Friday, August 31, 2007

Why I don't think I will join SFWA ever

SFWA = Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

First off: they don't seem to have a membership for beginners. You can be an Affiliate member if you are allied with the genre in your profession and have three active members vouch for you. Mystery Writers of America's Affiliate membership is for the writers who haven't been published yet.

All memberships seem to be based on sales. I wonder where e-publishing falls in their regards? Romance Writers of America are figuring it out, albeit very roughly according to December Quinn's blog, but at least trying. In both organizations the list of acceptable markets doesn't break apart a list of e-publishers and I don't know enough e-publishers to recognize them.

Second off: they pull stunts like this: Making Light: SFWA: DMCA abusers

I'm wondering how much sales = membership figures into this mess. SFWA doesn't have a membership slot for unsold writers. Writers giving away stuff for free must be stopped also seems to be their attitude.

Good work is done by people within the organization (Writer's Beware and the Emergency Fund) but when I have the sales to qualify, I doubt I join. Unless they go through a massive paradigm shift.

While one should not attribute to malice anything that is adequately explained by stupidity, any sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice. -- James D. Macdonald

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Thoughts on Food

Started back on August 12, 2007 and forgot to type it up. I've been thinking about my food intake and the Middle Ages.

Nutritionist's diet as follows: a list of correct portions for one serving (the sizes nobody in America eats after decades of bigger is better) and then what I am allowed to have each meal.

Breakfast: 3 carbohydrate servings, 1 protein serving, 2 fats
Lunch: 3 carbohydrate servings, 1 non-starchy vegetable serving, 2 protein serving, 2 fats
Snack: 1 carbohydrate serving, 1 protein serving
Supper: 4 carbohydrate servings, 1 non-starchy vegetable serving, 3 protein serving, 2 fats

At best, I only maintained my weight on this plan.

So what does this have to do with the middle Ages? The Acadiana Medieval Faire's kitchen is my baby (though apparently saying it like that means I have an ego trip) and I've done more studying on it than caveman's diet. Most everyone in the Western world can trace his genes back to a hearty European peasant. (Yeah, I'm being ethno-centric as a mongrel of English and French stock that found its way to Louisiana. Substitute your heritage if need be.)

Consider the peasant. For starters, they used way more calories a day than we do. Farming, walking, and other craft skills involved whole body movements all day while the sun was up. Bread was a staple, but of a much coarser quality than we are used to. Many calories were consumed through weak ales, but that was burned off throughout the day. Vegetables and fruits eaten when in season. So many vegetables in fact, surviving cookbooks only tell us to "prepare in the usual manner." Seafood in abundance thanks to the Catholic Church saying fish was okay on fasting days. Meat was a rarer item on a peasant's table, depending on cost and season--livestock butchered in the fall and eaten over the winter for example. Cheese and butter were eaten, being the only way to preserve milk. Milk in a recipe typically came from nuts like almonds and walnuts. It could be stored for three weeks at a time. As long as you didn't catch anything we have antibiotics and vaccinations for today or didn't die in battle or accident, you could expect to live into your eighties.

So what does all that have to do with me losing weight in 2007?

For starters, bread really can't come back into my diet until I'm burning calories like a medieval peasant and I'm at the weight I should be. Though I will make exception for occasional whole-grain pasta and brown rice, though limited to only 1/3 cup (1 serving). Sorry, but spaghetti isn't spaghetti without pasta.

So that means at least four servings of veggies at lunch and supper and at least three at breakfast. Still practicing portion control at every meal.

What I have discovered since August 12th.

It's hard to make a breakfast dish that stores well already cooked. I tend to eat breakfast after getting to work because blood sugar would get really wonky and I'd want supper at 3pm. The spinach souffle didn't have many problems, but the poached eggs with spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms got really watery (I think I didn't drain the spinach well enough).

And it's hard to find veggies at school. Apparently, the salad bar is only open at lunch time and unless I want sushi all that is available is pre-packed salads. Only so much iceberg lettuce you can before getting tired of it. I don't know if the other cafeteria is open after I get out of classes, and I need to find out.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Iron Experiment Day 8 and Day 9

I bought the 160 pound weight set last Friday (August 24th). This week has been readjusting the schedule to fit in workout time before rushing to work. Today was the first day I was actually able to weight lift, and I only ended up doing half a workout. Better than the none I got with the start of classes.

Week 11 = 187.8
Week 10 = 188.9
Week 9 = 193.3
Week 8 = 194.5
Week 7 = 194.5
Week 6 = 194.5
Week 5 = 195.5
Week 2 = 199
Week 1 = 205

Problem one: getting up on time. Slowly working the kinks out of that one.
Problem two: changing the exercises I do in a workout to fit with the equipment I have at home. I think I have everything now, though my home Swissball presented a challenge to the feet more than the abs. (Bare feet equals no traction to work with.)
Problem three: setting new max reps. I'm slow and sluggish in the morning and didn't want to do math to figure out which weights added up to what total I needed. But once I knew at what weight to workout, workout went fine until I ran out of time.

Problem three also means that I redid my 12-week periodization chart, basically starting over. My max reps didn't change too much, except squats (I can lift weight with them now!). And my workout week tallies start with Wednesday. I'm probably going to do an extra two days at week one so I can start week two on a Monday. (On the other hand, I really suck at getting up on Mondays.)

How schedule looks now:
Monday: home workout
Tuesday: yoga class
Wednesday: home workout
Thursday: yoga class
Friday: off
Saturday: gym workout

I'm going to try to keep one day a week at the gym for lat pulldowns and cable rows, which I can't duplicate at home, and I feel better target the muscles in my back that give me so much back pain.

The issues with the daily schedule: trying to squeeze workout, chores, and getting dressed all before leaving at 6am to get to work. Workout nor chores at night doesn't work. By the time I get home, I'm usually at the brain-is-off-now-please-leave-message state. Waking up earlier just sucks, even if Mustard thinks I should be up at 2:30am to feed him.

New 1RPM with free weights
Bench press = 45.5
Squat = 45.5
Dumbbell shoulder press = 20
Bicep curls = 20
Dumbbell row = 20
Calf raises = 20

bar = 15.5
dumbbell handle = 5.0

Today I started getting back into the rhythm starting over the periodization with the new RPMs.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Saturday, August 25, 2007

New Title for the first week of school

I'm thinking it should be titled "All good plans and intentions go flying out window instead."

So this is my big shout-out apology if it has looked like I was ignoring or procrastinating in responding to my friends. Most of my downtime this week has been spent reading homework, driving, or making grunts while looking at a computer screen. Friday was the soonest I felt closest to normal. And Mom about ruined that by trying to include me in the conversation while Doctor Who was on. One show I am currently obsessed with trying to see every single episode (and this is a huge reduction from my heyday and thank the Powers That Be for the invention of DVD box sets by the season) and that makes me an ungrateful bitch for wanting one-hour of TV without any distractions.

Mom hasn't called me any names about it, but it has happened twice now since Dad started the night job. And I have nothing against catch-up time (and I do make time for it), but how do I tell her Doctor Who is sacred time when it's just sci-fi crapola in her opinion? Which is doubly ironic because I'm not derogatory about her choice of genres. Some stories within them I own.

That's it, I think. Next time I get the "why don't you want to have kids?" questions, my answer will be, "I don't want to turn into my mother." It's been coming up a lot recently. I think my coworkers have me pegged as the next one to start breeding because I'm 30 and haven't done it yet.

I like my coworkers and I love my mother, but I am so glad I can lock myself into my house and recuperate this weekend. Everyone needs recharge time.

Plans for this weekend:
  • Clean office - books are stacked everywhere and several projects are literally buried.
  • Computer stuff - take care of BookCAT, do a hard drive clean-out, back up everything.
  • Finish money stuff - got school money in finally, pay off debts, really put budget into action.
  • Clean house - kitchen, bathroom, laundry
  • Play with wood - fix the stuff that needs fixing
  • Writing - if I don't get the seven hours in this week, figure out how it starts next week, set-up study cabal again
  • Go shopping - after money is taken care of so I don't go squealing off budget as I am wont to do
  • Homework - self-explanatory
I think that's my most pressing concerns right now.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Scheduling Woes

I feel guilty when I don't write daily. Which is typically giving license to beat up on myself because I don't write daily. However, looking over everything and my current emphasis on exercising more and sleeping and school work and keeping the house decent, there is no time for writing.

Taking a sabbatical doesn't really help me become more productive on the writing front. And I'm notorious about using my lunch hour productively. I just don't. Lecturing myself has not changed a thing. If I write, it's on blogs and not real writing. (Not to dismiss any writers whose format of choice is blogs.)

So the weekends. I haven't gotten much further than that, one day will have to have at least seven hours of writing product in it.

But for a bonus, I got my study cabal back and the Library now has decent Saturday and Sunday hours.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Monday, August 20, 2007

Weekday cooking bad

Class let out early so I could do it and remind myself again why I cook on the weekend. Veggie dishes cooked. Two entrees half done and the third is marinating. Started on one dessert dish and realized I had to let one ingredient thaw completely before using. Ran out of steam before starting on the second dessert dish.

Homework may not be as bad as I feared with the Queen Elizabeth I class. It's still going to be a lot of reading and class discussions, but I think I have some leeway in what to do. Must lose weight faster to fit into anything first.

Past time for bed. I will answer emails tomorrow.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Sunday, August 19, 2007

The Pantry

I'm not one of these people who keeps a list in head or on paper of what is in the food receptacles in the kitchen. Usually my shopping is sticking to a few recipes and whatever catches my interest down the aisle or I know I eat a lot of. Mom will give over food they have too much of or don't eat too. So typically, I come home with groceries and stuff them into the pantry cupboards, fridge, and freezer.

So having gotten slightly off track last week on the buying the groceries-by-the-week experiment, I started off this morning going to plan the menu and shopping list for the week. And then when I wasn't thrilled about searching for recipes, "Hey, let's see what food is already here. Make the list that Emilie Barnes suggests in her book (Cleaning Up the Clutter, good suggestions but very heavy Christian, you are warned)." Wanting to save money at the grocery store and with Hurricane Dean entering the Gulf of Mexico, it seemed like that voice was making sense.

Five hours later, I have five front-back handwritten pages of what food items are in my kitchen. The only things not listed is stuff I threw out for being old or falling into the "I am so NOT going to eat that" category. I also have achy feet and back.

I moved the whole thing into an Excel spreadsheet, so the next time I get possessed to do it again I won't have to write everything just the amounts of what I have. I also realized that I need to get a little better organized in the kitchen. That way I won't end up with 8 pounds of sugar because I forgot I already had some. The other thing I realized is I need to drink a lot more tea.

So now that I have a list of what I have in the kitchen, I need to specify what I'm cooking this week. And this was not a good day to put off cooking. Classes start tomorrow, and I probably won't have a chance to cook until Saturday or Sunday again. Let me get cracking. I still have to go to the store.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Iron Experiment Day 7

I like the gym on Saturdays. Not a whole lot of people to bug you. Must remember to keep a workout on a Saturday.

Week 10 = 188.9
Week 9 = 193.3
Week 8 = 194.5
Week 7 = 194.5
Week 6 = 194.5
Week 5 = 195.5
Week 2 = 199
Week 1 = 205

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Next weekend plans

I know, I'm crazy this way. But if nothing more fun interrupts (or homework assignments kick my ass), I think either Saturday or Sunday will be use the wood or get rid of it day.

I ended up on my front porch and realized I'm storing a lot of handy projects there for it. Fix a table, maybe two; fix a bench that has sentimental value (I'm still iffy on that one); fix the rocking chairs; get rid of other things. I also have a plate rack I need to put together and start using. So it seems like a good time to start clearing the stuff out.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Iron Experiment Day 6

80 CRUNCHES!!!!!!!!!

I don't do them all at once, but have them divided into four sets of 20 throughout the whole workout. But I still did them all even after we had worked on ab poses in yoga yesterday.

Made plans Friday night with an old college buddy, so I think the next weight day will be Saturday. If I get the car serviced as soon as they open, it should be done by the time the gym opens. And there will be time for the shower! Very important if the blind date gets set up for Saturday. (Don't read any more into that than what I said. No break-ups have occurred yet.)

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Monday, August 13, 2007

Iron Experiment Day 5

Week 9 = 193.3
Week 8 = 194.5
Week 7 = 194.5
Week 6 = 194.5
Week 5 = 195.5
Week 2 = 199
Week 1 = 205

It finally budged! Biology sucks for weight loss when you're a woman.

Workout didn't happen today, after I had already planned to stay with the weights I have for reps for another week until I can complete three full workouts. I had to make up some time at work, so I left late and then had to stop and get gasoline. It was 6pm by the time I reached my home exit, it would have been 6:30pm reaching the gym, and they throw everyone out at 7pm. I put out the trash though; that has to count for something. I think this is the last week of the severely shortened schedule. Classes start August 20th, and then it's another issue about going to the gym.

But I got dealt an emotional shock that caused me to lose my appetite for lunch and supper. I forced down Brussels sprouts once I got home. Fasting in moderation is good for you, so I'm just considering it that.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Biggest Loser Poses

I finally figured out how the timer on my camera works. So my official "Biggest Loser" poses.




"Biggest Loser" is an American TV show where they take severely obese people and put them through training and food education to lose their weight. And every episode somebody gets sent home (everything is a copycat of "Survivor.") But at the end of the show they bring people back and show their before pictures and how they look now.

Technically, these aren't my before pictures since I have lost 10 pounds since June 14. But I still have a long way to go. And I don't know why I'm leaning in the first one. I thought I was standing perfectly straight.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Such good intentions

So far the only one I have accomplished was cooking a spinach souffle for breakfast.

I was defeated by number and clothesline. Numbers meaning after about 5 times of thinking I was finished with the new budget and then discovering Quicken didn't agree with me or remembering I did something wrong I finally have the budget done. The Excel spreadsheet and Quicken now match. And I just need my money to come in so I can start following it.

The clothesline is an actual clothesline. We are undergoing a massive heatwave (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade of my porch when I checked) and I decided to move my clothesline to take advantage of it. Saving the precious electricity for the AC units. And then spend 45 minutes at least in the heat and broiling sun trying to accomplish this task.

My great-grandmother always stretched her clothesline from the black walnut tree at the southwest corner of the house across the yard to a younger black walnut marking the start of the field. And she had a long (eight to ten feet) aluminum hollow pole with a notch in one end. That propped up the middle of the clothes line to keep the clothes off the grass.

That pole has since disappeared. And the rope clothesline I have stretches horribly under the weight of wet clothes. My uncle came out to help me and we rigged up a fiberglass pipe to act as the pole. And it worked great until the clothesline rope stretched and dropped the pipe and all to the ground.

So now my chest itches where the fiberglass touched it and I have to add clothesline paraphernalia to my shopping list that will probably have to wait until after school money comes in. I'm anticipating August 30th. Yeah, everything says it'll be there sooner than that, but they have screwed with me all summer thanks to that. I'm going to take a shower, figure out so way to play music CDs (the computer is being bitchy about it, and the DVD player is acting oddly--probably time to replace it--and the radio no longer plays CDs or tapes), and start working on the Educators' Guide.

Give me about an hour and I'll probably be on IM if anybody feels like chatting.

Update: Chad's pushing the first teacher's workshop to December. So I don't have to do a crazy writing marathon for the next three weeks. Which I think was fueling the whole "it's so overwhelming I can't work" vibe.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Friday, August 10, 2007

Where's my She-Ra sword*?

Okay, first SLU pisses me off by putting me on some stupid academic probation because I'm not meeting satisfactory academic progress. The only thing I can think of is that I have too many fucking credit hours. Why so many? Because I'm staying in school until they GIVE ME THE BLOODY CLASSES I NEED AT A TIME I CAN TAKE THEM! I'm down to one fucking class and thesis hours. And they scheduled the class for the middle of the day Tuesdays and Thursdays. You better fucking believe I'm appealing the damn ruling.

But it's all good. It's Doctor Who night, which has been showing at 8pm for the last four episodes. Well, unknown to me, they moved it up an hour for the two-hour premier of Flash Gordon the series. Don't get me wrong, I do like the revamp, but I watched it through to get to the repeat of Doctor Who that comes on after... only they decided to rerun Flash again.

All I got to see was the Tardis disappearing from Martha's flat! *Sniff* A head should roll! Seriously, one hour break from Flash wouldn't have hurt! GRRR! Just understand, I am not mad about the Flash. I have a fondness for Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant being the first old school comics I started reading, not knowing what the hell was going on in any story because of all the backstory that happened before I was born, but still feeling the awesome coolness of it.

Then I saw the 1980 film. And loved it for its sheer campiness. And it proves how awesome Queen is. They did the whole soundtrack after doing the soundtrack for Highlander, which became the "A Kind of Magic" album. And I don't think either film did huge at the box office. Can you see one of today's mega-bands doing the whole soundtrack to what is destined to be a cult hit? "Nope, just let us do one song for radio play." Queen *Wayne's World we're not worthy gesture* And the whole reason I'm buying the new released version on DVD of Flash Gordon is to complete my Queen collection, since I can't find the Flash Gordon theme song on any of the greatest hit CDs! And the cheezy football fight. Go Flash Go!

Which my father didn't remember because my first comment upon seeing the new series commercial: "that Flash Gordon is so not a football player." They made him a marathon runner.

More pointless Queen trivia: you will never find "New York, New York" on anything outside of the Highlander movie. Freddie didn't like how it came out, so they left it off the album.

So while I'm trying to weed out my financial problems and spend less money, I now have 3 DVDs I must have.

The Monster Squad
Flash Gordon
TMNT


And that's not even counting the TV show series I'm slowing collecting on DVD.

*For the record, I always thought She-Ra's sword was shiny. Sharpen both edges and heads will roll quite nicely. Though I would use He-Man's in a pinch. Now there's a nostalgia market that hasn't been tapped.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Iron Experiment Day 4

Divided the sets up and only did two sets before switching to another exercise. Not only was I able to complete all 4 sets without the thighs of rubber reappearing, I also did 60 crunches on the ab ball.

SIXTY CRUNCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never, never, never, never, even when I weighed 120 pounds and they forced us to try to reach thirty in gym class in high school, NEVER been able to do 60 crunches.

I must be doing something right.

On a food note, squash casserole will okay (I had to substitute an ingredient that may have something to do with it), it does not keep well. I still have two cups left to eat and I don't want them.

So I've been kind of thinking on the Daily Apple blog's advice in the back of my head. I need more veggies, but I also need to be able to pack lunch to work. Still contemplating this as a solution: protein and veggies for breakfast, probably eggs; protein, veggies, and a little carb on the side for lunch, like Moroccan Chicken with 1/3 cups of Parmesan couscous with 2 or 3 cups of veggies; and totally veggies at supper, unless muscle-building slows down or I start getting hungry then I need to add protein.

I'm still considering it. Finding some breakfast recipes would help because I'm lost with the veggies at breakfast idea if it's not leftovers.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

PvP

Okay, this payoff strip is sweet, hysterical, and oh so wrong at the same time.

I was actually thinking the guys were going to do a Star Wars cosplay without telling Jade, so I'm giving myself brownie points for being half right. I still have no problems see Skull as Chewie.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Goddamnit, what the hell is wrong with me?

Pulled out the Educators' Guide and developed a case of itchy pants. Couldn't stay seated to work on it, had to flit to this and to that. And now the two hours I had to work are gone. *headdesk*

So here's my executive decision: nothing Saturday but Educators' Guide work. So Friday at lunch, I need to go to the state library and checkout research materials. Then after work is gym and Doctor Who. At least the research doesn't look too bad: need an overall theory book on the Tales, something with some detail about the town, and medieval music. Who me, twitch?

Now I'm going to work on the budget stuff while my brain is obsessed with that.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Need to join

Holly Lisle's One More Word

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Are you a Feminist?

You Are 94% Feminist

You are a total feminist. This doesn't mean you're a man hater (in fact, you may be a man).
You just think that men and women should be treated equally. It's a simple idea but somehow complicated for the world to put into action.


But was it any real surprise?

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Cutting down carbs again

The lipid-phobe’s guide to dietary fat: 11 ways fat can help you (and 4 ways it can’t hurt you)

Point made, as I finish off three homemade tacos for lunch (with lots of lettuce, a first for me), my carb to fat ratio is probably way off. I haven't done specifics on it since I've been cooking and worrying about portion sizes, but I've probably been letting myself have a little bit too much of the healthy whole-grains carbs.

*Sigh* I cook with olive oil and butter. I haven't been snacking on nuts. I have been snacking on a feta cheese and spinach dip I found but with whole grain melba toast for the crunchy. *Sigh* It's tempting to go back on Atkin's, because I'm tired of having to do all this figuring and juggling. But at the same time, I need to clean out/eat up the stuff bought in the pantry. Money is tight until payday, and will probably be tight after then, but that's another post. The point is I have to use what I got.

Other food posts:
Barbecue Lamb
When Do Foods Really Go Bad
What Does 4000 calories look like?
The 7 Rules of Summer, not food but important tips nonetheless.
Why Atkins Diet Works
Low-Carb is not License to Live on Bacon
Grubs, Part 2
Recommended: Sugar Shock
Ten Awesome Carbs
The Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar & Type 2 Diabetes (and you’ll understand it)
How to Dog Whisper Your Food Cravings

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Iron Experiment Day 3

Today is a skip day. I started off with a periodization workout, which the program worked great on finding good weights to workout with from my RPMs but had me do four sets. Which I did in 45 minutes. And my upper body feels fine. However the thighs have still not recovered from the squats. As far as I can tell, my form was good, but my legs are not used to the up and down motion of all 194.5 pounds of me. So I'm going home and rubbing them down with Tiger Balm again tonight and actually going to bed at 8pm.

I found a weight set at Academy in Baton Rouge that is comparable to cost to buying both sets at Wal-Mart, but the Academy set has dumbbell handles included and goes up to 160 lbs. of weight.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

My content

Websnark: Of course, this all discounts the deep joy some people get at railing against the man in as dramatic a way as possible. For those people? I say "by all means carry on."

I never really got on the Live Journal crazy. Friends convinced me to start a blog, I went with Blogger, I figured out how to do backups, and never really looked at anything else. And now after the breastfeeding pictures icky thing and now this, I'm glad I'm not on LiveJournal.

And the Right Reverend Wishlish in the comments makes a valid point about hosting your own content (or paying for hosting same difference). While I don't feel the need to migrate from Blogger at this time, I can if I need to.

But my first thought upon reading all of this was: "This is why I do Alt. Biker Mice Site." It's not the only reason, but slashfic deserves a place too. If you personally don't want to read something, that's fine. But you can't impose your taste upon everyone else, that's censorship. Art gets trickier, but you can still take steps to shield unsuspecting eyes.

And SixApart has hurt a lot of people, which could have been avoided had they handled it better. (All the same, I'm glad the fandom I'm heavily involved in has characters above the age of minority.) I'm not sure how the argument "it's their property, they can do what they want" holds water now. Contracts can't be changed online without notice, court rules. But even that doesn't change the fact that SixApart dropped the customer service ball and LJ users should be taking procautions to protect your words and images. And that's just good advice for all things online.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Monday, August 06, 2007

Iron Experiment Day 2

Completed my first full workout in 45 minutes. Wasn't trying for a speed record, but since I got to the gym about 6pm and they close at 7pm....

Contemplating soaking in the tub but I think I won't be able to get out once I get in.

Week 8 = 194.5
Week 7 = 194.5
Week 6 = 194.5
Week 5 = 195.5
Week 2 = 199
Week 1 = 205

I'm going to do measurements every twelve weeks. Basically, I've come to the conclusion that I don't have time to try to do it every week and do housework and get dressed for work and by week 10 doing a workout in the morning maybe. Need to post what measurements I have already and a before picture, back dated.

The weight totals are my starting weight for the week. And I've been plateaued at 194.5 for too long now.

Added a new timeline to the sidebar because I kept getting lost with what week I was on. Still messed up doing it and had to edit. I must be calendar dyslexic.

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The BookWorm

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I knew it was a bunch of hooey

My mother countered my enthusiasm for weight training with "they said diabetics aren't supposed to do it."

I called bullshit. And now I have proof: Weight Training and Diabetes.

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What else is there to say?

Stephanie deserves a memorial in the BatCave, DAMNIT!

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Sunday, August 05, 2007

So what's wrong with you?

Ever spent much time and energy and worry that you are the only one who feels this way and you must be seriously mentally ill to feel that way when you know it isn't true? Then find out, you're not the only one who feels that way and if the numbers are right, somebody is spiking the water supply or it's societal training.

Yeah, I got a brainwave this morning. I was reading links I had opened yesterday from Rant 42: Cut and Run on stumptuous.com women's weight training. Impostor syndrome, I think I have mentioned feeling like an impostor in some of my free-wheeling, I'm-too-fucked-up-to-be-worthy-of-life spiels. Mistress Krista's link lead to this site: Overcoming the Impostor Syndrome. I think my mouth feel open for a while.

It doesn't hit all the time--and this past month has been pretty good for not getting hit by any of it--but I'd be lying if I thought that I was cured. This site is staying on my read-a-lot list for a while.

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There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Iron Experiment Day 1

Today was a hardy day of willpower. Spent Friday night (minus the hour for Doctor Who) entering receipts into Quicken. Spent Saturday reconciling Quicken with bank statements. Until 4:30pm when I ran to the gym and relieved my back setting my rep maxs on my workout exercises.

On everything but the squat. I couldn't figure out how you got the bar out of the cage, much less taking the huge plates off. Yeah, I wussed out, but I need to follow the directions and perfect my technique first without weight. Everything else on the list I have done.

1 RPM
  • Squat = body weight
  • Leg Press (machine) = 160 lbs.
  • Calf raises (machine) = 110 lbs.
  • Cable row (machine) = 90 lbs.
  • Lat. pulldown (machine) = 75 lbs.
  • Bench press = 45 lbs.
  • Dumbbell shoulder press = 15 lbs.
  • Swissball crunches = 20 (no weight)
I am using machines for leg press and calf raises. The leg press because there's a machine to do it using bars and free weights and way more complicated than I want to deal with. The calf raises because there's nothing in the weight room to stand on to move your heels.

Cable rows and lat. pulldowns must be done on machines, but I found a cable machine, which allows for better all body movement than the isolate-the-muscle-group machines I used before. I think it's a new machine or they rearranged the room.

After gym, I went to Wal-Mart to price their weights. Actually, I was surprised at the selection. They even had Gold's Gym Olympic standards stuff. Hammond is a college town with collegiate football, basketball, baseball, and other sports I don't know about teams. We don't have a true sporting goods store, so I was impressed with Wal-Mart's catering to the athletes.

I'm still going to check the stores in Baton Rouge, but in the standard one inch size, I can invest in a bar set and a dumbbell set and have 130 lbs. of assorted plates to mix and match for $71.80 plus tax. That's a doable price, even if I'm too broke to afford it right now. However, it's looking like my back-to-school splurge for the semester.

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There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Friday, August 03, 2007

Must Love Jaws

About two men and their shark.



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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

The Ring

This one should have you bawling.



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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Top Gun

A love story.



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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

American Pie

The horror unleashed.



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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

10 Things I Hate About Commandments

Fun with YouTube. Now this guy is really good.



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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Preach it, Wil!

Wil Wheaton's Geek in Review: One Big Focus Group. SuicideGirls, the site that hosts this column, is usually not for work safe, but this column is necessary reading for the geeks of the world. It's time Hollywood stopped fucking with us.

To give a taste:

This makes me wonder something: if we actually are a huge focus group, wouldn't they, you know, listen to us? We're not just a huge market with a lot of disposable income for you to exploit; we actually care about this stuff, and if you keep fucking it up, we're going to stop buying it. Think I’m bluffing? Go talk to anyone associated with Elektra. Or Captain America. Or Fantastic Four. Or Ghostrider. Or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Or Daredevil.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Lord of the Rings proved that it’s possible to please the geeks and the mainstream audiences by simply serving the story that’s endured for decades, not making it “fresh” or “new” or “dumbed down by an industry fuck because he’s too stupid to understand it.”


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There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

More scheduling Fun

Thanks to the weather, I only got to the gym with time to get dressed for yoga class. And the gym is closing at 7 pm so there isn't even time to get changed into street clothes. Luckily, this crazy schedule only lasts until school starts and they have decent hours again.

Yoga is staying Tuesday and Thursday nights for the next semester. My classes are on Monday and Wednesday nights. Dr. Who is Friday night. And I need at least three days to do weights.

Right, after August 20th, it's nigh impossible.

A home gym set-up would solve all the issues. I could workout in the morning, not use as much gasoline, and it's not completely out of the price range to set up. (Even cheaper if Mom would let me borrow her weight bench for an indefinite amount of time.)

The one con--well one BIG con--I don't have a shower. And the thought of having to take a full bath every time I break sweat makes me want to beat my head against a wall until I bleed and my brains dribble out my ears. So yes, the idea really just exacerbates my level of annoyance over my current bathroom.

However remodeling even just the bathtub is out of my price range right now. I don't even know if it'll be possible to do it in August. Maybe it is possible to fix the faucet at least.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/