabled, or with end stage renal disease. Medicare has also prevented many Americans from slipping into poverty...Medicare also provides security across generations: it has given American families assurance that they will not have to bear the full burden of health care costs of their elderly or disabled parents or relatives at the expense of their young families.

 - Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, former administrator of HCFA (Now CMS), in the preface to "A Profile of Medicare" in 1998

Please follow these links to learn more about the impact Medicare has had on USA.

http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/medicares-50th-anniversary/
http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/00119491.pdf

Experiment 2 -- E-Squared

I'm trying the second experiment in Pam Grout's E-Squared first.  (I know, "Try not!  Do you must!")  She calls it "The Volkswagon Jetta Principle" because..., oh it doesn't matter.

During the first 24 hours of the experiment, I'm supposed to count how many green cars I see.  (Well first she writes "green cars."  But then she changes the color to sunset-beige.  But I don't know what sunset-beige looks like, so I decided to stick with green.  Besides, it's my favorite color.)

The first 24 hours began at midnight on Thursday, July 23.  I saw zero green cars.  I think I was supposed to see a surprisingly large number.  Nope, not me.  Well, to be fair, I saw three motor vehicles that were green.  One was a pickup truck.  I guess that counts as a car.  The other two were the cabs from much larger trucks.  I discounted those vague putty-like colors that, if the car were parked on a lawn, it would suggest green.

During the second 24 hours, I'm supposed to count butterflies and/or purple feathers¹.  In the text she specifies yellow butterflies.  And then she suggests purple feathers instead.  Finally she leaves it to the reader to choose.  Seeing how dismal the first half of the experiment went, I figured I'd count any butterfly plus purple feathers.  And even when I read "purple feather" I knew I'd have at least one to count -- I have one in my office.  As well, I have a (dead) butterfly in my office.  So far, that's all I've seen all day.  And this is Summer -- there are supposed to be butterflies all over the place!  I'm even looking closely at artwork and product packaging.

So, one green "car," one non-yellow butterfly and one purple feature, um, I mean feather.

But now I wonder if this dismal outcome is a success in some twisted way.  I don't really believe in the so-called law of attraction, made popular by Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret".  For example, if it were real, a lot more guys would be having a lot more sex, for starters, because that's what most guys think about most of the time.  So my underlying expectation is to be totally underwhelmed by the results.  And so far, my expectation is being met really well.

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¹ Every time I try to type "feather" I end up typing "feature" and I think the "FP" is trying to alter the request. After all, there are a lot more purple features than there are purple feathers.

Mindful Peeing

Mindful Peeing (mahynd-fuh pee-ing) -- the practice of being fully present and aware while urinating.
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Of all the things I could chose to be mindful about, peeing is my number one focus right now.  Why?

One recurring, central theme in my dreams is the act of peeing in an inappropriate place or in a bathroom in which the urinals are unusual, odd, bizarre or extremely broken.  I usually don't report them here very often.

My goal is to always become mindful when I have the urge to pee and while I pee.  Then if I have another dream in which I pee, I can easily induce a state of lucidity.

Besides, I've nearly given up being mindful at all times.  I hoping that I can achieve this goal of mindfulness during the few moments that I take the time to pee.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20150723

As I mentioned, my wife is on a diet. So we haven't been bringing home the usual amount of junk food, and I've cut back drastically on my consumption of ice cream.

But I have another habit that might explain why my numbers aren't all dropping. This is the habit of eating while food shopping. I'll find a package of gluten free brownies or cookies on sale, open it and eat while filling my cart with other items to purchase. By the time I get to the cashier, I hand over the empty carton to be scanned, and then the cashier throws it out for me.

It's funny how ingenious we can be in finding ways to sabotage our success.

Waist = 41.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Why Are Shorts So Long?

I've been shopping for shorts to replenish my worn out summer wardrobe for years.  But every time I browse the racks I find "shorts" whose hemlines reach down to my knees.  Modern shorts resemble some sort of bastard children of Capri pants and Real Shorts.

The legs of Real Shorts stop three to five inches above the knee.  I like them that way because bastard shorts tickle my knees.  And besides, the long shorts give the impression that I'm wearing Real Shorts low on the hip and that underneath my shirt lies a bright gibbous moon.

I've examined a few bastard shorts with the idea that I could alter them to bring up the hemline.  Unfortunately they were cargo "shorts" with extra pockets that extend into where I'd place the hemline.  Either that, or the white inner lining of normal pockets would hang down below the new hemline.  Now that I contemplate this dilemma, I realize I could also alter the normal pockets to make them less deep.  But I shouldn't have to do this!

With the back-to-school season already in full swing in the world of retail, I'll make one last attempt to find something deeply discounted that I can alter into real shorts.  Or maybe I'll take a trip to the Salvation Army and find something from a few decades ago when shorts were Real Shorts.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20150715

The proprietary foods in my wife's diet seem to have done well to "crush" her food cravings. So far she's sticking to her diet and losing weight. But I still manage to buy ice cream and eat it myself, even though it's intended "for guests."

Waist = 41.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20150708

Very humid weather is a good appetite suppressant!

Waist = 41.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20150702

Here begins a new period of weight loss, thanks to my wife's diet. While I'm not on the diet myself, I avoid snacks so as not to make her feel like she's missing out.

Waist = 41.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.