Getting Into Shape (a shape other than round)
By NanoBear | January 3, 2012
Wow, I really suck at regular posting. Oh well.
It’s something I’ve said once or twice before, but something happened that has really made me want to lose some weight and get fit. While I’m not willing to share exactly what it was just yet, I am somewhat excited, because this time the motivation is sticking. At my heaviest (28th November 2011) I weighed in at 145kg, with my body fat percentage up around 38%. Everyone knows I’m overweight, but very few people had an idea that I actually weighed that much. I got that way from eating far to much junk food. Typical lunch on a non-work day would be a pie, a couple of sausage rolls and 2 choc-milks. Somewhat disgusting.
I can now say I haven’t had a pie, sausage roll, chico roll, or commercially-produced-sugar-laden milk drink in 36 days. No junk food, no fast food, and keeping an eye on my calorie counts for over a month now. Today I weighed in at 131.5 kg. 30 pounds down. The graph keeps me motivated more than the numbers:
As far as my diet goes, I’m not really counting every calorie, but I am keeping a rough tally in the back of my mind all day. Breakfast is the same everyday, a protein shake made with milk (chocolate flavoured). Easily calorie and portion controlled, low fat, low-ish carbohydrate, and high protein to keep me feeling full. Lunch still tends to be pre-packaged foods, but instead of pies and sausage rolls, it’s now chicken and salad wraps or single portion salads and yoghurts. Dinner is generally lean meat and veg. I generally don’t know how many calories are in my dinner, I just make sure I’m sensible about it. The key difference is eating until I’m satisfied, not until I’m full. There really is a difference. I’m also drinking somewhere around 4 litres of water each day now, up from pretty much zero. Apart from being generally healthier, It also helps keep me full during the day. I thought I had let it slip a little over Christmas and new year, but apparently not as bad as I thought. The graph started to flatten out, but kept going down.
On the exercise front, my motivation is coming from a fairly new exercise logger called Fitocracy. It’s generally aimed at computer gamers (like myself), especially the RPG crowd. Basically, you log your exercises (any kind of exercise, it’s all there), you get points for your exercises, and you level up. They also have quests consisting of certain combination of exercises, and an acheivement system for millage and weight lifting milestones. I’m back into some light weights and cycling at the moment, all for the sake of points. Still a gamer. Now that I’m confident I can lose the weight, I’m also starting Taekwon Do next week. My dad was once a black belt (when he was a little younger), and I’ve always wanted to take it up myself.
As for what I’m aiming for as my ultimate goal, I’m not quite sure yet. The BMI system suggests I should be somewhere around low to mid 80′s, but it doesn’t really take into account different builds. All the fat aside, I do have wide shoulders and more muscle mass than the average guy. For the time being, I’m thinking I’d like to get down to 100kg, and then re-assess. The other goal I’ve got, which I think will be an intermediate one, is to be able to fit into Rip Curl boardies. The biggest size they make is a 40 inch waist, and I’m currently a 45-46 inch waist. I’m a little sick of generic Target shorts.
So, 13.5kg down, 31.5kg still to lose. Well on the way to where I want to be.
That’s all for now, time to lift some more points. I mean weights.
Topics: Fitness | No Comments »
Religious Hypocrisy
By NanoBear | September 21, 2011
(The following writing rant is going to focus largely on Christianity, as it is somewhat dominant in Australia)
Recently there have been several news articles and opinion letters in the newspaper about the role and practice of Christianity in our schools. Notably, one particular primary school has just abandoned the practice of reciting the Lord’s Prayer at their school assemblies. I personally think the school in question has done the right thing. My personal opinion on the vast majority of religious organisations is that they are far more culpable as the root of all evil than money will ever be.
However, putting that aside for now, the practice of exclusively exposing young children to Christianity seems to fly in the face of one of the basic tenants of Christianity: free will. Simply put, children in primary school do not have the emotional and intellectual maturity to decide which system of beliefs they wish to adhere to. Asking a child to repeatedly recite the Lord’s Prayer could almost be viewed as indoctrination, and most definitely impedes their free will in the area of religious choice. While Perth’s catholic archbishop Barry Hickey says he sees no reason to stop the practice as it is part of our culture, the Australian Constitution (specifically section 116, reference here) precludes the Australian government (and by extension, state schools) from imposing any religious observance. Surely a government-owned school asking the children to recite the Lord’s Prayer is doing exactly this.
The next common argument is that the law of the Lord is above the law of the land. That may be so, however the law of the Lord also gives people the freedom to choose:
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are loving. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15)
To paraphrase, I will follow my beliefs and you may follow your own. So what archbishop Hickey is saying is not only against our constitution, but also contradicts the choice laid out in the scriptures he adheres to.
I think that highlights my main point of annoyance: the apparent gap between the values set out in the bible, and the actions of the church. While I don’t believe in any deity, and obviously disagree with the actions of the church, I do think there are valuable lessons in Christian bible such as the following:
“Love your neighbour as yourself.”
(Matthew 22:39)
By contrast, we have a religious organisation that constantly criticises people, claiming there is no room for any belief other than its own. There is also a further gap: the massive chasm between the church and the modern world. As an example of that chasm, Pope John Paul II (the one previous to the current pope) unequivocally told people in Africa that condoms are a sin in any circumstance. The church went on to say that parents must reject the promotion of safe sex. Look how well that turned out.
In summary, telling school children to recite the Lord’s Prayer goes against the both Australian constitution and the scriptures that underlie the beliefs the prayer is supposed to instil. To put it colloquially, the church needs sort its shit out before it passes it on.
And for a little light comedy:
If we are going to teach the Lord’s Prayer in school, then why are we teaching that pi is 3.14159, when the bible clearly states it is exactly 3? (1 Kings 7:23. It’s not due to rounding to whole numbers. That would give 31, not 30 cubits)
Topics: Opinion | No Comments »
Sport Happenings
By NanoBear | March 7, 2011
Part 3 of this update, probably the last and largest.
I’m no Olympic athlete, and I don’t imagine I ever will be, but I can damn well get a lot better than I am at the moment. With that goal in mind, I started going along to a class called “Fighting Fit” at the Bayswater Martial Arts and Yoga Centre. The place is run by a friend, and I know pretty much everyone that goes there, so that extra motivation and camaraderie or sorts makes the trek from Freo worth while for me. I’m heading up there twice a week, and have only missed one class since the start of the year (tied in with what happened to Buddy), so I’ve already set a personal best when it comes to staying motivated. The class is made up of a great deal of cardio work, plus some yoga, boxing and basic martial arts movements to keep things interesting. In other words, exactly the kind of things I need to help get me fit and gain a little flexibility. Of course it helps that I thoroughly enjoy the classes too. I still need to tweak what I’m eating a little (a lot), but things are on track.
As to where I’m going with this fitness stuff, I hope to be able to start playing a couple of sports again in the next 12-18 months. I had to stop about 4 years ago because of clashes with work and uni, but I should be able fit them in again soon. I plan to get back into baseball next summer, most likely with the Melville Braves again. I see my gloves or bats most days in the house, and they remind me how much I miss playing.
The other sport I’d very much like to play again is rugby (real rugby, not league). I played in all five years at high school, but never got around to playing for a local club. I was never really fast enough to play footy, but I loved playing rugby. No such thing as holding the ball, I used to just keep on running with 4 guys hanging off me. Obviously it’s not going to be the same now, what with everyone else catching up in physical size, but I still want to get back into it again. Given my current physical state, my plan is to skip this season, work on my fitness some more, and then hopefully join up with one of the lower grades at Palmyra Rugby Club for the 2012 season. I’m looking forward to it even more after this weekend, having gone along to NIB stadium to watch the Western Forced play this weekend. I managed to win the tickets in a promotion on facebook. When we got there, we discovered we were in the gold members area. Front row, 5 meters from the try line. Fantastic view! Unfortunately it would seem the Force need all the help they can get at the moment, so I guess I better start practising!
In other sport this weekend, I belted a little white ball from tree to tree for the first time in a while today. We played 9 holes down at Point Walter, in beautiful weather. Unfortunately my golf was not exactly beautiful, but that’s what you get when you haven’t played in months. With that in mind, I wasn’t so happy about my 58. At least my putting was good, 1 putt over a 2-putt average for the day. I even managed to par the final hole. I also got to use the golf scoring app on my new phone. It worked wonderfully, recording every errant shot I played. Turns out it can also post scorecards to facebook and twitter, so my future scores shall be visible on my facebook page and on the twitter feed on this page.
Topics: Sport | No Comments »
Musical Happenings
By NanoBear | March 7, 2011
Post #2 of this update:
Things have been a little quiet for me on the music front recently. Last time I wrote about it was the morning after a CD launch, and I had a fun little school musical on the way. Haven’t done much in the way of playing in the 4 or 5 months since. Still getting the trumpet out and playing through a few tunes at least once a week, although certainly not as often as I should be. Just enough so next time it won’t take me as long to get back in the groove.
The musical was a fantastic success, with the students surprising a lot of people with their ability and professionalism. After something of a spat between staff, the students took over the lighting and sound effects rolls as well. The first night saw a couple of hiccups on that side of things (they only had an hour or two to practise!), but with each successive show, the entire cast and crew improved out of sight. I had to miss the final show thanks to work, but I’m told that one was the best by far.
As with any school production, there was the occasional hiccup to overcome, but this is when the students really shone. At one point one actor missed a cue and didn’t come out on stage, but the young actors and actresses on stage adapted their lines on the spot to cover it. I very much doubt anyone who didn’t already know the script would have even notice. Truly, their professionalism amazed me. My name is already on the list to help out with the music side of things in this year’s production, “Rats.”
The aforementioned CD launch from last year was for a mates band, One Thousand Years, a local rock and blues band. They’ve had a few more gigs around Perth and Freo recently, but the horn section gets saved for special occasions. If memory served, they’re going into the studio soon to put down they’re second recording, although it’s unclear as to whether it will turn out to be an album, EP, or single. Keep you’re eyes on they’re facebook page for more details regarding recordings and gigs. They’re also making a music video in the not too distant future for their song “Mr. Spaceman,” in conjunction with Five to One Films (website, facebook), a group of local screen production students. Very much looking forward to seeing the result! The band is also looking to play a blues set at “Blues at Bridgetown” this November. More details to come later in the year on that one.
Topics: Music | No Comments »
Sick Puppy
By NanoBear | March 7, 2011
So much for regular updates.
A lot of things have happened since the last time I wrote, so I’m going to split it up into multiple posts, this being the first.
As a few people would have heard, one of our dogs has been doing it rough recently. Buddy, the 2 year old doberman, went off his food and stopped running around like a nutcase. Very uncharacteristic of him. 2 visits to the local vet and still no solid answer as to what was wrong with him. They finally recommended we take him out to Murdoch Vet Hospital to see what they could do for him. At this stage he was barely moving, and not able to take in any food.
So off we go to Murdoch. They took him and ran a bunch of tests, including x-rays and ultrasound, and they discovered the problem: a blockage in his intestines. They couldn’t tell exactly where it was from the tests, and the operation survival odds they gave us ranged from 50% to 10% depending on where the blockage was. Fortunately he made it through that one with out complications. They took out the blockage, stitched up the intestines, and it was all looking good. The blockage appeared to be made up of stuffing from fluffy toys, which he’s played with and chewed on since birth. Needless to say he no longer gets fluffy toys from the op-shop. After this, he was great for a day or two, and then things took a nose dive again.
After a few tests, they determined that the area of intestine that had been weakened by the blockage has ruptured again. They gave us the option of another operation, or the long sleep. Given that Buddy is only 2 years old and we had already invested a substantial amount of money in the first op, there was no choice. We went ahead with the second operation. They did caution us that very very few dogs make it through the second op of this nature. The 24 hours after the second op were a very nervous and upsetting time for us, as that period was pretty much the indicator of which way things would go. The next evening, we were ecstatic to hear that he had once again beaten the odds and survived the second op.
It’s a couple of weeks later now, and he’s back to running and jumping around and over everything like a nutcase, just like he used to. Very nerve-wracking and upsetting time for us, but it’s all turned out well (apart from a bill the size of a decent family-sized car). Many thanks to all the people who provided support and sympathy while this was happening, particularly my colleagues (and boss, letting me get away with not turning up for a shift), and the Fighting Fit crew. Looking like Buddy will now live out a long and happy life. Fingers crossed he gets to 14 like Oscar, our previous doberman.
Topics: Animals | No Comments »
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