Break
Published for Monday - January 27, 2025
Written Sunday - 01/26/25 07:40 AM
I'm not real sure how much blogging I'm going to be able to do with our daughter visiting. In fact, I'm thinking seriously about forgoing all that normally goes on down in her area including workouts and runs, blogging, and ham radio.
The goal would be to allow Allie to sleep in as much as she wants and for me to take a much desired break from the regular routine. Add on top of that all the meals out and it will be time to jump back on the diet and fitness when Allie departs. Still, I'm not blaming her for my deparrture from the routine. I'm grateful for the break.
This may be my last blog entry until she departs. I don't know. One thing is for sure, I do not want her to feel like she is to blame for my routine exit. I'm sincerely ready and grateful for the break.
Allie
Published for Sunday - January 26, 2025
Written Friday - 01/24/25 07:35 AM
Okay, I'm writing ahead again but for this occasion it was important.
We're so excited that Allie is going to join us all the way from Germany where she lives with Josh and their two boys. Together we're going to celebrate Patty's big number 70 with Jonathan and Amy. I'm exposing Patty's age in this celebration because 70 is a big deal.
I'm also so excited that Allie is going with Patty to Patty's new favorite shopping spot. I'm certain they will have a blast together.
The big question is who will out-love who on this adventure. Patty is such a servant and her daughter (and son) will be seeking to serve her in the same way they have learned from her. Should be interesting and a sight to see.
It is so wonderful to see the Lord at work in this situation. I doubt any of the players in this scenario realize just how much 'at work' our Father is in this situation. What a wonderful thing to be able to see and so much to learn from in observing.
I'm also so thankful that the weather is going to be cooperative for Allie's trip. That alone will make it all worth it in terms of the relatively milder temperatures we are expecting.
Average Joe and Surprised by Oxford
Published for Saturday - January 25, 2025
Written Friday - 01/24/25 08:25 AM
I would be totally remiss if I didn't write about a movie that I watched and one that I will be watching based on Patty's recommendation.
Last night I watched Average Joe and Patty watched Surprised by Oxford. Just based on the trailer I can tell I'm going to really enjoy the one Patty watched and can't wait to see it.
Both are based on true stories (which makes them extra special to me.) The scenery in Patty's movie was stunning along with the locations. All I can say from the trailer is wow!
For the film I watched, the rustic setting for the film accented the story line in a perfect fashion. Patty doesn't care much for sports films but so much of the story had nothing to do with sports and everything to do with Joe and his wife and their struggle.
More About Writing
Published for Friday - January 24, 2025
Written Wednesday - 01/23/25 04:10 PM
Well, here goes again. Time for another post.
Actually, I'm two days ahead again since I'm writing this on Wednesday evening and publishing it on Friday (or perhaps Thursday evening.)
That was not what I was planning to do. I was going to do something very different.
As I mentioned previously, the plan was to write just a day ahead and see how that works out. I guess I'll publish this tomorrow night for Friday and skip my writing tomorrow and defer it to the following day so that I can adopt my new plan.
In an effort to improve my writing (from a technical standpoint) I'm wondering about my use of the word that in the previous sentence. Here's an interesting take on my question and one I found online.
I didn't know [you read comics].
I didn't know [that you read comics].
The bit in brackets is a content clause. Sometimes it's called a complement clause, which makes sense — it's functioning as a complement to the verb know.
In such clauses — and often in relative clauses — 'that' is often omissible. If you are a native speaker, your ear will be an excellent guide as to when you can and cannot omit it. In cases where you can't, the sentence will end up sounding a little off. In your sentence, you can of course omit it.
(It's also worth noting that you will sometimes want to keep it simply because you feel it makes your sentence clearer. And sometimes in more-formal prose, writers/editors keep 'that' even when it's not strictly necessary.)
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (2002), a comprehensive analysis of English grammar, discusses some situations in which you cannot omit 'that.'
I particularly like the comment having to do with more-formal prose and keeping the 'that.' It makes sense to me.
Here is a better and more detailed online help that I found.
So who do I believe when I go online? Good question! I'm a bit too lazy to find several examples and work from the majority opinion. That's probably what I should do.
I like to go the easy route and find an example where someone convinces me they know and understand the things which they are saying.
When I Write
Published for Thursday - January 23, 2025
Written Tuesday - 01/21/25 03:50 PM
Writing ahead can be a good thing or a bad thing. It works out well to approach writing without time constraints.
However, if I get too far ahead I miss opportunities to write about things that are more current and perhaps relevant. Even something as simple as the weather. Or, I make it difficult to keep up with things and the timing of those things, especially odd weather related things.
I didn't think timing would matter so much, and I even commented on that in a previous post. But now I'm having to rethink that idea due to mounting evidence. Timing does seem to matter more than I thought.
For some reason, what I write doesn't often seem as relevant when it's time to publish. It might have seemed more relevant back a few days ago when I wrote it, but somehow I'm often tempted to rewrite the post and then the quality of such a post is likely to get called into question.
Yesterday is a great example of that which I'm speaking. I would have rather written a dedicated and more detailed post about Ryan Hall's YouTube weather channel than to tack it onto the end of a post about two monitors. Maybe that's not a perfect example but it does sort of make the point.
Even this post will be published two days after I wrote it. I'm thinking about moving things to a point where I'm in a position to write a post and publish it the following day. We'll see if that move me back more toward battling problems dealing with time constraints.
Two Monitors
Published for Wednesday - January 22, 2025
Written Monday - 01/20/25 04:20 PM
Amazing how much work it becomes to blog ahead, especially when I put multiple posts on a single day.
Going back and adding to such a post requires effort - especially when there are multiple posts to update just prior to publication.
Speaking of extra effort, I've been trying to get multiple monitors going for several days and the situation has not been very friendly.
I had it working a while ago but now it's quit on me. And I've tried most everything I can think of to get it all going again.
Well, my strategy paid off today. I decided to update some of my older cables and things started working again. It was such a treat (and a relief) to get it all working again. I had to jump through a lot of big hoops but finally figured out what was wrong.
The smile on my face must have been 9 miles wide when things started working. The problem centered around having to get VGA cables connected to my laptop with something a bit more up-to-date and modern.
On a different note, I was listening to and older lady trying to explain which
computer cable she needed to a Walmart associate. Talk about the blind leading
the blind! It was sooooo funny!
Ryan Hall Y'all
Written Tuesday - 01/21/25 03:15 PM
My wife brought me up-to-speed on Ryan Hall's weather channel on YouTube. I must admit,
I've become a fan of the channel.
Today he's covering the Gulf Coast and everywhere there is some serious snow fall.
I had no idea the number of records that are being broken for snow fall, and it
seems like our house is above the serious stuff and below the other serious stuff.
Quite an amazing occurrence.
It will be interesting to see our power bill, and the effect that so much water
dripping has had on our water bill. We've had days (and a lot of them) where
there was no getting above freezing and therefore a whole lot of dripping had
to be going on and for long periods of time.
Coming: Rain (and Snow?)
Published for Tuesday - January 21, 2025
Written Friday - 01/17/25 04:20 PM
As I write it's only Friday. But as I publish the date is fast forwarded to Tuesday of next week.
As far as the weather goes, I'm seeing forecasts for rain (today and tomorrow as I write) and even snow (today as I publish.) We'll see on that last item since it's only Friday late afternoon (as I write) and Tuesday's forecast for snow is still about four days away.
I won't have to drip today since the low is forecast for only 45°F. I may also get away without dripping tomorrow since the low is forecast for 34°F and we're always on he warmer side of the forecast.
But starting up Sunday the lows are slated to be in the teens which means plenty of dripping will be involved.
Snow
Written Saturday - 01/18/25 03:25 PM
As I write, it's a day later than when I wrote the post above. We've still got snow
in the forecast but not as much.
Looks like the heavy stuff is slated for Southern Alabama. I believe we got 3 inches
the other day but looks like they've backed down to less than one inch in the
forecast for Tuesday.
Of course that forecast could go up or down. Only time will tell. We were four
days out yesterday and are still three days out today. A lot can change with the
forecast (and often does) in that amount of time.
Well, now as I type it's Sunday morning. They're calling for temps between 36°F
and 35°F and now the National Weather Service has issued a warning for extremely
cold temps. I can see that temps are slated to start (around supper time) working
their way down to around 12°F. Probably too cold for snow at that point. Brrr...
Remember how I was saying that things could change in a short amount of time?
Well, they've also tossed in a forecast for a wintry mix tonight (Sunday.) And
they've dropped the forecasted low from 12°F to 09°F. We'll see about that.
Investing
Published for Monday - January 20, 2025
Written Thursday - 01/16/25 07:45 PM
I must admit. The stock market has not acted in a way with which I am familiar.
It keeps going up, no matter what anyone does. And that also includes the idea that it doesn't matter who is elected.
Sure, the market likes Trump. I get that. But it liked Biden too and that I do not get.
In fact, the financial (and particularly the bank stocks) have had a real love affair with both presidents and I have no idea why. I'm not aware that BAC (that's the symbol for Bank of America) has done anything to deserve the kind of action I have enjoyed being in it.
In fact, and on the downside, I thought BAC was sort of following Biden's lead with all of what I would consider big negatives (including the WOKE agenda) and too many other courses of action to name here, but nothing good.
Still, I've had time to wait - although I haven't had to wait much. BAC has (for the most part) been a strong play despite the big players, like Warren Buffet (pictured above), dumping large quantities of shares.
$10,800; $5,000; $1,000; $500; and $1,100 represent the only trades I've made other than taking a small loss of $100 on a quick and dirty trade of a small purchase of some DJT stock. That's Donald J. Trump stock for those unaware.
My net grand total was $18,300. I'm out right now, but may jump back in. We'll see...
Stillwaters Plumbing
Published for Sunday - January 19, 2025
Written Thursday - 01/16/25 07:10 PM
I hate it when I find a good person (or company) that performs a service very well. And then just that quickly they're gone.
Such was the case when I went looking for plumbers. The company I had a number for was no longer in business - or something like that. When I called the number I had I was connected to a completely different business.
I went online and found a different number. However, when I called it I was told that they no longer serviced our area. Do what?
I did not want to go through the search routine to find an equally good and dependable plumber. My wife suggested searching Google online but that didn't seem like something I wanted to do. As usual, I should have listened.
She went online and found a dependable person on this first try. Like I said, I should have listened.
In fact this guy called and texted regularly and kept me well informed of everything. And, he lives close by!
Oh, and did I mention his name was Gunnar and he does great work? He came out this morning after my call on Monday.
He had us fixed up, I wrote a check, and he was gone. It was that easy and Gunnar was that good! Nice to have a plumber again, and especially a good one.
Three Dimensional Red
Published for Saturday - January 18, 2025
Written Thursday - 01/15/25 03:35 PM
The title of this post probably makes no sense. I was surprised to find a reference to it online.
I have a prism prescription for my glasses. If it wasn't for that I would be seeing double on everything.
You've heard me say it before so I won't belabor the point. But this getting old stuff is for the birds - especially my eyesight and this prism stuff.
It's more common than I ever imagined, but now I'm not sure if the problems with my eyesight is age related or more a function related to the other challenges I'm facing at this point in life.
My eye doctor, Dr. Mark Hill, shared with me that double vision is not an uncommon thing. In fact, he explained to me how and why it happens. But I'm not clear, based on his description, that it's what I'm facing. I just don't know what I don't know!
What I do know is that my eyesight is getting worse. The prism in my prescription works better for things that are closer. I'm not sure what that means exactly.
So here's where I was going with this post. Things that are red often appear in a 3 dimensional format. And, as I mentioned earlier in this post I did find that others are experiencing the same thing. Go Figure!
What I mean is that things that are red seem to be deeper in an image than other colors. The more red in the image (just like the image above) the more three dimensional the image appears to me.
In fact, in the image above the white print is all in the foreground and the White House and all else that's red tinted is deeper in the background. Like I said, Go Figure!
But according to all that I read the prism in my glasses prescription is what causes this oddity to my vision. Oh, and simply removing my glasses will remove the 3d effect. Very strange!
Equally interesting is that the red 'hue' that sits on top of the hedges, trees, grass, and pavememnt in the picture causes them to also appear in the background, via the same three dimensional effect that I mentioned.
Witch Hunt
Published for Friday - January 17, 2025
Written Tuesday - 01/14/25 03:55 PM
Well, I finished up my latest purchases on Audible and promptly cancelled my subscription. Nothing wrong with the books. I'm just burned out on the listen. Too many hours to go through and listen to a single book.
As mentioned previously, my latest read was Witch Hunt. It was a good book but the last chapter was a review of the entire story. I probably could have narrowed the book down to that last chapter and been just fine with everything.
I think I'm also a bit burned out on the political genre. I threw a couple of other books in along the way, but my reading was dominated by politics. Don't get me wrong - the books were excellent and I've really enjoyed what the writers are saying on both YouTube and some on their podcast.
I guess, truth is, now that the election is over (and our side won!) I'm leaning more on other sources and moving away from the highly corrupt political arena.
Sure I like Trump, but he has his hands full draining that ugly swamp. Good luck, sir! We still stand with you.
Grouchy Bear
Published for Thursday - January 16, 2025
Written Tuesday - 01/14/25 06:55 AM
Well, my wonderfully sweet wife picked me up a lot of the types of candy I enjoy. Great for the taste buds but not so great for the waistline.
But she knows me so well. If she doesn't have anything around that will cover my sugar craving, I get grouchy. Not at her, but just generally grouchy. I know better than to get grouchy with her. After all, she take such good care of me.
It's that time of year. Yesterday she picked up some conversation hearts and some new Valentine Chewy Nerds. That's on top of the already half dozen creme filled donuts I purchased at the donut shop. Boy am I in trouble! And I have no one but myself to blame for it.
Walmart Grocery Pick-up Day
Published for Wednesday - January 15, 2025
Written Monday - 01/13/25 06:50 AM
Two good things about today. 1) It's Walmart Grocery Pick-up Day in Atalla, Alabama and 2) we're eating lunch out today at our favorite Chinese restaurant and coffee and a donut or two may be involved.
Another good thing is we will get to see any residual snow. Most of it should have melted by now and I expect the road ways to be clear. We're doing our pick-up at 11:00 AM in order to deal with relatively warmer weather too.
I skipped my ham radio yesterday because band conditions were not that great. Looks like we're in the same shape today. All of the signals out of country are large negative numbers on the digital side. That's no good!
Well, I went back to the ham bands and they were doing better. I got my
morning's worth of 15 contacts - all in other countries. It was a bit later
than usual but I did get them.
30 Posts Ago
Published for Tuesday - January 14, 2025
Written Sunday - 01/12/25 06:25 PM
Hard to believe that 1/2 month ago, on December 16th, I was creating post number 1300 and this is already post # 1330 and that all of that was done some 30 posts ago and how much has occurred between then and now.
I just did a quick review of all the goings on in the past half month and it's amazing. We sure do stay busy around here.
From what my wife was telling me a bit earlier today, we're in for more snow around here. I had no idea that updating our Heating and Air system would prove to be so important as it has been. We're giving that new system a major work-out with all of this winter weather we've been having - not to mention the precipitation (water, snow, and ice.)
Oh, and to enable our staying away from a water pipe repair bill, dripping our water has become a way of life. It wasn't this dramatic last year as I recall.
And now we're facing the possibility of welcoming Allie to a winter wonderland. I hope it doesn't happen but I'm not going to hold my breath for that hope.
I've been able to keep up with the morning ritual and the ham bands have been better than usual in serving as a big part of that routine. They weren't that good today but as a general rule they have been very, very good.
As can be seen in the date written versus date published slots I'm also enjoying writing ahead. In fact, I've even gone to publishing the night before the publication date just to ease up the morning routine. It's worked out very well.
Li's Place
Written Monday - 01/13/25 03:55 PM
Patty and I enjoyed lunch out at our favorite new lunch (Chinese) hangout. They have a great
all you can eat buffet deal and that's our go-to treat.
That was followed up by our favorite donut place (almost next door to Li's and a quick
stroll down the plaza.) The place is called Lickin' Good Donuts.
Patty dug back in her reserve of energy afterward to plant bulbs next to the house
that were provided by Jonathan and Amy. Meanwhile I was spent and started a nap.
Grease
Published for Monday - January 13, 2025
Written Saturday - 01/11/25 08:55 AM
The date and time that this post is being written is a good example of what
I was writing about the other day. I have no idea what this post is going to
be about, but I'm getting started anyway just to stay ahead of schedule.
(There I go with that routine thing again!)
I got up early today. Last night I washed a frying pan and washing off the grease coating (I poured the grease in the garbage) left things goofed up in the drain pipes. Between a shower and the dish washing prep I used up the boiling hot water and could not get the drain pipes clean.
I had to go to bed with a full dish washer and clogged drain pipes that forced water from the dishwasher to back up in the sink. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well with all of that still ahead of me.
I got up early today (Sunday) and turned on the hot water. It took a time for the hot water to reach the sink and the basins started filling up with the cold water that first arrived.
After a short time I was fortunate to get the basins clear and to also clear out the drain pipes using the hot water that finally arrived. I decided to stay with things in the kitchen until I was comfortable that everything was in working order.
Once I was okay with everything, I came downstairs and got my run in. After that, I finished up this post and my wife took care of the fussy cat that was hanging out down here.
Busy Season
Published for Sunday - January 12, 2025
Written Friday - 01/10/25 06:35 PM
It's been a busy time around here. Writing ahead makes things feel a bit
busier. I guess that's because I'm a schedule keeper.
With all of the weather going on (and the associated worry that I mentioned) it has only made things seem even busier. A simple example would be the worry associated with dripping.
I don't want to be stuck with a water pipe repair bill. I'd rather pay for some extra (dripped) water. But I also need to make sure when temps drop below freezing that I'm dripping. Just another thing to worry about. LOL!!!
I suppose the truth is, I'm my own worst enemy. I've worked so hard at keeping up with my routine that my Asperger's kicks in when something changes. Especially, when it's something outside of my control, or (for that matter) something I should be controlling, or at least should be able to control.
I really understand how Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parson's character) feels when he gets forced out of his routine by an external factor. That's difficult to admit, but it's true!
Blogging
Written Friday - 01/10/25 07:45 AM
I really enjoy writing ahead. That way I'm sure I stay on track/schedule and don't
have to worry about external factors throwing me off schedule.
Sharing that truth about myself was a difficult thing to do. Even with a limited
readership.
I guess I'm persuaded to decide just how personal I'm going to be with my
writing. My sense is the more personal I am here the more interested the
readers will be. That may or may not be true.
I guess sharing things that are difficult to share qualify for the personal
award. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Sounds good anyway.
On a different subject, we've still got snow on the ground although it is
melting. It will probably be gone very soon. I walked up the driveway to
dump a bag of garbage and check the (undelivered mail due to snow?) last
night.
There was no evidence of ice although the snow was still hanging out.
There was a pile of it on top of the garbage can and I couldn't tell
if the pile had become frozen or not. I'm guessing it's still snow.
As the weather rises above freezing today it should disappear, no
matter what it is.
I'm guessing that if things thaw out as I expect them to, I'll be able
to make a Walmart grocery pick-up run up to Atalla tomorrow. I'm going
to make sure I'm good on that. No risk taking allowed.
More About Reading
Published for Saturday - January 11, 2025
Written Wednesday - 01/08/25 06:55 AM
I purchased another book this month with my new January credit. The book was titled, 'Witch Hunt: The Story of the Greatest Mass Delusion in American Political History.'
The book was written by Greg Jarrett and read aloud by Charles Constant and is the story of the Russian Hoax as performed by the Democratic Party against our president-elect, Donald J. Trump.
I've barely started the book but it promises to be interesting.
Weather Event
Written Friday - 01/10/25 07:45 AM
Well, as promised, here's my follow-up to Friday's weather event.
Looks like we got quite a snow as can be seen in the pictures. I woke up early
(about 3 am) but could not see any snow. Afterward, I slept in just a little
more, but got up early enough to see the snow and wake up my wife so she could
see it.
After not seeing anything at 3 am I didn't expect to see anything later. You can
imagine my surprise when I saw more than a dusting on the ground. I would say we
got at least 2 inches - perhaps 3. The temperature was above freezing (36) and
that told some of the story.
The weather map shows us still in the area where the snow us falling, although there's
no evidence of any falling snow. I guess it's going to shift to rain at some point and
start up again.
So far, we havn't lost our power but my wife informs me that highway 77 is closed
from here all the way up to Gadsden. I'm guessing there's a lot more snow up in
Northern Alabama too.
Oh, and the cat chased off another cat from the upper back porch when I first got
up this morning. That poor kitty having to stay outside in the freezing temps and
contend with our cat at the same time. Someone should be shot for leaving that
poor cat outside.
More About the Weather
Published for Friday - January 10, 2025
Written Wednesday - 01/08/25 09:05 AM
As I write it's only Wednesday the 8th. But the weather people are saying we've got some snow (and possibly some ice) headed this way. I pray we don't have too much to deal with and that we continue to have power throughout.
In fact, as I publish, whatever is coming should be upon us. I'm thinking this might be a good time to see a wrong forecast as is often the case but the amounts being called for suggest this forecast may be an accurate one.
The thing that leads me to question the forecast is the fact that things never get quite as cold around here as is called for in the forecast. We've got (in the forecast) a wintry mix turning into rain.
What we get may turn out to be entirely a rain event. It's hard to guess And I wonder if the temperature on our outdoor thermometer is reflective of the true outdoor temperature on all sides of the house.
In other words, is it possible that it's just plain warmer on the upper back deck that it is on (for example) the lower deck and out in the yard (where it might snow but where we don't have an outdoor thermometer.)
Running Change-Up
Written Friday - 01/09/25 09:25 AM
I made a small tweak to my running. I'm back up to a 7.5 treadmill setting which is
the equivalent of an 8:00 pace but I'm breaking on 90 instead of 100. The extra 10
step rest makes a big difference in my rest break and my ability to speed the run
back up.
The HR was back up to 131 where it needs to be. I don't really start to feel the
difference in the pace until that second mile. That's when things start to kick
in.
More About Blogging
Published for Thursday - January 09, 2025
Written Tuesday - 01/07/25 06:05 PM
I gave some serious thought to discontinuing my blogging. Well, it may have been some serious thought but it sure didn't last too long.
There's a lot going on and I want to include a blog entry for those things. I still like to go back and reminisce about what's been going on in my life. It's an interesting thing to do.
It's often very tempting to go back and make changes, or corrections, or even improvements. But that just tells me I need to take more time in preparing each post. I've got one shot to get it right and after that my opportunities are gone.
There are some very good writers in my family and I need to be able to draw from their expertise and inspiration. It's the least I could do for those who claim to read this stuff. I need to make it interesting and, at the same time, entertaining.
I think (like this post) I need to go back to writing ahead. It provides time to think about what I want to write and it provides time to do a better job with it. Besides, most of what I write here is not timely. In other words, writing ahead won't spoil what I have to say and especially when I say it.
That's especially true considering that I note on each post when it was written and when it was published. Such is going to be the case for the upcoming weather event scheduled for Friday. I'm guessing I'll call this my lead-up to the event and will write a follow-up about what really happened.
I guess a lot will depend upon whether or not we have an event about which
to write.
Either way, the plan is to leave the original date written on the post, even if I go back and do some touch-ups after the original writing.
Slowing Things Just A Bit
Published for Wednesday - January 08, 2025
Written Tuesday - 01/07/25 07:55 AM
Well, I followed up on my plan to change my running routine just a bit. As I had planned, I slowed down my pace just a bit (from 8:00 to 8:30) and lengthened my breaks just a tad, but far from anything significant.
My heart rate (overall) slowed to 127 which is just fine with me. I need to do a workout that is challenging but not obscene as it has been in the past.
It's Tuesday, so today was also a lift day. I'm having great success with my 6-12-25 plan on each exercise. I like the difference.
For anyone reading and not familiar with the 6-12-25 approach to weight training, it just means that you use less weights with more reps as you proceed. The object is to use a weight for each repetition that will cause you to run into some serious muscle fatigue by the end of that set. I've not really encountered any muscle fatigue until taking on this approach.
My ab workouts fall on Tuesdays and Fridays and are the most dreaded part of
my workout. I get a good burn when I do them even though there are no weights
involved.
The run and the weight training do fine together. In the past it was much
dreaded but with the reductions it's now a very doable routine.
The goals should be realistic and attainable. Not crazy for the sake of being crazy.
More HR and Running Stuff
Published for Tuesday - January 07, 2025
Written Monday - 01/06/25 07:55 AM
Today I tried something to see if it would get my HR up a bit more. I decided to skip my last two breaks instead of just the last one. Despite being a bit more winded at the end of the run, my HR was only 137.
That makes me wonder considering how winded I was running that last 1/2 mile at a comparative hyper-speed and with no breaks. Needless to say I was quite surprised that my HR was not closer to my MHR. I really don't know what to believe.
Considering today's outcome, I think I'm going to back down a bit more on the speed but keeping the shorter breaks and the same quantity of them. It will be quite interesting to see what that does.
I hope it keeps my HR pretty high - at least in the 100 + teens. If it does, then that will be my new plan. If it goes below that, then I will have to reconsider.
Almost
Published for Monday - January 06, 2025
Written Sunday - 01/05/25 08:10 AM
Almost! That's how close I came. I almost did it.
Did what? (you might ask.)
The answer is: Slept in and skipped my run. (There was no workout today.)
Today was only a 'run' day and these runs are difficult to say the least. I came up with over a million good reasons to skip my run today and to sleep in.
But guess what? I still got up and did the run. I also emptied the dish washer and got the coffee and the cat going. Oh, and I turned off the dripping water.
I have no idea what the temp got down to but I feel pretty sure it was below freezing, based on the forecast for this area. Anyway, better safe than sorry and water sure is cheap out here (unlike other places we've lived.)
Based on the prior estimates versus the actual forecast, I think we came out on the good side of things. A few days back, the forecast looked very bad for this area.
But it's cleared up a bit since then and like I said, I think we came out on the good side of things.
We may still lose power and have some problems but they would be based on the high winds we've been getting and that are expected to continue. They would not be based on the prior forecast. With that (prior) forecast in mind, I sure hope to see some success in getting a generator for our water pump.
If any of what was expected ever does actually arrive, we're going to need one. I hope we get prepared sometime soon. This waiting around makes me wonder and with the wondering comes a bit of fear.
Cold!
Published for Sunday - January 05, 2025
Written Saturday - 01/04/25 02:35 PM
Well, it's getting cold these days! The high today is only 49 and the low tonight will be a sub-freezing temp as usual with this one falling all the way down to 28°F.
I know that doesn't even register a chill with some folks but for this guy it's colder that I care to be. On the 7th and 8th of this month we are dropping all the way down to 20°F and 17°F respectively. That's way down below where this guy wants to be, but fortunately I'll be snug as a bug in a rug with the covers pulled up over my head and enjoying some comfortable sleeping weather.
On Friday the 10th the weather guessers are calling for a mixture of rain and snow with an overnight low near 29°F. I'm sure a whole lot of dripping will be involved and we've already and continue to shoot up prayers that we don't lose power during this cold spell. Lord, please keep the ice away. I'm seeing some stuff about it but nothing in our area so far.
Unfortunately, we lose our water when we lose our power. That's because we're located up on a hillside that is in desperate need of a generator on our pump. It's going to be tough enough trying to stay warm with a ventless fireplace, but I have no idea how we're going to survive with sub-freezing temperatures and no ability to drip water from our faucet if we find ourselves in such a position.
Our utility company has placed an order for a generator to power our pumps up here, but so far no success. Oh and flushing our toilets is another problem that shows up when the power is off for any period of time.
Two things...
Published for Saturday - January 04, 2025
Written Friday - 01/03/25 06:15 PM
Two things in today's post.
First, I was able to do what I hoped to do with my run this morning. I was able to run all 10 runs at an 8:00 pace and do 100 steps on each of the second tenths of a mile resting for only about the equivalent of 30 steps and with no rest at all of the last run.
It was a very costly workout in terms of feeling totally spent afterward but one I'm going to try and replicate each day. It's now the evening of the first time I ran so aggressively and I'm honestly not sure how tomorrow will go.
For my second item in today's post, I don't mind saying that I'm glad I'm no longer a teacher with the way things are going in this day and age. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and am in shock of the way social media has influenced things.
Everyone has a video camera on their phone and everyone seems to be using it to capture whatever they want and placing their own personal spin upon it. I wouldn't have the temperament to survive that which is taking place today.
More Fitness
Published for Friday - January 03, 2025
Written Thursday - 01/02/25 03:30 PM
I want to spend some time here focusing upon my fitness. I'm going to reduce my break size and see how it feels overall.
Presently, I'm running 132 steps in my first 10th of a mile and that's at a 8:00 per mile pace. I'm thinking about moving my mile 2 run up to 100 steps and resting for an equivalent of 32 steps.
As I've noted before I want to do that .2 mile fitness run a total of 10 times or 2 miles with breaks totaling 9 x 32 or 288 steps - which is just over 2/10ths of a mile in total.
That includes a full .2 run on the last interval with no rest break. It will be interesting to see where that puts my HR in comparison to my 150 MHR. It will also be interesting to see how that fits in with my weight training days and what my HR looks like on those particular days.
Speaking of weight training, I'm using the 6-12-25 method for each exercise and I can feel a big difference. On some of my exercises I'm able to use 30, 25, and 20 pounds and on others I'm forced to go 25, 20 and 15 pounds.
On workout day 1 and 4 I'm using 30, 25, and 20 on 3 of my 6 exercises and on day 2 and 5 I'm mostly using the lighter set of weights and in some cases (ab exercises) no weights at all or avoiding the 6-12-25 rule altogether. (On, for example, the forearm and shoulder exercises.)
If You Really Knew Me
Published for Thursday - January 02, 2025
Written Wednesday - 01/01/25 07:10 AM
I did a search on 'if you really knew me' to see if I had written about this topic before. Despite not finding any post with that specific text typed in, I was wrong. Using the image names I was able to find another post on the topic that was done in 2024.
Still, almost 15 years ago, back in 2010, MTV put together an idea for a TV show. The show was called, 'If You Really Knew Me', and as the title alludes to, was based on (high school seniors) becoming more open with one another.
It was a documentary series that premiered July 20,2010 on MTV and was designed to counter bullying, obesity, and racism. The show seemed to be a great success based on the episodic evidence.
I must say that I was really touched by what happened and what was accomplished during each weekly episode. There were always two individuals who were part of the 'team' and who were the 'guides' to everyone opening up with one another.
Sure, it was formulaic, but it worked! Episode after episode the high school seniors did away with their cliques in favor of a more open society. About five students were featured each episode with a more in-depth review of each.
I wanted to share this program with those who might be interested. I haven't watched the episodes I purchased in quite some time and I decided to watch them again. What I witnessed was just as fresh and real as it was when I watched it back in 2010 and when it was new and on MTV.
Fitness
Published for Wednesday - January 01, 2025
Written Tuesday - 12/31/24 07:50 AM
Well, my weight is peeling off as I hoped it would do. I'm not going to be in my new goal range in 2024 but should be there several days after I get into 2025.
We've got some ice in the forecast if the rain and cold temps both arrive as is forecast. I'm not holding my breath but if the forecast does indeed arrive we may lose power and become dependent upon our fireplace.
If we lose power and there is ice on the streets that could be a real problem for getting out power restored depending upon where the problem spot might be. It's rare that both cold temps and rain would arrive at the same time. I hope it remains a rare thing - even for the upcoming forecast.
Back to fitness, I bumped up my running speed to a treadmill setting of 7.5 (8:00 per mile pace) and did it just fine. No music since I need to do a bit more counting and jump back to running without any counting to prepare me.
I may run through my last quarter mile without a break just to see what that does to my MHR and whether or not it becomes too difficult at that point.
Copyright © 2025 Hutch DeLoach