2.17.2010

Who Needs Sleep

How to Sleep like a Geek:

If you are going to make it as a geek, you are going to have to learn to make it without a lot of sleep. Don't rely on caffine and make sure to keep yourself occupied. Setting your bedtime at 10 PM is not going to cut it unless you plan to get up at midnight. Be prepared to fall asleep ANYWHERE. Remember: three hours a night should be plenty.

Who Needs Sleep - BNL


Now I lay me down not to sleep
I just get tangled in the sheets
I swim in sweat three inches deep
I just lay back and claim defeat
Chapter read and lesson learned
I turned the lights off while she burned
So while she's three hundred degrees
I throw the sheets off and I freeze

Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Who needs sleep?
(well you're never gonna get it)
Who needs sleep?
(tell me what's that for)
Who needs sleep?
(be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War)
...
My hands are locked up tight in fists
My mind is racing filled with lists
of things to do and things I've done
Another sleepless night's begun
...
There's so much joy in life,
so many pleasures all around
But the pleasure of insomnia
is one I've never found
With all life has to offer,
There's so much to be enjoyed
But the pleasures of insomnia
are ones I can't avoid

Weightless






Yay! How exciting! right?... Except not really. I never expected to reach this all important and completely defeating way-point. For some, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but believe me, I feel like a pretty big deal in a very bad way. When your family automatically grabs your belly in their hands and shakes it like a Jello Jiggler and your innocent little nephew quietly whispers in your ear 'Your belly is big!' and follows it up with a genuine 'thought you should know so you can do something about it' smile, you know it is time to shape up. Not to say I don't have a shape.

225. Not a huge number really. Not that bad I suppose. Some people look great at 225 or even more, but this body wants nothing to do with it. Ha! That sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? After all, it was my body that ate all that junk. It was my body that drank more Pepsi in the past six months than most people have in their whole lives. No weights, no exercise, and the very sad fact: I am out of breath by the time I reach my third story apartment.

Whoa, hold the boat! I am no wuss! I can still bust a move and I can still handle myself. But who am I kidding? Dancing for more than a few minutes finds me passed out on the floor or at my desk very quickly. I used to be able to move. I used to dance, run, fight and compete. I wish I had my age to blame but at 24, I don't think there is a chance that anyone would sympathize. I need to move more. I need to get my energy back, or by the time I'm 30, getting out of bed will actually qualify as my workout for the day.

When I was 17, I was pretty darn fit. I can't say exactly how strong I was but I know I was tougher than I am now. My junior year of high school, I spent a period a day in the weight room and I had just finished Martial Arts lessons. I could bench press (a commonly misconstrewed measure of one's actual strength, but I remember the numbers so I'll go with it) 250 lbs. Yeah, that's more than my Fat a weighs now. And a glance at my drivers license (last updated at 17) reveals that I was a mere 152 lbs. Wow! I kicked som serious trash back then.

Flash forward to early 2009. I had just come to own the fabulous program P90X. I loved it. Because my body had fallen by the wayside just a bit, I spent several months preparing to fight my way through the intense 90 day program. I spent over an hour every day working out, tried to eat the best foods possible and I was pretty darn strong when June came around. Unfortunately, I was laid off and lost all motivation to continue the lifestyle. (During the program I lost some 20 lbs going from 209 to about 187 and my strength nearly doubled according to the fitness test associated with the program).

Present day: I'm pretty big now. Not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but bigger and weaker than I ever wanted to be. Now I know, I know; I haven't been too entertaining today, but today I am not writing for that purpose. I am writing to say just one thing: Its time to Bring It!

I want to share my journey with you (the three of you that will read this post). I made this journey last year (Boog Fitness) and I succeeded. The difference this time? I'm not quite sure. I am hoping that I will remain motivated. I am hoping that once I get my awesome bod back I'll keep pushing myself to my limits and have a blast doing it.

What suggestions do you have for me? How can I go from out of breath walking up the stairs to awesome athletic macho man? How can I keep motivated? Feel free to share your experience of suggestions in a comment.

 Weightless - All Time Low


Manage me, I'm a mess
Turn a page, I'm a book
Half unread

I wanna be laughed at
Laughed with, just because

I wanna feel weightless
And that should be enough

But I'm stuck in this f-ing rut
Waiting on a second hand pick me up
And I'm over, getting older

If I could just find the time
Then I would never let another day go by
I'm over, getting old

Maybe it's not my weekend
But it's gonna be my year
And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere
And this is my reaction
To everything I fear
Cause I've been going crazy I don't want to waste another minute here

Make believe that I impress
That every word
By design
Turns a head

I wanna feel reckless
I wanna live it up, just because

I wanna feel weightless
Cause that would be enough

If I could just find the time
Then I would never let another day go by
I'm over, getting old

Maybe it's not my weekend
But it's gonna be my year
And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere
And this is my reaction
To everything I fear
Cause I've been going crazy I don't want to waste another minute here

This could be all that I've waited for
(I've waited, I've waited for)
And this could be everything
I don't wanna dream anymore

Maybe it's not my weekend
But it's gonna be my year
And I've been going crazy
I'm stuck in here

Maybe it's not my weekend
But it's gonna be my year (it's gonna be my year)
And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere (go nowhere)
And this is my reaction
To everything I fear (everything I fear)
Cause I've been going crazy I don't want to waste another minute here

2.05.2010

Outside

How to stay healthy:

It's important to stretch your legs, move around, exert physical energy and to get fresh air. You may have a lot of work to do on the computer, or games to catch up on, but a simple walk outside will clear your mind, invigorate your senses and actually make you more productive. If you absolutely can not make it outside, a game will do, provided you choose the right genre. War games are great. Sports games are ideal, as they provide exercise.



Outside

And you
Can bring me to my knees
Yeah


All this time
That I could make you breathe
Yeah
All the times
That I felt insecure
Yeah
And I leave
A burning path of flame

I'm on the outside
I'm looking in
I can see through you
See your true colors
Cause inside you're ugly
You're Ugly like me
I can see through you
See to the real you

2.02.2010

Let's Make This Moment a Crime

How to avoid a digital heart attack:

When making modifications to an electronic file of any kind, make sure you know what you are doing. If you don't understand the terminology, the language, or if the tutorial you are following doesn't match your project completely, chances are you will end up wanting to throw up because you just lost everything except your lunch. The best thing you can do if you get confused; call a 'professional'. If you have no other choice but to tackle the project alone, back up your files BEFORE you start.

 
Geek Tip influenced by I am Not a Volcano.

I VOID WARRANTIES. Found on the next awesome T-shirt I want for my collection, this statement is not only funny, but absolutely true. Whenever there is something that can be modded, fixed, explored or simply taken apart to see what is inside, I'm in line with my little tool box. I love it. It's part of who I am and what I do. I also repair computers for family and friends, install printers, troubleshoot networks, and edit pretty much any file format I need to. It seems that's why people like me around. Lets face it, I'm not loved for my personality (I'm a doof), nor am I adored for looks. I am, as my sister often says, loved for my skills... 'like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills...' (oh, I actually do have nunchuku skills ;) )

A short lesson in Hacking

You hear Hacker, Hacking or Hacked and you think Illegal. You hear mod, and lets face it most people probably don't think anything at all (it means modify). I need to set the record straight.

Hack-er [hak-er] -noun : a programmer for whom computing is its own reward; may enjoy the challenge of breaking into other computers but does no harm; "true hackers subscribe to a code of ethics and look down upon crackers

Cracker? What is that?

Crack-er
[krak-er] -noun : a programmer who cracks (gains unauthorized access to) computers, typically to do malicious things; "crackers are often mistakenly called hackers"


There you have it. Hackers are not the bad guys. They actually rock and if you are good friends with one, you are in luck. (oh yeah you owe me tuition. Hackers vs Crackers 101 is an accredited course. Dang! I need to get that coin slot installed!)

Okay, so I VOID WARRANTIES (so you know, you have just seen the conversational technique know as 'The Hook' in action. More on that in another post). As my dear wife would attest, I often have electronic parts strewn about our small apartment. On many occasions my wife has told me she would not enter my little 'office' because "It looks like a robot exploded all over the place". I'm glad she loves me and doesn't have an extreme affinity for warranties and assembled electronics.

I VOID WARRANTIES = Hacker = Messy Apartment = Happy Friends = Happy Geek

My friend and neighbor (we'll call him John) recently came across an original XBOX console and was offered a small sum of money to mod it, which in original XBOX terms means 'to make the console useful instead of a locked outdated hunk of hardware refuse'. He was given the task to install a media center onto the console so that the owner could enjoy his free video downloads on a large TV.

This may sound crazy to some, intriguing to others, but I think it opens an entertainment center to a whole new level of awesome. In fact, almost a year ago, I did the same to my original XBOX.

The XBOX mod can be done several different ways. Note: putting a new operating system on an XBOX is not illegal (as I see it) but it does void any sort or warranty you may still have (um, original XBOX warranty? yeah right. That's like still having a warranty on your umbilical cord). Also, if the mod is done wrong, your XBOX may become a brick.

Enter John

Hardware up the Yin Yang and patience beyond what anyone can stand, John the solider worked on the XBOX mod for weeks. Don't get me wrong, I was at the sidelines looking for ways to get around the infamous hard drive lock and the bogged down hardware restraints of the would be Media-gasm machine. There was simply no way to mod the XBOX on John's modern hardware and without the donor parts from another similar machine. The XBOX was given to me for a few days to see what my primitive hardware might accomplish.

NOTE: I want to make it very clear that 'John' is a very talented individual and has all the skills to have accomplished the mod had the XBOX participated. John is an uberGeek much like me and surpasses my skillset in almost every way. We worked on the mod together and failed several times, hindered mostly by unavailable file downloads.

Enter Biege


Needless to say, awesomeness was had by all.

Let's Make This Moment a Crime

We've just got to take our time its like nothing really matters, so lets make this moment a crime I know, I know you're left
Behind but I'll do my best to feel broke down its been a minute, a second, I'll wait for you to come around but I know, I
Know you're taking time maybe its just too late, I've got to get away when everything feels the same, I've got to get away tell
Me its not too late

On and on and on you wait and oh the days they fade away and all the nights they've never felt
The same if I was wrong then I was wrong and on and on and on and on the things we do are never going to change well you
Haven't got a lot to say but you never want to stop you always want to feel this way I know I know you're taking time

We wait forever, if ever and you're too hip to saying never I'll never get it, oh I shouldn't sweat it not
Like it matters, its over, yeah at least till you come over so much for shutters, we're living under covers