Month: December 2003

Okay.. normally I start with some anecdote.. but I want everybody to read this, in case you can relate (or might be guilty).

Okay, anecdote. My friend Pete had been looking forward to LOTR: Return of the King all his life.. he arrived 2 hours early to the theatre, camped out, and finally took his seat for 3 and a half hours of Hobbit fun.. but when he walked out, he was visibly upset..

Why? Because some loser teenagers sat next to him the entire movie and talked and commented and ruined his whole experience.

This situation exemplifies the fact that etiquitte is gone.. the idea of doing something – or not doing something – because of at the most propriety, or at the least, the anticipation of the effect on another person, is lost on too many.. from the idea of saying thank you to the idea of holding a door.. to the idea of shutting your mouth in a movie theatre…

There are two types of people, those who will agree with me, and those who think I’m off base.. and to the latter, from the former.. THIS IS NOT YOUR HOME! THIS IS NOT A VCR! THERE ARE OTHERS WHO DON’T NEED YOUR INPUT. Clap at the end, cheer when others do, but please, shut off the movie commentary until you buy the DVD, and then you can hear one.

I’m flying up to Spokane, Washington, to pick up my new-to-me Honda Insight tomorrow night! I’m pretty excited. I needed a new commuter vehicle to be able to make it to my new job that I’m starting January 5. Why did I choose this Insight?

* CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) gas mileage: 57mpg highway. * Really comfortable to drive. It’s definitely an econo-box, but drives like a really sporty one. * Cool technology. Hybrids rock. * Very unique body styling. * I like the “arrest me” red. * Great deal.

My 2001 Insight costs $10,895 for a CVT model with air conditioning, and power everything. No CD changer or cruise, but I aim to correct that. It only has 25,000 miles, and was only driven for 18 months. It’s just 20 months old now! The same car, new, was nearly $23,000 MSRP. Mine is also Honda Certified, which is a nice little bonus that extends the powertrain warranty.

I looked into the Toyota Prius, but aside from it holding its value better in the used market than the Insight (hey, I’m honest, the Insight drops value like a rock mostly due to being a two-seater with very low demand), well, I just thought it was ugly. It drives nicely, and has nifty features (particularly the all-electric drive at city speeds), but I decided it wasn’t for me after driving the Insight. The Insight drives like a pocket sports car, while the Prius drives more like, well, a sedate family vehicle. The Prius has great speed off the line, comparable to the Insight (no mean feat at 800 more pounds), but doesn’t corner nearly as well. The Insight comes loaded with power-everything by default at a relatively low price, and is a lot more comfortable to drive (IMHO, as far as having a spacious front seat is concerned). Power windows, doors, heated rearview mirrors, intermittent wipers, rear wiper, remote keyless entry, the works — you pay quite a bit more for all of that on the Prius. The only things the Prius really has over the Insight are a back seat, more cargo area, slightly higher safety rating with some options (canopy airbags), less road noise, and a good stereo. Insight beats it hands-down on gas mileage, lower price (fully-loaded insight is about the same price as a stripped-down Prius), cornering, consistent gas tank size (Prius’ gas “bladder” is quite a bit smaller in winter), and some other things. I think, though, like most car decisions once price is out of the way, it really boils down to an emotional decision. I really like how the Insight looks and handles compared to the Prius, though I like the Prius’ gadget screen and ability to run in electric-only mode better.

The 2004 Prius, though, seems to have corrected many of these deficiencies: better gas mileage, better styling, faster off the line, etc. It’s a real second-generation hybrid. But, unfortunately, I’m in the market for a used car, not new, and can’t really afford a $400/month car payment over five years right now 🙂

Unfortunately, in trying to haggle with a local dealership over the price of a similar Insight, knowing what it’s going for at wholesale volume auction ($5,000-$7,000), I offered $8,000 to counter their sticker price of $14,450. I was thrown out of the joint rather rudely — a topic for another blog, I think. I thought haggling was the art of negotiating, not the art of “the dealer sets the price and refuses to budge”. Eh, well. If I were to do it again, I would probably just pick the price I were willing to pay, rather than doing math in my head to figure out if we both give-and-take equally where we’ll end up.

Anyway, the one I’m getting is in even better condition than the one at the local dealership (which was Las Vegas-owned, 29,000 miles, a little over 2 years old). This one for which I have a cashier’s check in my hot little hand, only had a single owner, in Washington State. In case you’re unfamiliar with the Insight, as a hybrid electric/gasoline vehicle, it uses a battery pack to store power generated by the gas motor for the electric motor to use to assist when heavy acceleration is necessary. Unfortunately, Nickel Metal Hydride batteries rapidly deteriorate in temperatures higher than 140 degrees Farenheit. If you’re in a southern region, like Nevada, Texas, or Florida, it’s easy to reach 170+ on the inside of a vehicle, which dramatically shortens battery life.

So it’s been kept in a cool climate, and the lifetime miles-per-gallon on it reads 56.1 MPG. That means it was driven VERY carefully by the previous owner! It’s 51 city / 57 highway rated by the EPA, and on the CVT model, the lack of “lean burn” which you can achieve on the manual stops it from getting the absolutely stratospheric mileage some Insight owners achieve. I figure I’ll be really happy with over 600 miles per 11-gallon tank of gas, though.

I’m thinking I may be willing to sacrifice some MPG for better traction in the snowy winter about to set upon us. Snow tires are pretty expensive, and will destroy my miles-per-gallon, but safety is more important than economy in my humble opinion. At least I’m consoled in the knowledge that no matter what sort of car I’m driving, they’ll be similarly impacted at the gas pump by the addition of snow tires.

If any of you loyal readers ever get out near Tooele, UT, give me a holler and I’ll give you a ride. It’s a neat little car, and Sunday through Monday I get to come to know it intimately on a 750-mile drive back home from Spokane. Insights are low-production (only 4,000 per year in the U.S.), they look really unique, and they are a lot of fun to drive. Glad I found one so cheap, and had such a positive experience with the dealer over long distance.

For those interested, click here for the pictures of it on the lot up at Soupy’s Auto Sales in Post Falls, Idaho (a bedroom community for Spokane).

http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/031219/1071831840_1.html

Apparently, Matt is not the only person who feels .ppt is a terrible presentation package.

I’ve never had reason to gripe, but that’s only because my background in business management is about crunching complicated concepts and arguments into concise points. Everyone always tells us, “Make it simple for them to understand…Pretend that we’re five years old.”

If you’re five years old, what are you doing in a VP’s chair?

Excited to see what Apple has put on the market.

Sam

Check out this Department of Defense Requisition list for the twelve days of Christmas…

This morning I’m heading in for a follow-up interview. It’s for a contracting position through Smith Johnson with emWare, a seven-year “startup” that does software for embedded microcontrollers in devices such as vending machines.

The job’s a six-month contract. I don’t know whether it will go past that or not. Their lead admin is taking a several-month leave, and they need someone with Solaris and Linux skills, along with a little Java, Perl, and Bash, as well as systems automation experience. Enter… me! I seem to be a good fit, and as far as I know, I’m the only one being subject to a second interview. I hope all goes well.

I received a somewhat excited call from Bryan, the recruiter/contract lead for this position. He asked me to be “calm” for the interview, and to try to “tone down” my personality a bit. Apparently, one of my interviewers thought I was a little high-strung.

Me? High-strung? Combatative? NEVER, I have no idea what they are smoking thinking that 😉

Yeah, I am a little high-strung, all the time. If I’d gone for thirty years without figuring this out, I’d be in some serious denial. I consider it a positive attribute — let’s hope the interviewers feel the same. I told the recruiter “look, I’m not going to create a fake personality just for the interview when they’ll need to work with the real me for the next six months”. He agreed, but still asked me to work on being “calm and approachable” for this interview.

Where’s a Valium when you need one?

I’ll let you know how it goes.

My eight-year-old blonde-haired daughter stared up at me from the couch, a sullen look in her eyes, and a glower underneath her growing blonde eyebrows. Her dripping-wet hair from her shower was slowly soaking the shoulders of her nightdress, her chubby cheeks flushed pink in anger.

“But we didn’t even get to finish family night!” she shouted at me, false tears growing in the corner of her eyes.

“Done or not, it’s time for bed for you. You’ve delayed long enough, and now have two choices: you may get to bed on your own power, or under my power,” I replied. I’ve used that phrase enough times now that she’s familiar with it: it means that if she doesn’t choose to move as asked, she will be carried by me to where I’ve asked her to go. It’s a “Love and Logic” thing: present your children with two choices, and allow them to choose the least objectionable. We know that it’s manipulation, and the logical part of me screams ‘false dichotomy! false dichotomy!’, but it makes things proceed so much more smoothly, and helps maintain at least some pretense at discipline in our house.

She voiced a small, closed-mouthed scream, balled her hands up in fists, and glared at me. Her right foot inched forward. Her left foot inched forward. This was too slow. I’ve learned that, in dealing with my children, resistance, or slowness in performing that which is required, is the same as defiance. They simply try to push the limit as far as it will go. I’m no disciplinarian, but there are certain daily routines where I’ll provide the motivation if they fail to. I choose to see in black and white: she was not yet in her room, so she had obviously chosen to have me propel her there.

I set down my laptop, lowered the recliner footrest, and stood up. I generally do not spank my children (except in cases of violation of certain critical instructions that may be life-saving, such as come, go, sit, no, and stay, or if they lie to me), so rather than cower in fear at some sort of retribution, she began to fight back with words. “I’m going, Dad, I’m going!” she said, as she picked up her pace slightly.

“Not fast enough, and in my book, that means you’re disobeying. It’s no problem, really” I said as I bent down, grabbed her around the knees, and hoisted her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, “you’re quite light”.

Hmm, saying she’s light was a lie. She’s 89 pounds now. She’s built like much of the rest of the family: pudgy, but solid rather than flabby. I grunted slightly with the effort. Who spanks me now when I tell a lie like that one, I wondered.

“No! No! I was going, I was going!” she squealed. But she didn’t sound sad, upset, or mad enough. I think she was actually enjoying being carried upstairs at some level. I realized it had been a very, very long time since I’d carried her upstairs.

Just then, I felt a spank on my rearend.

I pondered for the briefest of moments — should I respond with anger, humor, or not at all? Humor comes much more naturally to me than anger. “Come on, you can do better than that!” I reassured her. “That spank didn’t hurt at all! I know you’re mad at me, so hit me like you mean it.”

I felt another smack, this one harder.

“That’s more like it. Now I know you’re angry; that one even stung a little.”

Smack. I chuckled.

Smack. I laughed harder at her efforts.

SmackSmackSmackSmackSmackSmackSmackSmackSmack… a veritable flurry of open-palmed hits landed on my backside. I was surprised at the strength of the little girl over my shoulder — I wouldn’t think she’d have the leverage to deliver such stinging impacts. The flailing ceased as I leaned over and set her down.

“Well, at least you let me have it for carrying you upstairs in such an undignified manner,” I said, as I winked at her and chuckled again. “Those were some pretty hard smacks!”

“I didn’t!” she responded, with half a grin fighting with the mad expression she was trying to muster.

“I did!” a little voice sprang up from behind my trousers. I turned, and there stood little Zachariah, holding up both palms bright red from the blows, a grin crooking the corner of his mouth, eyebrows raised high in self-satisfaction.

I always liked to ask the hypothetical question: If lightning strikes you, but you live, are you lucky or unlucky.

It was always a cute/annoying thing to ask, and I never really gave it much thought beyond the idea that it would make me seem smart and deep.. and somehow knowing that it did neither.

Finally this week, I got asked the question myself, in a manner of speaking. My house was burglarized on thursday, and the guys trashed my bedroom, ripped through my drawers, overturned my mattress, and collected most of my electronic equipment in the living room to take with them, when an astute neighbor noticed and called the police.

In the end.. the perps are in Jail, I have all my stuff back, my wife, my cat, and I are all fine.. and its almost like it never happened.. if you minus the lost sleep, the violation, the day spent refortifying my home security, and the muddy footprints… but really.. we lost nothing tangible.

SO now, I find myself trapped in a world with two species.. the ones who ask me “how I’m doing” and the ones who tell me “You’re lucky”.. and neither seems appropriate. I’m fine, but not really.. its very strange…

So, now before I go to sleep, after the third time I check the locks, I ponder whether I am luck or unlucky, and pray lightning doesn’t strike again.

Here it is: final proof that using Powerpoint turns you stupid.

I’m a long-term anti-fan of “presentation software” — I’ve often thought that, while it’s a decent organizational tool for helping one structure a presentation, I nearly always need to present more information than can possibly be present on the slides.

For a reasonable technical presentation, a tool like Powerpoint can be useful to highlight the most important data from the technical writeup, but nothing can substitute for the actual data, information-dense charts, and good technical explanation. Not even “gee whiz” stuff like embedding video into the presentation can improve it enough to be an adequate substitute for presenting information in a well-documented, scholarly, written fashion when need requires.

Slides are useful to present dumbed-down information, but when it comes to any complex topic, I’ll take the manual, please.

Then again, they are great when you really don’t have much to work with anyway, but you want to look like you do. Like sales presentations.

I created this response on the alt.suport.diet.low-carb newsgroup. And when I type this much, I’d rather it not be lost to antiquity, you know? Plus, my ISP seems to have been losing posts to newsgroups lately. So I’m archiving it on my blog. A guy who calls himself “Peter” has this to say:

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I’ve read the Atkins book and I’m on the fourth day of induction, feeling pretty awful and feeling especially sick at even the thought of another [expletive] egg! But the ‘Ketostix’ are showing deep purple (highest level on the scale) so I’m doing something right.

I’m eating as much as before; arguably even more, because nothing seems to satisfy my craving for carbohydrate of some kind. The result is that I’m raiding the fridge hourly in an effort to find something, anything that might make me feel better. Consequently, my food intake has gone through the roof.

Perhaps I haven’t understood the principles of the Atkins diet but I’m puzzled about something.Where does all that dietary fat (and protein) go. Does it just get excreted? If it doesn’t get excreted then it presumably gets burnt for energy? But if that happens doesn’t it mean that every gram of dietary fat I eat is one less gram of body fat that gets burnt? So I lose weight less quickly? And so, conversely (if my logic is right so far) if I eat more fat than my body can burn then won’t I just put weight on?

And if all that’s true then isn’t it the case that the Atkins Diet cliche that “you can eat as much non carb food as you like” just garbage? The cynic in me might even say that the reason most people loose weight on Atkins is down to the fact that the ‘allowed foods’ are so awful that they eat less anyway? So in my case I would have to cut down on my protein/fat intake if Atkins is to succeed? And if I do that then what’s the advantage of Atkins over any other calorie restrictive diet?

Obviously there’s a flaw in my logic……………..but what it it?

Peter

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My Response:

Here are some answers, Peter. Realize I’m just a low-carber that’s read a lot, and I could be totally wrong on a thing or two, but I *think* I’m right.

1. “… the ‘Ketostix’ are showing deep purple”

   The Ketostix showing “purple” means you’re processing dietary (and probably body) fat for energy. Good. However, the really deep color is far more an indication that you aren’t drinking enough water than that you’re “deeply in ketosis”. As long as the sticks are any color other than their original neutral beige, you can be sure you’re in ketosis/lipolysis. Drink more water to lighten them up.

2. “I’m eating as much as before; arguably even more, because nothing seems to satisfy my craving for carbohydrate of some kind. The result is that I’m raiding the fridge hourly in an effort to find something, anything that might make me feel better. Consequently, my food intake has gone through the roof.”

   What are you eating? Have you tried following the Atkins induction menu strictly for a week? Normally, after 3-5 days, most people lose the carb cravings, and within the two weeks, encounter far less hunger as well as a substantial energy boost. You may want to double-check what you’re eating to make sure that everything is on the “induction” list.

   I felt like I was eating more than before when I went on induction. After a week, I discovered Fitday and started tracking, then realized that I actually wasn’t eating nearly enough. Just a few days of tracking your usual eating habits is often enough to give you a clue of how much you should be eating to satisfy dietary requirements.

3. “Where does all that dietary fat (and protein) go. Does it just get excreted?”

   Yep. Ketones that show up in your urine are similar to carbs — they sport 4 calories per gram. If you’re eating your daily requirement of calories to (normally) not lose any weight, and you are on a low-carb diet, you’ll still lose weight roughly equal (over time), at 3500kcals/pound, to what you’re pissing into your toilet.

   Your body dumps those ketones into your urine because they are acidic, and it’s trying to maintain the pH level of your bloodstream. Yet it needs more energy, so your fat cells and the fat you digest are creating more ketones. It’s kind of like a nuclear reactor, in a way — reactors have to dump some hot water *somewhere* in order to keep temperatures equalized. Often this is to a massive pond where the environment can cool it off before it’s re-used. Your body is doing a similar thing, but it’s trying to maintain acid/base balance, rather than heat.

4. “every gram of dietary fat I eat is one less gram of body fat that gets burnt?”

   If you don’t eat enough calories to satisfy your Basal Metabolic Rate, eventually your body slows your metabolism to compensate. It’s a survival mechanism. So you need to make sure to eat enough food to be satisfied, yet not enough to be stuffed silly.

5. “if I eat more fat than my body can burn then won’t I just put weight on?”

   Yes and no. If you’re in ketosis/lipolysis, you have some “burn-off” of calories through your urine, so you can eat a bit more calories than you normally could and still maintain weight. However, pronounced evidence of this effect is generally short-lived for the first few weeks or months on a low-carb diet, and by the time you move from Ongoing Weight Loss to Pre-Maintenance, it’s virtually nonexistent. For most people, they will lose visible evidence of ketones somewhere between 40-60 grams of carbs per day. You’re not eating like Induction forever, you know. But the metabolic advantage that sticks with you is that a higher protein diet metabolizes in the liver at only 58% percent efficiency versus carbohydrates, and you’ll tend to feel more satiated when low-carbing vs. low-fatting.

6. “…Atkins Diet cliche that “you can eat as much non carb food as you like””

   Sounds like you didn’t really read the book. That’s a fallacy. You can eat as much as you need to be satisfied — but not stuffed. This also varies according to height. Short people often find they need to reduce portion sizes and accomodate their bodies to less food, even on Atkins. I’ve found that, even at six feet tall, I need to occasionally monitor my calories per day to make sure I’m meeting my Basal Metabolic Rate (to avoid the “famine mode” of metabolism), and to gauge how well I’m meeting my body’s requirements as I continue to drop weight. It’s a bit of a science project, really.

   The relevant Atkins philosophy is “if you are hungry, eat.” But, when eating, avoid the carbohydrate foods, and track the carbs of what you eat according to your current phase of the eating plan. This philosophy is not quite the same as “eat as much non carb food as you like”. If you’re not hungry, even if you’d “like” more, don’t eat. There’s still self-discipline involved on Atkins — it’s just considerably easier to maintain this way of eating than most low-fat or traditional calorie-restricted plans.

7. “The cynic in me might even say that the reason most people loose weight on Atkins is down to the fact that the ‘allowed foods’ are so awful that they eat less anyway?”

   I have no idea what you’re talking about. I just enjoyed a fantastic salad. Two cups of lettuce. Three tablespoons of pine nuts (I just like pine nuts — you may like other nuts). A handful of real bacon bits. And it was all topped with sauteed chicken breast that I made myself. A few nights ago I went to Carl’s Junior and ordered a Western Bacon Double Cheeseburger without the bun. It was excellent, and presented in an appealing way on a platter. I had to eat it with a fork and knife, but no worries. Last night I had an Atkins Endulge ice cream bar. I’ve been off the carbs long enough that that is “sweet enough” for me, though some people don’t like them.

   The food I get to eat, particularly now that I’m past Induction, are just awesome. Hamburgers (hold the bun). Low-cab pancakes, if I wish to make them. Cauliflower salad that I like better than potato salad. Creamy cheesecakes. Taco salads (sans the chips). Fantastically creamy, flavorful homemade soups. Alaskan King Crab, and other shellfish. Shrimp stir-fry. There’s a whole world of cooking I’m exploring now, after three years as a partial vegetarian (one year ovo-lacto, two years ovo-lacto, fish and fowl). It’s some great stuff.

8. “… So in my case I would have to cut down on my protein/fat intake if Atkins is to succeed? And if I do that then what’s the advantage of Atkins over any other calorie restrictive diet? “

   A low-carbohydrate, low-protein diet is a recipe for a heart attack, as your body pillages your body’s muscles (eventually, including heart muscle) to sustain your life. A low-carbohydrate, low-fat diet is very difficult to maintain, since you’ll feel both carbohydrate deprived, and starved for any satisfying foods. Some people are more weight-loss intolerant than others, and it’s important to make sure you’re following the plan exactly (including prohibited foods), as well as, in some cases, monitoring your caloric intake and making sure you’re receiving sufficient nutrition through supplements, vegetables, and the fats & proteins in your diet throughout the Induction phase.

   The carb cravings normally go away after a few days on Induction. If they don’t, you are almost certainly eating something off-plan. Try following the strict Induction menu provided in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution for at least one week. Re-read Chapter 11 (I think it is) to remember the Rules of Induction.

   And remember that Induction lasts somewhere between two weeks and several months — how long beyond two weeks, if you choose, is up to you, keeping in mind that one of the most common causes of “stalls” in weight loss while on Atkins is staying below 20 carbs a day. People tend to lose more weight, and keep it off, if they transition from Induction, to Ongoing Weight Loss, to Pre-Maintenance, to Maintenance, than to Induct as long as they possibly can. If you stay on Induction much beyond six months (if you have a lot to lose), your body begins hoarding all the calories and fat it can in an effort to keep you alive with such a long-sustained low-carb regimen. You MUST increase your number of carbs (if you are of sufficient height that 20 carbs is too little for you) in order to be “doing Atkins”. It’s controlled-carb, not “no-carb”. I expect I’ll be eating somewhere around 100 carbs a day by the time I arrive at maintenance, which is only 1/3 of the U.S. RDA.

   The goal of Induction is to break your carbohydrate cravings and binging tendencies, plus set a baseline carbohydrate level for you at which you can prove to yourself the diet works; it sure sounds like you need it. It’s not a lifetime sentence on how to eat. I’m up to 35 carbs per day now, and still dropping weight rapidly (six-footer, 30 years old, nightly treadmill, exercise videos, or resistance training for 30-45 minutes). In the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase, you get to start experimenting with new foods, a little at a time, and it’s much more exciting.

As far as for the benefit versus a reduced-calorie diet: in the long term, the advantages as I see them are:

• Atkins makes people feel more satisfied with what they eat than low-fat plans. It’s an easy plan to stick to once you’ve broken your cravings, and the negative effect many people feel when they “over-carb” helps keep them on-plan when they do slip off. I don’t know what the statistics are like for people sticking to Atkins, but I’m finding it extraordinarily easy to make common-sense choices to keep my carb count down.
  Contrary to what some people think, eating low-carb cannot “make you diabetic”. It makes you more sensitive to the aftereffects when you over-carb, because it adjusts to a lower-carb regimen, but you’ll secrete insulin to handle it all the same. It’s just that eating excessive carbs with a high glycemic index will eventually make you feel kind of bloated, gassy, and tired.
• It stabilizes blood sugar for Type II diabetics and pre-diabetics much better than low-fat. Most morbidly obese people are pre-diabetic, many of the obese, and some of the overweight.
• Atkins offers more food choices. The only “forbidden” foods (post-Induction) are starchy or refined carbs like bread, potatoes, and white rice. This accounts for way, way too much grocery store shelf space, but on Atkins I eat much more healthy food. Wholesome grains, vegetables, meats, butter, dark turkey meat… “real food” rather than “low fat” stuff.

In the short-term (less than a year), those on a low-carbohydrate regimen drop fat weight much faster than those on low-fat, given equal calories, and maintain their existing lean muscle mass better.

It’s up to you — if you hate doing Atkins after the first two weeks, try something else. Some people like or need it, some don’t. That’s my lengthy two cents.

—
Matthew
Started Atkins@240lbs, Nov 1 2003

255/227/180 6’0″

Jean size:
40/36 (loose now!)/32

My wife and I celebrated nine years tonight. It’s been a long, hard road at times, but despite difficulties, changes, children, and challenge, there have been rewards aplenty to keep us happy and motivated.

I love you, Christy, with all my heart, more than anything else in my life. For now and always. — Matthew