Sunday, May 31, 2009
It was a Yankee Doodle "DANDY" of a retirement
Here are a few photos from the retirement ceremony for Kim. A HUGE thank you to all those who have supported me.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Photos of Becky's baby "Luke" (my grandson)
Just got these photos from Becky. Everyone is doing greta abd Becky is back to work at the SVU Library.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Photos of our cruise
I thought I would throw up a couple of photos of our cruise since this is the venue that we share family photos and information. As soon as I can get some photos from Becky of her baby Luke, I'll get them posted. Looking forward to seeing some of you at Kim's Retirement Ceremony on Thursday.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Google Earth
Google Earth is a fun application which you can download and install for free.
As Google states:
It's about a 27-mile round trip, uphill 13.5 miles and downhill 13.5 miles with some level spots, of course. Here is the Google Earth photo.
Click on the image to enlarge.
I tried to find a way to embed the Google Earth link, but it seems complicated for me and for the reader as well. If you want the kmz file, I can email it to you if you wish.
As Google states:
Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places, and share with others.I have mapped my recent trip by bicycle from my home to Trefoil Ranch.
It's about a 27-mile round trip, uphill 13.5 miles and downhill 13.5 miles with some level spots, of course. Here is the Google Earth photo.
Click on the image to enlarge.
I tried to find a way to embed the Google Earth link, but it seems complicated for me and for the reader as well. If you want the kmz file, I can email it to you if you wish.
Has anyone of us visited all 50 states?
I'm currently only lacking Kentucky, Michigan, and Alaska. I was just curious to see what states the rest of you are lacking to reach a full 50?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
We're back from our cruise to good news
We came back from our cruise today to some good news! The cruise was a great time. I won the ship trivia contest (3,000 passengers) and almost won the alligater wrestling competition. As for the good news, my daughter Becky had her baby yesterday (baby boy named Luke, 7 lbs. 2 oz., 20 inches). Becky and Luke are both doing great and will be back home on Monday. So, I am a grandpa. Humm. Not too sure how I feel...I don't feel old. I don't think I look old. Oh well. My first grandson. Maybe I should buy him a U.S. Savings Bond but I'm not sure it will be worth anything in the future.
Also, Scotty graduated also from Washburn Rural High School on the 17th but he doesn't like attention (very, very shy) so I didn't mention it before.
Also, Scotty graduated also from Washburn Rural High School on the 17th but he doesn't like attention (very, very shy) so I didn't mention it before.
Humorous
I just told Dad that Brian is trying to loose weight, he said that he is also watching his weight. I asked him: "How come, you just ate a brownie?" He replied: "Each morning I get on the scale and I watch my weight. I am 240 lbs." :-)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Elise's High Graduation Announcement
Dear family, Here is Elise's graduation announcement. We didn't have enough of them to send in the mail to everyone, so we scanned it into the blog. Unfortunately it isn't very easy to read. I am sorry for that, as the announcment is in English, French and Dutch. I thought you might find that interesting. She is graduating from the Interenational School of Brussels. I'll send one to mom and dad, and maybe they can show it to you at the family reunion this June. She graduates on June 5th. Wish you could all be here. Actually, Fabienne and her boys will be! Yea! Congratulations to my Elise! 
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Confessions of a Fat Man, Part 2 - My System
Where I am now:
I decided I had to do something, anything, to get control of my health. I took a $285 risk to buy a months worth of Nutrisystem food. I did indeed begin to lose weight on the system, but it was unpleasant. The food was marginal in terms of taste and paltry in terms of quantity. The system requires you to supply the fruits and vegetables and other things, so it is not a complete system as suggested by the advertising. I am not going to purchase anymore Nutrisystem food, because one can buy better tasting diet foods in the supermarket. Also, the advertising on TV suggests that you can eat large portions of delicious food that is specially formulated for losing weight. The portions are not large and the food is so-so (except for one or two items). However, I am glad that I tried it because it taught me one very important thing. One must count calories in order to lose weight, and I learned how to do that.
The formula is simple.
Step 1: One must know his/her BMR. Go here to do that.
Example: 2500 calories (the example is arbitrary and does not reflect my own situation)
Step 2: Find your daily caloric need based on your activity level.
In accordance with your activity level, the noted webpage will give you the amount of calories you need to consume in order to maintain your current weight.
Example: Lightly active > 3200 calories
This arbitrary example means that 3200 calories must be consumed in order to maintain the current weight.
Step 3: Set a goal as to how fast you want to lose weight. 1 or 2 lbs. per week is reasonable.
Since 1 pound = 3500 calories, one must cut 3500 calories out of his/her weekly diet to lose 1 pound. I have set my daily intake to 1000 calories below my daily caloric need. This means that 7 days x 1000 calories is 7000 calories or 2 lbs. lost in one week. (Don't cut your daily caloric intake to less than 1500 calories. I think that is quite unhealthy.)
Key points:
1. Learning to count calories is essential. Almost every product has a nutrition label where you can see the calories per serving. Fresh produce or fast food that does not include nutrition info can be found one the Internet. I use an iPhone app called "Lose It!," but if you don't have an iPhone, you can add an iGoogle app to your iGoogle page (which I encourage everyone to use, it's extremely handy!). The app is here.
Admittedly, it was annoying to have to research, record, and calculate every little thing that I ate, but I learned how 'every little thing that I ate' really adds up fast. I have actually come to enjoy calculating the calories and working with a calorie budget.
2. Exercise. Some people hate the thought of it, but I guess my younger days of running long-distance track and cross-country helped me to enjoy such activities. I don't mind sweating, getting out of breath, and getting tired. In fact, the endorphin rush after exercise is quite exhilarating. Depending on speed and effort, I typically burn 1000 to 1300 calories on two hour bike ride. I get to subtract those calories from my consumed calories, which opens a big gap in my calorie budget. This allows me to each more food, if I wish, but such exercise suppresses my appetite, and I end up replacing only a fraction of those burned calories.
3. Between dieting and exercise, I have cut about 73,500 calories out of my life in 35 days. That is about 2100+ calories per day (half from dieting, half from exercise) or 3/5 of a pound per day = about 4.2 lbs. per week = 21 lbs. in 5 weeks.
4. Not all calories are created equal. One could sit down and have a large slice of cake and pie and ice cream, and still be slightly within the caloric budget for the day. But that meal would be your only meal of the day, and your body needs proteins and other nutrients to be healthy. High protein foods are the best because protein is used to repair damaged tissue, but can also burned as energy. Carbs are the body's favorite energy source, and 50 to 60% of your diet should consist of carbs. Fat is just that, fat, but a small amount is essential because some vitamins are fat soluble (i.e., can only be absorbed using the fat as a carrier). Not to worry though, it is nearly impossible to nix all fat from ones diet, so low-fat no-fat foods are still the way to go.
5. Always have a high-protein meal before exercise. My favoritie is chocolate whey powder mixed with milk. As you exercise, your body will burn little or no fat until the energy stored in the liver and muscles is used up, but if you exercise on an empty stomach, your body will need another source of energy after your muscle-stored energy is used up, and surprisingly, your body will not dip into fat stores exclusively, because the fat cannot be converted to energy fast enough for immediate energy. Your body will turn instead to the muscles and and other tissues and burn that as energy. Burning muscle for energy is like tearing wood out of your home to burn in the fireplace to stay warm. It is totally counterproductive. Fat is burned most efficiently when the body has time to convert it to energy. That means having some food in the ol' clinker when you exercise, and if you exercise for several hours like I do, it means eating something midway through the exercise session.
Post Script: I have a long way to go, but I understand the system now and I feel confident that I can get my weight down to a healthy level.
I decided I had to do something, anything, to get control of my health. I took a $285 risk to buy a months worth of Nutrisystem food. I did indeed begin to lose weight on the system, but it was unpleasant. The food was marginal in terms of taste and paltry in terms of quantity. The system requires you to supply the fruits and vegetables and other things, so it is not a complete system as suggested by the advertising. I am not going to purchase anymore Nutrisystem food, because one can buy better tasting diet foods in the supermarket. Also, the advertising on TV suggests that you can eat large portions of delicious food that is specially formulated for losing weight. The portions are not large and the food is so-so (except for one or two items). However, I am glad that I tried it because it taught me one very important thing. One must count calories in order to lose weight, and I learned how to do that.
The formula is simple.
Step 1: One must know his/her BMR. Go here to do that.
Example: 2500 calories (the example is arbitrary and does not reflect my own situation)
Step 2: Find your daily caloric need based on your activity level.
In accordance with your activity level, the noted webpage will give you the amount of calories you need to consume in order to maintain your current weight.
Example: Lightly active > 3200 calories
This arbitrary example means that 3200 calories must be consumed in order to maintain the current weight.
Step 3: Set a goal as to how fast you want to lose weight. 1 or 2 lbs. per week is reasonable.
Since 1 pound = 3500 calories, one must cut 3500 calories out of his/her weekly diet to lose 1 pound. I have set my daily intake to 1000 calories below my daily caloric need. This means that 7 days x 1000 calories is 7000 calories or 2 lbs. lost in one week. (Don't cut your daily caloric intake to less than 1500 calories. I think that is quite unhealthy.)
Key points:
1. Learning to count calories is essential. Almost every product has a nutrition label where you can see the calories per serving. Fresh produce or fast food that does not include nutrition info can be found one the Internet. I use an iPhone app called "Lose It!," but if you don't have an iPhone, you can add an iGoogle app to your iGoogle page (which I encourage everyone to use, it's extremely handy!). The app is here.
Admittedly, it was annoying to have to research, record, and calculate every little thing that I ate, but I learned how 'every little thing that I ate' really adds up fast. I have actually come to enjoy calculating the calories and working with a calorie budget.
2. Exercise. Some people hate the thought of it, but I guess my younger days of running long-distance track and cross-country helped me to enjoy such activities. I don't mind sweating, getting out of breath, and getting tired. In fact, the endorphin rush after exercise is quite exhilarating. Depending on speed and effort, I typically burn 1000 to 1300 calories on two hour bike ride. I get to subtract those calories from my consumed calories, which opens a big gap in my calorie budget. This allows me to each more food, if I wish, but such exercise suppresses my appetite, and I end up replacing only a fraction of those burned calories.
3. Between dieting and exercise, I have cut about 73,500 calories out of my life in 35 days. That is about 2100+ calories per day (half from dieting, half from exercise) or 3/5 of a pound per day = about 4.2 lbs. per week = 21 lbs. in 5 weeks.
4. Not all calories are created equal. One could sit down and have a large slice of cake and pie and ice cream, and still be slightly within the caloric budget for the day. But that meal would be your only meal of the day, and your body needs proteins and other nutrients to be healthy. High protein foods are the best because protein is used to repair damaged tissue, but can also burned as energy. Carbs are the body's favorite energy source, and 50 to 60% of your diet should consist of carbs. Fat is just that, fat, but a small amount is essential because some vitamins are fat soluble (i.e., can only be absorbed using the fat as a carrier). Not to worry though, it is nearly impossible to nix all fat from ones diet, so low-fat no-fat foods are still the way to go.
5. Always have a high-protein meal before exercise. My favoritie is chocolate whey powder mixed with milk. As you exercise, your body will burn little or no fat until the energy stored in the liver and muscles is used up, but if you exercise on an empty stomach, your body will need another source of energy after your muscle-stored energy is used up, and surprisingly, your body will not dip into fat stores exclusively, because the fat cannot be converted to energy fast enough for immediate energy. Your body will turn instead to the muscles and and other tissues and burn that as energy. Burning muscle for energy is like tearing wood out of your home to burn in the fireplace to stay warm. It is totally counterproductive. Fat is burned most efficiently when the body has time to convert it to energy. That means having some food in the ol' clinker when you exercise, and if you exercise for several hours like I do, it means eating something midway through the exercise session.
Post Script: I have a long way to go, but I understand the system now and I feel confident that I can get my weight down to a healthy level.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Acknowlegements of an overweight human male
(Or, in non-PC terms: Confessions of a fat man)
How I got here:
I used to be thin, almost underweight. I walked and rode my bicycle everywhere when I lived in Japan. I even got off the train one stop early and walked to my destination, not to lose weight, but to save a little money. I ate what and when I wanted because I thought I would always be thin. It was the way I was. Becoming overweight never entered my mind. Things changed when I started graduate school in 1992. I drove to school to save time, I was at my desk constantly, and I often ate junk food to obtain direct and immediate brain fuel. With the reduced physical activity and higher caloric intake, I immediately began to pack on the pounds. I didn't notice it at first because I was not in the habit of weighing myself. However, when I couldn't fit into my clothes, I started taking notice, but the pressures of school and work were of higher priority. My weight gain has been a one way street except for one summer when I lost 25 lbs. by exercising and dieting. Other than that episode, I have acted like a bystander watching my weight skyrocket ever higher. Work and family duties always took precedence over health issues. The past two years I have begun to feel awful. My joints hurt, my feet hurt, I discovered that I could not run between classes without considerable pain, and I was irritable and not sleeping well. The cost of buying new clothes was no small matter either. It was becoming abundantly clear to me that I was going full speed down the wrong path. I wanted to be around as long as possible to care for my family and Robin especially. It finally realized that my health IS one of my family duties. In fact, it is a high-priority obligation. So I made the decision to turn away extra translation work and to delegate more responsibility to my teaching assistants at BYU in order to have more time to exercise and concentrate on health issues. In my next post, I will describe where I am right now in my quest to lose weight.
How I got here:
I used to be thin, almost underweight. I walked and rode my bicycle everywhere when I lived in Japan. I even got off the train one stop early and walked to my destination, not to lose weight, but to save a little money. I ate what and when I wanted because I thought I would always be thin. It was the way I was. Becoming overweight never entered my mind. Things changed when I started graduate school in 1992. I drove to school to save time, I was at my desk constantly, and I often ate junk food to obtain direct and immediate brain fuel. With the reduced physical activity and higher caloric intake, I immediately began to pack on the pounds. I didn't notice it at first because I was not in the habit of weighing myself. However, when I couldn't fit into my clothes, I started taking notice, but the pressures of school and work were of higher priority. My weight gain has been a one way street except for one summer when I lost 25 lbs. by exercising and dieting. Other than that episode, I have acted like a bystander watching my weight skyrocket ever higher. Work and family duties always took precedence over health issues. The past two years I have begun to feel awful. My joints hurt, my feet hurt, I discovered that I could not run between classes without considerable pain, and I was irritable and not sleeping well. The cost of buying new clothes was no small matter either. It was becoming abundantly clear to me that I was going full speed down the wrong path. I wanted to be around as long as possible to care for my family and Robin especially. It finally realized that my health IS one of my family duties. In fact, it is a high-priority obligation. So I made the decision to turn away extra translation work and to delegate more responsibility to my teaching assistants at BYU in order to have more time to exercise and concentrate on health issues. In my next post, I will describe where I am right now in my quest to lose weight.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
We'll be gone all of next week
Because of the Swine Flu pandemic too many people have been scared of cruising and have cancelled their trips. So to fill cancelled cabins, they have offered free trips to various travel agents. Debbie, myself and the kids are taking advantage of a free 7-day cruise leaving L.A. up to Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver from the 17th to the 24th. We will be on Carnival's new cruise ship "Splendor" (see photo). We just can't pass up a free vacation. We won't have internet so we hope everything is okay with everyone while we are gone. We hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! Dad and Mom came over for dinner. They brought a really good Hawaiian cake for dessert. They are doing well! Love you all!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The $357,000 Photo Op
Bureaucracy: It's a wonderful thing, except that NY City was terrorized again.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Your analysis please
Hello all. A song by Coldplay has been on the market for awhile, one of which I have enjoyed, and love to walk to as the rythem is motivating to me. But then I started to listen to the lyrics closely and found that my knowledge of history stinks enough that I can't figure out who or what they are singing about. I thought it was of some religeous or head of state figure. Perhaps Jesus, or Ceasar...but then wasn't sure it was even about a person...perhaps just religion, but then I started to wonder if it isn't anti-regligion...and oh the confusion. I would love to hear your feed back about what you might read into the lyrics of this song. I know what the title means...but that didn't tip me off. You can hear the song on Youtube if you aren't familiar with it. I would love to hear your opinions. Teresa
"Lyrics to Viva La Vida :I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sweep alone Sweep the streets I used to own I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes Listen as the crowd would sing: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand. I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain Once you go there was never, never an honest word That was when I ruled the world (Ohhh) It was the wicked and wild wind Blew down the doors to let me inShattered windows and the sound of drums People couldn't believe what I'd becomeRevolutionaries wait For my head on a silver plate Just a puppet on a lonely stringOh who would ever want to be king? I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter will call my name Never an honest word But that was when I ruled the world (Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)I hear Jerusalem bells a ringingRoman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter will call my name Never an honest word But that was when I ruled the world Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh"
"Lyrics to Viva La Vida :I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sweep alone Sweep the streets I used to own I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes Listen as the crowd would sing: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand. I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain Once you go there was never, never an honest word That was when I ruled the world (Ohhh) It was the wicked and wild wind Blew down the doors to let me inShattered windows and the sound of drums People couldn't believe what I'd becomeRevolutionaries wait For my head on a silver plate Just a puppet on a lonely stringOh who would ever want to be king? I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter will call my name Never an honest word But that was when I ruled the world (Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)I hear Jerusalem bells a ringingRoman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter will call my name Never an honest word But that was when I ruled the world Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh"
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Torture Question
If you have 6 or 7 minutes, this video is a fast paced discussion about torture. You have to think fast, but I think each of these people represent the positions of the left and the right very well. It makes me wonder if there is a correct answer to the torture question, but we must settle on an answer nonetheless.
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