Nuclear Buffalo

Went even lower hitting 361 by Friday. After 2 days of good (& often) eating and a mostly sedentary schedule I was at 377 last night.

I don't feel bad tho, I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors and it was a tasty splurge. Now it is back to bidness!

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That is to say a new low weight of 366. Of course when I gloated to Lilly Monday I was goin on and on about 466 and she was worried that I had eaten a whole deep fried midget.

With a holiday weekend coming up, I don't know if this weigh in is sustainable, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

Exercise wise, I went and saw Transformers 2 Saturday morning with Bulldawg instead of going to the pool. I did however ride the bike a couple times.

Knees were pretty good all weekend, plain ole awesome Friday and Saturday. They are, however, killing me today. Seriously I would chop them off and sell em if I didn't need them.

N }:-

Wow, I am NOT doing well at getting these out on Mondays.

Any way I started the weekend at 372 and ended at 371! I am pretty sure that projectile diareah offset the home cooked meal at Lilly's parents Sunday.

Rode the bike twice, but need to MAKE time for the pool. Leaving it till the last minute isn't working out.

Knees are pretty decent lately, foot is on and off.

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RIP- Ray/Rai/Niterider $$$$- 6/16/2009

Love you or hate you, you were one of a kind.
You died on your beloved motorcycle, and I hope you went quickly guy.

N }:-

Owen Morris at the Pitch's Fat City blog posted an article and some links about drinking myths. So I figured why not give you the benefit of some of my experience.


Experience trumps rumors, science, and myth. What is true for me, or you for that matter, is not true for all. Drink responsibly and enjoy it, but don't believe everything you hear.

"Nuke, is there a food that helps keep you from getting sick when drinking?" There are several that might help, but none that will save your ass when you are already totaled. Stay away from spicy, go for meat and potatoes (or bread). Protein and carbs before drinking help my stomach, but don't do jack for my head. Your mileage may vary.

"Speaking of the head Nuke, didn't Tylenol help yours?" Yes, more than aspirin (one of those myths, follow the link folks) it seemed to. It is also possible that I was just really experienced by then and wasn't getting headaches. Science argues strongly against mixing acetaminophen and alcohol tho, as SEVERE organ damage can occur from the practice (check Wikipedia or WebMD if you don't believe me).

"Only girls drink fruity drinks, right Nuke?" Wrong. The margarita, arguably the king of sweet blended drinks are enjoyed by men and women alike. Drink whatever takes your fancy, and if anybody gives you grief laugh it off. It's not worth a fight or any esteem loss to worry bout what others drink.

Hey Nuke, real guys do shots right?" See above ass clown.

"Hey Nuke, aren't liquor snobs annoying as hell?" See my last 2 points. Yes they are, but don't worry about them. Enjoy your damn pina colada, don't waste time trying to acclimate to scotch if you don't want to. If YOU are a booze snob, well quit trying to feel all important and shit at the expense of others.

"Nuke, should I drink good stuff up front then move to cheaper beer/booze later after my taste buds are broken in?" No! Crap is crap, regardless of when it hits in the rotation. Good booze does NOT make bad booze taste good. Savor a little of something good rather than enduring a lot of something awful.

"Yo Nuke, does drinking really lower inhibitions and make you more likely to (insert activity here)?" Yeah alcohol lowers inhibitions. What it doesn't do is make you into something you aren't. The "oh I was drink" excuse is BS. You won't do anything drunk that you wouldn't do sober, you are just more likely to do the things you always secretly wanted to. Why do you think they serve beer at Karaoke joints? Also drinking doesn't turn you mean, if you are angry deep down booze brings it up to the surface.

"Nuke, my friend (family member, boss, acquaintance, whatever) says liquor is evil. Should I not drink so that I can go to heaven?" Jesus was a party animal, he made water into wine. Slovenly drunkenness is not encouraged tho.

"A little wine or beer drinking is good for you, isn't it Nuke?" You can read a report telling you anything. Recently tho a lot of studies have said that there are benefits to certain drinks. If one or 2 glasses a week is good, a case of beer or box of wine in one sitting is not better.

"Isn't drinking a single drink over the evening safer than mixing up types of booze?" I have heard that, and understand the argument. From my personal experience tho, it's the total quantitative effect of how much you drink not how many kinds of drinks. I have routinely mixed beer and shots (mostly Kamikazes )for years.

"You drove drunk didn't you Nuke, so it's OK for me right?" I did, I don't now that I have grown up, and you never should. I loved the WKRP episode with the State Trooper measuring reflexes after each drink. In the real world Johnny Fever would NOT have gotten better the more he drank, you won't either. Drunk driving is like Russian Roulette (apologies to MV), except that you could end things badly for people other than yourself as well.

And finally "Nuke isn't it true that you drank X many of Y beverage once? That's bad ass!" Yeah I did, but its super risky. You need to work up to it for years and even then it's a dumb idea. Beer, whiskey, wine, and other favorites are best when drank for the taste, not to pass out.

Thanks for reading along. While I do believe in everything I said, mostly I wrote this because I like to drink. I think it can be enjoyable and safe if you are smart. Mostly tho, I just used Own as an excuse to talk about booze. It helps liven up a sucktastic Monday!

Got in stationary bike riding Saturday and a bit of walking/stair climbing Sunday. Neither really worked up a good sweat, but I did set a good pace for my knees.

Weight is hovering 373 at the beginning of the weekend and 374 at the end. I was pretty happy considering that I took Lilly and the kids for their first Waldo Pizza (East) experience. I dunno if I should be happy for me or sad for Lilly's daughter that she ate twice as much pizza as I did.

In other news I am ALMOST dry after the drenching I took between car and building this morning. Soggy pants= teh suck!

I don't LIKE to, but I do it.

In this case I have been fighting getting something that people said might help with my knees/feet. I understood the reasoning, but I just found the product distasteful. Eventually driven by curiosity and the rave reviews I ordered it online, and last week it arrived.

I am the (not so) proud owner of a pair of Crocs. Yeah, the shoes recently labeled "the sweatpants of the shoe world (barely beating out flip flops). The bitch of it is, my legs and feet do seem to feel better wearing them than any of my other shoes.

In the spirit of full disclosure I am one of those guys that always thought Crocs were a girly shoe. I mean come on, they are rubber frakking clogs for the gods sake. I first saw a pair of rubber clogs (pre Croc Branding) 6 or 7 years ago on a coworker who had just returned from Vegas. He had bought them there for all the walking and looooooved em. Much later the Crocs brand made them a hit. I understand members of certain careers swear by them, and I know Lilly and her kids have multiple pairs each (some replacements, some to go with different outfits).

So here I am with black Crocs (more manly than powder blue or orange you have to admit). I have been wearing them for a day, then wearing my normal shoes the next. Every time the Cocs win on comfort and mobility. I hate to admit it, but ugly fuckers seem to be helping out.

If you don't know who comedian/actor Michael Roof is it may not mean much. He made me fucking laugh a LOT. At his worst he got an uncomfortable chuckle or a genuine grin outa me.

http://www.kcconfidential.com/?p=4326#comment-4493

I had all the info yesterday, I was just lazy. So here we go.

No weigh in at beginning of weekend. Weight at end was 378.
I know that's not a major number but I feel bigger and have been around 380 a lot more than 370 recently. Gotta fucking exercise. Oh and stop finding reasons to eat so much (lunch out both Sat AND Sun, and I finished both meals).

In exercise news I rode the bike for 15 minutes once this week. Knees are bearing up well, only slightly achy (still tender on the front, hurts to kneel). Left ankle is on and off again, but never as bad as it was a month or 2 back. Right foot still achy and sore on the bottom up front. Sometimes index toe feels like I jammed it. That foot is often the worst thing with my walking.

I may have found something to relieve a lot of my foot/knee discomfort. I am still in the trial phase, and will let you know one way or another. I don't wanna say anything now, because it's kinda dorky. It's one of those things that some people have preached for a while now and I passed on because it sounded lame. Expect news, and maybe a picture by end of week or early next.

OK I know I didn't post last week. Friday before Memorial weekend I weighed in at my pretty common 373 and by Monday was 378. This weekend started with me down to 375 & ended last night at 380.

That's not horrible for a holiday weekend followed by a parental visit. I can do better tho, & have to do better.

I need to step up the exercise, I KNOW that. Just gotta stick to my guns. I want to be 350ish before the fall/winter holiday season starts.

Knees were great from Friday AM till Sunday, but all the running errands with Dad & Mom took it's toll. Feels like I took a good beating this morning. Know it will pass, but sucks for now.

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OK I had a weird dream last night. Not scary like Lilly's dream (demons taking her son) but definitely thought provoking.

I was in my late teens sitting in the basement of my family church working on the paperwork to renew my confirmation. No, there is no such worksheet, just go with the dream. There was a math problem on one side and an essay question on the other. The essay was how to feed people with an onion and 2 potatoes, and I never got around to answering.

The math problem was multi-step. You had to answer a dozen or so pretty simple math problems (like 3+5=?) and write the answer in the box by the associated letter (they were done as A, B, C instead of 1, 2, 3). When that was done you had to copy the numbers in to the boxes in a long complex formula. OK, I say complex but by that I mean that when I did so, the answers wasn't correct. They GAVE me the answer, and all the numbers I dumped into the equation did NOT equal that. It was super frustrating, to say the least. I threw one of the potatoes (did I mention there were visual aids for the essay question) at the wall.

My Dad, sensing I was having problems and asked what was wrong. "I have all the math right, but I can't prove faith in the final equation" I answered. Yeah, I was working out a scientific, mathematical proof of faith. And the numbers didn't work right. My Dad's reply was along the lines of faith just IS, you have it or don't, mans logic can't prove or disprove it. That REALLY pissed me off.

I argued that while I understood in the concept of faith, the Church must believe in a scientific proof of it. If their proof didn't work, the Church must be flawed. That's when I woke up and had to pee...

If I am reading the dream right, I am having a conflict between faith and logic. Now I am not currently a practicing member of any religion but I have generally adhered to Christian ideas. I envy people of strong faith as much as I revile those that substitute faith for rationality. I believe both can exist in a person, or do I?



-A little background. I was VERY active in our church when younger. While a teenager (after confirmation of course) I served on the board of Deacons and the Christian Education committee. I even gave sermons on two Sundays that our Pastor was on vacation. By contrast after leaving home I studied Nuclear Engineering (and MANY associated disciplines) and later computers and communications technology.

There has been some discussion online as to the merits of blogging since it began, the same goes for the Twitter service. A lot of people do one or the other and many do both. Well local blogger/tweeter (bleater?) Logtar is trying to set up a KC area blogger vs twitter Lazer tag Challange.

If you blog or tweet in the local community, check it out. Heck join the spirited discussion (or just read the craziness). If so inclined pick a side and get your Buck Rodgers on!

So last Saturday was the annual all city garage sale in my little edge-of-the-metro community. It's a BIG day for residents of BFE with $$ to be made and/or saved!

For like the 6th (or more) year in a row my friends Turkey and Tater and our families and friends combined wares to put on a bigger sale. I didn't actually sell anything this year, but because of my high visibility home we held set up our tables in my driveway. While we didn't have as many contributing as much stuff as usual at OUR sale, we did put out a wide assortment. And there was GREAT people watching.

The selection at my house include cheap ass knickknacks, a 30 year old car top carrier, a (new in box) HD TV antenna, lawn table/chairs, computer desk, 2 dressers (one pink with matching nightstand), a dilapidated roll top desk (non-antique), and the hook (the item that is interesting enough to pull people in) was a black powder rifle with powder and ammo. All of the above, and some other stuff, sold between 7:15 AM and noon.

I think the target times of operation are 6 or 7 to 12, but you will see early birds (vultures?) out by 5:30 and the last dregs looking for the freebies (didn't sold and don't want to take it home items) as late as 6 PM. Driving in some parts of town on CWGS Day is a bitch, too many cars in too little space. But if you are willing to hoof it a little deals can be had, and in this economy people want and NEED deals. Lets just say turnout this year was spectacular, which leads me to MY activity for the day.

Out here on the edge of civilization we have an eclectic mix of suburban middle class types, and hard core country folk. Both of these groups provide entertainment.

First up the yuppy wannabes. Dockers shorts and a Polo shirt do NOT make you an upscale dude. These men are the most aggressive hagglers, well lets rephrase that, they argue over price the most. It's a 2 year old patio set for $50 bucks, and it's an hour into an all day event, so I doubt the seller is ready to let it go for $10 and none of your bitching will change it. The women in this group are there own delight, as they cram caps on their $50 haircuts and pull on their Nike or Under Armor workout suit. Look babe, I have a track suit and it don't make me any less fat. Doesn't work for you either. But there was one gal that made the outfit work, unfortunately she was smoking and sipping out of something in a paper bag as she pushed her tiny kid around in a stroller. Class-E!

Country folks come in 3 types, good ole working class salt of the earth folks are actually pretty nice to talk to but the others are FUN. People tell red neck jokes and talk about white trash (we actually have a bar named for them here) but there are extremes that just boggle the mind. I'll just give you my favorite couple. He was about 5 ft 8 in a pair of bib overalls cut off into shorts, combat boots, a dirty white t-shirt, and a camo Boony hat with a turkey feather in the band. The wife was attired in camouflage BDU pants, a long sleeved t-shirt a camo ball cap and at least looked like she had washed (unlike hubby). Oh, did I mention the fine lady was a klepto? The crap she pocketed was so cheap I didn't even tell the others, but I almost cracked up laughing. I mean who steals a salt shaker but NOT the pepper?

And the last group, I almost hate to poke fun because they are so nice and polite. Oh and I don't want to be accused of religious bigotry, but we call this bunch the pseudo Amish. Like I told my good friend Logtar the other day "They look like real Amish, except for the Nikes and cell phones". The fact that they don't shun ALL technology means they aren't really Amish, but we have no other tag to label them with. The men wear work shorts, jeans and flat brimmed hat while the women folk sport long simple black or blue dresses, white bonnets and if needed a sweater to ward off the chill. The high end shoes tho are a dead give away. What I love about these folks is how they literally ATTACK the day. They break into small groups (a man or 2 and several women and kids) and go into each neighborhood scouting. They confer by cell (mostly push-to-talk) with the other teams, and buy as needed. Then the support team of 4-5 men in a pickup hauling a flatbed trailer swoop in to pick up the goods. These people are disciplined power shoppers!

There's my report for this year. Don't worry, I'll mention it plenty early next year so y'all can come out and join me on the patio!

OK, I have now seen the new Star Trek twice. I saw it the Saturday of opening weekend with Lilly and the kids, then again last night with my pal Turkey and his son Snake. I like the movie a LOT. There is so much going on in this movie visually that I didn't even get to see all the things I knew to look for after 2 viewings. It's what I call information dense in that sets and characters in the backgrounds while not important to the plot, are not throwaway BS. There is something to see/hear/experience even if you are not paying attention to the main story.

The Good-
Acting was solid, I believed all the actors in their roles to varying degrees. Kirk had the old gleam in his eyes cocky cool thing in spades! If possible I liked young Kirk even better, that kid was badass!
The visuals were great, only one CG effects shot bugged me at all.
The humor might have been a little much for some people. Trek's have always included humor, and this had a lot of it. I contend, tho, that it was better done here than ever.
The action... Space battles, space-diving, gunfights, sword fights, fist fights, something for everybody.

The Not-so-good-
Casting for Spock's Mom annoyed the hell out of me.
The story was only OK. I am sure some of you can poke holes in it I could walk thru, but I wouldn't call it bad. At the end of the day it gave Trek a fresh start, which was it's job. There were a couple of parts that were just implausible. However my suspension of disbelief (essential for enjoying a movie to me) had me grinning, laughing, and cheering thru the whole thing. Only later did I wonder about some of the coincidences.

The Bad-
Really Nothing.

My favorite Moment- Young Kirk's scene.

My Favorite Character- Scotty, but I am a Simon Pegg fan.

Snakes Favorite Moment- Space Jumping and the ensuing fight.

Snakes Favorite Character- Leonard "Bones" McCoy, or as he said it "the guy that keeps jabbing the other guy in the neck."

I can't recommend it enough for Science Fictions fans or people that just love a big summer action blockbuster!

Well as I suspected, I didn't get to the pool over the busy weekend. Next weekend not looking any better. I did get on the bike twice (compared to my goal of 3 times).

Weight Friday Morning was 372, and Sunday eve was still 372. I am afraid I will have a harder time maintaining at the all weekend family food fest with Lilly this weekend. The 2 keys will be not eating if not hungry and portion control. Next Monday's post should be interesting.

OK, for Lilly's all weekend Memorial Day family extravaganza I have been asked to make Mom's tater salad. No biggie there, besides I need the practice.

BUT I have also been tasked with providing beans for Saturday, as the alternative is Pork-n-beans heated up with ketchup (yuck, I know). So I was wondering if I should just get some from Jackstack or make my own.

MY version is easy as long as I remember to bourbon soak the beans the night before. After that just mix in brown sugar, bacon, BBQ sauce, and salsa (or chopped onions and peppers if time allows) then bake or throw in the crock pot.

Well, that's my quandry. I am open to opinions. I had planned on buying but after some link hopping (started at Kansas City Lunch Spots) I found myself reading the recipe for Smokestack BBQ's beans an realizing how similar they were (no booze in theirs). It kinds made me nostalgic.

So, what would YOU do?

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Well 2 people, 3 with Fallen, have spoken.

So weight loss update- Was 376 on Friday and went up to 378 by my weekly weigh in. I am not horribly disappointed tho, as I ate out twice for Mothers Day (1 Sat & 1 Sun).

Exercise has been lacking. I have been doing good with my stretches & flexing, but didn't get to the pool or on the bike all week.

Plans this coming Saturday so no pool (maybe Sun), but goal is to be on the stationary bike at least 3 times this week. Cross your fingers (& or toes) for me.

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My friend Fallenkeep commented on my weight loss challenge wrap up that perhaps I should consider continuing to post weight/health updates weekly. The idea is that positive feedback for progress as well as constructive advice for less than stellar results can help. And having my friends/readers be able to chime in more often would provide quicker feedback, and might help more.

Here is an example post for the last week or so-

Last Friday night I was at 375 lbs, but after a weekend with my folks where we had a lot more meals than I usually do I was back at 383 on Sunday evening(despite a lot of walking around Home Despot and Wallyworld). I don't do as well on weekends, largely because of the social aspect. That is to say that when I eat out or at other peoples houses there is more food both in respect to number of dishes and quantity served.

Last night I had wriggled my way back to 376. A good start, but Mothers Day with Lilly's family at Wabash BBQ tomorrow night is gonna be tough.


So what do y'all think? Should I prattle on monthly or weekly? I will still be weighing weekly no matter how often I post. I suspect I will continue to compare weights before and after the weekend as well.

I am glad that at this point in my life I not only still love my parents, but think I would like them if we weren't related. The latter tho was not a forgone conclusion tho.

Mom can be cranky, and it has gotten worse as her health has deteriorated, Both of them offer unasked for advice on occasion, and they are pretty happy in their ruts. Most of this I can live with, but it's different for my brother and his wife.

Bulldawg and his babe both get their dander up when they get helpful suggestions that they don't automatically agree with. He can get downright angry while she is mostly just kinda rude and dismissive.

Normally I just let them be, I mean it IS their choice. It has gotten to the point tho that my folks (at least Mom) are starting to get their feelings hurt. And THAT kinda pisses me off.

Since they have given Mom and Dad the first grandbaby, my parents like to visit more. I can't blame them. They are the last of their generation on both sides do have grandchildren (well except for my spinster/lesbian aunt). Bulldawg and the Babe tho don't go out of their way to make them feel welcome. For instance it had been more than a month, almost 2, since they had been here. Not a big deal you say, and you would be right. Except that they tried. The only weekend my parents had plans was the only one that my bro and s-i-l had available previously. They always have stuff to do. Hell they have "stuff" to do even when the parents ARE here.

Here is my problem with their busy lives. It's all BS stuff, crap they COULD schedule for weeknights or other weekends. But they plan out whole weekends of stuff like running errands and watching other peoples kids when my parents talk of coming to town. A lot of it is church stuff. I know from previous experience that you do not have to do EVERY little activity at church. You could take a pass on supervising kids at the whatever kids (teenage members) event is all day Saturday (he does them ALL). Other people can do some of that.

I hate blaming their faith on their lack of inclusion of BD's side of the family. But the Babe's parents are members of their church. They see them several times a week. Hell Babe's Mom sits for Tank a couple afternoons a week. They see them at church every Sunday and Wednesday, and have lunch and/or dinner with them every Sunday. HER Mom can do no wrong but ours is treated like a busybody they barely know. Babe doesn't even sign X-mas cards to her, they just have Bulldawg and Tank's names. And I hate to tell her, but her Mom is a bitch. Even members of their church don't like her (I bonded with their music director over tales of her mean spirited nature).

The last straw was that my parent's had to be here over the past weekend because the coming weekend was booked. They are doing Mothers Day stuff at church Saturday and have exclusive plans with her Mother on Sunday. If my Mom was here they "might" have time to stop by.

I feel like I have rambled a lot. And I'll finish by saying that I am THIS close to taking the issue up wit them. My Mom is not going to be around forever, and their treating her like they don't want her around now is getting old. And the next time Babes Mom says something snarky about MY Mom... I am telling her how it is, and I am not letting up until she breaks and fucking cries. Seems fair, as my Mom has cried over her treatment form this young couple. The least I can do is burst bitch-lady's illusion that she is loved by eeeeeveryboooooody around her.

Since my nephew Tank was born my parents have been visiting more often. Since Bulldawg and his family live across the street, it is easy for my folks to see everybody. They have been stating at the local big-chain hotel since shortly after it opened, and unfortunately the owners haven't been investing in keeping the place up the whole time. Mom was reaaalllly not liking the place any more, and Dad was indifferent.

SO this trip down my parents decided they were staying at my house. To be fair, I had hinted that it was an OK idea when talking to Mom about my new couch.

Mom- "Great, I can sleep on it and your father can have the love seat."
Me- "I'd much rather you guys take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

Seems that was all the invitation they were waiting for. Now before you ask, I don't mind having my parents here, as we all got older I became very comfortable just being me around them. We get along well, and there are benefits to having company.

Sure I had more laundry and dishes to do, but Dad fixed my clogged kitchen drain (discovered late Thurs evening) while I was working Friday. He followed that up by mowing the lawn, and that evening we visited "The Mattress Firm" and my pop ponied up for a queen mattress set and simple frame. By 5 on Saturday it had been delivered and I now had a guest room for my parents visits.

Mom was making noise about replacing the vertical blinds on the sliding rear door, but that priority got bumped down when she and Dad decided that he needed to replace my wobbly downstairs toilet with a taller/longer seating one. It's a lot easier for folks with bad backs and or knees to get on and off of. So Sunday, after 4 trips to the Home Depot, I have a new shitter!

We actually didn't see my brother and his wife and boy very much (I may post more later) but they did come over for a while on Saturday. We had grilled burgers and brats alongside home made sides from yours truly. Good slaw is easy, buy the right bag of fixins and poor in a tasty dressing. OK maybe that's not so home made, but I did the pasta salad from scratch (including vinaigrette dressing) AND I ran thru a first try of Mom's potato salad recipe (came out OK, and I know how to make it better). We followed that up with caramel apple from the orchard back in Iowa, near home.

Needless to say I didn't hold my weight for the weekend, but I didn't do too bad. My weigh in for May was 183 (5 lbs more than I was on Friday morning). If I get back on track this week I feel like I can knock out at least 10 lbs this month.

So there was my family fun weekend. This weekend I am seeing Lilly and the kids no matter what else happens. Missed em this go-around.

Nuke out

PS- if you wanna bring burgers or something over i still have side dishes for dinner!