10/7/04

Flag Poll

Got a phone call from a Gallup pollster last night. I was asked basic questions such as whether the country is going in the right/wrong direction, if the election was held today who would I vote for (Kerry), various questions about David Wu and Goli Ameri (both of whom I know little about), plus basic demographic questions (age, education level, zip code). It was an interesting 15 minutes and was the first time I've ever been called by a large polling organization.

9/29/04

Hacker's Diet Report!

Well, it's been six months since I last reported on my weight loss progress. My diet is now at an end and I've finally reached my goal. Read diet.pdf for more info! I will probably also post this report to the Hacker's Diet Yahoo group to inspire others who have taken this path to weight loss.

4/30/04

Deflating the Spare Tire

Well, for the first time in my life, I've decided to go on a planned, methodical diet. Why lose weight now? For a variety of reasons, but here's the top 2:

First, the whole hype about Atkins and the low-carb marketing machine has given me a burning desire to prove just what utter nonsense the hype truly is. I'm no nutritional expert, but my modest weight loss experience back in the late 80's proved to me that weight loss/gain is all about caloric deficit/surplus. Eat less and/or exercise more, lose weight. Duh! Yet it never ceases to amaze me how the masses constantly seek some new diet plan or self-appointed guru to tell them what they want to hear: "Lose weight AND eat all you want!" My ire isn't just with the whole "low carb" fad, but also with expensive programs, dietary supplements, and other frauds.

Second, I want to avoid related health issues with being overweight such as bad knees, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes. I've seen too many people whose obesity has led to serious health problems. And after crossing the 200 pound line and calculating a BMI of 28.0 in mid-March, I decided to do something about my weight.

Informed and inspired by The Hacker's Diet, I embarked on my weight loss program in late March, keeping my daily caloric intake to 1300-1500. After 5½ weeks I've lost nearly 11 pounds and the slow weight loss continues. Using a technique in the Hacker's Diet, I log my daily weight and graph the weight change trend (which eliminates the day-to-day fluctuations and gives a smooth line revealing one's true weight). My progress so far:

During the past couple weeks I have had to switch to a shorter belt and older pants that were impossible to wear a few weeks ago now merely fit very tightly. I look forward to each day's steady modest progress.

2/29/04

Osssscarss

Well Oscar night is over, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King raked in the gold statuettes. But in the end, only two Oscars really mattered, and that was Best Director and Best Picture. I was glad to see Peter Jackson get it, because no director has ever tackled a film project of the magnitude as the The Lord of the Rings epic. But above all, I was glad to see it win Best Picture, because the Acadamy has always snubbed sci-fi and fantasy films regardless of how good they were. This will certainly make up for the Acadamy giving the 1977 Best Picture award to the now forgettable Annie Hall, but not to Star Wars.

2/13/04

Portland Auto Show

Went to the 2004 PDX Auto Show last Saturday to see what the latest and greatest cars are for the new year (see the Galeria for pix). Lots of nice cars there I wouldn't mind owning (maybe my next car will be a Subaru Outback or Hyundai Tiburon). It was nice to see more hybrid vehicles available on the market, as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight (a rather ugly car) have been the only two hybrid choices.

1/1/04

Happy New Year

Good-bye 2003, hello 2004. Speaking for myself, 2003 has been a mixed year. Some things I will always remember, and some things I would prefer to forget. On a non-personal level, 2004 will certainly be an interesting year. The Mars rovers will be arriving this month and Cassini will arrive at Saturn this summer. Of course, 2004 is an election year, so it will be an interesting year for politics. Hopefully, 2004 will be a good year.