Daily News Archives

October 2009

10/31/2009 - No update - on vacation.
10/30/2009 - About to start my vacation!
10/29/2009 - Great ride yesterday; New Favorite Things item; CamelBak!
10/28/2009 - So tired; Today's fitness plans.
10/27/2009 - Didn't sleep well last night; Riding plans for vacation.
10/26/2009 - First look at the all-new JSF BodyShop™ web site!
10/25/2009 - Exciting BodyShop™ news; Poker killed my bike ride.
10/24/2009 - Good workout yesterday; Vacation plans; Saturday plans.
10/23/2009 - Cateye bike computer review.
10/22/2009 - Exchanged my bike, upgraded saddle, ordered bike computer; Today's workout.
10/21/2009 - Changing attitudes...
10/20/2009 - We have new bikes; I ate the dirt hard on my first quick ride.
10/19/2009 - No more whining about bikes!
10/18/2009 - Update on my job situation and how it relates to JSF; Beautiful day!
10/17/2009 - Cool weather; Meeting with owner of company at my home today.
10/16/2009 - Cutting plans; Life without "all or nothing"; Novemeber "100 Challenge".
10/15/2009 - Job situation; Dealing with stress sans alcohol; Satay recipe posted.
10/14/2009 - Stir fry recipe up; Stress.
10/13/2009 - Stir fry picture; Insperational story; What a sunrise!
10/12/2009 - Gore-fest movie day yesterday; Today's workout.
10/11/2009 - I hate it when my coffee maker malfunctions; Movie day.
10/10/2009 - It's so hot here...
10/09/2009 - I know why my satay was not spicy enough; Bad week at work.
10/08/2009 - Satay and cucumber salad: recipes and photos!
10/07/2009 - I have the day off.
10/06/2009 - Jazzing up bland food; Satay recipe; Long day at work ahead.
10/05/2009 - Elbow pain; 2,465 days!
10/04/2009 - Slept in; Aches and pains; Sunday plans.
10/03/2009 - Working today...
10/02/2009 - Taking a few days off from training; New home gym news.
10/01/2009 - Bikes;October TSM.

October 31, 2009

No update - on vacation.

October 30, 2009

This will be my final update to this site until Monday, November 9, 2009. Why? Because after today I'm on vacation!!! This vacation will likely be the last opportunity I have to take some time off for the foreseeable future: the only person who could even partially fill my shoes just had his job eliminated, and next week will be his final week with my company. I hope this vacation is fun and relaxing, because when I return to work I'm going to be working 60+ hours a week. They will not be easy hours, either.

I'll be posting on the JSF Forums and making updates to Facebook and Twitter while I'm off. Feel free to friend me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter if you want to keep up with my exploits while I'm on vacation. The plan is to do some serious bike riding almost every day (along with my weight training workouts, of course). I'll be taking the camera along on some of the new trails we explore, so expect lots of pictures and maybe some video.

Yesterday our new CamelBak hydration backpacks arrived! I got the CamelBak Classic 70 oz Hydration Pack, and Lisa decided on the CamelBak Charm 50-Ounce Hydration Pack. These are going to be lifesavers, as a single bottle of water is not even close to enough water for 15+ mile rides. CamelBaks are not just for biking; runners, skiers, skaters and other athletes all use the CamelBak. Just please, PLEASE do not be the dork that wears one of these things in the weight room. Just saying... Anyway, here's a picture of our new CamelBaks:

CamelBaks

Have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

BodyShop™: Check out our first look at the JSF BodyShop™ ! In this preview you'll find screenshots, a partial feature list and some additional information that will hopefully give you a better sense of what you can expect to find when BodyShop™ launches early next year.

October 29, 2009

For the first time in three nights, last night my cell phone was mercifully silent and I finally enjoyed a night of unbroken sleep! Wow, I really needed that. I feel fantastic this morning!

Lisa and I had planned to do a 15-mile bike ride yesterday afternoon, but it was a miserable 90 degrees and humid outside. I was also feeling very tired. We decided to go forward with the ride anyway, and I'm very glad that we did! There are bike lanes just around the corner from our subdivision that I wanted to completely explore so that I could determine how many total miles were in one complete "lap" of the entire stretch. Turns out that starting from our driveway, around the complete bike lane circuit and back to our driveway is a total of 6.35 miles. These are not all easy miles, either: there are several fairly challenging hills to climb along the way.

Lisa was completely burnt after the first 6.35 miles, but I'd caught a second wind and was eager to continue. Lisa decided to call it a day and headed inside. To be perfectly honest I had been feeling a little stifled by Lisa's slower pace (sorry honey!), and so I happily set off on my own for a second complete lap. I started pushing the pace quite a bit, and some of those hills really kicked my butt! I was able to maintain a 15-16 MPH pace on a few of the climbs, but on the steeper hills I struggled to keep my speedometer above 10 MPH. Cresting the tougher hills is a great feeling of accomplishment!

After my second complete lap I was quite tired, but I had only completed just shy of 13 miles. My goal was 15 miles, so I decided to explore the neighborhood a bit. There's actually one hill in my neighborhood that's tougher than any of the hills I encountered on the rest of my ride. Climbing that hill after 13 miles of hard riding was very difficult. I pressed on, and on my return trip down the hill I put the hammer down! I was in the highest gear (24) and peddling as hard as I could! I glanced down and saw that my speed was almost 32 miles per hour! As I watched the ground fly by below me I thought, "If I wipe out I'm seriously going to the hospital."

I finished the ride with three personal bests. Total miles: 15.36. Average speed: 13.1 MPH. Maximum speed: 31.8 MPH. It's awesome being able to track my riding stats. I really love my Cateye bike computer, and this morning I decided that it has earned a spot in my Favorite Things thread.

As much as I wanted to start biking, I have to admit that I'm a little surprised by quickly and firmly the sport has taken hold of me. I just love being out there riding!

One problem with the 15 mile ride is that I ran out of water (and that was with careful rationing). Thankfully today my CamelBak will arrive! I ordered the CamelBak Classic 70 oz Hydration Pack for myself, and Lisa got the CamelBak Charm 50-Ounce Hydration Pack. Not only will this keep us well-hydrated, but it should be safer (no more fumbling around trying to grab the bottle from the lower frame and then put it back while speeding along).

This weekend I'm going to do a 20-mile ride, and then next week it's off to the West Orange trail for a 28-miler. I can't wait!

Today I take a break from riding and hit the weights: it's back and bicep day!

October 28, 2009

The network gods appear to be conspiring against me. For the past two nights I've been paged in the wee hours. Actually last night I received a total of six emergency text alerts. I'm too tired to whine. If you want to hear me complain, just read yesterday's update, rinse and repeat.

Tired as I am, that doesn't change my fitness plans for today. I've got the day off from weight training, but this afternoon (weather permitting) Lisa and I will be setting off on a 15 mile bike ride. This weekend we're going to go on a 20-mile ride, and next week (vacation week - yay! \o/) we're going to start exploring some local trails. The West-Orange trail looks pretty awesome, but I read some reviews that indicated the Northern-most section of the trail runs behind some really bad neighborhoods. There have even been multiple assaults and muggings along the trail in that area! I'd really hate to have to shoot someone on such an otherwise fun day, so I think we're going to avoid the northern 8-mile section of the trail entirely. That would put the round-trip at 28 miles, with a lunch break at the halfway point. Piece of cake. I'll be taking the camera along, and hope to have some nice shots to post.

What I really need right now is sleep, but I guess I'd better pour another cup of coffee and get to work. Have a great day!

October 27, 2009

Aside from my home's fire alarm or burglar alarm, in the dead of night there are no sounds more disturbing than emergency network alerts being delivered to my cell phone. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. I was able to find and correct the problem in about 30 minutes, and I climbed back into bed around 2:30 AM. The problem is these kinds of serious issues get the ol' adrenaline flowing, and so getting immediately back asleep is nigh impossible. I remember wearily looking at the clock at 3:30 AM and wondering if sleep would ever come...

I did fall back asleep eventually because the next thing I knew it was 7:30 AM! Now I'm an hour and half behind, still tired and feeling slightly irritable. Coffee will take care of two out of three of those things. Also, I keep reminding myself that at least I still have a job. I'd rather be paged every night than be out of work right now.

Lisa and I went for a one hour bike ride yesterday, and we put in 12 miles. It was a great ride, and we're both really enjoying this new healthy pastime. We decided that for our next ride (tomorrow) we're going to go 15 miles. Our goal is to put in a 20 mile ride before our vacation starts next week. While we're on vacation we're going to hit up some longer paved trails. We'll probably starting with the Seminole-Wekiva Trail. The Seminole-Wekiva Trail is a beautiful 14 mile stretch, and so there and back will be a 28 mile ride. Once we tackle that trail, we're going to give the West Orange Trail a go. The West Orange trail is 22 miles (one way), and I'd love to attempt a 44 mile ride. We'll see how we feel after completing the 28 mile (round trip) Seminole-Wekiva trail

REMINDER: Yesterday I posted a first look at the JSF BodyShop™ ! In this post you'll find screenshots, a partial feature list and some additional information that will hopefully give you a better sense of what you can expect to find when BodyShop™ launches early next year.

October 26, 2009

I don't have a lot of time left this morning because I've been busy assembling the first JSF BodyShop™ information post! I've just posted screenshots, a partial feature list and some additional information that will hopefully give you a better sense of what you can expect to find when BodyShop™ launches early next year. Keep in mind that when I say "partial feature list", I really mean it: there are so many more features than what we're showing you today. Today we're illustrating BodyShop™ in very broad strokes. In the coming weeks we'll get into more details, and perhaps release some video so you can see how the site looks in action. Your comments and questions are more than welcome, so please feel free to chime in.

Today's going to be a very busy day for me. Lisa's off, and I think we're going to go for a bike ride this morning before I have to get to work. I'm filling in for a co-worker today, so I'm probably going to have a fairly hectic day at work. Today is Monday, so of course I've got a brutal leg workout ahead, too. I should sleep quite well tonight!

I need to get some breakfast in me and get my ride in. Have a great day!

October 25, 2009

Yesterday went by in a flash! After my haircut I spent nearly two hours on the phone with Matt Drouillard, the lead developer of the new JSF BodyShop™ web site. While we were on the phone I remotely viewed Matt's desktop as he took me on a comprehensive tour of the new site. To say I was blown away would be a massive understatement. There is no doubt in my mind that JSF BodyShop™ is going to help you reach your fitness goals, but it's so much more than that. We plan to post a list of features along with a dozen or so screenshots, so look for that tomorrow or the next day.

While Matt and I were on the phone, we finalized our business model. I'm very happy to announce that JSF BodyShop™ is going to be 100% FREE to everyone! The business model is very similar to the forums: advertising and voluntary membership upgrades. Membership upgrades will get you more space for images, video, PMs and a few extra cool features, but BodyShop™ will be 100% functional for members who choose to not upgrade their membership. The good news is upgraded memberships will be transparent between the forums and BodyShop™. In other words, if you already have an upgraded membership on the forums, you'll automatically have the same membership level on BodyShop™ (and vice-versa).

The plan right now is to launch BodyShop™ on January 1, 2010 (subject to change, of course). We will be running a closed beta in the near future (probably mid to late November). All Bronze or higher JSF members will be initially invited to the closed beta program. Basic JSF supporting members may be invited to the closed beta a few weeks later.

I wound up not being able to take a bike ride yesterday. After my meeting with Matt I participated in the Pokerstars European Poker Tour Prague satellite tournament, and wound up going quite deep in it. There were almost 900 players, and I came very close to winning the 1st place $10,000 + $1,000 prize package. After some excellent play (at one point I was up to $90,000 in chips and in 2nd place) I went card-dead in the 5th hour. The blinds were insane and, as expected, a couple of big stacks were really bullying the table. I wound up going out in 13th place, and made a decent amount of money. While it was a little disappointing to be eliminated so close to winning the EPT Prague prize package, I'm very happy with how I played and I had a lot of fun. There's always next time!

So now I'm going to head outside with Lisa for an extra long bike ride! It's a cool 61 degrees, and so this should be a very nice ride. Have a great day!

October 24, 2009

Yesterday I worked my delts and traps, and I had a really good workout. After I trained I thought about going for a bike ride, but I decided to wait because Lisa and I will be riding today and again tomorrow. I'm starting to feel pretty at home on the bike, but Lisa is still struggling a bit with the gears. Over the next week I'm sure she'll become much more comfortable with her bike's controls. We're both on vacation starting November 2, and the plan while we're off is to ride every day, and to to hit up a couple of scenic paved trails. I may venture off-road at some point, too.

Yesterday I upgrade my main desktop machine from Windows 7 Release Candidate to retail Windows 7 Professional. I installed the new O/S "clean", and so I had to re-install/re-configure all my applications. The entire process was very smooth, and went far faster than I thought it would. I'd say I'm already 90% done with getting everything back up and running. I've been running Windows 7 for a few months now, and I really like it.

I've got a pretty busy weekend ahead. This morning I've got to get a haircut, and as soon as I return home I've got a virtual meeting with the developer of the new JSF BodyShop web site. Development on BodyShop is proceeding very nicely, and soon we should have some detailed information to share with everyone. We're also very close to finalizing the business model, and at this point it's all but certain that we're going to make the entire BodyShop web site 100% free to everyone! I know you guys are going to be blown away by this product!

After my meeting I'm going to get a couple hours of computer work done, and then I'm playing in a pretty exciting poker tournament. The winner of this tournament earns a spot on the European poker tour. This particular stop on the EPT will be held in Prague from December 1-6. The winner of this satellite tournament will receive a prize package worth over $10,000, including the €5,000 + €250 buy-in to the EPT. I'd love to ~~play poker~~ get my ass handed to me in Prague by some of the strongest players in the world!

I'd better get moving. Have a great Saturday!

October 23, 2009

Yesterday was a very productive day at work, and also an extraordinarily active fitness day. My back and biceps workout was awesome, and I was feeling pretty toasted by the time it was over. While I was in the gym training UPS dropped my new Cateye CC-MC100W Micro Wireless 10-Function Bicycle Computer on the front porch. I was pretty excited about trying it out, so I decided to install it while I drank my post workout shake...

I need to comment on the installation of the bike computer. The Amazon reviews on the actual product are almost unanimously excellent, but some people really railed on the installation instructions, complaining that they were all but impossible to follow. In fact, some of the installation instruction comments were so negative that I almost didn't order this model. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. I don't know if the people complaining just didn't take a few minutes to study the installation/part diagrams or what, but that's all it took to make everything very clear. I had the unit installed and working perfectly in less than 15 minutes. The installation was actually very easy, and required no tools. Could the instructions use some improvement? Absolutely. Are they difficult to follow? Not if you're willing to invest a couple minutes making sure you understand everything before you start.

Anyway, the computer can be mounted on the stem or the handlebars (I choose the stem-mounted option), and the remote wireless sensor is installed on the fork. The setup of the computer is very easy: you simply enter your choice of MPH or KPH, the current time and your bike's wheel diameter in mm.

I couldn't wait to try the computer out. I felt somewhat recovered from my back/bicep workout, so I decided to head out for a brief ride. Once I got on the road I didn't want to stop! The computer worked perfectly, and told me that I rode a total of 5.53 miles with an average speed of 16.8 MPH and a maximum speed of 24.8 MPH.

Here's a picture of the stem-mounted Cateye CC-MC100W Micro Wireless 10-Function Bicycle Computer after my first ride:

Cateye CC-MC100W Micro Wireless 10-Function Bicycle Computer

Here's the wireless sensor mounted on the fork. You can also see the small silver magnet (which is what the sensor reads) clamped to one of the spokes.

Cateye CC-MC100W Micro Wireless 10-Function Bicycle Computer

Complete list of functions and features: Current speed, maximum speed, trip distance 1 & 2, average speed 1 & 2, elapsed time 1 & 2, clock, wireless, backlight, menu screen, pace arrow, convertible speed unit, manual odometer set, dual tire sizes, sleep mode, stem or handlebar mount, auto or manual start/stop, universal bracket/sensor mounts, auto power saving.

While I can't attest to the longevity of this product, I can tell you that so far I'm totally happy with my purchase. Highly recommended!

October 22, 2009

After riding my new Trek 4300 Disc mountain bike a bit more, I felt like the 16" frame was too small. I adjusted the seat back as far as it would go, but I still felt like the handle bars were too close. Also, the stock saddle was killing my butt. Yesterday afternoon I took the bike back to the shop, and they built me a brand new 4300 in the 18" frame size. I found the 18" frame far more comfortable, and so they swapped the bike out for me at no charge. I also upgraded the stock Bontrager Race Lux Basic saddle, which I found was too hard and too narrow for my sit bones. I went with a Bontrager Sport saddle, which is a bit wider and a little more padded. Lisa and I went on a ~4 mile ride late yesterday afternoon, and I was very comfortable. I'm really glad that I bought the bike through a local shop (Sun Cycle); everyone there has been extremely helpful and friendly.

While Lisa and I were out riding yesterday I found myself wishing that I had a bike computer to calculate the exact distance we traveled and a speed indicator. My brother gave me an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday, so I ordered the Cateye CC-MC100W Micro Wireless 10-Function Bicycle Computer. Thanks to Amazon Prime, it will be here today. I'm looking forward to installing it and trying it out.

Today I'll be training back and biceps. For my back I'm thinking some heavy deads, weighted wide-grip pull-ups, low rows and maybe some good mornings. For biceps I'll probably do barbell curls and down the rack hammer curls. Maybe a set of burnout chin-ups to finish things off.

Time for me to get to work. Train hard!

October 21, 2009

I mentioned earlier this week that I'm going to be starting a cut at the beginning of Janauary. For my weight training I'm thinking about doing a 3-day split, something like Monday: Legs, Wednesday: Chest/Triceps/Shoulders, Friday: Back/Biceps/Traps. Instead of doing formal cardio, I'd like to try just getting out and riding at least 3 days per week. A mix of long trips at a moderate pace (kind of LISS-like), and some trail riding (more like HIIT) would be very effective, and about 100 times more enjoyable than sitting on a stationary bike in my gym. I've been doing some research, and I had no idea how many incredible trails (both paved and off-road) there are around here. The idea of getting out and exploring all these new places is very apealing to me.

For the most part my diet and training since 2003 has been centered around aethetics and, of course, health. Lately my ideas about fitness, eating healthy, staying in shape and weight training have slowly started to change. I've found myself caring far less about being huge, or having ripped abs all the time. Sure, I still want to look good, but after all these years of working out purely for aestics I find that it's becoming very boring. Sometimes I feel like I'm just chasing my tail. I think these new bikes made something I've had in the back of my mind for awhile just sort of click into place. I love lifting weights, but there's so much more I could be doing! I'm healthy, strong and in fantastic shape. I always loved athletic activities when I was younger, and so sitting on a stationary bike in an empty gym when I could be out having fun seems stupid. I may have a stationary recumbant bike for sale sometime soon.

I'd better get to work, I've got lots to accomplish today. Have a good one!

October 20, 2009

Thanks very much for all of the birthday wishes yesterday! I had a wonderful day, and all the "Happy Birthdays" from my JSF friends put me in a great mood. You guys rock.

Lisa and I went bike shopping yesterday, and after many hours of riding and testing we both fell in love with hardtail mountain bikes. I rode a lot of bikes, but when I jumped on to the mountain bike I knew almost instantly it was for me. It just felt right. I rode it all over the place, both on and off road, and everything about it just "clicked". I loved the riding position, the handling, the gears, the breaks, the feel...

Lisa loved the hybrid, but she also wanted to try the mountain bike out. After her first ride she said she actually preferred how the mountain bike felt on the pavement to the hybrid. After a lot more riding and testing she was 100% sure she wanted the mountain bike, too.

So we both got Trek 4300 series hardtail mountain bikes! Of course we also got helmets, water bottles, a car rack (there are some incredible paved and dirt trails around here!), and a tire repair kit. I put some pictures along with links and more information in my photo gallery. Thanks again mom and Mary Ann for this most unexpected, generous and completely awesome gift!

Embarrassing story time. So after we got home from the bike shop, I took the bikes off the car rack and decided to hop on mine for a quick 30-second ride. The land across the street from our house is still undeveloped and quite rough, and it was calling out to me. I took off full speed down the driveway toward the far curb before the open land. It's been like 20 years since I've been on a bike, but as I reached the curb I hopped it just like I did when I was a kid. I sailed though the air feeling quite pleased with myself. This self-satisfaction was short lived, however: I didn't realize that the "dirt" in the vacant lot was more like sand, and when my front tire landed it instantly sank. Physics, being the total ***hole that it is, took all that forward momentum and transfered it into PAIN. The bike flipped over and I banged the crap out of my left shin and cut my right ankle. I knew Lisa must have been panicked, so I quickly turned around to let her know I was OK, but she was laughing too hard to hear me. A couple neighbors saw the whole thing, too. I felt like an idiot.

As my brother said later, "Dude, bikes can be dangerous. Allow yourself to be a beginner for a change." Good advice, and he's right. I'm very competitive and always pushing myself, but I need to dial that back right now. Lisa and I took a nice long ride around the neighborhood a little later on, and it was a blast! Of course at one point in the ride I still had to see how fast I could go. :lol

Anyway, I'm looking forward to A) not killing myself, and B) taking my cardio outdoors. I think I'm really going to enjoy this new activity!

October 19, 2009

Lisa is off today, and I'm trying to get the day off so we can go... BIKE SHOPPING! Yes, bike shopping! It looks like my days of whining about wanting a bike are over, and you can thank my mom and a close family friend for that. Yesterday they surprised me and Lisa with a most unexpected and incredibly generous gift: new bikes and accessories! With everything going on at my job there is no way we could justify purchasing new bikes, so this is truly awesome. I'm still in shock, and beyond excited. The weather is absolutely incredible, and the mere thought of me and Lisa riding around outside makes me feel less stressed than I've felt in months.

Of course the question now is what kind of bikes (road? mountain? hybrid?) should we get. A few weeks ago when I first brought up the subject of bikes I got some awesome advice that really helped jumpstart the learning process. I honestly had no idea how deep the waters run when it comes to bikes. I've started a discussion thread on the forums and I welcome any and all input. Hopefully the thread will wind up being a useful resource for anyone else who might be looking to take their cardio outdoors. There's already some excellent information in there.

Well, hopefully I can get the day off and will fall in love with something while we're out shopping. The weather is so nice that I'm pretty sure I could spend an entire day out riding with no complaints.

Have a great day everyone!

October 18, 2009

Yesterday afternoon's meeting with the owner of my company went very well. I can't go into specifics, of course, but I will say that my job is safe for at least six months. Like many other companies in the US, the company I work for has been hit hard lately. I fully realize that I'm taking a risk by not seeking other employment. I've been with this company for over 10 years, and they've always been great to me. So a big part of why I'm staying is my sense of loyalty: if I were to suddenly give notice, they would be unable to provide service on our remaining contracts. Another reason I'm staying is we have some projects in the works for which I have a great deal of faith and enthusiasm. I strongly believe that with hard work and some creative thinking I can help save the company. I've got to try. Finally, the owner of the company assured me that I would be given no less than three months notice if the company is going to fold, and that was the final bit of assurance I needed to stay on-board.

So, how does all this relate to JSF? Well, obviously I'm going to need to put in a lot of long hours at work. While this won't affect my daily updates to this site or my workouts, it will slow the pace of development on the new JSF site. There's not much I can do about that: I'm one person, and there are only so many hours in the day. That said, I will do everything I can to maximize the time I do have available, and attempt to balance work, JSF and my home life.

Now that things are more or less stable for the next few months, I promise to shut-up about my job.

On a brighter note, the weather is incredible here in Orlando! The sun is shining, the skies are crystal clear, it's 47 degrees outside and the air smells fresh and crisp. I can't wait to get outside and do something this morning. I think I'm going to take a walk around the neighborhood and then do some yard work. Man, I really wish I had the money for a nice hardtail mountain bike right now. This is perfect weather for a nice long bike ride...

October 17, 2009

It's 58 degrees outside right now! This morning when I let Loki out it felt so good to open the back door and not be hit by a blast of hot, humid air. I stepped into the backyard and took a deep breath with a huge smile on my face. Looks like we're in for some cool weather for the next few days, so this is definitely a weekend for outdoor activities.

Yesterday I received an email from the owner of the company I work for, and he wants to meet today to go over some numbers and discuss the future of the company. I was looking forward to spending the entire day playing around outdoors, but this is pretty important. So, I invited him and his wife over for an afternoon meeting followed by a movie up in the theater (they've never been out to the new house). We had a preliminary discussion on the telephone yesterday, and I was assured that my job is secure for the "foreseeable future". That is great news--no doubt about that--but hopefully after looking at the numbers the term "foreseeable future" will be better defined. With things as they are I'll be assuming some risk if I decide to stay and not seek other employment, so I will be pushing for a fair "exit strategy" and severance commitment. The guy I work for is fair, honest and a good person, so I'm confident we can work something out.

By the way, with my right-hand man leaving the company in the very near future, this is probably going my last chance to take any time off for a long time. I've been tentatively approved to take the week of November 2nd off. I'll probably take the week off from updating this site, too. We'll see.

Sorry about all the personal/non-fitness stuff I've been blogging about lately. Although I've always used this space to talk about my personal and work life right alongside my fitness activities, it just so happens that my work life is in a bit of turmoil right now, and my thoughts have been consumed by that lately. Hopefully today's meeting will give me some piece of mind and allow me to relax a bit.

October 16, 2009

I've decided to continue to maintain through the remainder of 2009, and will start a "formal" cut on Monday, January 4, 2010. I will be cutting down to at least 8% body fat. Of course I will document the entire cut here on JSF: meal plans, training program, measurements, body fat readings, photographs--the whole nine yards. I think it's going to be a fun and challenging cut, and I'm looking forward to it!

On the subject of maintaining, I'm very pleased that pretty much for the first time since I made my initial transformation in 2003 I've been able to maintain my strength and body fat level without tracking calories, worrying about eating every 3 hours, begining 100% strict with my diet and so on. After all those years of "all or nothing" it seems I've finally figured out how to live a healthy lifestyle without depriving myself. I'm confident that once I complete my upcoming cut I'll be able to maintain sub-10% body fat levels with these recently acquired "skills".

I'm in a fantastic mood this morning. Not just because it's Friday (and I still have a job), either: it's the incredible weekend forecast! We're finally going to get some relief from the non-stop heat and humidly! Clear skies with lows around 50 degrees and highs in the mid-70s. This will not be a movie weekend. I'll be outside as much as possible!

I've opened the November "100 Challenge" for entry. Details are immediately below this update.

Registration for the November 2009 "100 Challenge" is now underway! Your Official Challenge post must be made by 7:00 AM (EST) on November 1, 2009 if you plan to participate--NO EXCEPTIONS! To participate, you must be a member of the forum. If you are not a member, simply create a free account. It can take up to 24 hours for your account to be activated, so don't wait until the last minute to register! For all the details, official rules and sample entry data, just head over to the November 2009 "100 Challenge" thread on the forum. If you are ready to work hard and want to challenge yourself in a fun and competitive environment, then please take part!

October 15, 2009

The meeting I mentioned in yesterday's update was about what I expected: the asset sale of most of our major contracts and on-site network equipment is expected to be completed this week. One of my friends and a close co-worker for almost 10 years (he was hired shortly after I was) will be let go when the sale is completed. This is very sad news, as he and I basically ran the whole show together. The only thing that saved my job (for the moment) is that we have a few remaining contracts and I'm the only person who can run all aspects of the network. My friend was the Operations Manager, and now I'll have to take on his responsibilities as well. I don't know how much longer my company will survive, but I was assured that I would be given plenty of notice if we're going to fold. We do have some irons in the fire, so I'm hopeful that some of those projects will pan out and we can pull out of this mess (and hire my friend back).

On a brighter note, I'm eating clean and my training is going quite well. I've also resisted the urge to calm my nerves with alcohol. Lately I've found that having a couple of drinks after work has become more of the rule than the exception, and that bothered me a great deal. So, this past weekend I decided that the right move is to give up alcohol completely, and I've done that. I have a very addictive personality, and I don't need any more complications in my life right now.

I posted my spin on Phoenix's satay recipe over in the recipe section. It's so good! Be sure to give it a try.

October 14, 2009

I can't believe it's only 8:22 (as I type this): so much is going on this morning I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. On top of that, I just got notice of a meeting today discussing the potential sale of the company I work for. Things have been very silent on that front for the past couple of months, so this should be... interesting. I'd be lying if I said this whole job situation has not affected me a great deal over the past few months. Obviously I don't want to lose my job, but if I'm going to then just get it over with already.

I manged to get the stir fry recipe formatted and ready for easy printing. You can always find it over in the recipe section. I'll work on getting the satay recipe up ASAP.

No training today, which is fine by me. I'm really sore right now, and feeling a bit run down as well. Probably stress. Trying to stay positive!

October 13, 2009

Last night I made another stir fry (here's the original recipe), and it came out awesome! I made a couple of changes to the recipe: I added 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, and I tossed in some chopped sweet peppers that were left over from Sunday night's cucumber salad. The fish sauce idea came from Andy ("MannishBoy" on the forums), and it worked incredibly well! The sweet peppers were also a nice addition. I used 4 tablespoons of sriracha, but that was a bit much. Lisa's mouth was on fire and, while I love spicy food, I was sweating quite a lot by the end of the meal. I think next time I'm going to cut the sriracha down to two tablespoons. Other than that, I think it's perfect. I'm running late this morning, but tomorrow or the next day I'm going to post this recipe and the satay recipe in the recipe section for easy reference.

Oh, I remembered to take a picture of the stir fry this time. Here it is on a bed of brown rice:

Stir Fry

I want to share with you all a local news story that I've been following. A couple of weeks ago local high school soccer star, Bree McMahon, had her lower body crushed while working at a road-side car wash fund raiser for her soccer team. This terrible tragedy resulted in the amputation of her left leg. Since the accident this amazing young woman has shown incredible strength and courage, and I don't know how she's doing it. I do know that I'm inspired beyond words. I don't think I'd have even a fraction of her strength given the same circumstances. Read more here.

When I let Loki out back this morning I was stunned by the incredible sunrise. I ran and got my camera, and this is what I got to start my day off with:

Sunrise

October 12, 2009

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Yesterday Lisa, Loki and I had a fun pre-Halloween horror movie marathon. We made the theater extra cold (being cold adds to the creepy factor for some reason), and watched four movies pretty much back-to-back. I'm not a huge fan of horror films, but sometimes when I'm in the mood I really enjoy them. All of the movies we watched were disgusting, brutal, over the top, ultra-violent, extremely graphic and just plain messed up! They were low budget films, but they were all well done and very entertaining. If you have Netflix streaming (and a very strong stomach), you might like these: Altered, Deadgirl, Carver and Tamara.

I've become a huge fan of Netflix streaming; it allows me to easily check out films I'd normally never buy or rent, all for free! The resolution of the Netflix HD streams is surprisingly good. The HD streams are not Blu-ray quality, but still look quite sharp. I stream everything up to the theater using Wireless-N; my XBox 360 decodes the stream, feeds it to the Marantz SR-8002 and the video signal is then passed to the Epson PowerLite Pro 1080-UB projector. If you are into home theater and are interested in more details about mine, I have a Home Theater page with plenty of photos and video tours. Next to fitness, movies are my #1 hobby!

I'm looking forward to today's leg workout, but I know I'm going to be extremely sore all week because this is my first leg workout since my week off from training. I really like the leg workout I was doing before my break (36 reps lying leg curls, 36 reps leg extensions, 60 reps squats and 1 set of burnout/failure Bulgarian split squats), so I'm going to stick with that for now. Because my legs will still be sore on Thursday, I'll probably have to modify my back workout and substitute rack pulls for deadlifts.

I prepared satay again last night, and I made a few more changes to the recipe. I'm very happy with how it came out, and will post my version of Phoenix's awesome recipe tomorrow (I'm out of time this morning!)

October 11, 2009

I spent the first hour of my morning wrestling with two unruly coffee makers. Somehow a few grounds must have found their way into the water reservoir of our main coffee maker, and the water tube was clogged. I cleaned everything out very well (I thought), and made a fresh pot. Same result. I decided that I needed to run some white vinegar through the machine on its cleaning cycle. While that was happening I tried to use our single-cup coffee maker and it wouldn't work, either. Grrrr. The single-cup coffee maker has only been used like 10 times, so that was pretty aggravating. A sleepy-eyed Google search quickly revealed that there's a design flaw that sometimes causes the water level float to stick. Thank you, Google! Anyway, I finally have coffee. I thought I was going to have to dig out the French press. Yes, I love strong black coffee so much that I literally have three backups to the main coffee maker: A single-cup coffee maker, a French press and a new in the box backup main coffee maker. I'm completely useless and cranky as hell without my morning java.

Other than that, my weekend has been going well! Today Lisa, Loki and I are going to crank up the air conditioner, barricade ourselves in the theater and watch scary movies all day long. I'm going to have some popcorn, too.

Enjoy your Sunday!

October 10, 2009

I was really hoping things would cool off enough for me to do part of Monday's leg workout outside, but it doesn't look like we're going to be getting any relief from the ridiculous October heat wave we've been experiencing here in Central Florida. How hot? Well, on Thursday we tied the record high of 95 degrees, and yesterday we broke the October 9 record high with 93 degrees. The high temps are bad enough, but it's also been extremely humid, pushing the heat index well over 100 degrees. The forecast for the next 5 days calls for highs in the low to mid 90s every single day. I've been looking forward to cooler weather for months, but I think fall has been canceled here in Florida.

It's been a long and stressful work week, and I am so glad the weekend is finally here! I think I'm going to set the air conditioner to 68 degrees and pretend it's actually fall...

October 9, 2009

I realized just this morning why my satay peanut sauce was not spicy enough: I accidentally used curry paste in the peanut sauce instead of chili paste. Duh! I just opened the chili paste and took a taste, and it's got a great flavor and a lot of kick. It will make all the difference in the world. I can't believe I made such a significant error. I mean, the sauce was still good, but it had no fire. I guess I have no choice but to make it again this weekend!

Yesterday was a horrible day at work. One problem on top of another, relentless, all day long. Today and Monday I'm pulling double-duty while a co-worker takes a couple vacation days. This has not been the best week, but when things get bad I just remind myself that a bad day at work is far better than unemployment! That always helps keep things in perspective. That said, I am really looking forward to the weekend.

Speaking of work, I've got a lot to accomplish today so I'd better get cracking. Happy Friday!

October 8, 2009

Back to training today! Today is back and biceps day. My workout is as follows: low rep, very heavy deadlifts, weighted wide-grip pull-ups, bent-over barbell rows, seated low cable rows, standing ez-curls and "down the rack" DB hammer curls. After a week off, I'm dying to hit the weights so this should be a good one.

So last night I made the Satay recipe posted on the forum by Phoenix, and I also prepared a simple Thai cucumber salad to go with it. It was amazing! Awesome recipe, Phoenix! I made a couple of minor changes to the posted recipe: for the peanut dipping sauce I doubled the amount of red curry paste, and halved the fish oil. I also omitted the sugar because the cream of coconut that Lisa bought was pre-sweetened. Even though I doubled the red curry paste, I still thought the peanut dipping sauce could have used a bit more heat. Next time I'll spice it up a bit more, but not sure with what, though. Maybe there are hotter versions of red curry paste than the one we bought? I also felt like the dish could have used a bit more acid, so I think next time I'm going to try adding a few tablespoons of soy sauce to the marinade.

One other thing: there was way more dipping sauce than we needed. Next time I'll cut the recipe in half.

Here's the grilled chicken satay on a bed of brown rice alongside my cucumber salad:

Satay

The cucumber salad was very easy to make, and a perfect compliment to the satay:

1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 or 4 sweet peppers, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Put the vinegar, sugar and salt into a sauce pan and heat over low heat until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved. Remove from heat and allow dressing to cool to room temperature. Once the dressing is cool, pour it over the veggies and mix well. Here's how it looks:

Cucumber Salad

That is a huge salad, so consider cutting the recipe in half if you are only feeding two people. Also, if you are concerned about the sugar I suppose you could substitute Stevia, Splenda or similar (but I have not tried that).

I'm off to work. Have a good day!

October 7, 2009

I wish I could say that things went well at work yesterday, but that wouldn't be accurate. Actually, the part I expected to have issues with--bringing the circuit up and deploying the main server--went off without a hitch! Unfortunately there were a few unexpected problems that made for a long and stressful day. Thankfully those issues will not affect my ability to take a comp day today in exchange for working on Saturday. Lisa is also off today, so we're going to go do something fun!

I'm really looking forward to trying Satay for the first time tonight! I'm also going to make a traditional Thai cucumber salad to serve with the chicken Satay and rice. I'll be sure to get a picture of the completed dish and will post it tomorrow.

My week off from training ends today, so tomorrow I'm back in the gym! My aches and pains are 95% gone, so taking a bit of time to rest up was a wise choice. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's workout.

I hope your day is a good one!

October 6, 2009

Lately I've been making all kinds of new dishes and trying new spices and sauces. These simple tweaks have made a huge difference in my enjoyment of old standby proteins like chicken breasts. For example, yesterday I had a grilled chicken breast and brown rice, only this time I put a tablespoon of Sriracha hot sauce on the plate for dipping. This simple addition turned a mundane meal into something I thoroughly enjoyed.

I've done very little Asian cooking in my lifetime, but that's an area I've been exploring lately with fantastic results. There are some very healthy Asian dishes that taste amazing and are not at all hard to make (such as the stir fry I made last week). Tomorrow night I'm going to prepare a Thai Satay recipe that was recently posted by May 2009 Transformation Spotlight of the Month recipient "Phoenix". I've never had Satay, so I'm really looking forward to trying it!

My week off from training continues today. I guess I'm enjoying the rest, but I am definitely missing my afternoon workouts.

Today's going to be a busy day at work: we're turning up a new circuit and bringing an entire apartment complex online. Ideally all the planning and preparation we've done would make the actual rollout take about an hour, but that never happens. Three companies are involved, and when something doesn't work right there's always a lot of finger-pointing and wasted time. I have a feeling by the end of the day I'm going to be seriously thinking about that cabin by the lake again...

October 5, 2009

I'm taking a week off from training, so no leg workout for me this afternoon. I may sneak in some HIIT cardio just to get some form of exercise in.

The time off seems to be helping. The pain in my lower back and hip is almost completely gone, but I'm still feeling some tendonitis-like pain in my forearm and elbow. Triceps work--especially stuff like skull crushers, french curls and standing dumbbell extensions--really seem to aggravate my elbow. I've found that taking an Aleve about an hour before my chest/tricep workout really helps, but I've read that Naproxen has a negative effect on protein synthesis so I try to avoid it as much as possible. That stuff really works, though.

Yesterday I was reading through some email, and one of the people who wrote to me mentioned that he'd been visiting the main site every single day since I first launched it almost seven years ago. Seven years...wow! It sure doesn't feel like it's been that long since my initial transformation. Excluding planned vacations, for 2,465 days in a row I've updated this site every single day without fail, and I've never once posted an update after my "deadline" of 9:00 AM. I wish my diet and training were that consistent!

I had a great day off yesterday, but because I had to work on Saturday I feel like the whole weekend went by in a flash. Lisa, who also had to work on Saturday, is off on Wednesday and it looks like I'll be able to take Wednesday off as well. Working on Saturday sucks, but days off in the middle of the week are always nice.

I've rambled enough for this morning, time to get to work....

October 4, 2009

I went to bed on time, but wound up sleeping until almost 7:00 AM. I've got nothing to do today, so an extra hour of sleep is no big deal. Loki tried to get me up at 5:30, but when I rolled away from his licks he apparently agreed that sawing a few more logs wasn't such a bad idea.

Taking a couple days off from training has helped some of those nagging aches and pains that I've been ignoring. None of the minor issues I've been dealing with are completely gone, however, so I think the right thing to do is to go ahead and take a full week off from training. As much as I love lifting, a week off every few months always does wonders for me. I'll probably come back even stronger.

Lisa and I both worked yesterday, so today we're taking the whole day off. I'm going to go get some work done in the gardens this morning before it gets too hot (by the way, I've been adding new pictures to my 2009 Fall Garden album on Facebook if you want to check them out), then we're going to watch a couple of movies and later this afternoon I'll be playing in the Sunday 1/4 Million poker tournament on PokerStars. We might go out to eat tonight, or maybe I'll just make another stir fry! Man, that stir fry was so good... I've been craving it all week long!

I'm going to get outside now, it's already heating up pretty fast. I hope you have a fantastic Sunday!

October 3, 2009

It's Saturday, but unfortunately Lisa and I both have to work today. I really can't complain, poor Lisa's going to have a much longer day than I will. I started working at 6:30 this morning and should be finished by 2:00 PM or so, but Lisa left the house at 6:30 and won't be home until 6:00 this evening--maybe even later. Fortunately we both are getting a day off some time next week to compensate, the trick is going to be managing to get the same day off!

I'm going to cut this update a little short and get back to work. I want to finish up as soon as I can so I can get on with my weekend!

October 2, 2009

All those nagging aches and pains I mentioned earlier this week are telling me that it's time for a little break from training. It's been months since I've taken a few days off, and I really need to do it (I don't want to!) I decided not to train yesterday, and I'm not going to train today or this weekend. I may take Monday and Tuesday off as well, but if I'm feeling healed up I probably won't.

Last night I had a very long and interesting conversation with the manufacturer of the new home gym equipment I first mentioned a couple months ago. Development of this machine has been proceeding smoothly, and the very first prototype is on the near horizon! I wish I could share what I know about the new machine, but I signed an NDA and am very restricted on what I can and can not say. I will post updates as I am able, but if you want to get the absolute latest information get on the mailing list. There's also a thread on the forums with a little more information.

Enjoy your Friday!

October 1, 2009

Yesterday morning I casully mentioned that I've been thinking about buying a couple of bikes so Lisa and I could start taking rides around the neighborhood and nearby parks. We live in a very large neghborhood, and there are also miles and miles of nice paved bike trails just around the corner from us, so there's lots to explore. Within an hour of making my post, two things quickly became very apparent: There are a lot of very knowleagble bikers on JSF, and I know absolutely nothing about bikes! Seriously, I want to thank everyone who took the time to email, PM and post. The information you all provided was invaluable to me, but it also made me realize that I have a lot to learn. I want to stress that I'm not looking to do any hardcore mountain biking (at least not yet!); Lisa and I just want to get outside and do something fun and active together, and the bike idea appeals to both of us. With my job situation very tenuous, I can't justify spending a lot of money right now, so I'm going to take the excellent advice given to me by so many of you and keep my eyes on Craigslist. Thanks again!

The first day of the month is always one of the busiest for me, so I need to get back at it (I started working at 5:45 this morning and I still feel behind). Be sure to check out the October 2009 Transformation Spotlight! Forum member epro (Phil) has done an incredible job with his transformation!

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