Axiom

Every time anybody takes the opportunity to tell you that they are an ethical person.... they are doing something to screw you. Acting unethically. I have never seen this to fail.

Fun with Johnson's

It was the cocktail party that wouldn't quit last night as the entire Johnson family came over.  That includes reigning Peep of the Year, Jeremy and his beautiful wife, Julie in from Minnesota, the gorgeous Amanda from LA and of course Dale/Buck and Trophy Wife Gail.
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Grandson Will was rather smitten with Julie and kept up a constant motion.  Mike dropped in which prompted Scuba Steve to come by and even Katelyn made an appearance at the end of the evening.
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Jeremy had gotten about three hours of FreshAyer with a fake tattoo on his forearm to prove some streetcred with the C.O.'s.   His "THUGLIFE"  tat in Olde English lettering was freaking hilarious, and Ryan was apparently convinced of its authenticity.   He and Ryan had a great visit, and he came back with truckload of stories and anecdotes.
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Jeremy had also let his beard grow for a week so had some mild, barely discernable fuzz going on with his tattooed audacity.
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I laughed so hard that I thought my stomach was going to flip.
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I was thoroughly impressed that Amanda and Jeremy found the King of Scotch, Lagavulin, much to their liking and we finished the last of the bottle that Maria Rowen had bought for me in gaining the coveted Automatic Peep of the Week designation.   We also finished the Laphrogh  and the Jameson's so my liquor cabinet took a good beating.
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But it was damn worth it.
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I'm hoping that some of you Peeps will step up for another "Automatic" soon though.

Figity Photos Part Deux

Low Carb

No carbs for 8 days and I've lost about 9 pounds.  There is no doubt that the elimination of bread, pasta, potatoes, cookies and crackers has significant power for weight reduction.   I still have a Sam Adams from time to time.  I mean... I haven't gone freaking crazy about totally dropping every single carbohydrate.   So this is technically a low carb diet.
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Last night at the My Brother's Table Summer Party, it was easy to stay on  the shrimp and the cheese, and eat stuff off of the bread.  Been eating lots of nuts and cheese to ward off the munchies, where I would ordinarily turn to Cheezits, chips and popcorn.
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But Man.... I miss my Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia..... really Bad.
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I definitely feel like I have more energy.   Eggs for Breakfast,  Tuna with no Bread for lunch, Grilled Meat or Fish with Salad for dinner.  And as much cheese and nuts as I feel like in between.   Doesn't seem like much of a sacrifice.  
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If I have lost 9 already in about a week, it would seem reasonable to be able to be able to lose 30 or so by the end of September.  Then I'll reintroduce macaroni and cheese, and Ben and Jerry's....  and Lay's Potato Chips.   All in moderation.   Plus I have to get some workouts in more consistently.
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I like this diet better than counting calories because there is no denial - just a choice of different foods.  I'll probably switch to counting calories when I get to my goal weight in about 80 days.

Sarah Palin

I continue to think that she is great.

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Not afraid to put herself out there.

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Willing to take the abuse.

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Dealing with the family issues that we all encounter.

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Full of honest comment and common sense.

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Plus she's smoking hot.

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Deal with it.

Power Day

Yesterday was a power day at Nanepashemet Telecom as we kicked off our project in Washington DC and linked up with our new Mid Atlantic team.  Now more of the country will benefit from the boundless services of Nanepashemet.  Why should New England have all of the fun????
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We also cut a deal on a killer home in Central MA for some of my favorite Peeps.
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So what's the problem?
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Basically getting up at 3:00 AM, having to suit up, and heading to Logan for a 6:00 AM flight always disrupts my natural patterns.  As in ..... no BM.  Then there is the rush to Dulles at the end of the day, only to have the return takeoff to Boston delayed for a couple of hours.   Then, on the packed Jet Blue flight,  I had a nice middle seat surrounded by two guys who didn't seem to share my sexual preference so to speak.  Not that it bothers me, but I made sure that my less than svelt frame stayed clearly within my own seating boundaries.
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Didn't walk through the door in Marblehead until 10:00 PM.
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Luckily, I always have my Mountain of a Man levels of endurance to carry me through this type of ordeal.   I can't believe how often that I had to do this when I worked for General Dyamics.  That's one other thing I don't miss about that company.
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Today, there are a lot of details to take care of that will insure the progress of yesterday.

Monkey's Ass

''as a Monkey that climbs a tree, the higher he goes, the more he shows his Arse.''  - Benjamin Franklin.
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I had a conversation with a Real Estate Broker today that brought this quote to mind.
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or... to put it another way....

The faster the Monkey climbs the tree, the more of an Asshole you will see.

Pass is Fading

Despite my efforts to look the other way, Michelle Obama is starting to get on my nerves.
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All of the cooing that goes on about her with the liberal media.  They even try to make us think that she is some kind of fashionable looker.   I mean, she's not ugly, but let's leave it there.
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And she doesn't seem to have any intellectural depth.   Her campaign against obesity in children seems to miss the mark somehow.
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This entourage to Spain... between trips to Bar Harbor, Martha's Vineyard and Florida..... how many of us can afford all of these back to back sojourns.   She's not a private citizen.... see's the Frst Lady of the United States - a title that brings her own White House Staff.   Not a good example when the country is struggling with 9.5% unemployment.
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Then I listen to people like Cokey Roberts who smirks and says stuff like, "Yes, it's poor judgement and looks bad.  But this will all blow over."
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In the end, the pass that Michelle and her husband gets will start to wear off, even with all of the swooning.

A Continuing Process

It's back to Marblehead tomorrow after an extended weekend in North Conway.  As painful as the cycling was here, I know from past experience that it will get better if I push though the discomfort and maintain a training regime.
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I think that I will pull out my old ten speed and see if I can use this to continue the process.  It's an old bike and probably obsolete, but it was always pretty rugged, so I hope that I can bring it back to life with my new found bicycle mechanic ability.
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Laying off of the carbs has been no problem.  No craving yet for bread, cookies, pizza or pasta.  
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My plan is to maintain a 100% no carb posture until I lose 20 to 30 pounds, then reintegrate these foods while watching my weight as closely as possible.  I mean... I can't turn my back on macaroni and cheese forever...
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It would be nice to regulate weight solely by cardio workouts, but if I have to back off the carbs again to maintain, then that's the the way that we will go.

TommyO said...

Hi Jay,

Welcome back buddy.
Lobster has less than 1g per 3 oz. serving. Good to know that your hard work will still reap rewards despite your intake restrictions.
TommyO

Fun Cycling

It would seem that threading a bike chain onto a Shimano Derailleur shouldn't be such a big deal.
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Wrong Kemosabe.
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If I didn't have Joanne's bike to use as a model, there would be no way that I could have figured it out.  Plus I naturally dropped a washer while doing the job on the second floor deck, so spent at least a half hour trying to find this which had lodged between the decking boards.
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The good part is that the mechanism was very nicely engineered and I only needed metric allen wrenches to deal with any of the connections.
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So I finally fixed the chain after about an hour, then took a 15 mile ride out towards Jackson and back.  The ride was freaking torture.  I kept thinking about the guy that I met in the parking lot who said that he was heading to Ossippi for a 60 Mile loop.   WTF!!!!!  How can I find this so challenging while every peckerhead around seems to be piling up 50 miles for fun and relaxation????
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Plus, I am acutely saddle sore after this weekend thrust for biking fitness.

Lucky and Happy

Yesterday, in an ambitious bike ride up Hurricane Mountain Road, I shifted quickly down to 1st gear and threw the chain.   Even though I had my allen wrenches with me, I had no idea how that chain was configured on the Shimano gear shifter, and opted to have Joanne bring the F150 to pick me up.
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Afterward, we followed my intended route but spent a decent amount of time on Hurricane Mountain since some guy had flipped his sports car and the ambulances and wreakers held everyone at bay.   While I was stuck on the side of the road, about 25 rallye cars had roared past me and I suspect that one of them misjudged the tricky turns in this road.
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At any rate, I felt lucky compared to that driver, with the top of his car all squished.
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Had my chain not flipped off, it would have been a decent haul back and I probably would have overdone it again, so I was happy with the mishap.  So Day 4 of no carbs laid off of the cardio for the most part.
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I'll try to repair the bike and rev it up for Day 5.

POTW Week 30

Day 4 of no carbs.   I didn't think that I would be able to walk this morning after my 35 mile bicycle debacle, but I feel surprizingly well

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 30th Week of 2010

Doug Maxfield
Pat Piscatelli
Mike Nestor
Tyler Gill
Jill Phillips
Christos Laganos

So I think I'll give the bike another spin today.