Thursday, November 4, 2010
Five Devices Losing Their Appeal
Let's see... I own a basic cellphone and a DVD player. Bought my first iPod last year. First laptop computer this year. Guess it's about time to buy a smart phone!
Six Diet Rules You Can Break!
From JoyBauer.com:
It’s no secret that the number one diet “rule to live by” is this: to lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than you burn over an extended period of time. Beyond that, the rules of weight loss are actually a lot more flexible than you might think (and, as you probably know from personal experience, what works for one person may not work for another). Here are six universal diet truths that, as it turns out, aren’t always true.
You Must Exercise To Lose Weight. Controlling calories and food intake is key to shedding unwanted pounds (much more so than exercise). If you’re not able to be active or just can’t commit to a regular workout schedule, you can still lose weight without exercising if you carefully monitor your food intake. Of course, being physically active provides a whole host of health benefits outside of weight management, and for this reason I highly encourage everyone to incorporate fitness into their lifestyle. But if you absolutely can’t or won’t exercise, know that it’s still possible to achieve your weight loss goals.
Only Weigh Yourself Once Per Week. There is no “one size fits all” rule with weighing. Some people do better with daily weigh-ins and others with no scale at all; it’s really a personal choice. If you find that daily or weekly visits to the bathroom scale help you stay accountable, by all means, maintain your usual routine. If tracking your numbers tends to make you obsess a bit, you can always gauge your weight loss by taking occasional measurements or noting changes in your clothing size.
Dessert is a No-No. As long as you account for the calories, dessert is perfectly okay—whether it’s berries, cookies, or a slice of rich, fudgy chocolate cake. Some dieters that I’ve counseled like to build in one portion-controlled treat per day—maybe two cookies or a low-fat ice cream pop. Others prefer to save up their “discretionary calories” and splurge on one decadent dessert per week from a restaurant or bakery. Whatever your preferred strategy, it is definitely possible to satisfy a sweet tooth without derailing your diet.
Portion Control Everything You Eat. Not true! You can overeat non-starchy vegetables to your heart’s content, as long as you prepare them in healthful ways. Non-starchy vegetables—like leafy greens, cucumbers, carrots, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower and green beans—are incredibly low in calories, thanks to their high water and fiber content. They’ll fill you up and displace more caloric foods…and ultimately help you lose weight by eating more!
Never Skip Breakfast (it’s the most important meal of day.) Some people are just not naturally conditioned to be early morning eaters, and that’s completely understandable. There’s no reason to force yourself into eating breakfast if you’re not hungry, as long as you’re not having a problem with overeating later in the day. Instead, have a meal or mid-morning snack later on, when your appetite finally kicks in.
Salads Are Your Best Bet For Losing Weight. Sadly, some salads are actually more caloric than a loaded burger with a side of fries…those certainly won’t do you any favors on the scale. And if you hate salads and they leave you feeling completely unsatisfied, they can actually be counterproductive. If you view these diet staples as bland, boring “rabbit food”, you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to include them in your meal plan. Find more interesting lunch and dinner options that excite your taste buds and satisfy your appetite. You’ll stick with your diet longer if you’re enjoying what you’re eating.
It’s no secret that the number one diet “rule to live by” is this: to lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than you burn over an extended period of time. Beyond that, the rules of weight loss are actually a lot more flexible than you might think (and, as you probably know from personal experience, what works for one person may not work for another). Here are six universal diet truths that, as it turns out, aren’t always true.
You Must Exercise To Lose Weight. Controlling calories and food intake is key to shedding unwanted pounds (much more so than exercise). If you’re not able to be active or just can’t commit to a regular workout schedule, you can still lose weight without exercising if you carefully monitor your food intake. Of course, being physically active provides a whole host of health benefits outside of weight management, and for this reason I highly encourage everyone to incorporate fitness into their lifestyle. But if you absolutely can’t or won’t exercise, know that it’s still possible to achieve your weight loss goals.
Only Weigh Yourself Once Per Week. There is no “one size fits all” rule with weighing. Some people do better with daily weigh-ins and others with no scale at all; it’s really a personal choice. If you find that daily or weekly visits to the bathroom scale help you stay accountable, by all means, maintain your usual routine. If tracking your numbers tends to make you obsess a bit, you can always gauge your weight loss by taking occasional measurements or noting changes in your clothing size.
Dessert is a No-No. As long as you account for the calories, dessert is perfectly okay—whether it’s berries, cookies, or a slice of rich, fudgy chocolate cake. Some dieters that I’ve counseled like to build in one portion-controlled treat per day—maybe two cookies or a low-fat ice cream pop. Others prefer to save up their “discretionary calories” and splurge on one decadent dessert per week from a restaurant or bakery. Whatever your preferred strategy, it is definitely possible to satisfy a sweet tooth without derailing your diet.
Portion Control Everything You Eat. Not true! You can overeat non-starchy vegetables to your heart’s content, as long as you prepare them in healthful ways. Non-starchy vegetables—like leafy greens, cucumbers, carrots, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower and green beans—are incredibly low in calories, thanks to their high water and fiber content. They’ll fill you up and displace more caloric foods…and ultimately help you lose weight by eating more!
Never Skip Breakfast (it’s the most important meal of day.) Some people are just not naturally conditioned to be early morning eaters, and that’s completely understandable. There’s no reason to force yourself into eating breakfast if you’re not hungry, as long as you’re not having a problem with overeating later in the day. Instead, have a meal or mid-morning snack later on, when your appetite finally kicks in.
Salads Are Your Best Bet For Losing Weight. Sadly, some salads are actually more caloric than a loaded burger with a side of fries…those certainly won’t do you any favors on the scale. And if you hate salads and they leave you feeling completely unsatisfied, they can actually be counterproductive. If you view these diet staples as bland, boring “rabbit food”, you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to include them in your meal plan. Find more interesting lunch and dinner options that excite your taste buds and satisfy your appetite. You’ll stick with your diet longer if you’re enjoying what you’re eating.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Blow Hard
If you're playing football, you're wearing black uniforms, and you can gain 50 yards of field position by simply choosing to touch the ball while it rolls on the ground, would you? Me too. So... what were they thinking? Evidence that being sensible has officially ceased being cool.
Share Alike
Bought my first batch of individual stocks yesterday! After reading enough about Warren Buffett to buy into the value-based investment approach of Berkshire Hathaway, I tapped into their class B shares. Their annual return of about 7% a year over the last ten years easily topped the S&P 500's treading water with negligible growth. 125 @ $80.48. The impact of every 1% of investment return makes a tremendous difference upon retirement assets. Hopefully boarding the bandwagon of America's most famous investor will get the train to the station!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Schwarzenegger Veils Future Plans
Shortly after Jerry Brown reclaimed the Democratic governorship of California, outgoing Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was vague in commenting on life after his high-profile term.
He expressed disappointment at the longstanding failure of Congress to pass significant legislation, making reference to a "Skynet Funding Bill" that should have been enacted "13 years ago." [No such bill is on record.]
"There is no fate but what we make," Schwarzenegger explained without prompting. Agitated by a reporter's follow-up interpretation of a possible presidential bid, he ranted for several minutes about the future of mankind and an apparent dark horse candidate named John Connor.
"Afghanistan will not matter. Pakistan will not matter. Deficits will mean nothing," he asserted with increasingly strained voice before describing semi-coherently a scenario which sounded borderline apocalyptic. He used the occasion to reiterate with great volume his painfully consistent position on technological spending, most recently frustrated by a "no" referendum against Proposition 54 which would have replaced most governmental positions with "robots or machines of this nature" within ten years.
He expressed disappointment at the longstanding failure of Congress to pass significant legislation, making reference to a "Skynet Funding Bill" that should have been enacted "13 years ago." [No such bill is on record.]
"There is no fate but what we make," Schwarzenegger explained without prompting. Agitated by a reporter's follow-up interpretation of a possible presidential bid, he ranted for several minutes about the future of mankind and an apparent dark horse candidate named John Connor.
"Afghanistan will not matter. Pakistan will not matter. Deficits will mean nothing," he asserted with increasingly strained voice before describing semi-coherently a scenario which sounded borderline apocalyptic. He used the occasion to reiterate with great volume his painfully consistent position on technological spending, most recently frustrated by a "no" referendum against Proposition 54 which would have replaced most governmental positions with "robots or machines of this nature" within ten years.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Guy On Billboard Wins Election
The newly elected Illinois governor celebrated the historic victory in typically understated fashion via press release.
"I'd like to thank my campaign committee for waiting until the last possible moment to register my candidacy and to post billboards all around the state, before any of my opponents had time to post negative ads. I'd also like to thank the voters for desponding over the mud slung by the remaining candidates against each other. The mandate is clear. Take care, talk to you in 2016!"
"I'd like to thank my campaign committee for waiting until the last possible moment to register my candidacy and to post billboards all around the state, before any of my opponents had time to post negative ads. I'd also like to thank the voters for desponding over the mud slung by the remaining candidates against each other. The mandate is clear. Take care, talk to you in 2016!"
Inability To Logic Dooms Ex-Pitcher
Fox Sports broadcaster Ron Darling succumbed to street crime Sunday evening.
Long time co-workers such as baseball television analyst Joe Buck were stunned at news of the fatal assault. Following the San Francisco Giants' 4-0 victory in Arlington, Texas over the hometown Rangers to take a commanding 3-1 World Series lead, Buck and Darling engaged in a heated off-air exchange.
"I can’t stand the phrase 'missing bats' as applied to pitchers," Buck explained. "You know, like 'That Tim Lincecum, he really misses a lot of bats out there.' That implies that the pitcher knows the precise plane upon which the bat will be swung, and can throw his pitch accordingly to miss it - that the batter has no say in the matter. It’s just another cutesy stupid term someone came up with that no one ever questioned. Please never use this term."
Reportedly Darling, a former World Series winning pitcher himself, defended the cliche with a flurry of emotion and gestures disconnected from the actual meaning of the expression. Shortly afterward, realizing that he was short of cash and hungry with the clock approaching midnight, he stormed off to go "find some wallets."
Police arrived on the scene a half hour later as his attackers finished their work.
"He was smart enough to know where muggers congregated in the alleys," Buck wondered aloud. "But he must have thought that he could simply reach into their pockets and grab the wallets, with no resistance. Would a monkey even have done that?"
Fox released a statement today announcing simple logic tests to be incorporated into their personnel procedures effective immediately. Later this afternoon, ex-catcher Tim McCarver resigned his position in the booth.
Long time co-workers such as baseball television analyst Joe Buck were stunned at news of the fatal assault. Following the San Francisco Giants' 4-0 victory in Arlington, Texas over the hometown Rangers to take a commanding 3-1 World Series lead, Buck and Darling engaged in a heated off-air exchange.
"I can’t stand the phrase 'missing bats' as applied to pitchers," Buck explained. "You know, like 'That Tim Lincecum, he really misses a lot of bats out there.' That implies that the pitcher knows the precise plane upon which the bat will be swung, and can throw his pitch accordingly to miss it - that the batter has no say in the matter. It’s just another cutesy stupid term someone came up with that no one ever questioned. Please never use this term."
Reportedly Darling, a former World Series winning pitcher himself, defended the cliche with a flurry of emotion and gestures disconnected from the actual meaning of the expression. Shortly afterward, realizing that he was short of cash and hungry with the clock approaching midnight, he stormed off to go "find some wallets."
Police arrived on the scene a half hour later as his attackers finished their work.
"He was smart enough to know where muggers congregated in the alleys," Buck wondered aloud. "But he must have thought that he could simply reach into their pockets and grab the wallets, with no resistance. Would a monkey even have done that?"
Fox released a statement today announcing simple logic tests to be incorporated into their personnel procedures effective immediately. Later this afternoon, ex-catcher Tim McCarver resigned his position in the booth.
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