The Elektron » General

found Jesus and my mojo in the ethnic foods aisle while looking for fizzy bubbly

chalkdust — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:22:15 +0000

Won’t you come out to play?

chalkdust — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:39:34 +0000

My cube is easy to spot

chalkdust — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:38:54 +0000

UM @ Penn’s Peak

chalkdust — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 01:37:12 +0000

I’m a critic!

chalkdust — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:14:43 +0000

I reviewed an album for my friend over on The Painted Man blog. In short, I really didn't like it, but the process was fun enough. You can check it out here:

http://thepaintedman.brookiellen.com/everyones-a-critic-at-least-for-today/

Hey, Painted Man, send me some beer to review next time!

Phish @ merriweather 2010

chalkdust — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:14:11 +0000

Testing pixelpipe

Insanity: Week 2

chalkdust — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:50:57 +0000

I may have groaned a lot, but I woke up every morning and have now gotten through week two of the Shaun T Insanity work out. In case you were curious, it hasn't gotten easier, but it has gotten more enjoyable over time. I look forward to the workout, and while I'm doing it, I feel great. This may be some sort of variation of Stockholm Syndrome, but if that's what it takes to get me through this, then I'm alright with it.

I should mention that the program specifies a diet plan as well. I didn't look at it. I'm sure it none of the healthy offerings are as delicious as the chicken parm sub I ate for dinner today. I hate to diet for the sake of dieting, but I noticed I have been making healthier choices (forget about the chicken parm). It's been mainly smaller portions and less soda. I'm even drinking a light beer!

My pants feel loose, as if they could fall off at any moment, but I'm pretty sure they've always been like that. I have lost a little over four pounds so far. It's not much, but it does encourage me to forge forward and try a little bit harder next week. I have also learned that you can pee out .6 pounds of pee. Amazing!

Insanity: Days 5&6

chalkdust — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:54:43 +0000

Don't worry, I did complete the 'Pure Cardio' on Friday as well as doing the 'Cardio and Abs' on Saturday. I just didn't get to post because of watching some live music Friday and the Ravens Saturday. But today is a day of rest, so I have a few moments to look back at my first week of the Insanity workout.

Things I like about the workout? The pain. It leaves less scars than cutting and I'm getting in shape to boot. In all seriousness though, I really feel encouraged by how sore I am. I also like the perceived boost in energy levels, I definitely feel more alert throughout the day. Finally, I really enjoy the bonding time with the wife. Mornings used to consist of waking up and running off to work. The extra time spent with her has been a lot of fun.

Things I hate? Waking up early. Unfortunately there is no way around this that I can think of. The evenings for us are too inconsistent to depend on having free every day.

The outlook is still good. I actually feel guilty that today is a rest day. I considered doing a workout today just for kicks, but then I decided to stay w/ the plan. I am looking forward to the Monday workout and I am going to put a conscious effort into 'digging deeper' and really pushing myself to get the max results.

I lost 1.1 pounds from when I weighed myself on Tuesday. It's not much but its a start, I guess. I hope to report an even better results in a week.

Insanity: Day 4

chalkdust — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:24:34 +0000

Cardio Recovery day involved a lot of yoga. It was a welcome change of pace, for sure. However, the 6 am grogginess combined w/ the slow body movement and relaxing music made it a little harder to get going. Regardless, these moves are still pretty tough. There was a lot of emphasis on body control. If the previous workouts were electroshock therapy then this was akin to water boarding. The slow burning in the muscles left a dull throbbing pain in many areas.

Planks, Lunges, and Squats are not my friends at the moment. I was definitely less winded than after the other workouts. I'm learning some new stretches which I really think will go far in allowing me to do some of the other exercises with better form. I have no doubt that we will get back to the craziness tomorrow, but I must say that I enjoyed a day of sanity.

Insanity: Day 3

chalkdust — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:13:31 +0000

I figured I should weigh myself, so I dusted off the Wii Fit board and fired it up. The Wii Fit was quick to tell me I hadn't played in 556 days. Do you remember the good old days when your electronic devices didn't mock you and and make you feel dumb? My iPhone thinks it's smarter than me and insists on correcting my typing, Microsoft Word thinks I need numbered lists all the time, and my Wii Fit thinks I'm lying to it. So much so, that when you weigh yourself, your Mii avatar will expand to what size it thinks your are. Mine plumped up a good bit and I think it even put a mayonnaise stain on my Mii's shirt and capped it off with a 'Wah, Wah, Wahhhhhhhhhh'.

This morning was the first 'Cardio Power and Resistance' workout. The workout clocked in at 39 minutes. It focused on some push up variations and a lot of jumping around. I felt sore from the last workout, but the warm ups help take some of that edge off. I stayed pretty active, maybe doing about 80% the workout early on and fading to about 65% by the end. That may sound pretty crappy, but I felt good about it. If you see these videos, they are exhausting. Even the super-fit people in the videos look pretty exhausted by the end.

Each day I have become increasingly sore. The soreness covers most of my body now. I will just assume will feel like this until I stop the program. Sunday is recovery day, Sunday is recovery day, Sunday is recovery day...