Animal Kingdom

We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom today. This was a view from one of the bridges there. You can see the new Everest ride in the background. Click on the picture, or my little flickr badge on the right of the page, and you can see all the pics I took today. Told you I'd get more pics to you.

Animal Kingdom is really nice. It's usually not very crowded, and it's a place you feel like you can really take your time, especially for annual pass holders.

These two Merkat's were sitting sentinal, while the other were going about their Merkat business. They didn't really pay us any attention, except as a mild distraction.

I think the Everest ride is going to be spetacular when it's ready. The que line looks like a Himilayan village, minus the Maoist rebels, that is. Then again, there might be some Maoist coming to Disney now and then, but I doubt it.

Tomorrow, I'll spend most of the day working on my Powerpoint presentation for school. It's already too long, so I've got to cut it a bit. I'm going to try to give out some of the Florida Shorts ebooks to the students, partially in hopes of drumming up some business.

Don't forget to visit Nancy's blog: http://www.360.yahoo.com/nikkiinu2000

And, don't forget to order a few gift wrapped copies of Florida Shorts for your friends that aren't in town. It's easy to do, but make sure you do it before December 12, or it might not get there by Christmas. Order now, and I'll pretend to enjoy Christmas.

Fedora

Here it is, so far. My cheapy Linux computer. Right now, I have it set up to work similar to Windows, but it can be set up to work like a Mac. You can even switch back and forth. This is the same system that is going on the $100 MIT Laptop. You've got to check out that link. It's part of the One Laptop per Child Initiative. If this initiative works, even half way, it will change the world as we know it. Information will flow, faster than anyone can imagine. People across the planet will be in contact, on a regular basis. The children we see in the improvished areas in Thailand, Africa, India, and South America will now be in chat rooms. No longer will be able to ignore the rest of the world, while we suck on our Liquid Candy, and devour food than can do us no good at all.

It's small, green, in very durable. That yellow thing is a crank. It generates electricity for the device. Most of the places and people that will get this device won't have electricity. In some areas of the world, this laptop will be the family's only night light source. Read more about it from the links above.

Like I said before, Red Hat Fedora is going to be the Operating System for that computer, so it's a good thing I'm learning it now. Have I become a Linux convert? No. I'm not fanatical about anything (except undoing the HIT damage I did), and not about to fall into the Microsoft is evil mindset. This stuff is I's and O's, on/off switchs on an incredibly microscopic level. It's not the hill I want to die on, so to speak. Chocolate, however,...I could get fanatical about that, especially Dove Chocolate.

Yesterday- I worked lastnight, Black Friday night. So far, it didn't seem to go well for anyone but Wal Mart. The news and the other stores are trying to make it sound good, but don't be fooled. Let's hope people spend more money between now and New Years Day. Monday will be important, as that is the day for Online Sales, the Online version of Black Friday.

Today- I really didn't do much of anything. I did some homework, studied, and worked more on learning Linux. I didn't workout, didn't do Yoga, didn't run. I sat on my ass. Funny thing - I don't feel too guilty.

Intentions- Tomorrow, we're going to Animal Kingdom.

Thankstaking

Every year, everyone participates in Thanksgiving. This year, I've decided to be the receiver for all that thanks.

You're welcome.

Can you guess who this is? Yes! You got it right! It's ME, and my first bike. I think I was about five years old in this picture, maybe less. My mom can add to this post, when she remembers the year. I don't remember the year, much less the bike. Can you believe the stuff they made us wear in the 60's?

I didn't have any pictures of today, so I decided to show you that one.

Yesterday- I trained my clients, worked on homework, learned more Linux, and went to work.

Today- I goofed around all morning, took a nap, had Thankstaking dinner, had two glasses of wine (which I rarely ever have any alcohol) and got a bit tipsy -cheap drunk that I am.

I will have more entertaining post for you in the future. A bit dry with them lately, huh? And, I haven't kept to that fitness thing very well, have I. Sorry about that.

Oh, and once again, You're welcome.

The Tech Cave

Anyone who knows me knows how messy I can be. As I wrote in a previous post, I work best in an environment of Natural Order. What looks clean, or neat to someone else is very unsettling to me. Mark Twain said, "A clean desk is the sign of an insane mind. Or someone who needs more work." Well, I'm not sure that exactly what he said, but it was something like that.

This is a picture of me at my work/study/play place. It looks like lots of stuff, and it is, but each and everything you see has purpose. I actually know where each thing is, and why it's there. The monitor shows my Red Hat Fedora screen, and the laptop has my WindowsXP stuff.

This is me, sitting down after a grulling two minutes of cleaning up. Fold up the table, put the stuff on the desk, and close the closet doors. I just need me a Super Hero's suit now. Unfortunately, I'd probaly have to call myself Methane Man.

Today- I worked on my Powerpoint presentation for school. I'm doing it on Alternative Publication methods, and using our Florida Shorts book as an example (don't forget to click on the link, purchase a copy, and have Amazon gift wrap it for you. They'll deliver it too). I also read over a little about the Linux Command Line. I actually was able to make it do something today. Not really sure what, but it did something. Hey, it's progress. I'll take what I can get. It amazes me what you can do with a free operating system and free software. I had a few bitchy moments putting this blog down, but you're reading it, so it couldn't have been too bad. After lunch, we went to the movies, and saw Harry Potter; Goblet of Fire. It was really good - the best so far. I'd forgotten that I didn't have work today, but remembered this morning, luckily. After the movie, we went to Borders. There were a lot of teenage girls from Bishop Moore Catholic High School there. Most had theire skirts hiked up a bit. Young girls never change, do they? At my age, I see that and I think, "Yeah, that's cute, little girl. Now where the hell is your father?" You know your over the hill when you see a young girl, thong showing, and you think, "There's no way I'd let a daughter of mine out of the house like that!" I don't even have a daughter. We ate dinner late, and watched Firefly. I tried to get the bed earily, but failed miserably.

Nutrition- Maze. I ate a lot of Popmaze (Thought I'd try that out. It just doesn't have the ring of popcorn, does it?) We saw Harry Potter today. It was good. I highly recommend it. It's a big long - two urinal visits for me. That's a long movie.

Exercise- None. Friggin none. Not even Yoga. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.

The Awful Truth- The real fact-of-the-matter is; at any given moment, I rarely have any clue of what I'm doing.

Brownie Points- I was able to get the command line thing to actually do something today.

Intention- After tomorrow, I will have regretted the intentions I intended on making today, but didn't. More than likely though, I won't remember that. I'm like a dog that way.

Command Line

Yes, more Linux news. Not much else is going on with me these days. Obsessing on something is how I make progress. It's also how I study. All or nothing. Not a productive way of life, but hey, it's what I've got. I did work on some homework for school today.

So far, I like Linux except for the bitch of installing programs. Evidently, Red Hat "Fedora" is actually one of the easier ones. Ubuntu is another, but it can be really complicated. Maybe it's not that complicated for someone who's use to it. I'm not. I'm a GUI guy (Graphical User Interface- like what you see with Mac OS and Windows, not C prompt). Give me something like looks like a file folder, and a 'wizard' to help me install software.

Installing some software on Linux requires using the Command Line. That name even sounds like something to be avoided. I don't want nuthin have'n no command over me! You can think of the command line like the C prompt on MS DOS. I know Linux users are going to cry foul here, but that's what it looks like, except with a white background and black lettering. In order for me to really learn Linux, I'll need to learn the Command Line. I wonder if I'll actually get to command anything. Right now, it feels like it commands me.

If I can learn it well, I'd like to take older computers, and fix them up with Linux, and give them to people who otherwise couldn't afford a computer. Until Linux is mostly, if not all, graphical like Windows and Mac OS, it's not going to be a hit with the general public. As it stands now, it seems to be about 85-90% graphical, with occasional need to go to the command line. Geez, I sound about as boring as ZDnet.com right now, huh? My point is; Linux has a future, and I need be on top of that. It might even have more of a future than Windows or Mac. Who knows. It doesn't matter really. They're all just toys to me anyway.

Nutrition- Please move along. Let the next of kin through.

Exercise- Nancy and I worked out today; Lower Body- Hamstring emphasis. Tomorrow is Back/Triceps day. Higher reps on back (no more than 15, no lower than 12), and heavy on triceps (no higher than 6, no lower than 3). The next time we do Back/Triceps, the pattern is reversed.

During the other workouts (chest/biceps, quads, hams), we'll do one set, maybe two at the most, of 8-12 reps of one of the 'off' parts. This is a newer strategy for me, and I've just really started playing with it, so I'll report the progress back to you.

The Awful Truth- I haven't done Yoga in over a week. I can tell the difference too. It's not a good difference. For me, personally, Yoga has to be the focus of my training, and I've let that focus go a bit. I need to go back to the daily 30 minute routines. Also, I've failed in the last few days to give you some pictures. People seem to like those. My iPAQ doesn't syncronize with this Linux system. Not yet, that is. There's a way to do it, but it's more advanced than my current skills. I'll do a work around soon. I'm trying to get as much practice with Linux as I can, before my classes in January. Be Prepared.

Brownie Points- Getting MP3's to work on Linux was a biggy for me. Not having Halloween candy is another brownie point. Not having it in the house, I mean.

Intentions- I intend on working my Chest/Biceps tomorrow, doing more PowerPoint presentation homework, another Excel practice homework (even though it's not necessary), and doing 30 minutes of Yoga. That, and sleeping in a a bit.

Today is my second posting from my Linux based computer. I've done pretty well getting this thing going, if I say so myself. I don't know how Red Hat Linux compares with the other distributions out there, but it's working well for me so far. The hardest part of working with Linux is installing programs. It seems that it's a bit easier with Red Hat, than the others, but I'm still not sure what I'm doing when I try to install something. I must be doing it fairly well; I've installed about five programs so far. The most important one for me is the MP3 player. I was able to get the RealPlayer to play MP3 files. That was the hardest thing so far.

Today, I worked more on setting this little beast up, obviously, went to work, came back and set up Linux some more. Loaded some of my files on here; pictures, documents, etc. Not that I'll really use them a lot, but I do need the practice with this. I'm willing to bet Linux will eventually beat out Windows, unless Microsoft can bring down the Windows prices. Bring them down A LOT. And Mac OS isn't winning any kudo's with tech types anymore either. When you're update contains 13,000 bug fixes, somethings wrong. The thing that's wrong is you're releasing software before it's ready! This is nothing new, though.

Exercise- Other than walking the dogs, didn't workout. That's not good, but not really bad. The whole intention of Holiday training is to get as much in as you can, and let the holiday schedule cause your rest days.

The Awful Truth- Spent way too much time obsessing on getting this computer working. Sorry Nancy.
I don't want to start my next class unprepared, so it was important for me to get this working. But, I do tend to overfocus on it.

Brownie Points- I've added Linux Red Hat to my skills. Now, I just need to learn some basics of that whole command line prompt thing. Ugh. Text based computing is the pits.

Bored enough yet?

Weeee

I'm writing this post from my new computer. Did I say new? Yes. Expensive? No. Practially FREE! All I paid for was the harddrive -not too much. What's different about this computer? I'm running it on LINUX!! That's right! Linux -Red Hat Linux, to be particular about it. I downloaded it to my WindowsXP laptop, burned the install discs, and loaded them on here. Kick ASS!! Linux is pretty cool looking. Red Hat's Gnome desktop looks a bit like Mac OS X, so it's not too hard to work with.

It was fairly important that I learned how to use this operating system. My next class is 'Intro to Operating Systems", and Linux- Red Hat is part of it. Now, I'm ready.

The cool thing about Linux is that most of the software is FREE, including the Office application from Open Office.org. There's a version for Windows or Mac too. You may have heard about the hoopla with it in Massachusetts. They decided to go with Open Office .xml file formats, and .pdf document formats, meaning - they've pretty much decided to go to Linux.

Don't get my wrong, folks - I'm not a Microsoft basher. I like Microsoft, and think they make some pretty good products, though somewhat overprice (especially compared to FREE!). I like Apple Mac OS, but I'm not a Mac fanactic. Basically, I'm just a techy guy, who like to workout.

Sorry I don't have a picture today. I'll figure how to load pictures on this computer soon.

Exercise- The last few days, Nancy and I worked out everyday, except for today. So far my impromtu breaks idea is working. Next workout is Legs- Hamstring Emphasis.

Nutrition- Has been pretty good too, maybe except for lastnight - El Potro. Love that place. With the Holidays and all, I'm going to post my nutrition, but I'm not going to worry about it too much. In January, we'll get really serious about the food aspect of my training. For now, I'm going to enjoy eating, and workout enough to give it somewhere to go besides fat.

The Awful Truth- As Maggie Wang says, "Move along now. Nothing to see here."

Brownie Points- Right here, right now! I installed, and am using, Linux. I'm WAY proud of myself right now.

Intentions- Workout tomorrow morning, before work.

This is one of those days when I start off having no clue what I'm going to write. Bear with me, please. (I guess if I wrote, 'Bare with me,' I'd be asking everyone to get naked with me?)

Today and yesterday have been uneventful. I did have my class lastnight. Saw that I did well on my test. Worked on the start of learning Powerpoint. Trained clients this morning, did homework, worked at Sports Authority. Didn't really have any eventful thoughts, either. Least not, ones that I can remember. Guess I'm just getting old.

The old part, I can tell. I've really noticed a change in my eyes and hearing in the last two years. I struggle to read things close now. Time for the reading glasses. With hearing, I sometimes struggle to discern sounds. Sounds close to me sometimes are more difficult to hear than sounds coming from farther away.

Then there's the whole digestive problems. And allergies that I didn't have before. I'm convinced it's a feminist plot! Hey, it's just easier to blame them for everything, anyway.

This week, I'm going to do my nighttime oatmeal trick, to heal up my belly. The last two days, I must have had some allergic reaction to something. My gut rumbled like crazy, every joint in my body swelled, and my hands and lips were swollen. Even the lining of my mouth and my tongue swoll up. Not enough to go to the hospital, but just enough to make me really uncomfortable.

Enough complaining Danny. Time for bed.

Signs of Christmas

After I trained my clients this morning, Nancy, Shelly, and I went to the Festival of Trees, at the Orlando Museum of Art. It's a fund raising event for the Museum, put on by the Council of 101. The counsil does some great things for the museum, despite their reputation for being a bunch of self important snobby women. I've met a few, and didn't find them to be self important. I didn't meet them long enough to know if they were snobs or not. But, the council of 101 does have that reputation. Like most volunteer organizations, I'm sure about 20% of the people do 80% of the work, while the rest are there for self promotion. Such types are easily seen through.

The Festival of Trees was really good. Disney quality presentation. If you'll click on my little flickr banner, you can see some of the trees. My toy doesn't have a flash, and it's really sensative to movement, so some of the pictures weren't great, but you can get the idea. You can click on the flickr words here, too.

After that, I worked at Sports Authority tonight.

Exercise- I'd intended to workout today, but forgot we were going to the festival. I need to get with Nancy about the Holiday schedule of events, so I can plan workouts.

For the rest of the holiday season, I'm going to plan on working out everyday. It's worked for me in the past- giving the extra food somewhere to go besides fat. Unplanned events will force breaks.

Nutrition-

• Breakfast- Zone bar for breakfast, midmorn- Whole wheat bagel with Olivia spread
• Lunch- Asigio Roast Beef sandwich (Panera), chips, pickle. It's what they had at the festival.
• Dinner- Turkey sandwich, apple, leftover cake. evening- honeynut cheerios with added protein and fiber. I figure; if I'm going to eat bad, might as well make it better.

The Awful Truth- The whole no workout today thing. Also, while writing this blog, I almost forgot what part comes next.

Brownie Points- Being able to remember what comes next. I think I was respectful to Nancy's friends at the Festival. It's hard to tell if I embarass people, since I don't experience that emotion. Usually, when people tell me I've embarassed them, I'm more curious about what that feels like to them, instead of what I did. To be honest, I'm not really interested in what I did anyway. I'm going to be me either way. I can't let someone elses embarassment dictate my personality. So, brownie points for being ME!

Intentions- I intend to do tomorrow, what I intended yesterday to do today. Don't worry, I had trouble with that one, too.

Relief

We did screening on Saturday. There were a few blips -the slides in one tray were mixed up a bit- one of the judges didn't understand our screening process- but it went pretty well. I was at the computer almost 9 hours straight. Took a twenty minute lunch. When it was all said and done, we did the statistical decisions needed to keep the catagories repesentative of the applications, what the judges liked, and what we think the public likes. Tough decisions. All seemed okay. I even had two Smirnoff ICE drinks -it only takes one to get me really tipsy. Two, and I'm a falling down drunkard. Nancy made the house look wonderful for the judges party. The patio looked like an outside diner. This house is really good for events like that, but we rarely use it for such anymore.

This morning, I got a call that we'd printed out the wrong information for the notification committee. Opps. I didn't know what they needed, and I'd assumed they needed address, but that wasn't it. I made the changes, and took them to city hall in my pajamas. Imagine that; CoachDANNY at Winter Park old City Hall in his pajamas. Don't worry; I didn't get out of the truck.

Even after that was done, there was still a problem with one catagory being mixed up. Evidently, when I'd sorted the scores by catagory, the one that was mixed up didn't sort the names right. Someone with more advanced Excel skills would probably have picked it up right away, but I didn't know to look. Luckily, it was just one catagory, and I was able to go back and fix it. I think.

I have one habit that has served me well. Whenever I make changes to a file, I make a new file. So, I wind up with things like; screeningv1, screeningv2, screeningv3...etc. That way, if I mess up along the way, I can go back a few steps, and fix it. Of course, that new file would probably be something like; screeningv115. I windup with lots of reduntant files, but hey....it's just I's and O's. Binary stuff, lying around on my harddrive. If I get full, I'll trash a few, but I try to transfer them to something else. I'm pretty good about keeping old info and security stuff, and I'm getting even better about the security stuff. Problem is- I don't really have anything that needs to be secure. ID theives would probably decided they needed to help me out. Bad credit can be a good thing, at least as far as ID theives go.

I learned a lot this weekend. I'll be ready when it comes time for awards this year. I'm going to keep studying Excel, even after this class is over. Can't hurt.

Now, it's time to tackle new challenges. The fitness stuff.

I'm trying to figure out a good home physique picture taking standard. I want something that will really show comparisons. Lighting is a big problem I didn't consider until recently. I'll need to figure a standard for lighting. Something really cheap, but works. I'll have all that posted up soon. Be prepared; you're not going to be too impressed with these first photos. No excuses, except for the Halloween candy. I measured my body fat the other day; 19% on the Tanita scale, and my abdominal skinfold was 19mm. Both are just about the worse they've ever been. It's funny how you don't think it's that bad, until you see the actual numbers. My weight hasn't changed much lately; 156.5 average, but obviously I've gained a bit of fat in the last few weeks. I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Well, with the way you friggin eat, Danny, no wonder!". You'd be right.

Tomorrow morning, I Intend to plan my week, meals, and training, not just for the week, but through all of the Holidays. Christmas Combat Training plan - Ready for Crusades! I ain't figured out where I'll be Crusading just yet. I heard some people like to Crusade the Bahamas, or the Carribean, or even Hawaii. Some have said the Crusade's to Alaska are nice, but I've heard storys that Crusade's to the Middle East just aren't that great. They say the people that live there are Eatings. But, they don't look overweight, or anything.

Maybe, they have Fitness Crusades. I'd like that.

Pressure

No commentary today. Sorry.

I pressure washed today. I wish I could wash away the pressure.

I promised to give you more pictures, and stuff about fitness, so here's what I have today. This is a pic of me doing what I call, Lower Abs. I'm backwards, on a decline bench press. This is the top of the exercise. My legs lower to the ground with bent knees. My feet barely touch the floor, the the next repetition starts.

A more accurate name for this exercise would be: Hip Flexion + Reverse Crunch. This is a warmup exercise, especially on leg day.

Nancy and I worked Legs-quad emphasis today. I'd intended on going very heavy, progressing dumbbell squats with 8 reps, starting with the 20 lbs'ers, and working my way up. I got as high as 50 today. I've done better. I wasn't tired, overtrained, etc. My hip was irritated again. It felt better after the workout, but not enough to go as heavy as I can. Like I tell my clients, "Just give me what you've got today." I usually expect a perfect workout, my best effort and focus. Today was good enough. I can be my own worst client.

Nutrition- Breakfast, Zone bar, then Whole Wheat bagel 1/2 hour later. Lunch- Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly sandwich. Did I ever tell you how much I like Peanut Butter. Dinner- El Potro. We might not be able to get there this weekend, so we ate their tonight.

Screening

The anxiety level is much less today. I measured it with an anxiety test. It's interesting to do that stuff sometimes.

When I was an athlete, we learned how to manipulate anxiety. Some people had to learn to calm down. I, on the other hand, had to psyc myself up. I had to increase my anxiety before an event. Sometimes you see athletes do this by bouncing around, punching the lockers, or shaking the jitters, like swimmers do. Others have to remain as calm, and still as possible. They focus on something other than the event, usually their breathing. For them, anxiety destroys their performance. For me, it enhances my performance. It helps me focus, and hone in on the task at hand. At the peak of anxiety, nothing else exists. It worked great when I was an athlete.

But, it doesn't work so well in real life. Top athletes actually go through counseling to learn how to transition into real life, if there actually is such a thing. Basically, the go through deprogramming.

I never learned how to shut the anxiety down when I needed to. I had to train myself. Sometimes, it's more of a struggle. Luckily, not this time.

So far, things with the Art Festival pre-screening went well. Tonight, I updated the database, which I'd never seen before, and did a pretty good job of it. Then, I transferred the data to an Excel worksheet. Not to difficult. My next task is to prepare the spreadsheet for Saturday. I might need some help with that. Hopefully, I'll get it right.

I did other screening, too. After I'd trained my clients this morning, I fixed 2 panels in our pool screen enclosure. Panels that had been out since Hurricane Charlie, last year. It took me a while to figure it out, but I did. I impressed myself. Almost killed myself in the process. I would have been an unimpressive ghost then. Haunting a pool....hmmm. I could think of worse places to have to haunt. Hopefully, I'll never die at a rest-stop on the Florida Turnpike.

I didn't get my body stats up yet, as I want to provide it with an entire picture, front/back/side with stats at the bottom. I'm going to do it every 90 days, or so. I'd really like to get an Alignabod backdrop. It helps with reference points to really see changes. I'll probably go ahead and do the first round without it. Shipping seems to take awhile, and it might actually get here after the holidays. Anyway, I'll post something up for you.

Nutrition-

• Breakfast- 2 Zone bars
• Lunch- Subway grilled chicken sandwich, with spinach, tomatoes, and lots of green peppers. I like to tell the sandwich maker, "You might not have enough green peppers in that little bucket. Strangely enough, green peppers don't mess with my stomach. Go figure.
• Dinner- Ham sandwich, chicken-noodle soup.
• Snacks- a few pieces of Halloween candy, but much less that the last few days.

Exercise- I was suppose to do some endurance training tomorrow. Life got in the way. Either that, or poor planning. We know the real answer there, don't we?

The Awful Truth- I didn't plan a better time for my endurance training.

Brownie Points- Reread the whole thing about screening. Both parts.

Intentions- Better planning for Yoga and endurance training. I can do endurance in the mornings, but Yoga still has to be in the afternoon. I've tried Yoga in the morning enough times to know that it just don't work well for me there.

I also intend to getting more sleep, and getting you more pictures of me.

Anxiety

I'm not worried about the impending Bird Flu pandemic, Terrorism, or even global warming. My own anxiety will get me first. Funny thing is; I don't get anxiety of those things.

Anxiety has been my own personal plague. It lead to a really good freakout in college circa 1985, a decent one in 99, and please excuse me while I have an entertaining freakout now. Interestingly enough, I have learned to somewhat compartmentalize my anxiety. I keep it specific to the anxious topic, as best I can.

The whole Art Festival thing isn't going too well. At least it doesn't seem like it is. I'm ill-prepared for what I have to do this Saturday, and the impending screw up will be seen as my fault (can anyone say- 1.Fortune Telling, 2.Mind Reading, 3.All-or-nothing thinking, 4.Mental Filter, 5.Magnification - I'm just all over the lists of 'cognitive distortions' here. Hey, my anxiety just went down a bit. How bout that?

Truth is; it will probably workout fine. There will be some awkard stuff, since I am very new to using Excel, and I'm not practiced with the procedure the guy who set this workbook up used. I'll get through it. But, in the meantime, excuse the 'rage against the machine' yell. Thank Pink Floyd

Enough about me. Wait, forget that; it's never enough about me.

All day, I tried to think about what to write about with fitness. Nothing came through. We'll keep working on that, won't we. In the meantime, know that trainers do struggle with this stuff, just as much as all of you. The fact that we have the knowledge, access, and ability to this stuff makes any excuse stupid, but it's still tough. We do understand. Be right back,...have to finish another Milky Way. Halloween is no longer a favorite Holiday, but Haunted Mansion will still be my favorite ride.

Today- I didn't workout any clients, as I told them to scram. Actually, some rescheduled, and one had a death in the family. No, it wasn't her own death.

Nutrition- I didn't want to post this, but I guess I should:

• Breakfast- 3 slices of Nancy's wonderful French Toast, from leftovers. Hey, I didn't want it to spoil. I've heard that some foods actually do spoil in the freezer, but I just can't let my french toast show me that.
• Lunch- Arby's French Dip. Such a hypocrite I can be.
• Supper- Some sort of premade pasta/chicken dish. I'm sure the sauce is now clinging to my ribs.
• Snacks- Halloween candy is almost gone. Almost.

Exercise- One thing that I fail to post, mostly because I don't consider it exercise, is the 45min-1 hour of walking the dogs, most often twice a day. You see, it's how the log on to the Urinet, and read their Peemail. I can't deny them the scent surfing, can I? Abby must have found a few good message boards, and left one helluva reply.

Nancy and I worked Chest/Biceps today. I think the anxiety from the whole Art Festival thing helped me push a bit harder. I was stronger, even though I didn't have as much sleep.

The Awful Truth- The whole anxiety thing, and how it's difficult to keep in check. To all who've had to deal with it with me; sorry. The Yoga really helps for it, and that's the main reason I do Yoga. Actually, there's another reason, but it's just not fit to print here.

Brownie Points- For passing my Excel test today; perfect score with extra credit. Now, the REAL test- actually using it in life- comes this Saturday. PostGrad studies, anyone?

Intentions- I intend to look here tomorrow to see what I intended on doing today, even if I had no intentions. At least, no 'honorable' intentions.

Focus

I didn't get very many hits on my blog today. Only about 25, or so. Time to do some content rework.

The emails I get about my blog tell me they like the candidness. It's 'out in the open' so to speak. Like my profile says, "No secrets here." My commentary gets some good reviews, but only when it's humorous. The serious ones get nothing.

So, for awhile, I'll try to change up on my blog a bit; more focus on fitness. After all, I am CoachDANNY.

If you ever intend on being able to workout at home, I greatly encourage you to get one of these:

This is a Multi Function Chin bar. This model is under the Everlast name. It catches in the doorway. Here's a pic of me, from last year, using mine:

No bolts to screw in, no shower curtain like telescoping to do. Just teeter in it, and go to town. The lever effect holds it place very well. As part of a home gym, I'd rate this 3rd in my list of necessary items. The first being a decent set of dumbbells. The second being an adjustable bench. With those three items, you're pretty much good to go, as far as what's needed for a home gym. Well, there is that other thing; self discipline.

If you aren't able to chin your bodyweight, simply put a chair in the doorway, and let your feet help you. I call this Self Assisted Chins. At first, you're legs will help a good bit, but as you work on them, you're arms will do more and more work. Do your repetitions slowly; that will help you use your legs less. As you get stronger, you can use just one leg to help. Make sure you go to a dead hang (I love that term), on each repetition. Don't stop the rep short. Every so often, even if you know you can't get it, try to chin your bodyweight. Keep working on it, and eventually you'll get it.

Okay, done with the fitness thing for today.

Today- I worked on Excel homework exercises. I'm obsessing on it, out of necessity. You know, that whole Art Festival screening thing.

Nutrition- Not too bad today:

• Breakfast- Zone Perfect bar
• Midmorn- Oatbran with protein powder and Udo's Oil
• Lunch- Turkey and cheese sandwich, vegetable soup
• Dinner- Lean Cusine sesame chicken, banana, apple
• I still have some Halloween candy left, but didn't eat as much today as the last few days.

Exercise- Lower body, hamstring focus. I did a peculiar routine, something like the thigh routine I did the other day. Leg Curl with one leg-right leg first, immediately to stiff-leg deadlift. Same sequence with left leg. Then, I alternated lying leg curls with different types of lunges. My hip felt better after the workout.

The Awful Truth- I'm scared shitless about the whole Excel/Screening thing this Saturday. Maybe I should backoff on my fiber intake?

Brownie Points- I worked out, even though I had a sinus headache for the second day in a row. It still hasn't gone away. No med work. Ibuprofen helps a bit, but I'm so topped out in that, I try to avoid it as much as possible. It's wrecked my stomach and intestines from years of overuse. It will be the death of me. Morgan and Mogan, you listening?

Intention- I intend on studying more Excel tomorrow. Pass my Excel test- actually not to worried about that part. I intend on working out tomorrow- chest/biceps.

I owe Pope Urban II and apology. It seems that Fatimid caliph of Cairo, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem destroyed, in 1009 A.D. Pope Urban II was responding to that destruction. Sorry Urban.

Bad Caliph. Bad, Bad Caliph. Destroying churches is a no-no!

Impressions

I took this picture last night at Publix. I thought it was really interesting. What do you think? Yes, it's the Ice Cream isle, but that's not what I'm talking about. It just seemed fitting for the subject.

Some people are impressed with financial achievement. Some are impressed with academic achievement. Others are impressed by social contacts. I, like others, am only slighty impressed by those things. Achievements of physical effort impress me. Athletes, especially Olympians are what catch my admiration.

If you are impressed with financial achievement, you might view other achievements in a different way, or not even see them as achievements at all. You might view athletic achievement as a waste of time, if it didn't lead to financial rewards. You might see social achievement as ridiculous, unless it leads to some business. You probably view academic achievement as 'Those who can't, teach,' but someone like Trump, Gates, or Buffet as impressive

If academic achievement is impressive to you, you might view social achievement as lofty, and superficial. You'd see financial achievement as a selfish pursuit, and athletes as mindless jocks. But, you'd be impressed with someone like Story Musgrave, or Marilyn Vos Savant.

If you are impressed with social contacts, you'd be impressed with someone who knew all of the people I just mentioned. You're probably a master of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. The phrase, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," has actually made a difference in your life. People with few social contacts are of no interest to you, unless they might know someone important.

Some people are quick to discuss their religious affiliations, or their spiritual enlightenment. It might even be a belief system they always bring up in conversation. They are not impressed with any physical, financial, or social achievements.

Have you ever been in a group, and someone started talking about one of the above impressions, and you were not impressed? I wonder if we assume that everyone is impressed with what impresses us, and can't imagine if different.

In the book, First Things First, Covey, Merrill, and Merrill discuss the four human endowments: The Physical- To Live, Mental- To learn, Social/Emotional- To Love, Spiritual- To Leave a Legacy. If you look at each of the above Impressions, you'll see that each fits in the four human endowments. Financial achievements are part of the physical - to live endowments. We have to have common exchange to get by in this world. Athletics and physical prowes bring about physical competence, and confidence. Our ability, and desire to learn is another endowment that other animals don't seem to poses. The others are pretty much straight forward. If they're not, well, they just aren't impressive to you, and you probably won't get them either way.

The important thing here is the balance. Each of us needs to develop those endowments, and recognize them in others, even if we aren't impressed by them. I'm not particularly impressed with financial achievement, but what I've learned is that I am impressed with the person's passion for what they want to achieve.

What impresses you the most, and why? Do you know people around you that obviously aren't impressed with those things? You probably have difficulty relating to them, and them to you. If you want to connect, learn to enjoy the passion they have for their impressions.

Think about that when you go shopping for presents.

Today- We did Epcot, maybe for the last time this year. Hopefully not. Last year, we made our passes each other's Christmas present. We might not do that this year. We'll see. We hope we can, but it might not be feasible this time.
This is our friend Cheri. She's an artist, and you can go to her webpage; Swede Success Galleries. Epcot has the Food and Wine Festival going on right now, and some artist on display too. Cheri is one of the artists. I thought they should have the artists in a more prominent place, but the wine people have more money.

Nutrition- The only good thing I ate today was dinner- Tuna Steak Salad and Bean and Pork soup. It was good, didn't fill me up, and I should have at like that all day. But I didn't.

Exercise- We decided to delay out leg workout till tomorrow. Probably a better idea, especially at my age.

The Awful Truth- You know; the Halloween candy is still around. I'm trying to eat it fast to get rid of it, but it seems to multiply. I can't eat it fast enough to get rid of it. I didn't do my weekly planning either. Remind me in the morning, if you could.

Brownie Points- I've never been to jail in my life. At least, not yet. I should get credit for that, right?

Intentions-

• Plan my weekly schedule and tasks
• Plan my meals
• Get endurance training in this week
• Fix the pool screens
• Piss off at least one branch of government. Someone has to keep them on their toes.

Don't forget to click on my links. Some of them are actually pretty interesting. And, please don't forget to buy a copy of our book, Florida Shorts. I have a few good stories in there.

Blogger is being persnickity again. I would have had a good blog lastnight. Probably my best, but it was taking too long to log on again, and I got really sleepy. Either that, or I was so sleepy it just seemed like it took too long. Blogger was slow this morning too. If this keeps up too much longer, I'll have to go to my Yahoo 360 alternative page. Don't worry my blog fans; I have backup, just in case.

Today, Nancy and I cleaned the back patio. I mean really cleaned it. Pressure cleaned it. With vile detergents which probably harmed the earth, the atmosphere, and every living creature within twenty miles. Don't worry. My farts are worse.

We watched Kingdom of Heaven tonight. It was really good. I don't know why it didn't do as well at the movies. After it, Nancy looked at some history stuff. The movie was very accurate.

All the crap going on in the middle east can be blamed on Pope Urban II. He's the one that sent to first Crusade. It's all his fault. Bad Pope. Bad Pope.

My opinion- They're all wrong. The fact that none of them have won yet, or even got it right shows that.

Anyway, now that I have the whole religion thing cleared up, back to my patio cleaning-
After that, we ate at El Potro. A week without El Potro just ain't right.

Nutrion- Let's just get it out of the way; we still have Halloween Candy left. Talk about funky religions.

• Breakfast- Pancakes.
• Lunch- Tuna sandwich, ritz crackers
• Supper- El Potro - Cheese Enchaladilla, Taco, Rice Beans, and way too many chips
• Evening- Ice Cream.

Looking at my nutritional habits, I should be about 250 lbs. I'm way active, and burn most of it off. But, I'm sure it's not helping my insides much.

Exercise- We were suppose to workout today, lower body, but we didn't. We will try to tomorrow morning before Disney. Can you imagine it? A hamstring intensive workout, before walking around Epcot?

The Awful Truth- There's that whole candy thing, the missed workout thing, the slamming religion thing, the I didn't study any Excel today thing, and of course, the ice cream thing. Other than that, nothing bad.

Intentions- I intend to ignore the world tomorrow, while I'm at Disney.

Other than that, I intend to plan my week out tomorrow evening. I might even try a meal planner again. The problem is; we still have Halloween candy left, and I don't want it to go bad.

For want of a better blog

Some days I have more to write about, and some days I don't. Lastnight, I didn't really get a choice. It seems Blogger was doing some maintainence, and the pages were taking up to 3 minutes to load. Other net pages were loading fine, but blogger was being persnickity, so I didn't do a post. I'm sorry. Okay? Jeez. Miss one day, and their ready to fire you. There are other blogs out there, you know. I know; mine's the best, and you live for my post. I'll do better, but I can't promise anything about blogger. On with the show.

This was Nancy and I last Saturday night at the St. Andrews Night Dinner. Evidently, things like this are a way bigger deal than I knew. After looking over the list of people there, I felt kind of- "One of these things is NOT like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong." That was mostly because of my age, but there were some very prominent people there. Maybe I'll be prominent some day. See my tie? That's the tartan for Clan Campbell. Nancy got the tie for me at the last Highland Games Scottish Festival. It's really nice for a 15 dollar tie.

I'm starting to get some responses from people reading my blog (I abhor the word feedback. That's what you get when the mic is setup wrong). I'm averaging a wee bit more everyday. I think I might have a party when I reach 1000 hits. It will probably just be Nancy, me, and the dogs, but we'll eat some leftover Halloween Candy, watch TV, and have a hoot! Maybe even dance a little jig with the dogs.

Can you tell I'm struggling for things to write about yet?

I'm stressing a bit about the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival screening next weekend. I've got to be ready. NOW, there's and added pressure. Sports Authority is having a mandatory meeting for preparations for Black Friday. That's the day after Thanksgiving. The meeting is 7am-9am. I have to be at screening at by 8am. Maybe I can get there at 8:30am. Sports Authority will just have to put up with it. The funny thing is; If there's a problem, they want a NOTE! I'm going on the assumption it was a joke.

Today- I trained my clients this morning, walked the dogs, worked on some Excel homework, and got to work on cleaning for the judges party. After that, we worked out, cleaned up, and went to our Five Florida Writers meeting, at Donatos Pizza. It was a fun meeting. Usually is.

Nutrition- The last few days, it's been pretty good, except for the massive amounts of Halloween candy. I now realize the fattening holidays don't begin with Thanksgiving. The begin the November 1st, the day after Halloween. I'll have to up my training to compensate. Give the extra food somewhere to go, something to do besides sit on my waist. Today:

• Breakfast- Zone Bar. 1 1/2 hour later- Honey Nut Cheerios. I was still hungry.
• Midmorn- More Halloween candy. Yeah, I know.
• Lunch- Left over noodles and meatballs. Nancy makes good ones.
• Midday- What do you think??
• Supper- Donato's Chicken Veggie Pizza. Hey, at least I got some veggies in today!
• Evening- More you-know-what.

Overall, a nutritionally wretched day. But, there was the veggies.

Exercise- Strength Training this week has been very good. Good workouts. But, I haven't done any Endurance training this week. No intervals, no continous. Some that was protecting my hip, but that's really an excuse. I did fine with 4 sets of dumbbell squats. So, I'm a lazy ass. That right, my clients; we struggle with this stuff too. Just cause we work at the facilities don't make in any easier. Do YOU want to stay at work an extra hour? Yeah, thought not.

The Awful Truth- You did read the nutrtion thing, didn't you? And about the Halloween candy? Oh, and don't forget the whole no endurance training thing either. Pretty dam awful, if you ask me. If I was my own client, I'd yell at my ass!

Brownie Points- Now I'm craving brownies! Thanks alot!

I've noticed that I've been giving myself Brownie Points for getting things done that I was suppose to do anyway. To be honest, I see no problem with this. You'd have to really know me to understand.

Intentions- I intend to come up with something better to blog about tomorrow. Other than that, I have to get ready for Screening. That's about all I'm focused on now.

Excel

No, I'm not talking about the team on Trump's Apprentice. I'm talking about Microsoft Excel.

I'm pretty good with computers and techy stuff. It's another toy. I can work with PC and Mac, but not Linux, at least not yet. I'm working on building a computer specifically for that. I use computers for lots of things, but so far, I've avoided learning Excel. Now, I can't avoid it anymore. That's a good thing.

In a few weeks, I have to do the MIS part of Screening for the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. It's all on Excel. I watch Brian do it last year, and realized I had to learn this stuff. Now that I have a purpose, and no choice, it's time to 'get'r done'.

Brian came over today, and showed me the file we use for screening. I watched a bit, and realized I might be in over my head, - ... unless - .... Unless I can learn enough in the next few weeks. That's a big 'if'.

Tonight in class, we went over some more Excel stuff. This time, we didn't go from the book, and pretty much made it up as we went along. I got way ahead of the class, and actually made some alternatives. I friggin impress myself! Not as much as learning Russian, but I was impressed. I felt much more competent, and much more able to learn what I need for screening.

Whew. Now, I've got to learn a bit more, play a bit with what I learn, and still have time to overthrow five governments. Maybe I can use Excel to figure that out.

Today- I woke up, and my client this morning called to reschedule, so I went back to sleep. This was a good thing. Very good. Got up, ate, walked the dogs, then came back to study some. After lunch, Nancy and I intended to go to Home Depot for some supplies for the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival judges party, but the weather was making both of us dizzy, and we wound up napping. Don't know how that happen. We eventually got up and went to Home Depot. I'd decided not to train; I wasn't feeling to well. But, the clouds opened, and the rain came down. I guess it changed the air pressure or something, because I felt much better, and worked out anyway. So did Nancy. We did an abbreviated Quadraceps workout, and I think it was a good choice. My legs are sore.

Nutrition- Wasn't as good as yesterday:

• Breakfast- French Toast. Maybe that's why I wasn't feeling good.
• Midmorn- Too many cookies and leftover Halloween candy
• Lunch- Ham Sandwich
• Supper- Some sort of veggie/pasta/chicken dish.
• Night- Popcorn, more leftover candie.

I think I feel diabetes setting in. Can you actually feel that? I'll be back in just a moment; another Milky Way Mini is calling my name.

Exercise- Quadraceps workout. I told you already - didn't you get it the first time??

This is an interesting sequence thats worked pretty good for me. I start with my weakest leg, my right, and do a warmup set on leg extension, immediately follow by dumbell squats with both legs. Repeat the sequence on the other side. Then to Leg Curl. Then, back to right leg-leg extension with fairly heavy weight, followed by dumbbell squats, this time with a heavier weight. Repeat the sequence on the other side. Followed again by leg curl. After 4 sets of dumbbell squats, my traps burn as much as my quads.

It's an interesting feeling to have one leg completely wiped from Leg Extension, and have a fresh leg when you're doing the dumbbell squats. In the past, this has been the most productive sequence for my thights.

The Awful Truth- First off, you already read the part about the cookies and candy. That should have been enough awful truth for anyone, but NOOooooo. I had to add more; obsessing over the Art Festival Excel stuff I was going to do. Once I got started on that, it was hard to hear what Nancy was saying. I get really pre-occupied.

Brownie Points- Getting ahead in class was really nice. To do it with something I'm a bit less confident with was even better.

Intentions for Tomorrow- I have clients, work at Sports Authority, more homework to do, more postcards to send out, so I intend to do those things. I intended to go to Disney, but it's raining.