Are they trying to kill us?

I just read a disturbing, yet not surprising, article on the madness of restauraunt chains and fast food joints.

Read article here

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about.  This has been going on for years and years and slowly but surely escalating into the gargantuan problem it is now.  Puns abound.  In all seriousness it isn’t about getting fat.  Sure that’s the first visible indication of something wrong but what goes on inside the body is more sinister in the long run.

Just a few things to note.  When you go to an Italian restaurant have you ever noticed they do not skimp on the portions of noodles?  I’ve never once in my life been able to finish a plate from any Italian place.  Ever.  On top of being horribly bad for you it’s wasteful.  Think of all of the noodles that end up in the garbage.  Do we expect that much to be fed to us?  Think if they cut the portion in half, they could cut the price in half.  Though, that’d attract more patrons and they might not have room to seat them all?  Is it some kind of equilibrium to balance?  I know that I’d personally love to eat somewhere where every single item is healthy and balanced.  In making a meal that way then it’s almost forced to be reasonably priced.  Hell, I’d pay the SAME price for a healthy meal because I know that my jeans won’t be hard to button and my body will otherwise benefit from it.

Exercise is very important but it’s useless if your diet is in tatters.  I really think that it all starts with what you put in your mouth.

I’m not innocent of this though when I’ve made poor food choices I was well aware of it.  Stress can do that!  I always know when I’m eating something good or bad for me.  Or do I?  O’Charley’s has a cup of broccoli with 11 grams of fat.  Are you kidding me?  1 entire cup of raw broccoli has 25 calories.  They must put a good tablespoon of butter in their cup.  Way to go at destroying something perfectly healthy.   Their turkey burger is 1000+ calories.  Better off getting a Big Mac.  Pretty deceiving and in that article you’ll see even more than that.

Why are they hiding it?  Why can’t they change their menu?  Are they afraid people will stop eating it?  Apparently.

I wish someone would step up and make a genuine stride towards providing healthy meals.  Not this pansy “we offer two healthy items” bullshit.  Really make a valid and knowledgeable effort.  Hire a nutritionist, use better ingredients.  I think even if the cost were affected that more people would respond positively.  Too me it means they respect me enough to want to keep my business and NOT kill me in the process.

So who will step up?  Will our gargantuan appetites change?  I really hope so.

Hubble Servicing Mission

Does anyone remember when Hubble was launched?  Remember how we all waited to see those brilliant images come down?  As they started to beam down to earth we all looked at each other thinking “that’s good, right?”  Those in the know immediately knew it wasn’t right.  Hubble was near-sighted.  The most expensive telescope ever built didn’t work.

Two years later a daring plan was set into motion to fix hubble.  Essentially it would be given glasses and other hardware would be upgraded as well (solar panels, gyros, etc).   Astronauts worked feverishly on Hubble until all the repairs were made.  Would they work?  Could NASA redeem itself?

The answer is a resounding “yes”.  Not only redemption but triumph.  As the new images came in, it was clear the mission was a success and our view on the Universe would never be the same again.  Chances are that you’ve seen a photo taken by Hubble.  To be more clear, if you’ve seen a picture of space in the last 15 years, it’s a good chance Hubble took it.  Sure there are scopes that are larger and gather more light but Hubble has the advantage.  It doesn’t put up with atmosphere.  No rainy days, cloudy days and it’s always night time in space.  Well to a degree it is.

NASA has serviced the Hubble a couple of times since that first servicing.  Upgrades to equipment, new cameras, better cameras and more sensitive instruments to bolster it’s scientific contribution even more.

Later this year NASA will service the Hubble one final time.  The telescope has been a workhorse for so many years and taken some of the most stunning images of the Cosmos known to man.  I’d love to be there to see the shuttle go up.  Might still happen but I won’t set my heart on it.

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/

Shoulder update: Week 10

I can say now that my shoulder feels about 85% up to par.  Which is funny since I can’t wait to play golf again.  I’m really not that great at it but it’s hella fun to just get out there on a hot day and hit a tiny object with a metal stick towards a tiny hole (and do it 9-18 times).  I might walk next time out so I get a good exercise in.

I do daily exercises to strengthen the cuff area.  These workouts look very pansy like.  They look so simple but I tell you what, do them long another and the interior of you shoulder feels like its on fire.  These are bulking up exercises that work delts, these work deep in the shoulder.

I did wake up on it this morning hurting like hell.  Morning is when it’s stiff and the bursitis really gets me.  But it goes away after a few minutes of moving around.  Another solid couple of weeks and I should be mostly back to normal and hitting the links

You don’t see this everyday

We had a Black Hawk helicopter come into our truck yard Friday.  The driver was just passing through I guess.  At any rate I was elected to take photos of it in the yard.

I also got elected to take a couple of photos of it driving down the highway.  I wish I’d had a wide angle lens.  The truck was so long that once it go close to me I had to choose the choppa or the truck.  Oh well, it was still really cool.

Most expensive five year old birthday ever

Ok, probably not THE most expensive ever.  This was a lot more than we’d intended on spending and it’s not what you think.  I’ll do a run over the gifts.  He got a bike early because his scooter broke.  He found a couple of the presents *sigh*.  Two days ago as a joint-birthday gift we got an Xbox 360 (for he and I).  Granted I REALLY wanted the thing so that was more of my doing.  He’ll get plenty of use out of it.  I digress.

So what’s the deal?  I thought this was expensive?  Well let me tell you a story of how you can double the cost of what we’d bought up until this point.

Well here goes.  I’ll start at Sunday, it’s raining most of the day.  When I go outside from the basement I didn’t think twice about the water running about.  It was raining hard at times.  I continue what was I doing.

Monday I notice the water is still running but it’s drainage surely.  I didn’t think anything about it and went on with my business.  After heavy rain it’s not unusual for water to stand in our lower yard.

So then Tuesday our neighbors inform us their yard is partially flooded.  I thought “geez people it’s just the water draining!”  So I investigate and sure enough this doesn’t appear to be drainage.  HMM.  I look around and find no visible water leaks.  We have no pipes on that side of the house aside from the one running to a spicket and our sink.  I see no leak indications from inside the house or anywhere else for that matter.

Wednesday morning I look again and the water hasn’t relented one bit.  I can actually see a current in the water so it’s not just standing.  I’m completely baffled at this point.  She called a plumber and he said to look at the meter and watch it.  There is a little triangle shaped dial on the thing and it’s a flow indicator.  If it’s moving, it means water is flowing.  If it’s sorta moving it could mean it’s a small leak.

Wednesday afternoon.  I get home and promptly check the meter.  The flow indicator is not only spinning but it’s bookin’ it.  Wow, this is a HUGE leak.  Or is it?  I know that if that much water is flowing that it’ll be visible at the source.   I walk to the point where water enters our house.  Dry as a bone.  I walk to the back yard and hear a sound.   Running water.  I look down and there it is, in all of it’s glory; a water hose that had been left running.

OH MY GOD!

At this point we had no idea how long the water had been running.  I turned it off and checked the meter.  Bingo, flow meter is dead.  I rush in to tell of the good news and realize on the way there is going to be some bad news.  It wasn’t a leak but now we have to pay for the water.  I tell her to get the utility bill and estimate price per gallon. 

We checked the bill.  We did a little math and then proceeded to freak the fuck out.  We estimated that 29,000 gallons of water had flowed in the time period it was left on.  TWENTY NINE THOUSAND gallons.  Price per unit is $0.85.  Do that math.  So we’re freaking out obviously and I’m trying to find out how to read a meter correctly.  She is calling her mom.  We’re telling the kids to shush and simma down!  Are we going to have a $20,000+ water bill?

She turns the bill over and it’s price per UNIT.  100 gallons = 1 unit.  Talk about being relieved.  Ok, so the bill is “only” going to be $300+ this month.  You know what?  We’ll pay a 300 dollar bill ANY DAY OF EVER over a twenty something THOUSAND dollar bill.

So we turn our attention now to how/why/when.  How did the water turn on?  Did I leave it on after pressure washing our porch?  Did the neighbor’s kids do it?  Did our kid do it?

First we estimated 29,000 gallons used.  Then I went outside to the meter and timed 1 gallon.  It was 15 seconds per gallon.  That’s 4 gallons per minute.  We put 4 into 29000.  That’s 7250 which we divided by 60 and got 120ish.  120 hours divided by 24 turns out to be 5 days.

We determined the water had been turned on at some point Saturday.  Glad I was off the hook!  Weee!  But who turned it on?

It all started Saturday when we’re baby sitting for my sister.  I was down with a cold, as I still am, so they took the kids outside.  It was hot and steamy as most July days are in Georgia.  Our oldest, 5, decides he wants to play with the Elmo sprinkler.  He isn’t quite sure how to hook it up or perhaps he’s distracted by something and turns the water on and walks away and oh look, a chicken!

So there you have it.  Our five year old did it.  I did notice the elmo sprinkler sitting out in the yard and that sort of keyed me in.  It all fits into place and the evidence mounted up.  He admitted to doing it though after a little coaxing and assurance that he wouldn’t get into trouble.  It was simply an accident and we were very stern in talking to him about turning it on ever again.

The neighbor didn’t care and was really nice about it.  I looked this morning and sure enough the water is drying out.

And now you know how this is the most espensive birthday ever for a five year old.  Ok, well for OUR five year old.

-The End

Bad Father Day

I don’t know if it’s normal to feel like this but maybe.  A chain of events is set off that leaves you feeling like a bad mother/father.  This isn’t a good feeling.  My five year old was complaining of a hurting leg the other night.  So all night and the next morning I tried to get him to walk it off.  He eventually did and I took him to daycare.  He was not happy about that.  I had to go to work and finally a teacher intervened.

Yesterday after school he was being particularly 5 years old and whining about dinner and about this and that.  Eventually got him calmed down and played some nintendo then layed down and went to sleep.

This morning at 5am all hell breaks loose.  His stomach was hurting badly.  Got him some gingerale and crackers and tried to calm him down.  It sort of came and went.  I was getting the 1 year old dressed when the oldest appeared in the doorway and proceeded to vomit all over the floor.  I’ve seldom felt so helpless.  I had a naked infant on the bed and a puking 5 year old in the doorway.  I tossed the little one into what we call “baby jail” (it’s a thing they sit in).  I then motioned the oldest into the bathroom.  Now we have a sick kid and a pissed off kid.

That’s the sort of thing that there isn’t a book for or anyone to say “this is how it will work”.  It weighed pretty heavily on me this morning.  I’m really looking forward to seeing the oldest when we get home.  I hope he’s feeling better.  I hate vomiting more than anything on the planet but it won’t keep me from taking care of my children.  Mind you, I did jump back about 2 feet when he let loose.  Knee-jerk reaction.  I can  handle a pissed off kid but I can’t handle seeing my kids in pain.  If I feel like I can’t help, it’s even worse.

I’m very grateful we have two insane and otherwise healthy children.

Shoulder: Week 7

Honestly I have good days and bad days.  So far, today is a good day.  Slow healing makes for extreme frustration.  Doing the exercises really seems to help.  I’m quite sore after I do them but I take that as meaning those muscles aren’t very worked.  It’s not the shoulder muscle that you see on the outside (deltoid) that I’m working.  It’s the small group of rotator cuff muscles I’m focusing on.

After reading up, It seems like it’s one of the most neglected group of muscles in the body.  Only when you hurt it *cough* do you realize how important it is to keep it strengthened.  The exercises are small, trivial almost.  But you do enough of them and you get a little sore in that area and can feel those little muscles going.  I’ll never take that area for granted again.

I can’t wait to play golf again though it might be several more weeks before I feel comfortable doing it.

Raining and pouring

So last week I had two crown preps plus the full mouth debridement.  It’s quite lovely I tell you.  Well it’s been my experience that if I have teeth that are borderline “flare ups” and any work is done around them.  They will flare up.  That means they get aggravated to the point of needing to be worked on.  It’s like a chain reaction.  So here I sit, about to call the dentist again.  Likely to have an emergency visit for a root canal.  As ideal as that would be for pain, it involves going and sitting through the process.  Meh.

Ideas with longevity

I think.  I think a lot.  I think that I think too much for my own good.  In fact, thinking gets me into trouble sometimes!  I’m sitting here thinking about good ideas.  What is a good idea?  Better yet; what is a good idea that lasts?  One of my favorite things to read about are people with humble beginnings that had a great idea and turned it into something amazing.  It’s an admirable feat.

So here I am trying to figure out an idea that has longevity and serves a purpose.  I’m not saying I’m immune to the “this will make money and fast” ideas.  Sure I get those but they’re typically hairbrained and cynical ideas that I’m not serious about.  On that note, something like LOLcats probably didn’t start at a big round table in an executive office.

“Gentlemen, talking cats.  Well cats that aren’t really talking but have captions.  The captions are also in bad english because we all know that if they did talks then that’s how’d they would sound.  Oh, sees, I didid it too!”

Regardless of how it came about it works.  How long will it work?  As soon as an idea is successful there are copy’cats’ of every possible make and measure.  Quickly that segment becomes saturated and suddenly nothing is original minus the actual original.  I’d be confident in saying it was luck that made the cat lol.  Something that just caught on.  Again, how long can it persist?

My ideas are along the lines of helping people.  It’s a win win for me.  I like the idea of helping people and making a living.  No I’m not talking about working a soup line or doing social work.  I’m talking about something innovative.  What though?  It’s something I’m thinking about constantly.  Maybe the idea takes non-innovative things and combines them.

Here’s something I thought about.  I am deeply fascinated with weather.  I know that weather cannot be beaten per se but it can be dealt with.  How do you deal with it?  Hurricane proof homes and community tornado shelters are just a couple of things that intrigue me.  I was amazed after watching a TV show about a fellow who actually built a hurricane proof home.  A concrete dome with breakaway stairs.  He had neighbors ride the storm out in his house with him.  I think the only internal damage to the home was a some water leaking in.  Not bad!

So weather preparedness, weather protection, and even methods of defending yourself and family are all things that interest me.  For instance, look at this thing PUKE SABER.  A non-lethal method of making an attacker double over and become physically ill?  Yes please!

Shoulder update

6 weeks to the day now.  My shoulder still hurts but it’s made good progress.  A lot of movements I couldn’t make without pain early on, I can now make.  There are still some movements that give me trouble.  My range of motion is excellent but when I try to lift something in a certain way, I get some sharp pain.

According to the ortho these things can linger for a couple of months even after it’s mostly healed.  6 weeks in though, I’m feeling better about it but it’s still annoying.  I’m not missing workouts because of it.  I will say that post-workout it’s sore and aches.  The pain isn’t sharp or shooting but it’s just deep and achey.  Hope that’s normal… but what is normal?