brainscat.com

So, in the same vein as Jason Calacanis and other overweight people before me, I am going to open myself to Internet ridicule and glory by posting regular progress about my personal weight loss journey. Yes, I’m going to Fatblog. Truthfully though, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t’ think the benefit to others and myself wouldn’t outweigh the personal humiliation that comes with declaring to the world that I am indeed fat, and I do indeed require outside help.

Sure, I could get by without doing this… but it’d be slower, and quite frankly, the only thing I care about is losing weight. So, without further ado, here’s the quick state-of-my-union.

1. I was up to 229 lbs at my highest. Last time I weighed myself… I was at 209. I don’t really know where I am right now, as I don’t own a scale.
2. My main attempts to lose weight have been primarily through not eating like an idiot. I got this high by eating whatever I want when I wanted, and partying like a madman earlier in college. Now, I:
   1. Try to select lower fat foods, high fiber, high protien, etc.
   2. Log my daily food intake. This keeps me thinking of what I’m actually eating, and makes it much easier to say, “No.” If I eat it, I have to write it down.
   3. I’m attempting to stay under 2000 calories a day, realistically.
3. I’ve been battling shin-splints while trying to run. Finally, I’m doing better, as I’m running very short distances compared to how I used to run before my weight gain. Adding 60 lbs is really really hard on your feet.
   1. For those who care, I’m at week 3 of the Cool Running Couch to 5k plan.
   2. I use motion control shoes (Brooks Addiction 7)
   3. I’m attempting regularly stretch on off days.
   4. I ice after running.

Heard of 43things? It’s pretty damn cool. Heard of 43people.com? Nobody’s supposed to know what it is yet. But I figured it out.

Here’s proof.

I wonder if they’ll leave the link up…

This is probably the best application of Google Maps I’ve seen yet. Easily find and plot routes, complete with distances. Found by way of LifeHacker.

For example, this was my old running route.

Well, for one, I’m glad that the new year has begun with my cold slinking back into remission. It’s simple but oh-so-nice to breathe again. Apparently, the cool thing is to post 2005 predictions, so here’s my stab at it.

• At least 3 people I know will start listening to podcasts regularly.
• I will have a poker bankroll of $100 pure profit
• Mono will mature to the point (System.Windows.Forms will mature…) where it boosts them much further into the spotlight.
• Searching for “Tor” on Google will show brainscat on the first page.
• Someone will create a fully distributed Tor p2p client that gains noteriety after a majority of torrent tracker sites are shut down.
• The courts will rule that Bittorrent is not illegal, but the tracker sites that advertise and facilitate illegal sharing as their primary function are liable for contributing damages.
• Justin will come back from Japan angrier than ever.
• I will finally have my hands on a TabletPC.

As you can see, I’m not one who’s much for shocking predictions. Let me know what you think.

Today, Bucky The Beta Fish died.

One of the reasons posts were sparse last month was I was vacationing in California for a couple days and then driving across the country, and moving my lovely girl here to Michigan. The dust has settled, and I’ve caught my breath, so here’s the best of the photos from our cross country trip.

There would have been more, but we did a vast majority of the trip at night. Sadly, I must report that the camera battery died as we drove through the most gorgeous part of the trip, Utah. Imagine the beauty of red-rocks in Arizona and multiply them by infinity.

A belated congratulations are in order to Shawn and Bev for their new marriage. It was great to be there, and especially to have the honor of helping your big day go smoothly. Hopefully, you didn’t hear anyone complain about their seating arrangements.

Those of you who’re interested can check out some pre-ceremony and reception photos.

This past weekend I was lucky enough to get together with my buddies Nate and Freiman for camping. We jumped into a Jeep and drove 560 miles up to Eagle Harbor, Michigan to relax on Lake Medora and see the surrounding marvels of Lake Superior. Instead of giving you boring details that can’t come close to how the weekend was, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.